"Accurate" 10.5" build inquiry

[cop1211]

I've got a 10.5 inch Noveske that is spot on.

[dakotalawdog]

Doh! My brain was thinking MSTN - Wes Grant - and not Grant T. at G&R Tactical. Either that or its the Alzheimer's kicking in.... or it could be my Alzheimer's again...

BCM hammer forged barrels are fantastic as well.

Who is Wes?



C4

[Cameron]

I have a 10.5" chrome lined barrel from LMT and I did a little accuracy testing. I think the short thick barrels are amazingly accurate, I shot a couple of groups at 100 and 200 yards that were sub MOA.

Barrels are really so cheap and last so long even an SS barrel is relativly cheap (relative to ammunition costs that is).

Cameron

[TehLlama]

There are 5.56 (and Noveske's Mod0) chambered barrels that are still ridiculously accurate in 10.5" flavors - I would only recommend against your current suggestions and say move to one with a 5.56 chamber (CHF makes more sense, but even an SS one if you insist) allowing you to shoot more reliably out of that small package.

A free floated CHF barrel will be more than adequate as a fighting rifle, and even a good shot is going to have difficulty outshooting that barrel with any optic that belongs on a 10.5" rifle.


On to another note - if you're planning multiple rifles, plan this from the final collection backwards, and if you have the budget for more than two rifles, then make one (or two) an absolute top shelf unit with no expense spared in the functionality department.

If this means instead of having 5 carbines, you end up only with an 11.5" and a 16", then you're fine. A well thought out 11.5" with an aimpoint will perform any SBR and suppressed SBR task if you do it well, and be an effective fighting rifle out past 250m. A 16" with a low powered variable will perform every other task that 5.56 makes sense to use with - spend some money on the barrel and optic and it'll work to 600m no problem.
[If I had all this to do over - it would be a BCM/Centurion 11.5" and a Noveske/MSTN 16" recce with a dimpled barrel. An Aimpoint H1 and a Short Dot. Done]

[021411]

I have 4 Form 1's out so when they come in I'll finish the rest of my projects. Most if not all my builds now have been no expense spared. I would love to just have two lengths to cover everything but that's not going to happen. Nothing wrong with having more than a few.

So what I gather from this thread, 10.5" stainless barrels are no better than the CHF counterparts. They are a waste of money because you're not gaining anything in the accuracy dept. They are heavier (wouldn't mind getting one dimpled) and won't last as long. How many rounds until it has to be retired? I have no idea.

[C4IGrant]

Doh! My brain was thinking MSTN - Wes Grant - and not Grant T. at G&R Tactical. Either that or its the Alzheimer's kicking in.... or it could be my Alzheimer's again...

No worries. I get that a lot.



C4

[C4IGrant]

I have 4 Form 1's out so when they come in I'll finish the rest of my projects. Most if not all my builds now have been no expense spared. I would love to just have two lengths to cover everything but that's not going to happen. Nothing wrong with having more than a few.

So what I gather from this thread, 10.5" stainless barrels are no better than the CHF counterparts. They are a waste of money because you're not gaining anything in the accuracy dept. They are heavier (wouldn't mind getting one dimpled) and won't last as long. How many rounds until it has to be retired? I have no idea.

Really depends on such things as ammo used, rate of fire, quality of the barrel steel, etc.

Then we have to define what is acceptable accuracy and what isn't. Meaning, that if the gun shoots .75MOA at 100yds, then would 1.5MOA still be acceptable?

IMHO, quality SS barrels have a 10-15K life span (assuming good ammo is used).



C4

[021411]

Interesting thread I just ran across. One sample.
http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_2_130/158390_.html

[jwfuhrman]

I'm not Grant, but out of a barrel that short you are really not taking advantage of the primary quality a Stainless Steel barrel offers: Accuracy. You gain weight, expense, and lose barrel life without getting any real benefit.

The quality of steel has in the last 5 years improved drastically. Stainless steel is getting more and more useless and lasting longer than anyone dreamed of. We use a shload of ss for die cases here at work, and we use a lot of stainless steel wire for drawing processes. It lasts much longer than it died 10 years ago.