I like them.

Neither have I, and in general, my criteria is pretty strict when it comes to being impressed with barrels.  I also have little to no faith for people on the internet when they claim a barrel is great/ awesome/ fantastic etc.  There are one or two people who have earned credibility and are exceptions.

That being said, a fellow instructor has a few and said he was pretty impressed with them overall, and considered them a good value.  

We (Stickgunner LLC / ie Stick) are in the process of doing barrel write ups which will show how various barrels do.  We are working with a few different optic and ammo companies, and will have a few different shooters on each barrel.  The idea is to eliminate as many variables as possible to give readers a legit idea of how the various barrels do.  At some point if there is interest, we will include BA barrels in the mix.  

As of right now, we will probably publish these various articles on RECOIL web, that way no one has to pay to see any results.  The other option is to put them up on our own social media platforms, and drop in the results when questions pop up on the various forums.  


Lastly, I'm a fan of pencil barrels for a few reasons, but the main one is in keeping front end weight down. Leverage acts against us in all sorts of ways, and the obscene answer from the nonshooters to "hit the gym" is laughable.  All military units look to save weight, big Army looks to save weight, CAG/ Delta/ SF teams look to save weight, and when I was in the service, I looked to save weight where possible as well.  However, if your end goal is to have a blaster with a can on the end, you are going to burn your barrel out faster.  Base your equipment on your needs and uses, and go from there.

Good luck with whatever decision you end up making!

It wouldn't be feasible without the involvement of the companies.  That most certainly includes ammo, optic, and the other companies involved.  There will certainly be companies that have no wish to be involved, and that is fine as well.  Like I've said many times before, there are plenty of solid companies making solid products.  

I know there will be at least one RA barrel, but this project has nothing to do with Rainier Arms, so I wouldn't expect it to start out or end up being a RA showcase.

I think I have one RA barrel, and I'm not sure if is even a current production model.  

I'll talk to Mike or John and see about getting a production unit.  It probably doesn't help anyone if the barrel isn't available.

That sounds great.  When you're ready to test a BA barrel, let me know.  I do think you'll be more than impressed, but maybe I'm biased. :)

If you're running a heavy can you might want to go with a .750" Hanson.

Sounds good, whatever you guys want to do is fine on this end.  

I'll shoot you an IM and we can get it figured out.

Excellent, looking forward to it.