I get that you're a fan of 6.5 Grendel, and I can tell you're very excited about your new build, but I am specifically looking for a barrel chambered in 5.56/.223 Wylde. Continuing to tell me to get a 6.5 Grendel barrel is not particularly helpful.

Now, I did a bit of a reality check for myself and I think I have a reasonable set of criteria, which I listed in my last post. Does anyone have suggestions or opinions about the criteria I laid out, or a barrel that meets that criteria?

ETA: Yet another review praising Ballistic Advantage. I just wish they had their Hanson profile in 12.5". I really like that profile on my 10.3" 300 BLK barrel.

Could always contact black hole.  They'll do just about anything you want.

Lots of options out there. The Noveske barrel I linked earlier should do everything you want it to do.

I reached out to Ballistic Advantage about the possibility of seeing a 12.5" Hanson profile barrel. The response I got was that they are working on it right now. They said they should have more information on it in a few weeks. They mentioned that they teased it in a recent video but they do not have an ETA on release yet.

The Criterion barrel I suggested meets that criteria. Wylde, melonited, match grade accuracy, not government profile

I'm still heavily considering the Criterion/ADM barrel. I'm just going to hold off until BA releases more information on the Hanson 12.5" barrel to decide. Looking at the 5.56 Hanson profiles they seem almost more pencil-like than I thought. My 300 BLK Hanson is definitely not similar to a pencil barrel. It stays quite heavy up until the .750" gas block journal. On the 11.3" Hanson it is only a .625" gas block journal and it is quite narrow before that. The Criterion/ADM barrel is currently the frontrunner.

Yes well when the hole in the middle is 50% bigger, you have to keep a certain wall thickness so the outer diameter will be larger.  The 11.3 BA Hanson weighs 20 ounces.  The 10.3 Blackout Hanson with its much bigger outer diameter pretty much the whole way weighs.....21 ounces.

87% of shooters won't be able to discern a one-ounce weight difference, all other factors equal.

I think you’re overthinking and getting choice paralysis. You can go more expensive and get marginally better results, but there is a VERY high quality value spot around $200ish. Faxon, Larue, and BA come to mind as incredibly nice 12.5’s at their price. My 12.5 is a BCM, but I’ve got barrels from all 3, and they’re all GREAT barrels.

You will be happy with any of the three.

I understand the concept of a larger bore. That's not what I am talking about. Take a look at both side by side and you will see that the 10.3" 300 BLK barrel stays larger past the chamber for longer than the 5.56 Hanson barrels. The 11.3" barrel drops to it's smallest diameter almost immediately. This appears to be a decision based more on pistol vs carbine gas length than bore diameter.

Neither Faxon nor Larue make a 12.5" barrel. And the only 12.5" BA barrel is government profile. Those we're there first three places I looked. Although the Larue Stealth barrel is exactly the kind of profile I am looking for. I would get the 14.5" barrel and have it cut to 12.5", but it is mid length so I'm sure it would be gassed poorly.

This is what I used.

There are 12.5” Faxon QPQ barrels out in the wild, whether they’re in current production or not I don’t know. The Larue is .5” off and not QPQ, but is one of the finest barrels you’ll get shy of jumping up to almost twice the cost. Didn’t they say they’d rebarrel it if you shot it out? Is that still a thing?

Faxon does not currently produce any 12.5" 5.56 barrel.

While I admit that most of my aversion to a 12" barrel is on principle of me liking the idea of a 12.5" barrel, there is at least one practical benefit to 12.5". This barrel will be going on an AR with a brace. A 12" barrel would put it just under 26" of overall length. Although the Larue is appealing I'd hate to be half an inch away from being legally allowed to put a vertical foregrip on it.

You may want to re-crunch those numbers; plenty of people out there with 11.5" and brace with vertical foregrips lawfully.

link to example

This news is simultaneously fantastic and frustrating. The Larue Stealth barrel is exactly the kind of contour I want, but it isn't QPQ and it doesn't quite scratch that 12.5" itch.

I am just realizing that the Stealth is a bit of a pig too. I read somewhere it is 29oz. The contour should help keep that weight centered for a balanced feel though.

The Stealth is chrome lined and phosphated, right?

I have no idea, I'm not on the mark larue boot lick train.

The barrel is a bit on the heavy side but overall I like it so far.  I put about 200 rounds through it last weekend and ran like a top a bit overgassed with some 1 o'clock ejection but I plan to get an H2/H3 buffer to tune/tweak that.

Have you tried it suppressed? If so, does the extra weight make it cumbersome? I intend to get an AAC Mini 4 to go on it. Also, can you verify what kind of finish the barrel has?

I reached out to Larue about the Stealth barrel to see what kind of finish they use. This is the response I got back.

"The barrels are considered very proprietary and very little info is released. They are not chrome lined. They are made of a product called Rearden Steel. The exterior coating material is not released."

I get wanting to keep industry secrets but I don't understand being completely secretive about the finish. Not even a name or basic description.

From some digging online I found this quoted as being in the description of the Larue Stealth barrel at some point:

"Unless you request bead-blasted stainless, our barrels arrive ION Bonded in black. Ion Bond coating is roughly 5-millionths of an inch thick and roughly 90 Rockwell in hardness (harder than hard-chrome). It won't chip, peel, corrode, and is heat-resistant to over 1200 degrees Fahrenheit. LaRue Stealth Barrels are Wylde-chambered in 5.56mm, 1-in-8 twist polygonal rifling in medium-weight contour using LW-50 Stainless."

That sounds a lot like a QPQ process to me. That was posted in March of 2014. It also makes me curious if the currently marketed "Rearden Steel" is LW-50 and they just like to give everything a name to keep their materials a secret. Like their "XTRAXN" chambers which appear to be their name for a nickel boron coating.

I did find an old article from 2008 that stated the barrel used a ceramic coating, but it that is from long enough ago I wouldn't be surprised if it had changed, and the website description from 2014 is clearly not referencing a ceramic coating. The question is, has it changed since 2014?

I just wish Larue wouldn't try to be so secretive about everything. It makes it difficult to decide if their product meets your needs. If the barrel is a QPQ/Nitride/Melonite treated stainless barrel then it meets my needs in everything but the .5" of length.

The problem is, I know it doesn't quite meet the length requirement, and I have no idea whether it meets any other requirement other than the profile. So it only checks one box until I can determine more information.

Does anyone have a new Stealth barrel that they can tell what kind of finish it uses?

Ion Bond is not melonite.  It's not nitride.

Not everything is Quench-Polish-Quench.  Not all nitride coatings are QPQ either.

Methinks you may have buzzword overload.  Just relax, breathe, and buy something.  

They all produce similar results. Which is why all three are in the title of the thread. I am open to any of the above mentioned processes that produce a hardened surface without a coating and will increase barrel life. My qualm is not that I don't know what Ion Bonding is. My qualm is that if you look at the current product listing for the Stealth barrels, it doesn't list anything at all. I am trying to determine whether the barrels are still Ion Bonded or if they have changed how they produce their barrels.

Ionbond is the company, the coating is Diamond Like Carbon (DLC) and is only applied to the exterior.  The process is entirely different to nitride/melonite, not even close to being similar.

Well the very best of luck in your endeavors; while you're going apeshit demanding answers from the online community, I'll be heading to the range to shoot my inferior chrome-lined barrels.  

I'm sorry my questions have somehow been offensive to you. I didn't realize asking if anyone has information about a product that isn't readily available on a product page was demanding. It was my understanding that inquiring about peoples' opinions and experiences was the purpose of having online discussion forums. I think you have been reading my posts in a tone of voice that I have not intended to be writing in. Such is the nature of written messages, I suppose.

Can anyone with a Stealth barrel confirm whether the bore is bare steel?

Relax dude, he's just busting your balls a bit.  Why don't you just email Larue and ask.

Also, in my opinion you are over thinking this.

I emailed Larue and they weren't super helpful about it. They just said everything is proprietary and they don't release details.

I'm sure I'm being overly particular, I'm just trying to find the nearest to my preferences as I can. The profile on the Stealth barrel is what makes it appealing to me. The Criterion barrel checks most of the boxes right now. I just want to make sure I know the details of the Stealth barrel before I commit to one or the other.

No I have not tried it suppressed I was building this to replace my shotgun as my truck gun.  The barrel is not cumbersome but it is definitely not a lightweight barrel.  The finish if you can actually get that verified by Mark LaRue then you win the internets for today.  I can say of all the LT barrels I have they do hold up well, very accurate probably more so than I am, and the whole Rearden Steel is not a real steel it I believe came from book from the 50s.  What I can tell you the barrels are up their in the quality although I have yet to put a significant quantity of ammo through any of them apparently life is really good out of them before you see a drop off in precision accuracy and from guys I know who use them as more of minute of man accuracy they have surpassed 10K through them.  These guys who use them are not precision shooting out to 500m trying the hold an apple size group.  These guys are like me we shoot for fun as enthusiasts at man size targets at 200m mostly to see how many connects we can get inside a minute on a man size target shooting, prone, sitting/kneeling, and standing.  I have shot the 16" PredatAR barrel I built for the lady out to 500 and was making hits with ease I also had a good optic, I am a decent shooter, and nice trigger.
I am very pleased with the 12" Stealth it honestly shoots better than I can.  I am not a sub-MOA shooter by any means but I am a 1MOA consistent shooter.
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