I've got an itch to build a SAM-R type rifle. I want to use an HBAR barrel, but don't want to shell out the big bucks for a Krieger or similar top of the line barrel. Most of the ammo I plan to feed it would be cheap plinking type ammo, with the occasional range trip with heavier match type ammo to remind myself what its really capable of (I'm a poor college student, I can't afford a steady diet of premium ammo). Basically, 90% of the time I would'nt be able to tell the difference between a standard barrel and a match one because of the ammo I'm running through it. Maybe in a year when I earn my commission, but not quite yet. Can anybody recommend a barrel that will stabilize the heavier match type bullets, but won't cost a quarter of my tuition for the semester? The closest I've been able to find is one of the RRA stainless barrels ($225 from ADCO). Anybody got any ideas?

Get an RRA stainless barrel with a 1/8 twist.  It does everything the 1/7 does and everything the 1/9 does, for that matter.

+1

IIRC, which I doubt I do, I thought the IDEAL twist for 75 or 77gr bullets was 1/7.7 exactly.

In theory the 1/8 might be your best bet.

WIZZO

BTW, don't take my word for gospel. I'm grasping at straws from my sketchy memory here.

Get a White Oak service rifle barrel From ADCO. Its a 1/7 twist.