Any recent experience with these?  

Are they dimpled for set screw(s)?

The SAA deal is a bit tempting right now.

Got the 18" , they are not dimpled,  but mine is Sub MOA shooter. I really like it.

I have a 16" middy I bought from SAA.
I keep hearing how accurate the BHW barrels are but I haven't found mine to be any better than average.
Maybe I haven't found a good hand load for it... it doesn't do any better than 1.5 MOA with the 77 gr Sierra MatchKing reloads that shoot sub MOA out of my "precision" 20" AR.

I just assembled an upper with a melonited BHW 16" middy barrel, guaranteed to be sub MOA. We shall see.

Neither barrel was dimpled, and I don't believe you will find a barrel on the market that is.

Joe

Nice barrels - I have a 16" and an 18" that I had melonited.  No dimples.  I like the clamp-on blocks so dimples aren't needed.

Thanks for the information!

IIRC, the SS410 that BCM sells have a dimple - not that I can report that firsthand (yet).

I guess the 50-50 report is not enough of a sample size to go on.  Hope to hear more as time goes on.

I am getting 3305 fps from M193 out of the 18"...which is about equal to about 20" velocity (which should be around 3250 at the muzzle).

Here was me emptying out a mag, shooting fairly rapidly...LC M193, 100 yds, 3-9 scope



Average to center = 0.952 MOA

AR Stoner Barrels from Midway come through dimpled for a set screw.

I have one for my build I don't have a handguard yet so it is not installed and obviously hasn't been tested. It looks very nice and the machining/finishing is excellent.
Mine is the 18" Mid and while SAA says "HBAR" it is more like a mid-weight or SPR profile.
It is not dimpled, and while I would prefer to use a clamp-on the handguard I am going to be purchasing requires a set-screw style due to size.

I have run into a "problem" with the barrel. It does not simply slide into the upper receiver like most of the assembly videos show. I contacted them and they said use of a rubber mallet to tap the barrel into the receiver is perfectly fine. Even then I will probably be removing some of the coating it has on there. Keep this in mind. I tried to work it in there by hand and wound up with blisters.

I am running a 16" on mine. Think its pretty good so far, no issues and fairly tight shot groups. pretty decent at fast paced shooting also

Both my Rainier Arms Select and ARP 6.8 barrels had dimples.

I don't see why any barrel maker would dimple a barrel, seeing how they don't know which gas block you are going to use.

I stand corrected. I have looked at a lot of barrels and never saw a one that was pre-dimpled.

As for those that are, since there is a drill jig available for dimpling barrels, I assume that the location of the setscrews is somewhat standardized.

I've used several different brand lo-pro GBs and while I've not measured them, they all appear to have the setscrews in the same locations.

Being as I have a machine shop in my garage, I've never needed either a pre-dimpled barrel or a drill jig.

Joe

They are not standardized.  Some have different spacing, some screws have a different profile or are different sizes, some only have one screw while others have two.  Also, some gas blocks are designed to sit all the way up against the ledge, while others have to be set back a little.  If you look at the descriptions for the jigs, it tells you what style or brand of gas block it is designed to install for.

Not to mention, if I am not installing a set screw style gas block, I sure as hell don't want pre-drilled dimples showing through on my barrel.