Noveske 20” HBAR Accuracy Evaluation





This 20” barrel is one of Noveske’s 416R stainless steel, button rifled barrels. The exterior of the barrel has a bead-blasted finish.  Unlike most of Noveske’s other stainless-steel barrels, this barrel has an HBAR profile (not a medium contour profile.)  This barrel also differs from most of Noveske’s other stainless-steel barrels in that it has a standard length gas block journal (not a 1” gas block journal).  The gas block journal has a diameter of 0.750”.

The barrel extension has M4 feed-ramps and I paired this barrel with a LaRue upper receiver that also has M4 feed ramps.  The barrel was free-floated in a 13.2” Larue legacy picatinny handguard.





The chamber of this barrel is the original proprietary Noveske Match Mod 0 chamber designed by John Noveske.  The chamber “was developed to fire MK262 Mod 1 on AUTO in hot environments" and still produce better accuracy/precision than a 5.56mm NATO chamber.  The barrel stamp reads:

Noveske 5.56 NMm0 7PT




This barrel has a 1:7” twist and has shot every bullet weight from 40 grains to 77 grains quite well.  Unlike the Noveske cold hammer forged barrels that have traditional rifling, the Noveske stainless steel barrels utilize 5R polygonal rifling.





Gen 1 rifling . . .




Gen 2 rifling . . .




Accuracy/precision testing of this barrel was conducted after a 200 round break-in period.  All shooting was done from my bench-rest set-up following my usual protocol.  This accuracy evaluation used statistically significant shot-group sizes and every single shot in a fired group was included in the measurements. There was absolutely no use of any group reduction techniques (e.g. fliers, target movement, Butterfly Shots).

The shooting set-up will be described in detail below. As many of the significant variables as was practicable were controlled for. Pictures of shot-groups are posted for documentation.

All shooting was conducted from a concrete bench-rest from a distance of 100 yards (confirmed with a laser rangefinder.) The free-float hand-guard of the rifle rested in a Sinclair Windage Benchrest, while the stock of the rifle rested in a Protektor bunny-ear rear bag. Sighting was accomplished via a Leupold VARI-X III set at 25X magnification and adjusted to be parallax-free at 100 yards. A mirage shade was used. Wind conditions on the shooting range were continuously monitored using a Wind Probe. The set-up was very similar to that pictured below.





The Wind Probe . . .



I developed a hand-load for this barrel using the Sierra 55 grain BlitzKing.  I used my Accuracy Node Detection Technique to develop this load.


WARNING!

Reloadi­ng is an inherently dangerous activity. The information provided here is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to be used for the actual loading of ammunition by the reader. No warranty, guarantee or assurance that these loads are safe is stated, suggested or implied nor should any be inferred. Usage of this information for the actual loading of ammunition may result in malfunctions, damage and destruction of property and grave injury or death to beings human in nature or otherwise. Don't even view this information in the presence of children or small animals.

As mentioned above, the projectile used for this example was the Sierra 55 grain BlitzKing and the powder used was VihtaVuori N133. The following eight powder charges were used:


Target #1 - 24.0 grains

Target #2 – 24.2 grains

Target #3 – 24.4 grains

Target #4 – 24.6 grains

Target #5 – 24.8 grains

Target #6 – 25.0 grains

Target #7 – 25.2 grains

Target #8 – 25.4 grains





VihtaVuori N133




Testing was conducted at a distance of 100 yards.  Eight 5-shot groups were fired in a round-robin manner to obtain six sets of three consecutive targets. These six sets of three consecutive targets were over-layed on each other using the On Target TDS software program to form six 15-shot composite groups and the mean radius was used to find the accuracy node. The results are shown in the graphics below.





Groups #5, #6 and #7 over-layed . . .





To reiterate, the 15-shot composite group pictured above was fired in a round robin manner with rounds charged with three different powder charges.  The extreme spread for the 15-shot composite group was 0.88 MOA.  The middle powder charge for the 15-shot composite group was 25.0 grains.

An individual 10-shot group loaded with the nominal powder charge of 25.0 grains had an extreme spread of 0.74”.





Five 10-shot groups of the 55 grain BlitzKing loaded with the nominal powder charge of 25.0 grains fired in a row from the 20” Noveske barrel at a distance of 100 yards were overlayed using RSI Shooting Lab to form a 50-shot composite group. The mean radius for the 50-shot composite group was 0.28”.





Lastly, for any Internet Commandos in our viewing audience today, here’s a pic of a sub ¼ MOA group fired from the 20” Noveske barrel at 100 yards.  The group has an extreme spread of 0.175”.








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Accuracy Evaluation of a Noveske 18” SPR Barrel





Noveske’s 18” SPR barrel is a stainless-steel barrel that has a medium contour and a 0.750” diameter gas block journal. The gas block journal for this barrel is designed for Noveske’s low profile gas block and the journal is only one inch in length; standard length gas blocks will not work with this barrel. Fortunately, Noveske’s pinned and set-screwed low profile gas block is included with the barrel (as well as an intermediate length gas tube.)










The Noveske SPR barrel employs an intermediate length gas system which eliminates the short-stroke issues that are sometimes encountered in cold weather with some 18” barrels that utilize a rifle length gas system. The barrel extension has “M4” feed-ramps. The barrel has a 1:7” twist rate and polygonal rifling.









The chamber found in this barrel is Noveske’s proprietary Noveske Match mod 0 chamber that “was developed to fire MK262 Mod 1 on AUTO in hot environments." I installed the SPR barrel in a Colt M4 upper receiver and free-floated the barrel with a LaRue Tactical 12” handguard.






I conducted an accuracy (technically, precision) evaluation of the Noveske 18” SPR barrel from my bench-rest set-up following my usual protocol. This accuracy evaluation used statistically significant shot-group sizes and every single shot in a fired group was included in the measurements. There was absolutely no use of any group reduction techniques (e.g. fliers, target movement, Butterfly Shots).

The shooting set-up will be described in detail below. As many of the significant variables as was practicable were controlled for. Pictures of shot-groups are posted for documentation.

All shooting was conducted from a concrete bench-rest from a distance of 100 yards (confirmed with a laser rangefinder.) The free-float hand-guard of the rifle rested in a Sinclair Windage Benchrest, while the stock of the rifle rested in a Protektor bunny-ear rear bag. Sighting was accomplished via a Leupold VARI-X III set at 25X magnification and adjusted to be parallax-free at 100 yards. A mirage shade was used. Wind conditions on the shooting range were continuously monitored using a Wind Probe. The set-up was very similar to that pictured below.











For this evaluation, I used one of my standard match-grade hand-loads topped with Sierra 55 grain BlitzKings. When fired from my Krieger barreled AR-15s, this load has produced ½ MOA 10-shot groups at 100 yards.






Three, 10-shot groups were fired in a row from the Noveske SPR barrel from a distance of 100 yards with the resulting extreme spreads:

0.812”
0.732”
0.873”

for an average 10-shot group extreme spread of 0.81”. The three, 10-shot groups were over-layed on each other using RSI Shooting Lab to form a 30-shot composite group. The mean radius of the 30-shot composite group was 0.28”






The 30-shot composite group . . .









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Noveske 16” N4 Barrel Accuracy Evaluation




I’ve posted short reviews of Noveske N4 Light barrels in the past, so for this article we’re going to take a more in-depth look at the Noveske 16” N4 Light barrel.  For starters, Noveske’s nomenclature of “Light” for this barrel is somewhat misleading/confusing. When most shooters hear the term “light- weight” in regard to AR-15 barrels, they think of the “pencil” barrel profile of the original Colt M16/M16A1 and also the same light-weight profile of the Colt 16” carbine barrel found on the Colt 6520 and 6720.  However, this is not the profile of the Noveske N4 Light barrel.


Colt M16/M16A1 barrel . . .





Colt 6520 16” light-weight barrel . . .




The stripped-weight (no flash hider, no front sight base/gas block, just the barrel and barrel extension) of the Colt 16” light-weight barrel is 1 pound, 6 ounces.  The stripped-weight of the Noveske 16” N4 Light barrel is 1 pound, 12 ounces; which is the same stripped-weight of the Colt 16” government profile barrel found on the ubiquitous Colt 6920.


Colt 6920 government profile barrel . . .





Noveske 16” N4 Light barrel . . .





As you can see in the pics above, for the N4 Light barrel, Noveske has done away with the next-to-useless M203 (grenade launcher)  cut-out found on the Colt government profile barrel.  The N4 profile also has a more evenly distributed barrel diameter (and thus weight) fore and aft of the gas block journal, which moves the center of gravity of the barrel farther aft compared to a government profile barrel.  This all makes for a superbly handling 16” barrel.

The reason that Noveske uses the “Light” nomenclature for their N4 barrels is simply because the N4 barrels are lighter than Noveske’s original  medium contour stainless steel barrels.  For comparison, the Noveske 16” medium contour Recon barrel has a stripped-weight of 2 pounds, 2 ounces and as mentioned above, the 16” N4 Light barrel has a stripped-weight of 1 pound, 12 ounces.


The Noveske 16” Recon barrel . . .





The Noveske 16” N4 Light barrel is a cold hammer forged barrel.  It has a mid-length gas system, “M4” feed-ramps and a chrome-lined chamber and bore.  The barrel has a 5.56mm NATO chamber and a 1:7” twist and has been high-pressure/magnetic particle tested; as the barrel stamp indicates.  Contrary to erroneous Internet reports, the N4 barrel does not have polygonal rifling.


The barrel stamp . . .





The mid-length gas system . . .




For this evaluation, I used one of my standard match-grade hand-loads topped with Sierra 55 grain BlitzKings.  When fired from my Krieger barreled AR-15s, this load has produced ½ MOA 10-shot groups at 100 yards.







Three, 10-shot groups were fired in a row from the Noveske 16” N4 Light barrel from a distance of 100 yards with the resulting extreme spreads:

1.29”
1.18”
1.31”

for a 10-shot group average extreme spread of 1.26”.  The three, 10-shot groups were over-layed on each other using RSI Shooting Lab to form a 30-shot composite group.  The mean radius of the 30-shot composite group was 0.37”.

After firing the above three groups, I fired an additional five, 10-shot groups in a row for a total of eight, 10-shot groups fired in a row. The average extreme spread for all eight of the 10-shot groups was 1.24”. I over-layed all eight of the 10-shot groups on each other using RSI Shooting Lab to form an 80-shot composite group. The mean radius for the 80-shot composite group was 0.39”.






Noveske 14.5” CHF Barrel Accuracy





The 14.5” Noveske N4 barrel was tested in the same manner as the 16" N4 barrel as described above. Three 10-shot groups fired from 100 yards using match grade hand-loads had extreme spreads of:

1.029”
1.360”
1.275”

for a 10-shot group average of 1.22”. As above, I over-layed the three 10-shot groups on each other using RSI Shooting lab to form a 30-shot composite group. The mean radius for that composite group was 0.37”.



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Awesome write up, thank you!

Great write up, you present the information very well. I think a 14.5 Afghan stainless barrel evaluation would round out your selection nicely.

I have a 16” N4 Light barrel that I purchased when John was still alive. I’m pleased with the barrel’s accuracy/precision, but I primarily used my Colt 6720 topped rifle for any rifle course I attend as it’s a wee bit lighter with everything that I have on it.

As always, thank you for all of the first-rate info you share with ARFCOM.

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Wow, mating up Noveske with LaRue products…no way you aren’t trying to pick a fight.

Do the 12.5 5.56 and if you ever get the chance do the 16in 308

I don't do .308, but I have been thinking about one of their 12.5" switch-blocks.

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As always - well done, sir!

Thank you.

Well done, man!

Strictly conjecture -- if Noveske is still using Pac-Nor blanks, it looks like they're back in the saddle after re-building after the factory fire destroyed everything.

These write ups are so old John was probably still around...pre fire fo sho.

When I had my 14.5" afghan it was fantastic, your results show the same. Thank you Sir, great post!

Wow!

my god i love these types of threads.

Does anyone have any insight on the differences, if any,  from John’s original “Mod 0” chamber,  to the current production “Noveske Match” chamber.

I remember reading sometime back, of people seeing pressure signs.  So,  Noveske loosened up the chamber some.  Never been verified to my best knowledge.

Your posts are why I pay money for the internet.   I have a 16 inch stainless steel Recon from about 2008 - 2009 that shoots incredibly well. I just received a 16 inch stainless steel Noveske “lightweight” barrel, i’m super excited to get the upper built and tested.  

I’ve never seen any tests for Noveske lightweight stainless barrels. Have you ever shot those?

Per John Noveske, the Noveske Match Mod 0 chamber “was developed to fire MK262 Mod 1 on AUTO in hot environments" and still produce better accuracy/precision than a 5.56mm NATO chamber.

.....

I have not.

More specifically,  In the past John’s chambering was called the “Noveske Match Mod 0” as you said above.

Today however,  they call it the “”Noveske Match” chamber.  I was questioning if they have since changed the chamber from John’s original Mod 0 design.

My Noveske rifle and two other Noveske barreled rifles shoot extremely well!! This thread is awesome and the results above is no surprise to me! Thank you for the time and effort that went into the test

Molon, we’re all really glad that this is your passion. Your research truly enriches all of us.You’re our scientific lab with the one constant being your remarkable abilities.