AR Sponsor
Posted: 6/19/2016 8:51:05 PM EDT
| I am in the process of ordering the parts for a new AR-15 match build. What I plan to do is to slowly acquire all of the parts needed, then to assemble them together into a completed rifle. I have already purchased my lower receiver (Spikes Tactical) and trigger (Geissele SSA-E). I am now at the point where I would like to decide on a barrel. Since I am wanting this rifle to be a match build, I would like to purchase a barrel capable of delivering the upmost accuracy. I have been looking at many of the barrel options that are available, but I am having trouble deciding which brands are considered the best. It seems like every time I do a search on Google or read a new forum, a new barrel brand pops up with all of them promising the utmost accuracy. Like I said, I intend on making this build a "match" rifle, so I would like to purchase a barrel with most accuracy potential. Which brands of the available AR-15 rifle barrels are considered to be in the top tier and which are considered a notch or two below top tier? In other words, which of the brands would be considered in the absolute best category and which ones would be in the excellent category? I see that some of the brands mention that their barrels are air gauged for uniformity while others don't seem to mention this process. Some brands are hammer forged while others are buttoned rifle or broach-cut? It is my understanding that the single point cut rifling may be the best method, but I could be wrong. If that is the case, the main brand that comes to mind that seems to use single point cut rifling is Krieger, but there may be others that don't specifically mention it in their sales hype. Is Krieger any better than some of the other brands? I am just looking for suggestions on which direction I should go. Thanks for any and all help in this matter. |
| I am mainly just wanting the most accurate rifle regardless of weight or profile. I already have another "regular" ar-15 that is the standard weight and profile and would like to build this into as accurate of a rifle as I can make it without going extreme in cost or weight. In other words, I am not looking to find some small barrel maker out there that turns out $2,500 barrels that he guarantees will shoot 1/4 moa because he takes your rifle and fine tunes the harmonics of the barrel to a particular handload and the barrel is two inches in diameter. I just want to purchase the best barrel available that has the most reasonable accuracy. I also see that La Rue barrels are used by the most entrants in the top 50 of the 1 MOA ALL DAY LONG CHALLENGE, so that might be a good direction to go. I would think that would be some pretty good indication of potential real world accuracy....what does everyone think? I think La Rue barrels were first in that they were used by 24 of the top 50 while Krieger was second and were used by 6 of the top 50 entrants. |
|
Quoted:
I am mainly just wanting the most accurate rifle regardless of weight or profile. I already have another "regular" ar-15 that is the standard weight and profile and would like to build this into as accurate of a rifle as I can make it without going extreme in cost or weight. In other words, I am not looking to find some small barrel maker out there that turns out $2,500 barrels that he guarantees will shoot 1/4 moa because he takes your rifle and fine tunes the harmonics of the barrel to a particular handload and the barrel is two inches in diameter. I just want to purchase the best barrel available that has the most reasonable accuracy. I also see that La Rue barrels are used by the most entrants in the top 50 of the 1 MOA ALL DAY LONG CHALLENGE, so that might be a good direction to go. I would think that would be some pretty good indication of potential real world accuracy....what does everyone think? I think La Rue barrels were first in that they were used by 24 of the top 50 while Krieger was second and were used by 6 of the top 50 entrants. The poster above with the list of barrels is actually got pretty good advice. Honestly if you stick with a known quality brand it will likely shoot better than you are capable. I recently bought one of the LaRue Stealth 16" barrels on sale and am very impressed. |
|
As you have discovered, there are a plethora of different barrel manufacturers offering match-grade quality with a variety of rifling techniques. Each method of rifling has various pros and cons, but those cons can be overcome if special attention is paid to maintaining strict tolerances and extreme quality control standards throughout the production process. A barrel is only one component to consider when attempting to put together a top tier rifle build, and equal importance should be applied to the ammunition utilized, shooter skill, and other build components used when gauging overall performance.
As you are reading through marketing pitches and claims of superiority in barrel design, the cumulative collection of customer reviews can somewhat objectively be considered when determining consistency in barrel quality. Results from a single informal contests, or a study of a particular subsection of shooters (most of whom are given free barrels or sponsorships by manufacturers to compete with their product line) should be viewed through an objective lens. If you want to see who makes the best barrels, search through the web to see if your manufacturer of choice has had shooters set national records with their products. Those are the barrels (and shooters/rifles/handloads) that could be qualified as the best in the business. Please feel free to give us a call or shoot us an email if you have any other questions regarding barrel manufacturing or match rifle performance. We would be more than happy to help answer them! -Josh |
|
If u want accuracy you want a Stainless Steel barrel, then what grain bullet you gonna shoot.? Length 18" or 20" is most common, gas system mid length or rifle.
My choices in no particular order, Bravo Co. 410 SS. ( I had a 18" that was a freaking laser!) Lothar Walther , excellent barrels LaRue of course Rainier Ultramatch barrels are SICK, MEGA makes a damn fine barrel too There are lots of good barrels out there, most will outshoot the shooter and remember u gotta feed it good ammo and some are very particular. Bullet weight and manufacturer can make a 1 MOA Rifle into a solid 1/2 minute gun |
AR Sponsor