It looks like I will be waiting for my Mega Upper for a while, But can proceed with my Noveske SPR 5.56 Mod 0 build.
SO!!!!!
I will have some time to build up money for my Grendel barrel
so here it comes
Who makes THE BEST most accurate true 6.5 Grendel barrel in the 20" range?
Will it be Satern when they go back to 6.5G, or Krieger, Lilja, or somebody else?
I want to build my Grendel to be as accurate as I can make it.
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Just completed a build using my 4th Satern barrel with Grendel chamber. As I've come to expect with Satern, accuracy is outstanding.
Drifter
Was this a new (recent production) barrel with the 6.5 Grendel chamber?
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12-29-2012, 12:27 PM
(This post was last modified: 12-29-2012, 03:15 PM by Drifter.)
No, probably produced over a year ago.
Drifter
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rick458 Wrote:It looks like I will be waiting for my Mega Upper for a while, But can proceed with my Noveske SPR 5.56 Mod 0 build.
SO!!!!!
I will have some time to build up money for my Grendel barrel
so here it comes
Who makes THE BEST most accurate true 6.5 Grendel barrel in the 20" range?
Will it be Satern when they go back to 6.5G, or Krieger, Lilja, or somebody else?
I want to build my Grendel to be as accurate as I can make it.
R45:
Which one of these manufacturers do you like the most? That one will make the best barrel for you.
BTW -- what is a 'true' Grendel barrel? Lets say Krieger will make you a match grade barrel using a LBC throat design and Shaw will make you their hunting grade barrel using a 'Grendel' throat design.
Lets say both barrels cost the same.
Which one would you buy?
LR1955
I would really like another Pac Nor but they don't do AR style barrels (they send them to John Noveske but he does 6.8 spc).
From what I gather here the True Grendel (as specified from Bill Alexander) has a .300 neck dia as well as a slightly longer throat, which allows it to be both more tolerant of differing ogives and seating depths AND more accurate,"Not bad for a machine gun chamber"
It looks like the LBC was designed for the 123gr Hornady AMAX but only if loaded short (again correct me if i'm missinformed)
I have heard the Satern barrels with the 6.5 chamber are stupid accurate, and forgiving, that the Saterns with the LBC chamber are also very accurate, but wont eat the off the shelf Hornady ammo.
In other words in the "Cheap, Accurate, or Reliable, pick any two" bucket, I'm picking Accurate, and reliable.
Posts: 3,340
Threads: 46
Joined: Mar 2011
rick458 Wrote:I would really like another Pac Nor but they don't do AR style barrels (they send them to John Noveske but he does 6.8 spc).
From what I gather here the True Grendel (as specified from Bill Alexander) has a .300 neck dia as well as a slightly longer throat, which allows it to be both more tolerant of differing ogives and seating depths AND more accurate,"Not bad for a machine gun chamber"
It looks like the LBC was designed for the 123gr Hornady AMAX but only if loaded short (again correct me if i'm missinformed)
I have heard the Satern barrels with the 6.5 chamber are stupid accurate, and forgiving, that the Saterns with the LBC chamber are also very accurate, but wont eat the off the shelf Hornady ammo.
In other words in the "Cheap, Accurate, or Reliable, pick any two" bucket, I'm picking Accurate, and reliable.
R45:
Partially right. The .300 neck is right but the throat is what Alexander terms 'compound' which from what I understand means different angles. The intent is that as many ogive shapes as possible will shoot well, not necessarily 'more accurately' than....
You avoided my question concerning the barrel you would select -- Krieger match grade with a LBC throat or a Shaw with a Grendel (compound) throat. The point of the question was that I doubt anyone here would select the Shaw over a Kreiger given both are the same cost. Which goes back to your original question about who makes the 'best' barrel. Obvioiusly, Krieger has a much higher reputation than a Shaw but within the premium barrel makers, guys normally choose the one they have chosen their entire shooting career. You may have heard that Satern barrels are 'stupid accurate' but define 'stupid accurate' and the same will apply to any of the other top end barrel makers.
One way to figure out what you want is to see if the NRA / DCM state what barrel and action were used by the winners at Camp Perry. They used to give a description of the rifles used by the top end shooters.
Another way is to state what you want it for because you may not need a top end barrel if you want to blast big targets at shorter distances. You won't want a Shaw if you want to hold a minute at 300 and beyond but you may just be happy with one if you want to kill hogs or medium game at distances under 300.
LR1955
You are correct I do not want to pay $500 for a 1.5 MOA barrel, when similar money will buy a .5 MOA (or better) barrel
But at the same time I dont want (need) a 28" bull barrel that cost a grand but can shoot .15 MOA.
I will pay $700 (if thats what it takes) to get a medium contour very accurate barrel in the 20" range.
This will likely be my last AR style rifle, so I am willing to spend good money to build, the most Intrinsically accurate
SPR I can, I have a very good Lower, will have a very good upper (mega), Young BCG, Geissele trigger, Larue mount
Good scope (TBD) PRS stock, etc
But the Barrel is the heart and soul, so I want the most accurate barrel in the 20" range (that does not choke on ammo)
Here is what I've learned by shooting a variety of both cut and button rifled barrels. The most accurate barrel I have ever owned is a Krieger 6.5 Grendel chambered by Speedy Gonzalez at the very beginning of the 6.5 Grendel history. It is a slow twist, so slow it won't stabilize anything heavier than the 95 grain Vmax. Even the 100 grain A-Max is too long for this barrel. But, with the shorter bullets, the 81.5 Cauturcio, 85 Sierra, and 95 V-Max it is stunning, .2MOA or better out to 200 yards. It is the only barrel that I have owned that is a true one hole grouper at 100 yards, I have never fired a five shot group with paper between outside holes.
I've owned many other accurate barrels, Shilen, Satern, PacNor, Wilson, Obermeir, Schnieder, Douglass, and others I no longer even remember. By accurate I mean .5 MOA or less at distance, 300 yards or greater. What I think I know is that the barrel is by far the most critical element of the rifle system, the cut rifle barrels will last longer but are no more accurate than the good, match quality, lapped button rifle barrels.
As a testament to that, I have just ordered my next match barrel and it is a button rifled Wilson barrel chambered in 6mm HAGAR. I also ordered a Krieger barrel as it is a 6 month lead time and I will probably need a new own by that time if I campaign it heavily.
With this barrel I plan to shoot the Hornady 75 grain V-Max at 200 yards off hand and sitting rapid, the 87 grain Hornady V-max for 300 yard prone rapid, and 105 grain Hornady A-Max for 600 yard slow prone.
One of my shooting buddies just posted a 499-23X National Match Course score at the Florida State Championship matches earlier this month at Port Malabar Rifle and Pistol Club using this combination and another friend of mine, Carl Bernosky won his tenth national championship with this combination. Both of them told me they would use either a cut rifled barrel or button rifled barrel, Krieger or Wilson but if the Krieger was available in the same time frame they would go with that because it lasts longer, therefore costing less if considering load development and obtaining zeros.
For someone planning to shoot less than 3,000 rounds over the life of the barrel a high quality button rifled barres would be the best.
I have no experience with Shaw barrels, I've never heard of one being used in a serious match. That doesn't mean they don't produce barrels of the highest quality, it just means they have not been proven to perform under these grueling conditions by large numbers of competitors.
I will also say that I have limited experience with Walther-Lothar barrels, I purchased one based on good reports I had heard here on this site. It was a great disappointment. I will never own another.
To sum all this up, I would choose a barrel based upon the situation, what is available to me then and there, but my preference would be for a Krieger or Satern because on top of having the highest quality reputation they also will last longer. I wouldn't get to hung up on the chamber, but I wold prefer a true Grendel chamber if available in the time frame I could live with. I've owned a .264 LBC and a 6.5 sporter, they work, but the 6.5 Grendel won that battle when it achieved a SAMMI specified status.
I would then spend my time learning to shoot.
Bob
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