Bear Creek now offering SS 5-R barrels

[Et2ss]

So they have 4 different 5-R offerings now in Grendel

3 at 18", and 1 at 20"

I'm seriously thinking about the 20" fluted Nitride.




Has anyone tried one of these?

[diddlyv]

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMM I have a spare upper????????????

[js8588]

I'll be very interested in seeing how they stack up vs the Faxon offerings.

[Troutguide]

I wish they would do a pistol length barrel 12-14" would suit me just fine.

[Kilco]

Somebody buy one NOW and give us a range report!!!

[howl]

Supposedly they make the barrels for the Wolf uppers? If so, they'll at least function. Accuracy with irons was about what I expected for steel case.

[BoltConvert]

Been working with my first AR build. Barrel sourced from Midway, 20" SS 1-8 5R, I am told is from BCA. The BCG, I purchased from Bear Creek also.
I would like to tell of sub-MOA groups, but so far, I have not been able to do it. The weak link is the likely the nut on the trigger as much as any equipment lacking.
Trigger upgrade would help, currently using a GI trigger with some careful conservative re-working. Measures @4.5lbs pull and a bit creepy, but it is consistent and safe.
Factory Hornady 123SST ammo produced one of two noteworthy groupings, 7 of 8 shots horizontal group ~1" X 1.5".
Yesterday, the first decent group from handloads, Nosler 120gr. Ballistic Tip pushed by AA2520. Four together @ about 1", and then 2 below.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]9944[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]9945[/ATTACH]
Sorry, short on time, and computer skills, pics are 90 degrees tilted!

[howl]

1.5" with factory ammo ain't bad; especially considering the difficulty of shooting an AR off a bench.

[bj139]

BoltConvert,
Thanks for posting some detailed information.
There are several threads about BCA barrels in the past year.

Your experience matches mine. As you shoot more your barrel should smooth out and become more accurate.

My 16" BCA barrel had about 200 rounds of Wolf steel ammo through it when I finally got it to shoot a 0.902 MOA (inch @ 100 yds) 5 shot group with 85 gr handloads.

My thread was called "My Striped Grendel" for reasons which will become apparent if you read the thread.

It is here: http://www.65grendel.com/forum/showthrea...ed+grendel

I would never have been able to know if I could shoot more precisely if I had not bought a more expensive AA barrel.

The only way to tell is if you shoot a known precise shooting firearm.

Until I did, I always thought it was my shooting but truth of the matter was it was about 25% me and 75% firearm.

If you spend $1000 on a barrel, I guarantee your group sizes will drop.

[BoltConvert]

As my screen name suggests, this rifle is my first attempt at accurate shooting from an AR type rifle. Remington 700 rifles are familiar and fairly consistent to accurize.
Since I couldn't bed the action, I trued the receiver face on the AR.
Free float the barrel -practically free on the bolt gun, kinda spendy for the AR, but did offer an upgrade for accessory fitment and appearance.
Trigger adjustment used to be simple to achieve a 3-1/2 lb trigger, or get a Timney for about $100 and change.
This barrel's chamber looked really nicely finished, crown was clean and concentric, any more technical inspection is beyond my means. There is no muzzle device, just a thread protector for now. Looking at all of the choices is a bit overwhelming, there are a couple that look like a good value and actually reduce recoil and muzzle rise. Adding a brake may have a positive effect.

The best part of this project rifle by far, the tooling and know-how required to assemble a decent shooter is within my reach. Building from scratch is, in itself, quite satisfying. The semi auto action has been trouble free once the gas block was set. The 6.5 grendel is a really great flexible chambering for my current needs. I have confidence the accuracy/consistency will only get better with more bench time. The ergonomics are quite different than my familiar sporters, and I will get more comfortable. The barrel will probably smooth out and get better, it has maybe 250 rounds through it.
Winter is coyote and other fur hunting season, and this rig will hopefully fill that role nicely, with a healthy extra punch if we get the good fortune to get a wolf in our sights!

Since the AR is so adaptable, I will likely get a quality trigger in the future, and likely upgrade the barrel, or just build another grendel!
Thanks to the horde for the encouragement, and so much tech I got while lurking, before joining.
For now, the relationship is in the honeymoon stage, this rifle can do no wrong by me.

[VASCAR2]

Sounds like you’ve been bitten by the AR-15/Grendel affliction. I have three AR-15’s in 6.5 Grendel and contemplating number four plus I’m still interested in a Howa 20” bull barrel.

[Keef]

I have a regular 16"BCA upper and it shoots SST and Black very well. With the Black is very common to get 4 outta 5 touching at 100yrds and the 5ths me not the gun.

[bj139]

Keef,

Sounds like you got one of the exceptional ones. Lucky.

[Keef]

I'm pretty happy with it, I did lap the upper and bed the barrel. Did not do any scientific before and after tests.

[Dcommoncents]

I'm pretty sure the BCA upper I bought has the same barrel in the 18" length. Long story short, my experiences with it have been positive with admittedly limited range time. I added a few fairly detailed posts about it here: http://www.65grendel.com/forum/showthrea...pers/page2