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11-19-2018, 08:34 AM
(This post was last modified: 11-19-2018, 08:50 AM by Sixoeight.)
Hello all,
I am biting the bullet and getting an AR build in before I finish up my blind mag bolt action build.
As usual I cannot decide on the heart of the build...the barrel. This rifle will be for fun and for hunting. It will not be a shoot all day from a bench gun so I would like it fairly light. I already have a carbon fiber handguard on the way. For now I will be using a BCA side charging upper that I have laying around. Obviously I will need to switch out the bolt so thats part of this as well.
I have narrowed my search down to:
- Brownells Satern 18 barrel and bolt
- Alexander Arms 18 lite barrel with a moster GB bolt
- Monster GB 18 barrel (Green Mountain) and bolt.
Thoughts? I am open to other suggestions but would like to come in under $300 for the barrel and bolt combined.
Hoping that the horde can give me some advice!
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Satern is hit and miss IIRC.
AA has that damn 9/16 thread on the muzzle.
Monster GB barrel may be a long wait (unless they are done and strays are available for purchase).
For your price point you could probably land an Odin Works (I don't remember a bad range report). Just stay away from BCA.
Maybe a PSA Stainless. Nitride seem to have issues.
Sticks
Catchy sig line here.
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My 0.02:
1. Get a 16", for hunting and fun it's plenty and the 2" extra don't give you as much as you think.
2. The group buy is first to consider.
3. Don't think you'll find an Odin at your price range, BUT... ArmorAlly has ballistic advantage 18" (Even fluted for less wt) or Faxon match 18" for around $240... final price shows when you add to the cart. BA's come stainless and hand-lapped like interior, smooooth and shiny.
4, JoeBob's has faxon gunner 16" barrels, they shoot smoothly and real well, mine does anyway, even nitrided. I roger the comment as far as some mfrs and their nitride processes, some barrels have too many scratch-makers in the chamber that are difficult if not impossible to get out.
"Down the floor, out the door, Go Brandon Go!!!!!"
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AA 16 inch incursion barrel and gb bolt super light weight and under 300 bucks total.
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Out of those three, I’m doing AA again.
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11-19-2018, 01:39 PM
(This post was last modified: 11-19-2018, 01:43 PM by joedirt199.)
AA 16" for my hunting rig. $50 ALG free float and monster bolt good to go. Put a standard gas block on there and not AA's $100 one. There is also a thread convertor to the standard 5/8-24 so you can use more muzzle devices
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Under $300 for both is a tall order. Toolcraft nitride bcg is around $79 by itself doesn't leave much for a decent barrel. Going back to Arm or Ally for a BA 18" for my M&P Sport. Might keep an eye out at Dvor and for Black Friday a deals.
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I heard from a reliable source there are NO WAITS for group buy MONSTER barrels. 
I got plenty of 12, 16, 18, and 20s in stock and ready to ship.
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^^^ there ya go! get a toolcraft 556 bcg, take out the bolt/FP (save for your 556 rigs) and insert a Monster 6.5 mk136 bolt.
GTG.
"Down the floor, out the door, Go Brandon Go!!!!!"
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Armorally has aero Grendel bcg for $100 when you add it to your cart. I bought the aero 5.56 bcg for $77 and I'm going to put my monster bolt in it.
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Just looked at the Brownell's website for their 18" premium Grendel barrel from Satern: "Chamber is 6.5 Grendel II"
I would personally run from this ^^^^
Better options are the AA or Monster barrels. Better yet, get a Lilja barrel or one from PF.
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The odd thread on the AA might be a deal breaker. I will occasionally run a suppressor and they don't even offer any attachment options in 9/16. I know you can get adapters but in an open competitive market I am not sure I want to buy something handicapped by design. Is there a story behind this odd choice?
The Monster barrel keeps looking better!
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AA chose 9/16 thread pitch to permit use on thinner profile barrels prior to 5/8x24 becoming pretty much standard with 7.62/308 barrels. I’m not sure why AA hasn’t switched to 5/8x24 other than not wanting to deviate from past practice.
I have a 16” and 18” barrels from the previous group buys and the profile of the group buy barrels really make for a versatile AR-15. I’ll have to admit I like the black Nitride finish with the Monster logo.
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The tough thing is that I really like the lightweight aspect of the AA barrels. I just know that I will want to run a suppressor some times and I will need a $30 adapter that will certainly not be as concentric as a standard threaded barrel. What good is a semi precision suppressed rifle if I am losing accuracy with a less concentric suppressor
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Sixoeight Wrote:The tough thing is that I really like the lightweight aspect of the AA barrels. I just know that I will want to run a suppressor some times and I will need a $30 adapter that will certainly not be as concentric as a standard threaded barrel. What good is a semi precision suppressed rifle if I am losing accuracy with a less concentric suppressor
Get the adaptor from presision armament and it wont be out of spec and cause accuracy issues, slap some high strength red locktite on it and thread it on tight and enjoy whatever 5/8x24 thread muzzle device you want.
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I don't have numbers in front of me, but, how much difference in weight will the monster 16" be to an AA-plus-the-thread-adapter? Plus, the AA will have comparatively more wt at the tip, which will mean more barrel whip under fire and possibly more POI change from the suppressor (although if constant that POI shift is just an adjustment to make). I think I would rather have a more std barrel profile for mounting my suppressor....
Just a thought.
"Down the floor, out the door, Go Brandon Go!!!!!"
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Can't beat the Group buy barrels and bolts. I bought the Faxon group by barrel, monster bolt and tool craft BCG. Matched it with a BCM upper and it has been great. It will shoot Hornady Black MOA all day.
AR's make shooting fun again!
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I ended up grabbing a 18" Faxon Gunner from Aim for $170 and sent PayPal for one of the GB Monster bolts! I was sold on the Monster barrel but decided on the Faxon mainly due to the light weight profile. Not that the monster is heavy the Faxon is just surprisingly light at 1.65lbs
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The GB's are good. But I do like my gunner though (16").
Should do you well.
"Down the floor, out the door, Go Brandon Go!!!!!"
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