Pancho Villa
Unregistered
Hi all,
Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions for a barrel/bolt combo. Here are my criteria:
- Mid-length gas system
- 16" barrel
Uses:
- (When wolf finally gets importing) volume shooting/plinking
- Hunting
- Casual target shooting (3-4moa standard) out to 600 yards
- Home defense
Barrel longevity, not needing to be babied/cleaned a lot (current AR has gone 3,000+ rounds without a cleaning) and reliability take priority over a bunch of accuracy I don't need or other neat features.
Any suggestions?
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This might be a potential option, although it has a carbine gas length:
http://www.rainierarms.com/?page=shop/de...ct_id=1519
Chrome-lined barrel with Grendel chamber should be well suited to longevity using imported steel-cased ammo.
Drifter
You may have a bit of trouble finding a 16" with mid-length gas system. I usually see that length on 18s. Are you sure you want 3-4 moa at 600? That's puts the bullet in the zip code of the target, but not a whole lot closer.
Get the Alexander Arms 16" barrel/bolt combo for $260. In the meantime, you can shoot very affordable Serbian brass-cased 120gr MPT marketed through Wolf, with the best we've seen so far from AIM Surplus at $12.95 per box of 20. Most have reported surprising accuracy from that Prvi Partizan 120gr MPT.
I agree with LRRPF52 the AA 16" for $260 would be perfect for what you described, that's what I started with and it shot MOA with factory AA Nosler 120 BT ammo, and under 2 MOA with the Hornady 123 factory ammo. It's a great barrel and the price is right.
Pancho Villa
Unregistered
Its stainless steel tho, no?
I have been under the impression that SS barrels have a fairly short lifespan.
Not at all, stainless barrels will wear and accuracy will degrade as they do, but to your standard of accuracy they should be good for 10,000 rounds or so.
Bob
just my 2 cents for what thats worth . id go with a 18" fluted ..the stainless barrels we sale are nitrited just like the one Whelenon got from me .that will increase life.
also fluted 18" will be as light as a 16" and get you just a little more fps and distance...only a few companies have figured out how to nitrited stainless we are lucky to know one. hope i helped a little
Get a 18" mid-length! It is not a huge difference in weight or ascetics, but a big difference in everything else that matters. Plus a carbine length gas system and the Grendel cartridge, are not a good combo. My 2 cents worth.
Pancho Villa
Unregistered
Guys I just want to remind you that this gun is also for home defense.
I also live in a 2br apartment, and I can't just sit in bed if there's a crash in the night as we have a little one on the way and I'm obviously going to make a beeline for his room if I hear something.
So 16" for the compactness is definitely something that I am valuing heavily, here. I also don't want to have to replace the barrel every year so a lifespan longer than 10,000 would be optimal, though if its just not out there, its not out there.
So far the 16" SS barrel/bolt combo looks to be the best option for me, but I am open to people making intelligent arguments about why my needs are best met with a different barrel.
Pancho,
The weight difference between Loki's 18" double fluted barrel(31oz) and AA 16" barrel(29.5oz) is only 1.5oz. and if I take off the muzzle brake and just used a thread protector it's the same length. Don't know if you were planning on using a flash hider or muzzle brake. Something to consider, of course, the 16" barrel w/thread protector would be as short as legally possible.
Pancho: You might want to look at AA's 16" Ultralight Spartan barrel.
It is double fluted and is the lightest 16" barrel I've ever felt at 1.1 lbs.
It is actually a 14" barrel with an integral flash hider( no need to add a separate flash hider) to make it the 16" total.
Combined with a lightweight handguard( I used a Hogue Overmolded one but AA's G10 or MK10 would work well also) and a light buttstock( I used an ACE full length buttstock) you end up with a very light and quick handling rifle.
Mine ended up weighing at just under 5 lbs.
Hopefully this helps give you some more ideas.
Good Luck.
Lee
Pancho Villa
Unregistered
Leo,
Thanks for the input. One question: if I had a mid-length rifle, and wanted to use the mid-length G10, would I need a low-profile gas block or would it fit behind the gas block FSB just fine?
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02-15-2012, 10:57 PM
(This post was last modified: 02-15-2012, 11:50 PM by BjornF16.)
Pancho,
Unless you are dead set on building it yourself, I would consider AA's 14.5" upper (which has a pinned flash hider to make it 16.1"). It's not SS, and is chrome lined.
I'm not sure I'd use an AR in an apartment...I'd go with a shotgun with minimum sized barrel length (18" I think). They aren't too expensive. In that case, I would get a Grendel setup with the 18" barrel/bolt combo in SS, fluted, for my AR needs.
Mid length h/g with mid length gas will fit behind gas block...no low profile req'd.
Pancho: I used the PRI lo-pro that AA sells but it wasn't necessary for it to be lo-pro. I just like the look better.
If you want a cleaner look, you can always use the lo-pro gas block and use a rifle length handguard.
Also, if I did it again, I would probably buy an adjustable PRI lo-pro gas block just in case I wanted the option to adjust the gas pressure.
I've never found it necessary but you never know and the price difference is neglegible in the total cost. It just gives you more options.
Someone on the forum posted about an adjustable gas block that you can adjust from the front so if you went with the longer handguard you could still adjust the gas pressure.
It's pricier and I can't remember the brand but if you do a search it should pop up.
Good Luck.
Lee
An AR-15 platform rifle for use as a home defense weapon in an apartment is a bad idea, with regards to over penetration/collateral damage. If you are dead set on it, then you must use frangible ammo for sure! You also may have to have a carbine length gas system since I don't think anyone makes a 16" with a mid-length system. (i could be mistaken)
Good luck!!
Pancho Villa
Unregistered
For those who think shotguns are A-OK to miss with in home defense...
http://theboxotruth.com/docs/bot2.htm
Bottom line: use good SD ammo and hit what you aim at. If you miss and don't have a brick wall between you and other stuff you could hurt someone.
Pancho Villa
Unregistered
BjornF16 Wrote:Pancho,
Unless you are dead set on building it yourself, I would consider AA's 14.5" upper (which has a pinned flash hider to make it 16.1"). It's not SS, and is chrome lined.
I'm not sure I'd use an AR in an apartment...I'd go with a shotgun with minimum sized barrel length (18" I think). They aren't too expensive. In that case, I would get a Grendel setup with the 18" barrel/bolt combo in SS, fluted, for my AR needs.
Mid length h/g with mid length gas will fit behind gas block...no low profile req'd.
I'm dead set on building it myself. I am running through my 5.56 ammo this year and if/when wolf comes out with the cheap stuff, I'm gonna buy up a new barrel/bolt combo and have that installed and a few thousand rounds of wolf 6.5.
Posts: 1,827
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Joined: Jun 2011
Pancho Villa Wrote:For those who think shotguns are A-OK to miss with in home defense...
http://theboxotruth.com/docs/bot2.htm
Bottom line: use good SD ammo and hit what you aim at. If you miss and don't have a brick wall between you and other stuff you could hurt someone.
I'd lean towards a 14.5" barrel and pin the flash hider if you plan on using it for SD...to get the mid-length gas system you'll have to go with 18" barrel.
I believe Warped harvested a whitetail at ~400 yards with his 14.5" Grendel.
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