Barrel Selection vs Hindsight

[Allen Roberts]

This is some information I will pass on to new builders. Are you putting your gun together for say hunting? For just recreational, occasional use, or is the pursuit of accuracy, paper shooting more important. I got into shooting because of hunting. If I would have known target shooting and accuracy would dominate my thoughts, I would have started over. I spent $700 dollars ( plus time and ammo) on 3 different barrels. I kept one and sold two of them to other people. Both of them will turn out to be shooters and I recovered some of my money. However, doing over I would have waited the same $700 on a Lilja, bartlein barrel. Again, know what you’re wanting to do. I spent the same money and came back to find out I went the long, hard, way. Seems like I‘ve done this before.

[tdbru]

Allen,
there are few rifle enthusiasts that settle for mediocre accuracy. so your advice is sage. and i see the same advice from Klem over and over. If you're going to do your own build, get the best barrel you can afford. or just save up some more for it. of all the rifles I've had re-barreled, and most were bolt guns, getting a top line barrel has never been a disappointment accuracy wise. with the bolt guns, i also had to find a competent gunsmith too. with these ARs, you can do it your self with a modest assortment of hand tools, so you are correct, pick a great barrel to start with, and enjoy.
-tdbru

[FLshooter]

Been there done that. It’s better to buy once, cry once.I can get a Bartlein barrel for around $600 and be happy for a long time. A Criterion can be had for half that price.And you can be happy with one of those too.Depends on your budget.The mass produced barrels are a crapshoot. All they do for me is waste ammo.

[stubshaft]

Determining the accuracy expectations that will suit YOUR needs is critical to insuring your satisfaction in your build. What do you want your AR to do? Hunt? Competition? Plinking? How accurate do yo need it, 2 MOA?, 1 MOA? less? Where I live factory ammo for a Grendel is virtually non-existent or prohibitively expensive so my only recourse is to handload and tailor my loads to the gun. I have been able to get mass produced barrels to consistently shoot .5 MOA groups and have had medium priced barrels under .25 MOA. If someone is insistent on shooting nothing but factory ammo it would behoove them to buy the most expensive barrel that has proven itself to be accurate with similar ammo. If you handload then you may try a mass-produced barrel and find an accurate load. I will say that I have tweaked some cheap barrels by hand lapping them and usually bed them with SS shim stock and Loktite 640.

The bottom line is that you need to decide what you want, then work to accomplish it. Just screwing a Bartlein or Lilja in an upper is not going to magically going to give you a great rifle and only being able to afford a CBC or BA barrel in not going to produce a junker.

[Jakal]

You need to know the mission the gun is going up against.
I build with this in mind,
1st priority. Dedicated accurate Self Defense/ Hunting rifle. Yardage needs to be known. Size the caliber appropriately.

2. Dedicated accurate paper puncher/long distance rig. Could be used for hunting but usually bullets are match grade and not made for hunting and the rifles themselves are usually heavier by nature.

4 different missions, but mission overlap works well in this instance.

[Allen Roberts]

Federal fusion 150 grain ammunition is my best combination of accuracy and for hunting in my grendel.

[biodsl]

I suspect many of us do the same, Allen. I'm contemplating selling a couple barrels I've accumulated over the years and really learning to use one, precision Grendel. A firearm isn't fun if I can't hit with it. Having one, quality rifle that you know well has it's benefits.

Of course none of this is happening until I'm done with my Monster 18"/107gr SMK/ACSS scope DMR experiment.

[A5BLASTER]

Determining the accuracy expectations that will suit YOUR needs is critical to insuring your satisfaction in your build. What do you want your AR to do? Hunt? Competition? Plinking? How accurate do yo need it, 2 MOA?, 1 MOA? less? Where I live factory ammo for a Grendel is virtually non-existent or prohibitively expensive so my only recourse is to handload and tailor my loads to the gun. I have been able to get mass produced barrels to consistently shoot .5 MOA groups and have had medium priced barrels under .25 MOA. If someone is insistent on shooting nothing but factory ammo it would behoove them to buy the most expensive barrel that has proven itself to be accurate with similar ammo. If you handload then you may try a mass-produced barrel and find an accurate load. I will say that I have tweaked some cheap barrels by hand lapping them and usually bed them with SS shim stock and Loktite 640.

The bottom line is that you need to decide what you want, then work to accomplish it. Just screwing a Bartlein or Lilja in an upper is not going to magically going to give you a great rifle and only being able to afford a CBC or BA barrel in not going to produce a junker.

That's totally correct. It won't magically make someone a expert marksmen. But it will give that someone a way better chance their gun won't be a turd.

Old saying is still true. Only rich men can afford cheap barrels.

At the end of the day, the price point and quality of a barrel must be based off it's desired mission.

If all I want is a cheap, basic profiled 16 inch with mid length gas to blast wolf fmj's at the range and take deer/hog hunting for say under 200 yards. I'm not going to buy a 600 dollar custom barrel.

But if I want a tack driving custom made 16 inch that resist heat dispersion on groups for longer strings and that will fill a mid range hunting role and mid to long range range gun. I'm not going to buy a 80 dollar BCA for the mission at hand.

[Mesa1978]

Some of this is expectation based as well. I have an AR Stoner that shoots 3/4 MOA and a Shilen that shoots the same. The Stoner gives me a lot more satisfaction because my expectations for it were very low. I realize it is more likely hit or miss with a cheap barrel.