24" AA upper

[BjornF16]

Considering adding a 24" barrel to my safe...a few questions for the horde:

1. Does the billet upper make a difference for accuracy in 24" barrel lengths?

2. What advantage to the monolithic upper?

3. Any perceivable accuracy difference between cut rifled and Shilen barrels?

Thanks,

[bwaites]

1&2, Probably and the monolithic upper is stiffer than a standard upper with quad rail. It also allows placement of rail accessories and scopes wherever you want them and makes sure that they are in the same plane. .

3. Great question, and depends on the barrel. Shilen's do really well at bench rest matches. For the same price, I would want a cut rifled barrel just because, but....good button rifled barrels are incredibly accurate, and I doubt anyone can tell the difference between two of the same quality.

[LRRPF52]

For the heavier & longer barrels, I think it makes sense to go with a tight-fitting billet or beefier upper. The recoil forces of the Grendel are just enough to warrant more mass in the receiver when dealing with longer pipes, to help fight fatigue from barrel whip.

Barrels: It's my experience that each barrel has its own personality that one must explore before making a comparison to another. I will say that when I was doing accuracy testing for a precision rifle maker day after day, from 0900-1700 at least 3 days per week, I gained even more of a respect for Krieger barrels. I found it much easier to shoot sub 1/2 MOA groups with Kriegers than LW any day, for example.

One particular .300 Win Mag was a one-holer, and I wanted the rifle, it was that good, but a customer was already waiting for it. The confidence you have in a barrel that is a "hummer" is something that is priceless, in my opinion.

B Waites' 28" .18" grouping Grendel is like that, as is my .260 Rem Bartlein-piped AR10, although slightly looser at 100yds for .4" groups, but when I line up with anything 1" or larger within 500yds, I know I'm getting a hit, it just depends where on the target I want the hit.

I just think your chances of running into a hummer are higher with certain companies, like Krieger, Bartlein, Lilja, Obermeyer, Satern, Shilen, Douglas, etc.

[Deezil]

subscribing, my next Grendel will be a long barrel target/hunting rig

[BjornF16]

Getting ready to pull the trigger (sts)...

If I understand bwaites and LRRPF52 correctly, the monolithic upper is stiffer than the regular upper with quad rail attached, but not as stiff as the AA billet upper.

:confused: Will the monolithic be stiff enough for the 24" barrel? (or will an average shooter be able to see any difference between monolithic and billet?)

To get an AA billet complete upper, have to go to the AA GSR cut rifled barrel route ($2200)...the monolithic upper with Shilen barrel is available as options in AA Overwatch ($1350).

[bwaites]

Bjorn, that's a fair question, and I would call Bill Alexander personally and ask. He has made lots of comparisons, and he isn't afraid to tell you which is going to work for your application.

Bill