What is your favorite barrel?

Discussion about 5.56mm ARs

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A-Game
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What is your favorite barrel?

Post by A-Game »

What is your favorite 5.56 or .223 Wylde barrel?
Why is it your favorite?
Give some details about the specs please.

Brand
Rifling
Chambering
Profile
Length
Gas system
Steel type
Fluted/type
Threaded
Crown
Coating
Finish
Twist
Most accurate bullet shot
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plant.one
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Re: What is your favorite barrel?

Post by plant.one »

i dont own one yet, but my ideal wylde build is a stainless 20" WOA heavy varmint 1:8 on a side charger. i had originally considered it as a 12 twist build, but i already have a .204 if i want to launch a 40gr bullet in the 3600 fps neighborhood 8)

it would definatly go to adco for a thread job, and then potentially head to meloniting for the added corrosion resistance and other perks of meloniting.


why a WOA barrel? why ask why? (bud dry?!?!) :mrgreen:
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TMD
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Re: What is your favorite barrel?

Post by TMD »

Wylde chambers are a hell of a marketing scheme for people who think .223 and 5.56 are different. Wish I thought of it. Thankfully with the advent of the Internet all the millions of people who fired hundreds of millions of rounds of these are now safe.
Nic56
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Re: What is your favorite barrel?

Post by Nic56 »

I have no idea what YOU are looking for, but my favorite barrels so far are my 2 DPMS .223 chambered stainless heavy barrels. One is 24" fluted. The other is a 20" non-fluted. Both are rifle length gas. Target crown, no threads. Both are 1:9 twist. I bought the 20" first and figured I wanted one fluted and longer. Both are EXTREMELY accurate. I just finished breaking in the 24" barrel and have not had time to work up any loads, but what I shot through it toward the end grouped well. I think it was Barnes 55 grain HP at the end. I mostly used cheap bulk ammo at first, which is not a good indicator of accuracy.

I have not had a chance to shoot the the 20" as much as I like, but I have had some very nice groups with 50 grain Hornady v-max. I shot some Sierra 69 grain ammo through it too, and it grouped pretty good, but I think the v-max was overall better. I'm guessing my 24" will do better with the heavier bullets, but don't know for sure.

I used both rifles on the bench. They are heavy. For a stationary rifle, they are fine, but I wouldn't want to use them as a carry rifle. Based on my 24" barrel, I think a 20" fluted barrel would not be that bad though.
300BLK AR-15 with 10.5" Noveske barrel (1:7 pistol length gas)

300BLK 16" AAC Handi Rifle (1:7 twist)

300BLK 16" AR-15 with 16" PSA FN barrel upper (1:8 pistol length gas)
Sky_DiveR
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Re: What is your favorite barrel?

Post by Sky_DiveR »

My last 2 223/5.56 barrels have been from AR 15 Performance. Melonite treated, 1 in 8 twist Hybrid 5R rifling, mid-length gas system, 5/8x24 thread (1/2x28 could also be purchased), reasonable priced, and shoots lights out (for me). Keeps up with my WOA and Shilen for half the price. YMMV
Wanabgunsmith
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Re: What is your favorite barrel?

Post by Wanabgunsmith »

From customar.net
Lotharwalther lw50 SS
Polygonal rifling
223 wylde
1-8 twist
16"/mid length
Threaded standard(forgot what it is for 223 ar's 1/2x24?)
Melonite treated(the best possible way)
Supposed to be really accurate. Havnt assembled it yet
But it was only 300$ w/shipping
az-jim
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Re: What is your favorite barrel?

Post by az-jim »

Nic56 wrote:I have no idea what YOU are looking for, but my favorite barrels so far are my 2 DPMS .223 chambered stainless heavy barrels. One is 24" fluted. The other is a 20" non-fluted. Both are rifle length gas. Target crown, no threads. Both are 1:9 twist. I bought the 20" first and figured I wanted one fluted and longer. Both are EXTREMELY accurate. I just finished breaking in the 24" barrel and have not had time to work up any loads, but what I shot through it toward the end grouped well. I think it was Barnes 55 grain HP at the end. I mostly used cheap bulk ammo at first, which is not a good indicator of accuracy.

I have not had a chance to shoot the the 20" as much as I like, but I have had some very nice groups with 50 grain Hornady v-max. I shot some Sierra 69 grain ammo through it too, and it grouped pretty good, but I think the v-max was overall better. I'm guessing my 24" will do better with the heavier bullets, but don't know for sure.

I used both rifles on the bench. They are heavy. For a stationary rifle, they are fine, but I wouldn't want to use them as a carry rifle. Based on my 24" barrel, I think a 20" fluted barrel would not be that bad though.

Same here, except my 24" is not fluted and its a 1-8 twist. I use mine for paper punching F-class and long range steel shooting. Its easy enough to shoot I even have my wife shooting 750+ yards with it.
Yeah, its heavy I think mine was 12 pounds or so without a mag in it and that was with a std A2 stock, now it has a PRS stock on it.
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Nic56
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Re: What is your favorite barrel?

Post by Nic56 »

az-jim wrote:Same here, except my 24" is not fluted and its a 1-8 twist. I use mine for paper punching F-class and long range steel shooting. Its easy enough to shoot I even have my wife shooting 750+ yards with it.
Yeah, its heavy I think mine was 12 pounds or so without a mag in it and that was with a std A2 stock, now it has a PRS stock on it.
Yeah, I like mine. They are fun to shoot. I shot the 24" fluted barrel the other day using Hornady 75 grain BTHP match bullets. I was using CFE223 powder. At 125 yards, I was a little disappointed in my groups. Part of the issue was me, as I was not in the groove. I calmed down towards the end of my ladder test and shot the best group on my last 5 rounds. I have not had great success with the CFE223 powder in my other rifles either, so I am going to try a different powder. The 1:9 barrel may not like the 75 grain bullets, but some of my groups indicate it does. I just need to try again.

I cannot imagine shooting at 750 yards. Finding a place to shoot that far here is very difficult.
300BLK AR-15 with 10.5" Noveske barrel (1:7 pistol length gas)

300BLK 16" AAC Handi Rifle (1:7 twist)

300BLK 16" AR-15 with 16" PSA FN barrel upper (1:8 pistol length gas)
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A-Game
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Re: What is your favorite barrel?

Post by A-Game »

Nic56 wrote:
az-jim wrote:Same here, except my 24" is not fluted and its a 1-8 twist. I use mine for paper punching F-class and long range steel shooting. Its easy enough to shoot I even have my wife shooting 750+ yards with it.
Yeah, its heavy I think mine was 12 pounds or so without a mag in it and that was with a std A2 stock, now it has a PRS stock on it.
Yeah, I like mine. They are fun to shoot. I shot the 24" fluted barrel the other day using Hornady 75 grain BTHP match bullets. I was using CFE223 powder. At 125 yards, I was a little disappointed in my groups. Part of the issue was me, as I was not in the groove. I calmed down towards the end of my ladder test and shot the best group on my last 5 rounds. I have not had great success with the CFE223 powder in my other rifles either, so I am going to try a different powder. The 1:9 barrel may not like the 75 grain bullets, but some of my groups indicate it does. I just need to try again.

I cannot imagine shooting at 750 yards. Finding a place to shoot that far here is very difficult.

If you ever do want to shoot at 600-750 yards give the Berger 90gr vld target a try. It doesn't drift as much in the wind as the 69, 75, 82 GR bullets drift. But they may not be stable from a 1:9 twist barrel.

Varget powder is what a long range rifle builder friend of mine swears by for .223.
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BC98
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Re: What is your favorite barrel?

Post by BC98 »

Brand: Centurion Arms
Rifling: CHF
Chambering: 5.56
Profile: "Lightweight"
Length: 12.5"
Gas system: Carbine
Steel type: "Machine Gun barrel spec" per CA's website
Fluted/type: None
Threaded: Yes, 1/2"-28
Crown: Unknown
Coating: Chrome-lined
Finish: Manganese phosphate
Twist: 1:7
Most accurate bullet shot: 77gr SMK (loaded in a Mk262 clone load) 0.76" @ 100 yards (5-shot groups off shooting rest)

This is my favorite barrel because it's pure fun to shoot and I like showing the uninitiated folks at the range that an SBR can be every bit as accurate as a precision rig. Plus, I've got no qualms about running this gun hard (3 carbine classes plus a little bit of time on a FA lower) and it's accurate enough to shoot in 2-gun matches. CA concervatively gasses their barrels so it's a dream to shoot both suppressed and unsuppressed. The above-mentioned group was shot after roughly 5000 rounds were put down the tube.
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