Best barrel

[blacklab]

I know this is a common question, but I put together a new rifle for 3 gun this year and I'm not real happy with my barrel choice. So if you were building a new rifle what brand of 18" barrel would you go with for anything from 25 to 500 yards using 55gr. 

 

[ecn515]

I have and have had many barrels over the years. It real depends on what you're trying to achieve with your build aside from just accuracy, as most barrels are capable of great accuracy anymore. Are you trying to build on a budget or are you more concerned with weight?

Seekins Precision makes a killer barrel at a great price, but they are heavy. 

 

Proof Research barrels are stellar, very light and accurate. On the other side they are crazy spendy and have extremely tight tolerances in the chamber so they require special attention. 

Criterion make a good barrel that won't break your bank and is medium weight.Pretty good middle of the road option.  

Personally I would recommend a JP supermatch barrel in the ultra light profile. They are very light and also very accurate while only being slightly more expensive than some other options and come with a bolt headspaced for them. 

I've seen all the barrels that I mentioned produce 1/2 MOA groups religiously for what it's worth. 

[blacklab]

I guess I should be a little more specific. The barrel I have doesn't do well past 300yds. What is a good brand to go with.

[Hi-Power Jack]

Sounds, to me, like ECN answered your question ... 

 

He recommends the JP supermatch in ultra light profile - light and Very Accurate.   

 

AND, all the barrels he mentioned "produce 1/2 MOA groups".

 

What did he miss ?

[blacklab]

3 hours ago, Hi-Power Jack said:

Sounds, to me, like ECN answered your question ... 

 

He recommends the JP supermatch in ultra light profile - light and Very Accurate.   

 

AND, all the barrels he mentioned "produce 1/2 MOA groups".

 

What did he miss ?

I'm not looking for a light barrel, I like a heavier barrel. Just wondering what brand everyone else is using.

[Garmil]

I just picked up a Larue Stealth. Heavy but a great reputation for accuracy and longevity.

[Chip3]

"I guess I should be a little more specific. The barrel I have doesn't do well past 300yds. What is a good brand to go with."

 

What barrel do you currently have and what type of accuracy are you able to produce with it? What features do you want in your new barrel and what are you willing to pay for them?

 

Just went through trying to find a better barrel and picked up a Criterion. Will know next week if it is any better than the faxon that was on the gun. JP, Seekins, Criterion, Larue mentioned above all have pretty good reputations and all make a couple of profiles. Last year everyone raved about the Stretch 16(which doesn't meet your 18" criteria but with intermediate gas is supposedly pretty nice) If you want to spend some money; proof research, kreiger, bartlein supposedly make nice barrels. Green mountain. ar performance, ballistic advantage, and faxon barrels are all supposedly okay and reasonably priced.

 

I do not have a lot of experience with different brands of barrels so when going with criterion I appreciated that it sounded like they stood behind their product and offered straight forward information about their barrels. I went with the 1518S-HY12-N as it hit the features I wanted. I'll post back how it works.

[ecn515]

"Doesn't do well past 300yds." That's a multifacated statement. What ammo are you using? Have you tried other (heavier) ammo? What is your current twist rate? 

I would recommend that whatever you get you get it chambered in .223 Wylde with a 1/8 twist rate. That way you can run a large range of ammo light and heavy and still get good performance from it all. 

For what it's worth, JP makes all sorts of different barrel profiles to satisfy different shooters preferences and needs. I've found the ultra light profile to be perfectly adequate for my applications and I prefer the reduced weight out front, but you can get something heaver as well. It's also not just JP that does that, most manufactures offer lots of different profile options. 

[blacklab]

4 hours ago, ecn515 said:

"Doesn't do well past 300yds." That's a multifacated statement. What ammo are you using? Have you tried other (heavier) ammo? What is your current twist rate? 

I would recommend that whatever you get you get it chambered in .223 Wylde with a 1/8 twist rate. That way you can run a large range of ammo light and heavy and still get good performance from it all. 

For what it's worth, JP makes all sorts of different barrel profiles to satisfy different shooters preferences and needs. I've found the ultra light profile to be perfectly adequate for my applications and I prefer the reduced weight out front, but you can get something heaver as well. It's also not just JP that does that, most manufactures offer lots of different profile options. 

Thanks for the input. Its a 1/8 Wylde but nothing works through it as good as my other guns. I tried a different manufacture for the barrel on this rifle assuming It would be better then my last build and just am not happy with it. So before I drop another $350 on a barrel I thought I would get some other peoples opinions first

[blacklab]

7 hours ago, Garmil said:

I just picked up a Larue Stealth. Heavy but a great reputation for accuracy and longevity.

Thanks, I'll look into them.

[Old3GNR]

I just rebarreled my JP with a 20" Krieger 7.7  twist which was headspaced for a JP bolt  from Brownells.  It has a tight 223 chamber.  

[12glocks]

It could be 55 grain ammo is not doing well past 300.  

[EliteGuard]

I have a 18" JP 1/8 twist medium contour barrel with a matching bolt that I have no problem hitting targets with at 300 yards. I switch to a 69 grain past that. I also have a 20" Krieger 7.7 twist with a matching bolt that doesn't do as good of a job with 55 grain as the JP, but it easily wins when using 69 grain.

 

You could also try different 55 grain ammo or a heavier bullet. The JP barrel I have produces smaller groups with Wolf Gold than PMC for example. I have only experiment with different bullet weights on the Krieger.

 

Edit: Fixed 300 yards being 30 yards.

Edited March 27, 2018 by EliteGuard

[Fallout556]

On 3/22/2018 at 12:37 PM, Chip3 said:

"Just went through trying to find a better barrel and picked up a Criterion. Will know next week if it is any better than the faxon that was on the gun."

 

Chip3, I'm really interested in how this works for you. I'm looking at getting a Criterion Barrel from Compass Lake Engineering in their custom competition chamber. 

[Hi-Power Jack]

13 hours ago, EliteGuard said:

 no problem hitting targets 30 yards.

 

Few of us do ....    

 

I presume you mean 300 yards ?

[EliteGuard]

6 hours ago, Hi-Power Jack said:

 

Few of us do ....    

 

I presume you mean 300 yards ?

 

Yes, 300 yards. At 30 yards I hope you have no problem hitting the target with a rifle. Can always pull out your pistol at 30 yards.

[Screaminyz]

I bought a AR Performance barrel not to long ago because a few guys on here that know there stuff recommended them. I haven’t shot it yet but it is extremely well made and their prices are great. They offer a few profiles that would meet your needs and are 223 Wylde chambered, 5R or 3R rifled. This one looks perfect for what you want to do. Look under 5.56/223 and you will find it towards the bottom.

18" 223 Wylde 5R SPR 3 Gun barrel, 1/2-28 THD

 

http://ar15performance.com

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[NateTSU]

http://ar15performance.com does make great barrels especially if you are looking for something besides a 223 for your ar. I went with a 18" Nordic and am very happy with it, it likes everyhing from light weight varmint bullets to 77gr SMK's. 

Edited March 27, 2018 by NateTSU

[Lhelliott]

I have a Noveske 14.5" barrel that I love. I have only shot it 300 yards but I hit 10" with ease at that range using factory ammo

[Clint U66]

JP 18" Medium Contour with Black Hills 77gr. TMKs is a great combo for once you hit 300 and out.  I use 55 gr. bronze for everything 200 and in but switch to the TMK when you need to hit something AND move it or knock it over at distance.  

[bushmeat]

On 3/20/2018 at 11:49 PM, blacklab said:

I know this is a common question, but I put together a new rifle for 3 gun this year and I'm not real happy with my barrel choice. So if you were building a new rifle what brand of 18" barrel would you go with for anything from 25 to 500 yards using 55gr. 

 

I have had Larue, Rock River and Stag 18" barrels and they all shot Hornady 55fmj sub-moa but only to 200 yards. If the OP holds to his stipulation of 55gr to 500 yards then he has to use Nosler 55BTs and drive them hard. Otherwise, I don't think there's an off the shelf barrel out there that will do it.

As others have mentioned, using 69s or 77s beyond 300 yards is reasonable.

[blacklab]

23 hours ago, Clint U66 said:

JP 18" Medium Contour with Black Hills 77gr. TMKs is a great combo for once you hit 300 and out.  I use 55 gr. bronze for everything 200 and in but switch to the TMK when you need to hit something AND move it or knock it over at distance.  

Clint, how does switching from 77gr to 55gr work. I have my rifle set @ 50/200 and my hash marks on my optic are for 55gr. How much difference is there between the 0. If I load some 77gr and 0 @ 200 about how far off would that put me at 50yds with 55gr? I keep one load for one rifle. I never tried to have 2 different loads for the same rifle to use from 25 to 500yds in the same match. Then again i never thought of using 2 different loads in the same match. I this a common practice?

[MemphisMechanic]

@blacklab I know a couple guys who use walmart-grade factory ammo - or the reloaded bulk equivalent - for the stuff inside 100 yards.

 

They switch to pet handloads when distances stretch out.

[GlennP]

I use a White Oak 18" SPR fluted barrel, which is 1-8 twist and 223 wylde chamber.  It's ~2.3 pounds.  I like it a lot.  It's not the lightest offering but it's still quite light.  Shoots real well, and after mag dumping and shooting a group, it lands in the same place as a cold bore group.  To me that's equally as important as accuracy (We're not bench shooting at matches!) as I don't want to have to remember multiple holds.  I chose this originally over the JP as I have heard of their tight chambers sometimes being picky with reloads.  I put function over every last .001" of accuracy as far as importance; chose the White Oak and haven't looked back.

Edited April 3, 2018 by GlennP

[ecn515]

As has been discussed I make the switch between 55gr and 77gr TMK's as need be. I zero for my 77gr's and just know where my 55's hit in relation to that (which is only about 1/2'' difference) I only really shoot my 55's to 150-200 tops past that and sometimes earlier than that I switch over to my 77's.