Choosing a barrel for PCC: Taccom vs. Macon Armory vs. ???

[Racinready300ex]

18 minutes ago, Dirty_J said:

I would tend to agree with that sentiment. There are plenty of folks that shoot the classifiers, but fall short across a 12-18 stage match. 
 

Match performance is way more important than shooting a classifier… but in this case.. you’ve gotta have the splits to hundo some of these shot-out classifiers. Only reason it was included. 
 

Chris Barrett has been shooting more USPSA lately as well… and his 60 second steel matches don’t exactly translate to major match wins for USPSA. 
 

Being good (or even great) and one discipline doesn’t mean that’ll translate 1:1 to the other game. 

 

Same goes for me… I SUCK at steel challenge… I’m A class… 

 

I wish Kenny much success with his USPSA shooting though… the more the merrier! 

 

 

Yeah I don't steel challenge either. I think I'm B class in Open, I shot all the stages once years ago and haven't done it since. 

[mitommy]

I love Taccom products. I currently run a ULW barrel. If that light weight is a detrimental to double taps, the maybe the Super feed 10/16 or 13/16 might be a better option. 
 

 

has anybody tried that ?

Edited November 23, 2021 by mitommy

[jmac2112]

I'd like to hear about that as well.  The 10/16 sounds like a winner, but with my AR-15 I'm used to putting my hand far out on the handguard with my thumb on top.  That could be a painful mistake if I forgot!  I understand that you can use a heat shield along the bottom and sides, so I would just have to remember to keep my thumb (and other fingers) below the edge of the shield.  The 13/16 would allow for a grip close to the one I already use.  In either case, I would want to come up with a load tailored to the barrel.

 

The 10/16 is 19 oz., vs. 15 oz. for the ULW.   4 oz. plus 6" of comp would surely make a noticeable difference.  The 13/16 is 24 oz. with 3" of comp.  I assume you would have to be a pretty experienced PCC shooter to decide which one is right for you and your sport.  For someone in my situation (51 years old, three kids, very little spare time, 0% chance of shooting PCC Nationals) it makes no real difference at all.  AND YET.... I can't stop myself from obsessing about optimizing my new toy!  My mind is a weird place....

 

 

 

 

 

[zzt]

3 hours ago, jmac2112 said:

My mind is a weird place....

 

Perhaps this will help.  The comps on the Taccom hybrid barrels are mostly for looks.  You cannot generate enough gas to make them work more than a tad.  If you are trying to minimize muzzle rise you need a comp like the Brekke or the Limcat.  Even then you are going to have to use lots of a slow powder to generate enough gas to make even a portion of the ports work.  There is another comp on the market that is essentially a V8 with the ports closed off by screws.  You tune the comp to your load by removing screws to open ports in various configurations.

 

TG does not make enough gas to do any of that.  You want to use the same load you use in a pistol; your 135gr TG load at 135PF (IMS).  That means you want a short barrel, as in 5" to 5.5" with a shroud.  If you shoot your existing load in a longer barrel you will increase the PF.  That may be uncomfortable for your 12 year old to shoot.  If you are worried about balance (and you should be)  you can correct that by placing weight on the hand guard.  A finger stop placed in an appropriate position would likely do the trick.

 

If you decide you are willing to make a different load for the PCC, new avenues open up.  I started out with the same idea as you.  My PCC came with a light weight pencil barrel with a one up port, two side port comp.  My pistol load and factory were hotter than I liked in that barrel.  So I tried the Wiland LLW 5.5" barrel with shroud.  I liked it a lot, but I plateaued.  The I decide to make a specific load for the PCC and the longer barrel.  As I mentioned earlier, I am much faster with this combo.  Making different loads for different uses turns out to be not much of a chore.  I load 2000 of each at a time.  So I have 169PF major loads, 144PF minor loads for use with a comp, a 124gr plated load for uncompensated pistols, the same with a poly coated bullet for one club that does not allow plated or jacketed on steel, and a 109PF load for PCC.  I also have a couple specialty loads that I load 500 at a time for once a year special matches.

 

So, if you still want to use your pistol load, buy the Taccom ULW barrel.  Use the top lug and sent your bolt to them to cut the recess for it.  Add a little weight to the hand guard, if necessary, the get the perfect balance.  At 135PF you are good for knock down steel, USPSA and SCSA.  You will not be perfectly optimized for all, but the gun will feel the same for all disciplines.

 

BTW, I tried adding weight to my LLW barrel and it worked perfectly after some experimentation.  Since I only shoot my PCC for SCSA and two special matches, I'm happier with the 16" barrel.  YMMV.

[Silver_Surfer]

Another reason I liked the Taccom, it's loud. I was getting way to many reshoots because the timer wasn't picking up the shots for one reason or another. 

[TRUBL]

53 minutes ago, zzt said:

 

Perhaps this will help.  The comps on the Taccom hybrid barrels are mostly for looks. 

On the ULW barrels.....the ones that have the shroud.....yup, the cuts in the front of the barrels was really just for looks....you'd surprised at how many still want that anyways....

 

On the 10/16 and 13/16 barrels......that brake just works....period. And both barrels shoot VERY flat.

 

On the ULW and XLW barrels......the pressure curve drops off a alot faster than the longer rifled barrels and you work with your load and/or recoil system to get that dot to return to POA as fast as you can. I've always said, I don't care how much my dot moves.....as long as it gets back to POA before I can pull the trigger again (meaning double taps). Me being an older guy, my splits have gone WAY up!! HOWEVER....we've got guys in the shop that are M's and GM's that can do splits faster than I ever could....as well as Kenny Nagata out in California using the ULW and XLW barrels in both USPSA and Steel Challenge.....reaching very fast, lightning speed splits. I have to believe in the case of the light barrels.....it's all how you set up your load and or recoil system.

[jmac2112]

TRUBL: Just to clarify, are you saying that your ULW barrel will jump more in recoil than the 10/16 or 13/16, but that with a good buffer system and enough practice, you can split just as fast with one as with the other?  I've been shooting pistol for several years now, and I know that at 7 yards I can easily keep shots in the A zone with .20 splits just by practicing and knowing the recoil characteristics of the pistol.  With a rifle, it seems like it would feel like cheating!

 

I feel spoiled for choice with the offerings on your website alone, not to mention all the other barrels out there.  I've got about five of your items (not just barrels) set up for notification when they come back in stock!

 

[Racinready300ex]

27 minutes ago, jmac2112 said:

TRUBL: Just to clarify, are you saying that your ULW barrel will jump more in recoil than the 10/16 or 13/16, but that with a good buffer system and enough practice, you can split just as fast with one as with the other?  I've been shooting pistol for several years now, and I know that at 7 yards I can easily keep shots in the A zone with .20 splits just by practicing and knowing the recoil characteristics of the pistol.  With a rifle, it seems like it would feel like cheating!

 

I feel spoiled for choice with the offerings on your website alone, not to mention all the other barrels out there.  I've got about five of your items (not just barrels) set up for notification when they come back in stock!

 

 

You just have to stretch the distance out a little more when you're shooting the rifle. This is a group I shot doing doubles with my PCC testing buffers. This was with a 13/16 at 20 yards with about .16 splits. 

[LowSpeedHighDrag]

On 11/22/2021 at 10:57 PM, mitommy said:

I love Taccom products. I currently run a ULW barrel. If that light weight is a detrimental to double taps, the maybe the Super feed 10/16 or 13/16 might be a better option. 
 

 

has anybody tried that ?

I have an ULW barrel and an old 14.5” carbon fiber wrapped barrel plus comp.  I tried the ULW at 10 yards, and had good luck with it.  Felt better than the other, and was plenty accurate.

Then I tried to zero it at 25 yards, and ran into trouble.  It didn’t really like the 115 gr. rounds all that much, and while it preferred the slower 147 gr. one better, it still had about a 4 to 5 inch group size.

Switched back to the 14.5” barrel.  Much more accurate at that distance.

 

[TRUBL]

On 11/24/2021 at 3:15 PM, jmac2112 said:

TRUBL: Just to clarify, are you saying that your ULW barrel will jump more in recoil than the 10/16 or 13/16, but that with a good buffer system and enough practice, you can split just as fast with one as with the other?  I've been shooting pistol for several years now, and I know that at 7 yards I can easily keep shots in the A zone with .20 splits just by practicing and knowing the recoil characteristics of the pistol.  With a rifle, it seems like it would feel like cheating!

 

I feel spoiled for choice with the offerings on your website alone, not to mention all the other barrels out there.  I've got about five of your items (not just barrels) set up for notification when they come back in stock!

 

not saying more......the ULW is just a way different impulse, very fast. And yes, you know that setting up the recoil system is key no matter what barrel and/or load you run

[jmac2112]

Thanks, TRUBL!  I like what I see/read about your new air cushion recoil system, and I'm still deciding between your ULW barrel and the 13/16 barrel.  All of this is moot at the moment, of course, because they are all out of stock.  Any idea when any or all of those items will be back?

 

[mrvip27]

7 hours ago, jmac2112 said:

Thanks, TRUBL!  I like what I see/read about your new air cushion recoil system, and I'm still deciding between your ULW barrel and the 13/16 barrel.  All of this is moot at the moment, of course, because they are all out of stock.  Any idea when any or all of those items will be back?

 

 

If it makes you feel better, my 10/16 from Taccom is super accurate at 25yds with just basic S&B 124gr going through it!