Recently, I was able to obtain a Joe Bob Outfitters 16" Stainless Barrel. If you have never heard of Joe Bob or shopped at his online store, you're missing out. Joe Bob provides some of the best service in the industry. The owner himself, answers many of the questions emailed to the shop, that is when he's not busy packing and shipping orders. He's also a down to earth guy with a great sense of humor.

The Barrel is $199.95 from his website. They offer free shipping and an additional 5% off if you are MIL/LE. A pretty good deal, especially during these times. Here are the specs:

*Barrel Length: 16″
*Gas Block Seat: .750" with a 1.9" gas block seating to allow use of any standard or micro gas blocks
*Rifling: 1 in 8 Twist Six Groove Button Rifled
*Weight: 29oz
*Stainless Steel: 416
*Light barrel contour under handguard (.680")
*Heavy barrel contour forward of gas block (.740") to muzzle
*Feed Ramps: M4 Barrel Extension-Heat Treated & Polished 4140 Chrome Moly
*Gas System: Mid-length
*Gas Port Size: .076"
*Chamber: 5.56MM (Will reliably shoot 5.56 or 223 ammo)
*Finish: Bright Stainless, CNC machine turned
*Twist: 1:8 RH
*Thread Pitch: 1⁄2×28"
*Engraved "JBO 5.56 NATO 1:8"



I was immediately noticed the finish of the barrel. It's on the shiny side, and the appearance reminds me of the BCM 410 Stainless Barrels. The following parts were used to finish the upper build:

BCM Stripped Upper
BCM Gunfighter Mod4 Charging Handle
Centurion Arms C4 12" Rail
Joe Bob Outfitters Premium BCG
Rainier Arms Match Gas Block

An AAC 18T Blackout was also used, as I wanted to see how it would shoot suppressed.



To finish off the build, I used an existing Seekins Billet lower, and a Trijicon TR24 optic. Magpul MBUS sights were also added.



My first trip to the range, I put 420 rounds down range. I did not do any accuracy testing at this time, as I just wanted to make sure the gun functioned 100%. Job Bob told me that they used slightly larger .076 Gas Ports to allow the barrel to shoot all types of ammo. The slight overgassing was a compromise. I did not have any FTF or FTE's during the first 420 rounds. It was a mix of PMC, UMC, and Wolf 55gr ammo.

My second trip to the range, was cut short due to time, but I managed to put down 230 rounds all suppressed with an AAC M4-1000 Again no FTF or FTE's.

I'll update this once, I can do some accuracy testing, but match ammo has been hard to come by. So far the barrel has performed as expected. No malfunctions and combat/patrol accurate for my tastes. Stay tuned.