Yet, another thread about barrels. Thank you...

[Txfilmmaker]

Okay. Here's the start of another barrel discussion. After reading my post, if someone has a link to another discussion that answers this, please direct me there. Some of you may know, that I have won a bunch of contests. I now have some pretty impressive parts. :) This is the only way I would get an AR at this time in my life. It's been pretty amazing! I'm down to only needing sights and a barrel to finish. I have some extra parts that I'm trying to sell locally. If that doesn't work, I will post them in the classified section of my favorite forum, WEVO. Since the parts that I have won are all high-quality, I would like to get a high-quality barrel to match with them. I think the parts I'm selling will allow me to get any of the barrels listed below. It may be that the higher-priced ones are a little bit too high. Still, I would like to know your thoughts on these barrels. I don't want to overthink it. The top two are the most expensive. I'm perfectly fine with the less expensive ones in the list. I'm just looking for feedback. I believe all of these fall in the "purpose of use" category that I have for this rifle. Thank you in advance.

Rainier Arms Mountain Series Cold Hammer Forged Barrel 5.56mm NATO - 16 Mid Weight 26oz?

Centurion Arms Hammer Forged Midlength Barrel - 16LW 26oz - Kind of light weight, but not that light. I don't want a pencil barrel. Approx. same weight as the Mountain Series.

Daniel Defense 16" 5.56MM MID-LENGTH,1:7,GOV PROFILE 1.7 lb 27.2 OZ.

Mega 556 Barrel - 16 Finished in Black Nitride Coating
GUARANTEED TO SHOOT SUB 1 MOA @ 100 YARDS WITH MATCH AMMO!!
31.2 oz. heaviest of them.

Ballistic Advantage 27 oz.
5.56 – 16” BA Hanson Midlength 1.9″
Is 1.9" related to the gas block?




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[UWone77]

What's the purpose of this rifle going to be?

[Ride4frnt]

UW, still got that fluted Rainier for sale? May be a good fit for him.

[UWone77]

UW, still got that fluted Rainier for sale? May be a good fit for him.

I do, which is why I kind of wanted to get an idea of what he wanted to do with his gun. I saw he liked the Mega barrel for the 1 MOA at 100 yards with match ammo.

The other 3 above the Mega are more of less hard use, general purpose barrels.

[DutyUse]

I'd echo UW and then also ask will this be your only current firearm for self defense?

Both the centurion & RA barrels are made by FN and are excellent quality. If this was my only AR I would go that route personally. If properly cared for your kids will still be shooting this barrel.

However another good choice would be Ballistic Advantage Nitride , especially for the price and quality level.

Edit: I was gonna link a voodoo barrel but I'm using a phone and it's to much work, however UW also has the same barrel I would have suggested for sell. Sounds like you two need to talk :D

[rob_s]

However another good choice would be Ballistic Advantage Nitride , especially for the price and quality level.

How does one measure the quality level?

[BoilerUp]

How does one measure the quality level?

With a quality level meter



Alternatively, you can just use a quality level:



Or, you can estimate it by taking into consideration things like materials, workmanship, accuracy, and customer service. That is the method I generally use since I don't want to invest in the special instrumentation/tooling.

[rob_s]

Or, you can estimate it by taking into consideration things like materials, workmanship, accuracy, and customer service. That is the method I generally use since I don't want to invest in the special instrumentation/tooling.

which we base on... What, exactly?

See when I see this barrel which is a known product from a known entity that is $230
http://www.bravocompanyusa.com/BCM-1...d-16%20std.htm

And then I see this barrel that appears to be representing an equal product for $70 less
https://ballisticadvantagellc.com/?p...odern-series-2

The LAST thing I think is "ooooh, that must be a good value". What I think is, "I wonder what corners they are cutting to save that $70".

[DutyUse]

which we base on... What, exactly?

See when I see this barrel which is a known product from a known entity that is $230
http://www.bravocompanyusa.com/BCM-1...d-16%20std.htm

And then I see this barrel that appears to be representing an equal product for $70 less
https://ballisticadvantagellc.com/?p...odern-series-2

The LAST thing I think is "ooooh, that must be a good value". What I think is, "I wonder what corners they are cutting to save that $70".

I also thought the same way and was skeptical because of the price. Now I would never steer anyone away from BCM because I've had great success with them, but looking at my one example of Ballistic Advantage Modern series barrels compared to a BCM they are both superb. Now your correct only thousands of rounds and many examples can quantify this, but a quick peek around Google shows many other similar stories of success.

[BoilerUp]

which we base on... What, exactly?

See when I see this barrel which is a known product from a known entity that is $230
http://www.bravocompanyusa.com/BCM-1...d-16%20std.htm

And then I see this barrel that appears to be representing an equal product for $70 less
https://ballisticadvantagellc.com/?p...odern-series-2

The LAST thing I think is "ooooh, that must be a good value". What I think is, "I wonder what corners they are cutting to save that $70".

You might want to reconsider. Although I understand the "you get what you pay for" concept, you've actually picked an example where the BA barrel might very well be the better value. For starters, in the example you cite, the BCM barrel costs $91.95 more (for me, living in WA, as BA offers free shipping). That is 57% more expensive than the BA barrel, so how much better does the BCM barrel have to be to justify that cost? Both BCM and BA use Chrome Moly Vanadium per the same MIL-B-11595E spec. But the BCM barrel is chrome lined whereas the BA barrel is QPQ treated. These are two very different manufacturing processes and I believe the chrome lining is a more expensive process which is also harder to get the precision required to turn out a very accurate barrel whereas the QPQ may actually provide a superior result at a lower cost. Personally, unless some clear evidence comes out against QPQ to convince me otherwise, I may never buy another chrome lined barrel for an AR.

I also have to say that a lot more goes into setting a price than cost and a lot of costs that have to be recovered by the sales price have nothing to do with the quality of the product you are buying (e.g., rent on the nice storefront, a high end website, sending a few people to set up and man a booth in Las Vegas once a year, photographers, attractive models, website advertising, etc). Selling to the military can also have a large impact on your pricing policy to the consumer/commercial market.

For guys that are trying to squeeze what they can out of every buck they make, there is a lot of opportunity to be found if you dig into the true value proposition of what is available in the market. Expensive or Mil-Spec aren't always better and the technology is always evolving.

[Hmac]

See when I see this barrel which is a known product from a known entity that is $230
http://www.bravocompanyusa.com/BCM-1...d-16%20std.htm

And then I see this barrel that appears to be representing an equal product for $70 less
https://ballisticadvantagellc.com/?p...odern-series-2

The LAST thing I think is "ooooh, that must be a good value". What I think is, "I wonder what corners they are cutting to save that $70".

Yeah, I have to say I tend to think the same thing. The reason I skipped the Sionics barrel I was looking at in favor of the VooDoo Innovations barrel I bought.

This area is ground zero for Huldra, which uses the VooDoo melonite barrels. I know and shoot with the company principles. I've seen them shot a lot, and over many thousands of rounds, enough to think that melonite barrel was worth a try in putting together the rifle I just built. I also have a Noveske "double chrome-lined" with over 10,000 rounds, and a couple of BCM CHF 11.5 barrels I've been shooting for a few years. No complaints with any of them. They're all acceptably accurate and so far holding up fine, as near as I can tell.

[DutyUse]

How does one measure the quality level?

Don't know about you guys but I choose critical gun parts by using the eenie meenie miney mo method :)

[alamo5000]

How does one measure the quality level?

This is a very good question that a lot of people should be asking.

I think 'quality' is all relative to what one expects. Most people have a 'sharp picture of a fuzzy concept' when it comes to most things, guns included. I never owned an AR until recently so I am not very qualified to say one way or another, but I would say 'quality' is a function of 'intended use'... which many people fail to define.

For me I personally took a leap of faith and bought stuff... but I only did so after asking a lot of different people about it and taking special note of the people whom I felt had a 'special knowledge' of things and whom I very much respect their opinions. In fact several members of the forum, like Stickman, and UWone and others doled out some pretty sound advice, but it was only as good as the concept of the gun that I had in my mind.

At the end of the day I do not believe there is just one 'good' manufacturer.... I believe there are many...giving us all a whole lot of nice choices where we patronize.

All I know is I am overjoyed with the parts I have. CMT Tactical uppers and lowers are fan-friggin-tastic. And it's not just form but function, and value. Their 'no roll pins' assembly is just genius.

Rainier Arms has their crap together. No doubt about it.

SLR Rifleworks gave me a very good product.

CMC triggers... I like it. A LOT.

Please note this does not leave anyone out of my willingness to try and test out their stuff. Quality and value... no doubt make a good couple. That said, once again, in a crowded market place of so many vendors that do turn out great products... 'quality' is a function of intended use... but then again there are things that just flat out suck... but I am talking amongst those companies that make good solid parts.

[Txfilmmaker]

Yes. This will be my only current AR for self- defense. I will take a class from time to time when I can afford it. As an example of what complete rifle I would buy if I had the money. DDM4v11 or BCM KMR. Not looking for a bench gun, but a decently accurate multipurpose rifle.


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[Txfilmmaker]

I like the idea of a hard use barrel that's pretty accurate. Unfortunately right now, it probably won't see much hard use until I get better off financially.


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