Accuracy Evaluation of a Bravo Company 14.5” Barrel

[Dave Timm]

Great post! I look forward to seeing more tests like this. Any plans to try different ammo with this barrel?

[Molon]

Any plans to try different ammo with this barrel?

Average extreme spread of two, 10-shot groups fired in a row from the bench at a distance of 100 yards using the same barrel.


 Hornady 75 grain 5.56 TAP T2: 2.33”

 SSA 64 grain BSB: 2.42”

 Federal XM855: 3.26”



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[Will@AR15Hunter]

Excellent review Molon, as usual.

From looking at this test, it looks like my Colt 14.5 SOCOM offers superior precision. EDIT: Assuming it performs like yours did, which I do know it's been a shooter for me. I only installed a 1.5-4x Leupold on it at one point, but never tried to test precision. But, with irons, it's done very well for me out to 500 yards.

[Molon]

I performed an accuracy (technically precision) evaluation of the Colt SOCOM barrel following my usual protocols. All shooting was conducted from a concrete bench-rest from a distance of 100 yards (confirmed with a laser rangefinder.) For the accuracy evaluation, the barrel was free-floated using a Daniel Defense Omega rail.




This accuracy evaluation used statistically significant shot-group sizes and every single shot in a fired group was included in the measurements. There was absolutely no use of any Group Reduction Techniques (e.g. fliers, target movement, Butterfly Shots).

As many of the significant variables as was practicable were controlled for. The free-float handguard of the carbine rested in a Sinclair Windage Benchrest, while the stock of the carbine rested in a Protektor bunny-ear rear bag. Sighting was accomplished via a Leupold VARI-X III set at 25X magnification and adjusted to be parallax-free at 100 yards. Wind conditions on the shooting range were continuously monitored using a Wind Probe. The set-up was very similar to that pictured below.





The Wind Probe.





Using match-grade hand-loads topped with Sierra 55 grain BlitzKings, I fired three 10-shot groups from the Colt SOCOM barrel in a slow, steady manner from 100 yards. Those groups had extreme spreads of:

0.90”
1.02”
0.93”

for a 10-shot group average extreme spread of 0.95”. All three of the 10-shot groups were over-layed on each other using RSI Shooting Lab to form a 30-shot composite group. The mean radius for the composite group was 0.35”.

The smallest 10-shot group.





The 30-shot composite group.






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[DutyUse]

I'd have never guessed the colt barrel would shoot so much better then the BCM


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[DirtDiver06]

Molon, excuse my naivety, but how can a non match grade, 5.56NATO chamber, Colt SOCOM barrel be basically as accurate as a match grade Noveske Recce barrel?

makes me feel like I've wasted money on Noveske barrels

[alamo5000]

Molon, excuse my naivety, but how can a non match grade, 5.56NATO chamber, Colt SOCOM barrel be basically as accurate as a match grade Noveske Recce barrel?

makes me feel like I've wasted money on Noveske barrels

What kind of ammo are you using? Do you reload?

While I cannot say anything about Noveske (I've never owned nor shot one) but they pretty much have 'legendary' status.

As for just about any barrel within reason, 'accuracy' is obtained through the proper mix and match of the right ammo with the rifle. This has been an ongoing discussion here recently.

Basically if you're lacking accuracy, odds are it's an ammo problem not a barrel problem.

If you're not going to reload for ultra precision accuracy then the next best thing is to buy ammo and test it and find out which one is satisfactory for your needs.

I guess it's sort of like buying a Lambroghini. Can it go 200mph? Yes. But how often do you drive it 200mph?

[SINNER]

I believe I have stated in a thread on this site before that I find factory Colt barrels to be some of the most accurate barrels I own. That statement is not said lightly. Trust me there is no joy when you find that a 16" LW Colt barrel will outshoot a new barrel that costs almost as much as the entire Colt rifle. As to the comment above about Noveske barrels, I have yet to own a Noveske that impressed me with their accuracy. The absolute disappointment I felt with a Noveske 6.8 barrel that hovered around 1.5 MOA accuracy with much effort into handloads pretty much cured the last remnant of the Iron Cross disease I once suffered from. I find their barrels over priced and over rated.

[DirtDiver06]

I've never personally grouped a Noveske SS barrel. I was commenting from Molons' past post where he grouped some.

Considering his results... I'm dumbfounded trying to see the reasoning for the high price tag I've been paying for Noveske SS barrels and... what makes a factory barrel better from a manufacturer will a mil contract that has no requirement of such accuracy.

I was a big Noveske fan, but now it's like my world is crumbling

Maybe they maintain a given level of accuracy longer than a comparable stainless barrel...? Maybe they have less instances of stuck cases when run hard with a suppressor...?

I kinda refuse to believe Noveske barrels have no feature to make them worth the money when compared to any other barrel
type capable of near or equivalent accuracy.

[Molon]

Noveske 20” HBAR

This stainless steel barrel has an HBAR profile, polygonal rifling, a 1:7’ twist and the Noveske Match mod 0 chamber.




















Using hand-loaded Sierra 55 grain BlitzKings, as a control load, this barrel turned in a 10-shot group with an extreme spread of 0.726" from the bench-rest at 100 yards.. That’s not too shabby for an AR-15 with a barrel that has a chamber that “was developed to fire MK262 Mod 1 on AUTO in hot environments." For the Internet Commandos in our viewing audience, I also fired a 3-shot group at 100 yards. It had an extreme spread of 0.175”















Additional accuracy testing using the 20” Noveske barreled AR-15 and Nosler 77 grain BTHP at a muzzle velocity of 2800 fps was conducted in the same manner as described previously Three 10-shot groups were obtained from 100 yards. Those groups had extreme spreads of:

0.880”
0.857”
0.845”

for a 10-shot group average of 0.860”. These groups were over-layed on each other using RSI Shooting Lab to form a 30-shot composite group which had a mean radius of 0.29”.







Noveske 16" SS Recon barrel











This barrel also has the Noveske Match mod 0 chamber and a 1:7" twist. The barrel has a "medium contour," which in my testing to date seems to offer the best weight-to-accuracy ratio for AR-15s that will be carried. Testing was done at 100 yards from a bench rest. A Leupold VARI-X III set at 25X magnification was used for sighting. I obtained three 10-shot groups using one of my standard hand-loads for 77 grain Sierra MatchKings. Those three groups measured as follows:

0.81”
0.93”
1.01”

for an average 10-shot extreme spread of 0.92".

These three groups were over-layed on each other using the RSI Shooting Lab software program to obtain a 30-shot composite group. The mean radius for this composite group measured 0.28”. Here’s a pic of the best 10-shot group of the 77 grain MatchKings.













Noveske 16" N4 light Recce

Noveske's chrome-lined barrels have 5.56mm NATO chambers and 1:7" twists.












I performed an accuracy evaluation of my Noveske 16” N4 Light Recce upper following my usual protocol. Testing was performed from a distance of 100 yards. Firing was conducted from a concrete bench with the free-float handguard resting in a Sinclair Bench Rest. The rear stock of the rifle rested in a Protektor bunny-ear bag. Wind conditions were monitored using a Wind Probe. A Leupold VARI-X III set at 25X magnification and adjusted to be parallax free at 100 yards was used for sighting.

Using hand-loaded, match grade ammunition I fired three, 10-shot groups in a row. The extreme spreads of those groups measured:

1.29”
1.18”
1.31”

for a 10-shot average extreme spread of 1.26". I over-layed those three groups on each other using RSI Shooting Lab to form a 30-shot composite group. The mean radius for the composite group was 0.37”.

After firing the above three groups, I fired an additional five, 10-shot groups in a row using the same set-up for a total of eight, 10-shot groups fired in a row. The average extreme spread for all eight groups was 1.24”. I over-layed all eight groups on each using RSI Shooting Lab to form an 80-shot composite group. The mean radius for that composite group was 0.39”.












Noveske 14.5” N4 light carbine






The 14.5” N4 barrel was tested in the same manner as described above. Three 10-shot groups fired from 100 yards using match grade hand-loads had extreme spreads of:

1.029”
1.360”
1.275”

for a 10-shot group average of 1.22”. As above, I over-layed the three 10-shot groups on each other using RSI Shooting lab to form a 30-shot composite group. The mean radius for that composite group was 0.37”.






Noveske 14.5” “Skinny” Barrel




The Novekse 14.5” “Skinny” barrel was tested while wearing a Centurion free-float rail. For this barrel, I fired eight 10-shot groups in a row from the bench at a distance of 100 yards using match-grade hand-loads. The extreme spreads for those eight groups were as follows:

1.78”
1.89”
1.68”
1.71”
1.81”
2.12”
1.60”
1.84”

For an average extreme spread of 1.8” and a composite mean radius of 0.55”.







Noveske 16" SS Recon barrel in 6.8mm SPC











Accuracy testing was performed from a bench-rest at 100 yards using a Leupold Vari-X III set at 25 power for sighting. Wind conditions were monitored using a Wind Probe. All groups consisted of 10-shots each. Prior to testing the Hornady ammunition, I fired three 10-shot groups in a row using a control load that utilized hand-loaded 115 Sierra MatchKings. The extreme spreads for those groups measured:

0.99”
1.00”
1.12”

for a 10-shot group grand average of 1.04”. Following my usual procedure for evaluating the accuracy of ammunition, I overlayed these three 10-shot groups on each other using the RSI Shooting Lab software program to form a 30-shot composite group. The mean radius for this 30-shot composite group was 0.37”.


best 10-shot group










Noveske 16" SS 9mm Parabellum barrel






For those that might not already be aware of this, Winchester’s website hosts some useful information about their Ranger-T series of ammunition. The website has an online terminal ballistics comparison tool that is quite informative. For example, if you are interested in seeing the difference in terminal performance between the 9mm 147 grain Ranger-T load and the 9mm 124 grain +P Ranger-T load in bare gelatin and after passing through four layers of denim (basically the IWBA test protocol) simply select those loads from a couple of drop down menus and voila!










The Winchester website also hosts downloadable “spec sheets” (in MS Word format) for all of the Ranger-T loads. Of particular interest to me was the accuracy “spec” for the 124 grain +P Ranger-T load. Winchester states the accuracy spec for the 124 grain Ranger load is an average extreme spread of 1.25” for (five) 5-shot groups at a distance of 50 yards. While I’m certain Winchester uses some type of machine-rested test fixture to obtain those results, that level of accuracy from factory loaded handgun ammunition is still extremely impressive. After reading the above spec, I was curious to see just what level of accuracy the 124 grain Ranger-T load would deliver for me.

Normally, when I evaluate the accuracy of ammunition, I shoot 10-shot groups. However, since Winchester’s accuracy spec was stated in 5-shot groups, I decided to follow their protocol for comparison.

The vehicle used for this accuracy evaluation was a Colt 6450 9mm carbine with a free-floated stainless steel Noveske barrel. Shooting was done from a concrete bench at a distance of 50 yards. Caldwell front and rear bags were used to stabilize the firearm. Sighting was done through a Leupold Vari-X III set at 10X magnification and adjusted to be parallax free at 50 yards. A mirage shade was attached to the Leupold. Wind conditions were continuously monitored using a “Wind Probe.”



Colt 6450






Prior to testing the Ranger-T load, I fired five, 5-shot groups of a control load consisting of hand-loaded 121 grain HAP bullets with the above set-up at 50 yards. Those five groups had extreme spreads of:

0.95”
0.97”
1.00”
1.07”
0.97”

for an average extreme spread of 0.99”.


In the same manner that the control loads were fired, I obtained five, 5-shot groups from 50 yards using the Winchester 124 grain +P Ranger-T load. The extreme spreads of those groups measured:

1.73”
1.88”
1.87”
1.89”
1.64”

for an average extreme spread of 1.80”. Not quite up to the level of Winchester’s “spec sheet,” but still very good for factory loaded handgun ammunition. While it is common convention to evaluate the accuracy of shot-groups using the extreme spread, a much more in-depth and reliable predictive indicator of the accuracy of shot-groups is the mean radius. Using the same shot-groups from above, I over-layed the five targets from each load on each other respectively using the RSI Shooting Lab software program. The mean radius was then calculated for the 25-shot composite groups formed using this method. The mean radius for the 121 grain HAP control load was 0.44” while the mean radius for the Winchester 124 grain +P Ranger-T load was 0.71”.










14.5" Noveske Afghan

I’ll be adding the results for this eighth barrel in the near future.







….

[gatordev]

I can't possibly match the detail and data that Molon has provided over the years, but one thing to keep in mind with Noveske, at least a few years ago, is that regardless of how good their SS barrels were, their CL barrels were pretty fantastic compared to other CL barrels on the market at the time. My (forgive me) pre-death N4 barrel is a 1.5 MOA shooter (or better if someone else is behind it) easy. Put a can on it, and the shift is minimal and it's still very accurate.

My Colt SOCOM barrel has been a very good shooter, as well. So much so that I'd like to replace my standard M4 profile barrel on another rifle with another SOCOM, but so far I can't make it happen because I'm a cheapskate. But I have no doubts another SOCOM would be a great shooter.

[Aragorn]

Damn good, if surprising, info.

So for non-match ammo, M193 and the like, any specific barrel recommendations? I kinda feel like a retard asking, buts that's the vast majority of what I shoot.

[DutyUse]

Nicely done Molon


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[alamo5000]

Nicely done Molon

"Holy crap! That was awesome!" is more like it... LOL!!!!



I am gonna pick Molon's brain here one of these days...

I would like to see any tests that were done with Rainier's Select line of barrels. I have the Select Medcon and so far I've been doing pretty good with it. But I would like to see the results in the hands of a pro and in a more controlled environment. Normally I don't care if it's windy, I just shoot.