Thumbs Up for Ballistic Advantage Barrels

[usbp379]

Who's been using Ballistic Advantage barrels? I have a 5.56 Hanson profile on a S&W rebuild and a mid-length pencil barrel on another. I've been really pleased with both especially for the money.

Recently I rebarreled my Ruger AR556 (their budget entry direct impingement rifle) with a 16" .gov profile. It has been working well. But I just took advantage of their 4th of July sale and ordered the new 16" carbine gas pencil barrel. This should shave an additional five ounces off the gun.

The barrel has shipped and I should receive it Monday. I'll throw some pictures up as soon as I can.

[UWone77]

I have several, including some Aero Precision marked ones. The 10.5's so far have run pretty well. No issues so far. Good pricing, option of a pinned gas block, not a whole lot not to like about them.

[mustangfreek]

Just picked my first BA barrel , 16" gov/middie hoping to get it together and out soon.

[Dstrbdmedic167]

Been using a 17.7" with good results. It's a shooter.


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[usbp379]

Has anyone tested and verified the claims that nitride works as well or even outperforms chrome lining?

It would be an interesting experiment to take a new BA barrel and compare it to something like a new. Colt 6920 barrel. Shoot each with the same ammo and clean using the same tools and solvents. Shoot 5,000 rounds or something and see if one barrel is holding up better than another.

On a related note I thought Daniel Defense used to offer some nitrided barrels but I don't see anything offered on the website. Did they drop nitride in favor of chrome for durability or something else? Or did I imagine the whole DD thing?

[Slippers]

Has anyone tested and verified the claims that nitride works as well or even outperforms chrome lining?

It would be an interesting experiment to take a new BA barrel and compare it to something like a new. Colt 6920 barrel. Shoot each with the same ammo and clean using the same tools and solvents. Shoot 5,000 rounds or something and see if one barrel is holding up better than another.

On a related note I thought Daniel Defense used to offer some nitrided barrels but I don't see anything offered on the website. Did they drop nitride in favor of chrome for durability or something else? Or did I imagine the whole DD thing?

Shooting 10,000 rounds for testing the durability of a chrome lined vs nitride barrel is why nobody has done it. A new barrel is $200 (or less). 10,000 rounds of ammo is about $3,000. Plus 99% of people shoot less than 200 rounds a year (let alone 5,000+ out of one barrel). Considering the BCM filthy 14 (or 21?) was still grouping okay after 20,000+ with a chrome lined barrel, there's not much to worry about.

Nitride has several advantages over chrome lining on paper, plus many manufacturers have been using it for years without any issues and very long barrel life. You can't go wrong either way.

[usbp379]

Shooting 10,000 rounds for testing the durability of a chrome lined vs nitride barrel is why nobody has done it. A new barrel is $200 (or less). 10,000 rounds of ammo is about $3,000. Plus 99% of people shoot less than 200 rounds a year (let alone 5,000+ out of one barrel). Considering the BCM filthy 14 (or 21?) was still grouping okay after 20,000+ with a chrome lined barrel, there's not much to worry about.

Nitride has several advantages over chrome lining on paper, plus many manufacturers have been using it for years without any issues and very long barrel life. You can't go wrong either way.

I know these things. But is the "hype" around nitriding just that? Is it something that's cheaper to work with than chrome and, therefore, better?

Truth is we all want hammer forged barrels with chrome or some other treatment to help prevent corrosion and increase longevity but most shooters would be just as well off with a plain old unlined barrel. And 4140 steel.

PS--Not trying to dog you but I wonder if nitriding is more of a marketing gimmick.

And, for the record, I have barrels that're chromed and barrels that're nitrided. Both have worked well for me.

[alamo5000]

I asked Ballistic Advantage about the life of their barrels and they said under normal use you will get 15,000++ rounds through it.

I don't know the life of CHF chrome lined barrels but that should give you an indication.

[BoilerUp]

I know these things. But is the "hype" around nitriding just that? Is it something that's cheaper to work with than chrome and, therefore, better?

Truth is we all want hammer forged barrels with chrome or some other treatment to help prevent corrosion and increase longevity but most shooters would be just as well off with a plain old unlined barrel. And 4140 steel.

PS--Not trying to dog you but I wonder if nitriding is more of a marketing gimmick.

And, for the record, I have barrels that're chromed and barrels that're nitrided. Both have worked well for me.

I don't think it is a marketing gimmick at all. It's a well known manufacturing process that has been around for a long time. It happens to cost less and be easier than chrome lining, meaning you can get a barrel that costs less and has the capability to perform as well or better than CL. Remember, Chrome Lining was a solution to a problem. QPQ solves the same problem for a lower cost.

I have a BA 8.5" stainless barrel in 300 BLK that I bought with the pinned gas block. Shoots great and the gas system is perfectly tuned. Hard to comment on accuracy since it's a pistol build and I run a cheap RDS, but I can get dime sized groups at 25 yards when I shoot with a rest and take my time.

[5pins]

I wonder what their criteria for the 15000 round barrel life is. Accuracy, or something else?

[alamo5000]

Not trying to dog you but I wonder if nitriding is more of a marketing gimmick.

I've done a bit of looking into barrels and me and my OCD self doesn't think it's a marketing gimmick at all.

Based on my personal research the thing that makes a good barrel is the people who make the barrel. Being sloppy and not paying attention to detail (or vice versa) trumps a whole lot of other stuff.

As for materials they use to make barrels some are much easier to deal with. It's easier to make a nearly perfect bore with material A vs material B and it can be done in a fraction of the time to much greater tolerances and at a cheaper price.

For your average joe on the street with a semi auto for him to run through 15.000 rounds is going to take a while. That said if you are getting down to brass tacks about it it seems like they are making barrels tailor made to their main market.

If we were all shooting machine guns and had unlimited ammo then the type of barrel choice would be different.

But under normal use a barrel is a wear out part... they are making great barrels using great materials that are easy to work with but deliver in many cases superior performance. It just depends on what your definition of 'performance' is.

Basically trying to always say you need to slap a pain-in-the-ass to make CHF chrome lined machine gun ready barrel on every gun out there merely on the criteria that it might last longer isn't always the best option.

On the flip side having a properly made barrel that is made out of easier to work with materials, that is cheaper, and more precise (and technically could be more accurate), and has more than sufficient barrel life for 90% of the shooting community... I say why not?

At the end of the day we have to look at the total package of what is being delivered and what demands are being placed on it.

[Slippers]

Hammer forged barrels are easier to make, but the investment in machinery is crazy expensive. There's only a few companies in the USA that have the capability, including FN and Daniel Defense.

[alamo5000]

Hammer forged barrels are easier to make, but the investment in machinery is crazy expensive. There's only a few companies in the USA that have the capability, including FN and Daniel Defense.

If you had to estimate, what are we talking? 100K? 200K? Or more than that?

Also since I have never made a barrel what would you think the tool up cost to make other kinds of barrels would be in relation to that?

(asking for my own knowledge here)

[usbp379]

If you had to estimate, what are we talking? 100K? 200K? Or more than that?

Also since I have never made a barrel what would you think the tool up cost to make other kinds of barrels would be in relation to that?

(asking for my own knowledge here)

Closer to $1,000,000 is what I've heard.

Ruger, Remington, FN, Daniel Defense make their own hammer forged barrels. There may be a few others.

[alamo5000]

Closer to $1,000,000 is what I've heard.

Ruger, Remington, FN, Daniel Defense make their own hammer forged barrels. There may be a few others.

If it's a million bucks for just an initial cost outlay not including labor or raw materials... they would have to make a whole lot of barrels to turn a profit...

Now I am kind of curious as to the comparative non CHF types of barrels...what would the general outlay for tooling up for those be?