best barrel manufacturer for ar-15

[litenite99]

over the last year i have been building an ar-15 (.223) cal for a bench rifle. With accuracy mostly in mind, if any of you have any suggestions for barrel manufactures i would appreciate it.

[ed308]

AR15 Performance. I get around 1/2" MOA in their barrels that I have in .223 Wylde, 6.8, .308 and 270AR. But all of my ARs have free float handguards, are lapped (upper receiver) and have quality triggers.

[litenite99]

ed308 you are the third person to mention AR performance to me. I have them at the top of my list at the moment along with krieger. I do shoot out to 600yrds or sometimes further with my .223, that was my only concern with the barrel profiles that AR performance sells. Do you have any experience at distance with AR Performance barrels that would ease that concern vs a heavier profile barrel?

[DubC-Hicks]

I, as well as others, have had great luck with Faxon barrels. I have their 18" Gunner profile which is government profile up to the gas block, then pencil to the muzzle. It'll do 1" at 100yds with 77gr OTM.

I'd expect their heavier match barrels to be even more impressive.

[4EVERM-14]

Douglass barrels have been a steady performer for me.

[ed308]

ed308 you are the third person to mention AR performance to me. I have them at the top of my list at the moment along with krieger. I do shoot out to 600yrds or sometimes further with my .223, that was my only concern with the barrel profiles that AR performance sells. Do you have any experience at distance with AR Performance barrels that would ease that concern vs a heavier profile barrel?

600 yards and plus is out there. I don't shoot my .223s and other AR to that distance, only my Savage 10 in .308. You may try calling Harrison Beanne at AR15 Performance and ask him. The guy is a wealth of knowledge about barrels. Good luck.

[gshayd]

Black Hole Weaponry......

[jglsprings]

So the rules for the high power matches are different than the "bench" matches.

You said "bench" did you mean "bench"? Wouldn't you pick a nice thick, truck axle profile barrel, for bench shooting. Verses a GI profile for high power?

[CarJunkieLS1]

AR Performance barrels are great barrels I have 2 of them and they are superbly accurate. I've also been very impressed with my X-caliber barrel. If either of those two have what you are wanting then you won't be disappointed.

[Reloadron]

I went with a stainless 24" Kreiger and have no complaints. The 24" heavy barrel made for a heavy rifle but I use it off the bench and only off the bench. I built the thing years ago and the choices were more limited that what is available today. What twist rates were you considering?

The rifle is the 4th in from the left so you can see it is long. With the 1:7 I like the Sierra Match King 80 grain which I single feed.



Ron

[Chainsaw.]

White oak has been a top performer for years. Been very happy with mine.

[Bartholomew Roberts]

Lilja, or pretty much anything MSTN sells (though I still don't trust carbon fiber wrapped barrels in centerfire calibers)

[Reloadron]

Yes, White Oak and Lilja are a few more which are highly rated. You may have done better asking which barrels to avoid. Maybe like does anyone have a barrel they dislike?

Ron

[Chainsaw.]

You are actually right Ron, my $80 barrel actually shoots fantasic. My question is will it kast?

[litenite99]

I just really wanted to see what everyone was using and how satisfied they are. I have my own personal range i recently built and have been learning how to shoot at longer ranges. Im not looking to buy a barrel profile based on any competitive rules, so pretty much whatever seems to work best for the job! I just want to be as satisfied as possible the first time! Im sure most of you are like me, I have a stack of gun parts laying around that for one reason or another did not serve the purpose that I intended when ordered. Im really just trying to avoid that, and buy the best barrel for the job! The gun im building will do nothing but be shot prone or on a bench so if the barrel weighs 5lbs it really doesnt matter to me. Im stuck on just how far i can shoot, and how accurate i can possibly make this gun.

[rpseraph]

Because you said you were looking for performance, I am guessing budget is a secondary concern...

I have an 18" Odin Works Intermediate Gas 3-Gun profile (heavy-ish) barrel that is way more accurate than I am. I put a new trigger in, and I can hit sub-MOA groups no issues!

[Road_Clam]

Ask any competitive high power shooter what the best compromise of precision, value and longevity is and the will answer White Oak Armarment.

[Bartholomew Roberts]

To be honest, even the budget stainless barrels sold online consistently shoot better than I can. Of course, most of those use a hefty barrel profile too; but you don't need to spend a lot of money for great accuracy.

[okayletsgo]

I found to start, an Odin Works Wylde Barrel gets the job done: https://www.wingtactical.com/firearm...-multi-length/

[themalicious0ne]

Criterion Barrels are very accurate as well.

[bacardisteve]

I have a 18"Kreiger and a 20" douglass both are very accurate .5 moa and better occasionally when I do my part with good handloads the Kreiger will go .25 moa with 5 shot groups.

[bfoosh006]

Check out the barrels from Compass Lake Engineering.

They make very good AR barrels and uppers.

Bartlein Barrels
Krieger Barrels
Douglas Barrels
Criterion Barrels

http://www.compasslake.com/index.php?main_page=index