Good AR barrels?

[Schmo]

What is a good AR barrel manufacturer? Of course I want it as accurate as possible, but this will be an 11.3” or 11.5” barrel, so it’s not a long distance shooter. My go to brand has been Ballistic Advantage, and they’re decent. Faxon is similar price range, but I’ve never had one. There’s KAK, but my guess is no better than BA or Faxon. Obviously, Bartlein and Proof make good stuff, but don’t have quite that coin. Who makes a good barrel without breaking the bank?

 

[Formidilosus]

What is a good AR barrel manufacturer? Of course I want it as accurate as possible, but this will be an 11.3” or 11.5” barrel, so it’s not a long distance shooter. My go to brand has been Ballistic Advantage, and they’re decent. Faxon is similar price range, but I’ve never had one. There’s KAK, but my guess is no better than BA or Faxon. Obviously, Bartlein and Proof make good stuff, but don’t have quite that coin. Who makes a good barrel without breaking the bank?

Criterion.

 

[eric1115]

What is a good AR barrel manufacturer? Of course I want it as accurate as possible, but this will be an 11.3” or 11.5” barrel, so it’s not a long distance shooter. My go to brand has been Ballistic Advantage, and they’re decent. Faxon is similar price range, but I’ve never had one. There’s KAK, but my guess is no better than BA or Faxon. Obviously, Bartlein and Proof make good stuff, but don’t have quite that coin. Who makes a good barrel without breaking the bank?

Never owned one yet, but my next SPR barrel will probably be a White Oak Armory. Very good by reputation, and reasonable prices.

 

[NorthIdahoDude]

What is a good AR barrel manufacturer? Of course I want it as accurate as possible, but this will be an 11.3” or 11.5” barrel, so it’s not a long distance shooter. My go to brand has been Ballistic Advantage, and they’re decent. Faxon is similar price range, but I’ve never had one. There’s KAK, but my guess is no better than BA or Faxon. Obviously, Bartlein and Proof make good stuff, but don’t have quite that coin. Who makes a good barrel without breaking the bank?

A little off the beaten path, but Odinworks makes remarkably accurate barrels at a pretty reasonable price (especially if you wait and catch one on sale - I think all of mine have been sub-$300). They are definitely a cut above the BA/Faxon/etc class of barrels. I've never had a Proof/Bartlein/etc class AR barrel, but all of the Odinworks barrels I've ever had were substantially more accurate than any of the BA/Faxon/etc barrels (and I've owned/still own a pile of BA and Faxon barrels, including Faxon Match barrels).

 

[wind gypsy]

I'm not a particularly experienced or knowledgeable guy on ARs but i've seen some writeups that indicate Geissele puts out good barrels so I'd take a look there.

https://www.eurooptic.com/geissele-automatics-barrels

 

[NorthIdahoDude]

Looks like they only do 10.5 and 12.5 tho. But smoking sale on right now for this 12.5 ($145 - thats near BA or Faxon price)

Premium AR-15 Barrels | Shop Now

No matter what barrel you want to run on your AR-15 platform, ODIN Works has the right barrel for your needs. Manufactured here in Idaho, USA. Customize your rifle with our different calibers, lengths, profiles, and gas placements. Guaranteed 1" MOA at 100 yrds.

www.odinworks.com

 

[RockAndSage]

Criterion.

I've been looking at picking up a couple of their chrome-lined barrels, one possibly to have chambered to .223 AI to build up some brass for an RSS. Are you aware of any problems in re-chambering a chrome-lined AR barrel?

Not hard-use, but it'll get shot quite a bit in slow-fire low round-count sessions, and wondering if there's anything to be concerned about with the lining coming off if the chamber's cut at all.

 

[Schmo]

Thanks all! Obviously, there are a ton of manufacturers that I didn’t list. I’m trying to figure out where to draw the line regarding price vs accuracy. This build lives in my truck for a worst case scenario (not trying to be Tactical Timmy), and is fed 77 TMK factory ammo. Most use cases would be sub-100 yards, but, the ballistics should allow for usage out to 300. I currently have a 10.3” BA barrel on it, but my BCM handguard extends about 1” past the shoulder, and isn’t large enough diameter for my suppressor to recess inside of it, so I figured easiest thing was get a tad longer barrel and be done. It loves with a Holosun dot optic, but I want to pick up an LPVO for an alternate optic, as last week I carried it in the whitetail woods a couple times, and I like to have a 1-4 or 1-6 on it for those use cases.

 

[Ajsomp]

BCM, criterion, geissele, Rosco, FN, Hodge

 

[Formidilosus]

I've been looking at picking up a couple of their chrome-lined barrels, one possibly to have chambered to .223 AI to build up some brass for an RSS. Are you aware of any problems in re-chambering a chrome-lined AR barrel?

Not hard-use, but it'll get shot quite a bit in slow-fire low round-count sessions, and wondering if there's anything to be concerned about with the lining coming off if the chamber's cut at all.

The risk is chiping, or causing the chrome lining to start flaking. It can be done correctly, just find someone that knows what they are doing.

 

[RockAndSage]

The risk is chiping, or causing the chrome lining to start flaking. It can be done correctly, just find someone that knows what they are doing.

Very good to know it is a danger. Any recommendations on who to send it to would be appreciated.

 

[Schmo]

Looks like they only do 10.5 and 12.5 tho. But smoking sale on right now for this 12.5 ($145 - thats near BA or Faxon price)

Premium AR-15 Barrels | Shop Now

No matter what barrel you want to run on your AR-15 platform, ODIN Works has the right barrel for your needs. Manufactured here in Idaho, USA. Customize your rifle with our different calibers, lengths, profiles, and gas placements. Guaranteed 1" MOA at 100 yrds.

www.odinworks.com

That’s super tempting

 

[Formidilosus]

Very good to know it is a danger. Any recommendations on who to send it to would be appreciated.

I don’t have anyone now- the ones I used to use are retired. I would ask Mike at Alpine rifles (@longrangelead) to do it now.

 

[RockAndSage]

I don’t have anyone now- the ones I used to use are retired. I would ask Mike at Alpine rifles (@longrangelead) to do it now.

Awesome, thank you.

 

[justinspicher]

An SBR length AR with an LVPO is a handy setup. I love mine, carry 90% of the time I’m in the woods.

As for a barrel, I’ve mainly used BA for most of my builds and have never had any issues. I just had to send a criterion back because it was causing extraction issues. I have my first faxon pencil style barrel so I don’t have much experience with it.

 

[goalie]

I really like my Centurion 12.5" with a smaller sized gas port for suppressed use. It's accurate and reliable without an adjustable gas block.

For longer, Criterion and White Oak have treated me well.

 

[Ajsomp]

I really like my Centurion 12.5" with a smaller sized gas port for suppressed use. It's accurate and reliable without an adjustable gas block.

For longer, Criterion and White Oak have treated me well.

Centurion is great.

My white oak 18” stainless was by far the most accurate barrel I’ve shot in an AR. Absolutely drove tacks with 77 grain

 

[Hydra6]

Craddock is another interesting AR barrel company.