New Barrel For AR-15

[Festus Hagen]

I bought a complete package AR in .223 Wylde from Ground Zero Precision a couple of years ago and have not been happy with the accuracy. I am thinking about getting a new barrel for it, But, I know nothing about the various manufacturers. Also, I'm thinking of going from the 16" barrel to a 20". I will say that I've only put a couple of hundred rounds through the barrel I have now. Looking for advise. Thanks.

 

[etmo]

Lots of options, depends on what you want and how much you want to spend.
Names like Compass Lake, Lilja, Kreiger, Shilen probably are worth considering.

 

[baboon]

What's the barrels twist rate & how many grains are the bullets are you shooting?

 

[jrbfishn]

I have one from Delta Team Tactical, 18" I think. Only so, so with factory ammo but it really likes my reloads with Dogtowns. I added a generic 3lb trigger from them as well. Tac driver to 300yds with my reloads.

Sent by an idjit coffeeholic from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[FireInTheWire]

Can you expound on your accuracy issues? Have you played with what your feeding it? Factory or reloads? What kinda groupings?

Barrels are expensive, hate to see someone piss money away when it's not needed.

 

[TexMex247]

As far as AR barrels go, the you get what you pay for rule definitely applies. I recently went through a few different brands of 18 and 20 inch barrels. None of the cheap ones will consistently shoot sub moa.
Even a ballastic advantage SDM profiled barrel I have struggles to maintain moa accuracy. Most of mine are 1:8 twists. The one barrel that will group sub moa for me is by white oak armament. They are on par with compass lake and maybe krieger.
The other advantage of the woa barrel is the deeper chamber which is a plus for the handloader. I did finally settle on a bullet that has several of them shooting right at 1 inch but after running through the full spectrum of bullet weights, I found almost no manufactured ammo that ran well in all of them.

 

[jordanmills]

Since this seems to be the thread for it... what about 20-24" barrels with a 1 in 10-12 rate for shooting something light and fast? 40 grain 223, etc?

 

[Festus Hagen]

Can you expound on your accuracy issues? Have you played with what your feeding it? Factory or reloads? What kinda groupings?

Barrels are expensive, hate to see someone piss money away when it's not needed.

It's a 16" barrel with a 1:8 twist. I've been shooting 62 grain FMJ's out of it mostly. As far as groupings go, there really aren't any that's the problem. One will be high and right, the next low and left, and the third will be off the paper. I know I'm not that great a shot, But, I can hold better groupings then that. I am not a reloader, so everything I've shot is factory.

 

[Charlie]

It's a 16" barrel with a 1:8 twist. I've been shooting 62 grain FMJ's out of it mostly. As far as groupings go, there really aren't any that's the problem. One will be high and right, the next low and left, and the third will be off the paper. I know I'm not that great a shot, But, I can hold better groupings then that. I am not a reloader, so everything I've shot is factory.

You should hand load for accuracy, not so you can get thousands of rounds stored awaiting the big wars, etc. You can load slow and precise with a minimum of equipment and vary the powder manufacturer, amount of powder, bullet, etc. It's not difficult and one does not really need to spend a lot of money.

 

[baboon]

Try some 70 & 77 grain bullets

 

[EZ-E]

Ive got 2 ar's that shoot great groups. Both franken builds, one has a 16" Stag 1/7 barrel, the other has a 16" Wilson Combat 1/8 SS barrel. Both are sub moa if i do my part. I have another upper from Palmetto State with a 16" SS 1/8 that shoots pretty good but not as tight as the other 2.

 

[GonzoLonzo]

Hey Bud before you spend money on another barrel, get some 69 grain match ammo. Make sure your scope rings are snug and not moving. Set your rifle with sandbags in the front and rear and see what you can do.

 

[ZX9RCAM]

Has anybody else tried groups with it?

 

[jordanmills]

You should hand load for accuracy, not so you can get thousands of rounds stored awaiting the big wars, etc. You can load slow and precise with a minimum of equipment and vary the powder manufacturer, amount of powder, bullet, etc. It's not difficult and one does not really need to spend a lot of money.

That's why I started. I have a fancy-pants five stage press with powder measure, bullet feeder, etc... and I don't use any of those gadgets. Powder is measured by hand on digital scale, all the components are set by hand, I stop/check/measure/weigh at each progression. I could crank out ammo fast if I loaded up the hoppers and yanked the handle like granny at the slots, but I don't need ten thousand rounds to hit a deer at 300 yards.

 

[Txhillbilly]

1. Quit shooting piss poor FMJ ammo. FMJ ammo isn't ever going to be very accurate.
Go buy some premium Match grade ammo or some name brand hunting/varmint ammo,then you should see some accuracy.

2. A Chrome lined barrel will never be as accurate as a premium stainless steel match grade barrel.

3. Buy a real barrel from a quality barrel maker,not one from some AR parts seller.
An real accurate barrel is going to cost you around $300 and up.
White Oak,Shilen,Lilja,Kreiger,etc.,all make very accurate barrels.

 

[FireInTheWire]

Ok, crappy ammo is gonna give ya bigger groups... like maybe 3-4in groups. The fact that your missing paper, signifies that something major is wrong with your rifle.

Or you had too much coffee

 

[robertc1024]

I'm kinda surprised no one said something about second tier manufacturers like Faxon. They aren't a Shilen or Lilja, but they are a step up from your run of the mill cheapos.

I have seen another GZP Wylde barrel not shoot for crap.

 

[satx78247]

I bought a complete package AR in .223 Wylde from Ground Zero Precision a couple of years ago and have not been happy with the accuracy. I am thinking about getting a new barrel for it, But, I know nothing about the various manufacturers. Also, I'm thinking of going from the 16" barrel to a 20". I will say that I've only put a couple of hundred rounds through the barrel I have now. Looking for advise. Thanks.

Festus Hagen,

ImVho,

IF you decided that you NEED a new barrel for your rifle & AFTER you have tried some MATCH GRADE AMMO & IF are still dissatisfied with the results, call SHILEN BARREL CO in Ennis, Texas & talk to the NICE lady, who answers the phone.
She will tell you to ship the rifle to their company to have a new barrel made, installed & test-fired by an expert marksman.

Fwiw, I've had several Shilen barrels made for the last number of years & ALL of them were GREAT quality & sold at a reasonable price.
(At age 73, I no longer have the patience to try to get a mediocre barrel to shoot well.)

just my OPINION, satx

 

[ZX9RCAM]

.

 

[Maverick44]

I'm kinda surprised no one said something about second tier manufacturers like Faxon. They aren't a Shilen or Lilja, but they are a step up from your run of the mill cheapos.

I have seen another GZP Wylde barrel not shoot for crap.

Faxon makes some really good barrels. I have a 10.5" 7.62x39 and a 14.5" 5.56 pencil barrel with an integrated flash hider (none of that pinned and welded stuff) from them and like them both. Both are more than accurate for what I wanted them for. The ONLY issue I had, and it's an issue that will effect very few people, is that the throat on the 7.62x39 is tight enough that I cannot reliably shoot cast bullets out of that gun. There have been zero issues with jacketed bullets. The gun is 100% reliable. Unless you are one of those weird people like me who try to shoot cast in anything that's even remotely feasible, you won't have an issue with a Faxon.