AR Barrel Questions

[teraph]

My wife has decided to allow me to build another AR-15, so...I started looking at some different options and was intrigued by the "Recce Rifle" concept. This being said, it seems like a lot of companies are offering recon, recce, or socom style barrels (Noveske, BCM, Wilson Combat, AR-15 Performance).
My questions are:
Whats the benefit of Stainless over Cold Hammer Forged (CHF)? and what's the difference between 410 and 416?
Chrome, Melonite, or Ion Bond (for CHF or Stainless)?

Budget is always a good thing and the Noveske is at the high end of what I've been allotted for my barrel. As for twist rate, as long as its 1 in 8" or 1 in 7" its ok by me. The big thing is that I want this rifle to be able to withstand combat zone like conditions (this is going to probably turn in to my a problem arises/home defense/classes/work rifle) with normal maintenance. As well as having great practical accuracy. The better the accuracy, the easier it is to get rounds on target.

Thanks in advance

[ShootDontTalk]

After building AR's for a lot of years there are some things I have come to understand. One is that a lot of the stuff out there is simply sales material and is not any more functional than anything else. I think you need to define exactly what you want the rifle to do before you start searching for the pieces. For a home defense rifle that will survive training, you want 1) simple and 2) reliable. Contrary to everything marketing types tell you, you don't need a super accurate, tack driver of a barrel for such things. Ask yourself how many shots you need to make at 400 yards to defend your home. Ammunition selection makes far more difference than barrel quality. If you want super accuracy, go to someone like White Oak or another barrel maker that specializes in real match barrels. Mind you, you don't really need one, but get a real one if you just have to have it. Besides, the real barrels are frequently less expensive!

I would recommend you get or attend an AR-15 Armorer's Course if you really want to stake your life on a rifle you build, if you haven't already done that. As always, my opinions.

Edit: I just reread and saw the word "work" there. If you need an AR for work, I'd just go get a Colt LE.

[gigag04]

Whats the benefit of Stainless over Cold Hammer Forged (CHF)?
Stainless - tighter groups | CHF - longer life [At least that is what the experts say...it will cost you thousands of dollars to shoot out any barrel, so the cost of the barrel is negligible at that level]

what's the difference between 410 and 416?
416 has more sulfur and is thus softer (ie easier to machine)

Chrome, Melonite, or Ion Bond (for CHF or Stainless)?
Different linings with different alleged benefits.

Unless shooting 3 gun and making lots of money, I would get a CHF barrel from DD, BCM, or even Adco and call it good.

[teraph]

Thank you for the info and suggestions. I think that I will be going with a CHF barrel.

But I have one last question: I would like to use a Midwest Industries free float SS series hand guard and was wondering what it would do with a M4 profile barrel (the barrel starting off thin and then thickening up about halfway down)? Would it allow the barrel to flex more, being free floated with an M4 contour?

P.S. Even though it may not be a great indication of my knowledge base, I did end spending a good deal of time as my unit's Armorer and found that I like the M16A2 better than the M4 for everything but weight and length. I found that with the longer sight radius I was a whole heck of a lot more accurate with it. As for the work that I want the rifle to do.....I am currently part of an LLVI team and the LT essentially said that when we deploy, as long as an upper is Mil Spec or better, he and the CO will look the other way.....providing I attach it once we leave the wire.
Thanks again!

[gigag04]

If you're going to take this thing somewhere where you will get shot at, I would opt for a rifle built by Daniel Defense or BCM, with an extended handguard of you're choosing. That way you can put whatever iron sight on it you prefer, much farther out and get that nice long sight radius of the 20" guns.

I'm sure you are great at putting them together, but armorer's training is mainly for maintenance (IMHO). Assembly /= engineering in my mind, and there are checks at DD, BCM, and others, that would sway my decision that way.


Good luck, and thanks for your service.

[ShootDontTalk]

I have to disagree on the Armorer's training. An AR is a modular rifle and the techniques to disassemble or assemble are pretty simple. But you do need to know the specialized techniques and tools required to do it right. Building barrels? Yes, you need more than the Armorers course, but then you need a full gunsmith education to do barrels for anything.

Most AR houses are really assembly points. Very, very few actually build anything from scratch. Colt being one that actually builds barrels (and more) from scratch. The trickiest part of an AR, short of building barrels or machining lower receivers is the trigger group. However, almost anyone with a bit of common sense and patience can be taught to do them right by an expert. And, I might add this. Mil-spec is the least understood term there is when applied to AR's.

However the advice here is good: buy a good rifle (unless you are a certified Armorer I would not build a rifle to take into combat) because other lives depend on your rifle. Thanks for your service and stay safe.

[teraph]

Thanks yet again for the sound advice.
And y'all are right, the course was based on maintenance but we were taught how to do most everything except barrel and head spacing. My intent was to have a certified gunsmith do the barrel stuff for me. And it looks like the wife and I will have to have a nice discussion regarding equivalent exchange....rifle for ?????

[ShootDontTalk]

Sorry it took a while to read your last. One of the great benefits of the AR rifle is that you don't headspace it. The barrel and barrel extension are machined together. So if you put an in-spec bolt assembly into an in-spec barrel, you should not have any headspace problems. In the many dozens of barrels I have seen, I only saw one that was a little tighter than I would have liked. The recommended procedure for headspace is to get some headspace gauges and use them to check for a go or no-go headspace. If the barrel/bolt fails the test, the solution is to replace the bolt with a new one. You should never mix and match used bolts with barrels. Very simple procedure and engineered precisely so that depot level maintenance would not require complicated procedures such as are required for more complicated designs.

Everyone who builds AR's should have a set of gauges. They can be found at Brownells or other suppliers and provide a level of assurance about the barrel/bolt combination. Good luck.