Good barrel 20 inch ar project

[roadrunner681]

So I'm planning on finally assembling a ar15 I want to build a gun that's very accurate but I don't want it way 15 pounds so whitch barrel profile should I go with? Now I'm realistic about this if the gun can hold 2 moa with match ammo that seem like a realistic goal. If you have any suggestions on handguards that would be nice too I want a light weight hand Guard that I can mount a proper sling on. Oh and I will be using di gas system

 

[seedubs1]

Why 20 inch? Are you needing the extra velocity? Accuracy in what regard? One shot from a cold barrel / hunting accuracy? 10 shoots in short succession? A lighter profile will heat up quicker, so it won't be as accurate as a comparable bull barrel if you need it to be accurate after 30 shots in a short amount of time. But it's going to be heavy, and if you're using this for hunting, you don't really need it to retain as much accuracy through lots of shots and after heating up.

 

[roadrunner681]

Why 20 inch? Are you needing the extra velocity? Accuracy in what regard? One shot from a cold barrel / hunting accuracy? 10 shoots in short succession? A lighter profile will heat up quicker, so it won't be as accurate as a comparable bull barrel if you need it to be accurate after 30 shots in a short amount of time. But it's going to be heavy, and if you're using this for hunting, you don't really need it to retain as much accuracy through lots of shots and after heating up.

It's a toy I just like the longer barrels, I'm not planning on shooting it 30 shots in rapid fire, I just wanted a gun that's pretty accurate and still light enough to carry around all day

 

[Bfish]

I would get an enhanced light weight barrel or a pencil would be fine. I don't think a government would be so heavy you would dislike it, but to keep weight down it'll be fine. The barrels on the old 20" rifles were all very thin.
I would consider ballistic advantage. There are many other great companies some cheaper and some more pricey, but I'd put them on the list of barrels to check out. I don't know what they have in way of profiles but they guarantee an MOA gun at 100 with match ammo. So you are achieving your goals there.

 

[roadrunner681]

That will work, I will try the government profile barrel, should make gas system stuff easy as well

 

[seedubs1]

I'd check out BA Hanson profile barrels or Faxon Gunner barrels if you're not wanting to spend a bunch. Pretty good compromise of weight, accuracy, and price. Any of the other ELW or LW/Pencil profiles should do you good for a nice handy rifle. Tons of quality manufacturers making them.

 

[indybrad]

I'll second that on the BA Hanson barrels. I bought a 16" SS gov profile barrel from USDS a month ago. Shot a 4-5" 10 shot group at 200 yrds with a red dot.

 

[Mrmonte]

Have you looked at the LaRue Tactical Stealth barrels? My brother has one and it will throw 5 shot groups well under MOA at 100 yards with the right match ammo. It's a heavier profile than your looking for, but at the end of the day, your rifle is not going to weigh 15 pounds because of your barrel. It would be mostly due to "extra" parts and the optics choices you make. You don't need to spend the 60 or 70 for the LaRue gas block either, SLR Rifleworks offers cheaper options with the same dimple spacing. You didn't mention budget, but you can be into the barrel and a gas block for under $300. If you haven't considered the stealth yet, I think it's worth it for you to do some research.

 

[Fordtough25]

I've had good resuLts with my FN government profile barrel, makes the rest of the upper east to get also.

 

[seedubs1]

Forgot about these. They're a sweet deal when they're on sale. Larue puts these on sale frequently for $200-250, and they are very accurate. The Stealth barrel is a heavier continuous taper, and if you're looking for a lighter profile, the predatar is sweet. I have one of the Stealth barrels, and it is very nice. My father shoots a predatar, which is also shown to be accurate. Only issue I've seen with these is that they're ridiculously over gassed. And they're pre-drilled at an odd spacing for a gas block. So in the end, I had to drop another ~$100 on a specially set screw spaced SLR adjustable gas block to turn the gas down, and in the end, that wiped out the low price on the barrel and brought it right back in line with some of the other more expensive manufacturers. Just wish Larue would have got the gas port right on these.....But in the end, it turner out to be a sweet shooter.

Have you looked at the LaRue Tactical Stealth barrels? My brother has one and it will throw 5 shot groups well under MOA at 100 yards with the right match ammo. It's a heavier profile than your looking for, but at the end of the day, your rifle is not going to weigh 15 pounds because of your barrel. It would be mostly due to "extra" parts and the optics choices you make. You don't need to spend the 60 or 70 for the LaRue gas block either, SLR Rifleworks offers cheaper options with the same dimple spacing. You didn't mention budget, but you can be into the barrel and a gas block for under $300. If you haven't considered the stealth yet, I think it's worth it for you to do some research.

 

[edporch]

I've built two that used one each of these barrels from BCM.
They shoot better than I can.

BCM 20" SAM-R SS410 Barrel with Rifle Length Gas

BCM 20" SAM-R SS410 Barrel with Rifle Length Gas

 

[Mrmonte]

I didn't mention the PredatAR barrel because its only available up to 18." I wish LaRue offered the PredatAR 18" with a rifle length gas system.

Forgot about these. They're a sweet deal when they're on sale. Larue puts these on sale frequently for $200-250, and they are very accurate. The Stealth barrel is a heavier continuous taper, and if you're looking for a lighter profile, the predatar is sweet. I have one of the Stealth barrels, and it is very nice. My father shoots a predatar, which is also shown to be accurate. Only issue I've seen with these is that they're ridiculously over gassed. And they're pre-drilled at an odd spacing for a gas block. So in the end, I had to drop another ~$100 on a specially set screw spaced SLR adjustable gas block to turn the gas down, and in the end, that wiped out the low price on the barrel and brought it right back in line with some of the other more expensive manufacturers. Just wish Larue would have got the gas port right on these.....But in the end, it turner out to be a sweet shooter.

 

[padawan]

Currently running a 16" Fluted SS 5R from Midway and can easily get sub moa with the right ammo recipe but we we reload. 55gr and 40gr Noslers or Sierras- take your pick. Step out to 225 (max range for us) and drop is where it should be.

Point is- if you're going for accuracy and lightweight there are other options if you do your homework.

 

[cobber]

I bought a Green Mountain 20" thin profile 1 in 7 chrome-lined barrel. It's MOA at 100 yds. for me. But you probably don't want to go lighter than 55 gr. bullets.

 

[kb66]

Another vote for http://ballisticadvantage.com . They make very nice barrels and offer a sub MOA accuracy guarantee.

 

[roadrunner681]

Well what twist should I get the 1-7 twist? I want to be able to shoot that 77 grain match bullet that the army uses? I plant to stay under 350 for the barrel I see the gun as a investment as well brand name stuff sells well I will probably look for bcm stuff my father is a ar guy he said there stuff is good. So we'll see how the works for a ak guy

 

[roadrunner681]

Well I having trouble with the rail whitch length should I use it want a free float rail but I still want the front sight on the barrel so any recommendations?

 

[seedubs1]

If they have a configuration that you like, go for it. BCM is good stuff. Only thing I see is that they don't have any 20" barrels that are LW or ELW of any sort. Their lightest profile is government profile. So you're going to get a heavier barrel than you could find elsewhere. And going off of your requests, I think you're looking for something less heavy.

Well what twist should I get the 1-7 twist? I want to be able to shoot that 77 grain match bullet that the army uses? I plant to stay under 350 for the barrel I see the gun as a investment as well brand name stuff sells well I will probably look for bcm stuff my father is a ar guy he said there stuff is good. So we'll see how the works for a ak guy

 

[roadrunner681]

If they have a configuration that you like, go for it. BCM is good stuff. Only thing I see is that they don't have any 20" barrels that are LW or ELW of any sort. Their lightest profile is government profile. So you're going to get a heavier barrel than you could find elsewhere. And going off of your requests, I think you're looking for something less heavy.

I think that will be fine all I had ran into was the heavy stainless steel barrels until I found the bcm website, I admit I know very little about the ar 15 buy I'm used to Aks so I don't think I will mind the government barrel, I just want to make sure I don't end up with a heavy rail

 

[seedubs1]

Get a free float M-lok or one of the BCM key mods. Tons of options out there, and you should be able to find one in the ~10-14 oz range that will be nice and light. If you're running a rifle length FSB (front sight base), a 12" rail will fit behind the front sight. If that's the case, read some reviews and make sure it's really 12" and not just listed at 12" but really 11.5 (too short) or 12.5 (too long) or some nonsense like that. If you're running a low profile gas block, you will want something ~13.5+ inches to go over the gas block.

I think that will be fine all I had ran into was the heavy stainless steel barrels until I found the bcm website, I admit I know very little about the ar 15 buy I'm used to Aks so I don't think I will mind the government barrel, I just want to make sure I don't end up with a heavy rail