.308 ar barrels, can't decide

[OutkastSL]

So I'm building a .308 ar and hit a roadblock on a barrel. My requirements are: 18", about $300 or less, and as accurate as possible. Here are the three that I'm thinking about (in no particular order): BHW, Fulton Armory made by Criterion, or Rainier Select .308. Also, what other barrels would you suggest in my criteria?

[Gofasterdammit]

I've got a Bartlein on mine. It shoots little bug holes with 175 SMK's. A Bartlein custom chambered is about is accurate as you can get. Expect $320-$350 for the barrel blank, $150-$??? to cut the chamber, depending on who does it.

[chino]

I assembled my 308 using a Krieger M110 Service barrel. Sent them the bolt and they did the final chambering and muzzle crown. The price is higher ~475 and delivery can be frustrating.

[jmatt511]

I'd suggest a SI Defense SASS M110 barrel, though it is 20" Very accurate out of my rifle. About $240

[shellslinger]

DPMS SASS 18" Barrel, its pretty cheap for around $240 - 260 depending.

[motorwerks]

My 18 inch BHW barrel is fantastic!!!

[Hoop]

DPMS SASS barrel is usually accurate but very very heavy.
Fulton stainless 18" is a bit lighter and just as accurate.
Fulton chrome lined would be a good choice if you want more of a carbine then a bench/range toy

edit: I have had a sass barrel and now have a fulton stainless and my 2 cents is that the fulton is a better barrel

[OutkastSL]

thanks guys. I want to stay under $300, but who knows. I know about the DPMS SASS barrels are pretty good and JSE has them for $195 if it's in stock. I'm still leaning towards a BHW or Rainier.

[Hoop]

I'm still leaning towards a BHW or Rainier.

Rainier select I think is a BHW barrel. I haven't owned one but I have had a couple other rainier 223 barrels and they are all decent shooters with 1" groups being the norm. Considering their 90 day warranty and the fact that you want to keep it under 300 I'd get the select 308 they are in stock right now. Click the button tonight have it by saturday or monday I bet.

[FMJBT]

The DPMS SASS barrel is a good choice if weight is not a concern. Insanely accurate but hard to build into a rifle that weighs less than 13 pounds. The Fulton barrel would be a good choice as well, and would probably shoot a bit smoother due to the rifle length gas system. Weight will be lighter than the DPMS barrel as well The Rainier barrels are made by BHW, so out of those two I'd pick whichever is cheaper. The Rainier/BHW's will be the lightest barrels out of the 3, but possibly not quite as accurate.

[ahren111]

Im in the middle of a 308 built too, I ended up going with the Fulton. It shipped yesterday :D I was leaning towards the Rainer but I wanted a 20". They were out of stock and have no idea when they"ll have more.

[shooterfpga]

Im in the middle of a 308 built too, I ended up going with the Fulton. It shipped yesterday :D I was leaning towards the Rainer but I wanted a 20". They were out of stock and have no idea when they"ll have more.

ive heard fultons were good. before i bought my now sold lmt mws i had thought about getting a fulton.

[ahren111]

Fulton seems to be a little slow on shipping things. I ordered a barrel, bolt & someother misc parts all of which were in stock & it took them a week to ship. Any other company I've dealt with ships in stock stuff in 2-3 days.

[neal0124]

22" Fulton barrel shooting 175smk's at just over 100 yards on a 2" SnC. That is a 10 round group.

http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k527/bneal0124/IMG_0959.jpg

[OutkastSL]

I wonder how the fulton 18" is then...nice shooting!

Weight is a consider because I'm in a wheelchair. It's hard enough lugging around my AR15. SASS is off the list for now. Rainier Select 18" is listed as 2 lbs 10 oz and Fulton 18" is 2 lbs 9 oz. I guess I can't go wrong with either of these. The Rainier is a mid length 3 groove polygonal vs Fulton/Criterions rifle length "match quality."

School me on the 3 groove polygonal and it's benefits.

[Hoop]

Fulton 16" i have is 2 3/4 pounds so their 18" is probably around 3.

Rainier select 16 would be my choice. Would make for a rifle that doesn't weigh a lot and is reasonably balanced.

[OutkastSL]

Yea, rainier is becoming my choice. I'll sleep on it and may make a decision tomorrow.

[capitol]

hit a roadblock on a barrel. My requirements are: 18", about $300 or less,

If you wanna just shoot "can" accuracy then your typical $300 buck chuck barrel will be just fine.

If you want to be proud and have a rifle worth a spit then spend everything you have on the barrel.

and then spend more money on glass :D

[BigNick]

I would not go cheap on a 308 barrel, spend the extra money and get a top quality barrel and matching bolt.

[glocklover]

As BigNick stated, whatever you do choose, make sure you get a matching BCG. plenty of threads here about gunners building "DPMS" platform .308's where they had a helluva time getting weapons to cycle properly because of chambers that were out of spec (chambers tolerances that were too tight) or BCG that just flat out would work with there barrels.

keep in mind, there is no industry standard for .308, if I were you, I would buy a complete upper OR a barrel with a matted BCG, so that you don't get into a situation were your having to source parts that work together.

[captbilly]

On an ar style rifle the barrel is the most important component for accuracy. All the other stuff, like quad rails, fancy stocks, fancy optics, etc. Will have little to no effect on the ultimate accuracy of the rifle, but can eat up huge amounts of money. Even a nice trigger (which i am willing to spend what it takes to get) will not really effect accuracy, if you are willing to put in the extreme concentration it takes to shoot will with a lousy AR trigger. On a free floating barrel AR almost the entire accuracy of the rifle is in the barrel (assuming you are using high quality ammo). You would be much better served forgoing some other unnecessary accessory (quad rail, fancy stock, even an expnsive scope) and putting a couple of hundred dollars more on a nice single point cut rifled barrel. There are a number of companies that make top quality barrels, and they are all expensive (figure about $500 chambered to your bolt, or supplied with a bolt). Krieger has been around for a long time and has an enviable reputation but there are several others.

I would also recommnd using the longest gas system possible with your barrel length. There seems to be more and more consensus that running a gas port as ffar forward as possible helps to make the rifle more accurate, and possibly give a bit more muzzle velocity. The short gas system causes the bolt to start opening too early, before the bullet is out of the barrel, and this might cause some unpredictable movement of the rifle. Of course early opening of the bolt definitely beats up the cases, but that is another issue.

[NSR500]

BHW makes great barrels. I believe Rainier and Addax use them. I have barrels from them in 5.56 and .308; they're both great shooters.

[OutkastSL]

Thanks guys. A lot to consider.

Nsr500, did you order from BHW directly? Which .308 barrel are you using? What are you capable of shootin right now? Thanks

[OutkastSL]

Considering how long it may take Kreiger will take to make a barrel, the BHW/rainier barrel or even dpms sass barrel is starting to be more appealing. I would like to get this ar308 built by summer.

[Addax]

Considering how long it may take Kreiger will take to make a barrel, the BHW/rainier barrel or even dpms sass barrel is starting to be more appealing. I would like to get this ar308 built by summer.

Give us a call this week, and we can assist you in getting a BHW .308 barrel for your project by summer.

BHW manufacturers our custom .308 barrels to order for us, and we always order barrels from them, so I am sure we can help you get one by summer.

Thanks,
Addax Tactical

[VytamenC Tactical]

check into lothar walter

[GettoPhilosopher]

Just finished mine with a BHW 20" barrel.

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o206/gettophilosopher/20120302_185134.jpg?t=1330744404

I'll tell you how it shoots on the 17th. ;)

[NSR500]

Thanks guys. A lot to consider.

Nsr500, did you order from BHW directly? Which .308 barrel are you using? What are you capable of shootin right now? Thanks


I got the barrel from Rainier and it is a 16"bbl.

[OutkastSL]

Did you guys check the headspacing of the rainier select or bhw barrel?

[GettoPhilosopher]

Did you guys check the headspacing of the rainier select or bhw barrel?

Call me a heretic, but I've never checked headspacing on any of my builds.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

[NSR500]

Headspace is good on my barrel.

[OutkastSL]

Thanks, I ordered a go, no go gauges just to be safe.

[Phil3]

Just to be clear, you ARE talking about the DPMS platform and NOT the Armalite AR10 platform? Or can either of these take the same barrel? Just asking 'cause I need an AR10 barrel for an Armalite based rifle.

Phil

[cabinetguy]

I have a dpms sass upper, and I am quite pleased, as above, however, it weighs a ton. If we ever get tornadoes here, I am just going to grab that rifle and walk around like a boss, no way I could get airborne.

[OutkastSL]

Just to be clear, you ARE talking about the DPMS platform and NOT the Armalite AR10 platform? Or can either of these take the same barrel? Just asking 'cause I need an AR10 barrel for an Armalite based rifle.

Phil

Yes, I have a DPMS platform. The Rainier Arms barrel is a DPMS platform barrel.

[m24armorer]

Schneider 1/12 P5 173/175 M118 21 inch tube. .300 at 100 meters.

[Dieseldog]

I would have suggested a Noveske barrel, but it seems that Noveske has temporarily stopped all 7.62 production for the rest of the year. Bummer.