Looking for a 223/556 18" midweight barrel. Accuracy is a must. Prefer that it is threaded for a break. Right now looking at the rainier ultra match or the noveske midweight. Anyone have experience with these barrels or do u have any others to comment on thanks
- Thread starter precision308
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White Oak would probably be my pick, and they are in stock: AR-15/M16 MATCH BARRELS | Brownells
Novesek, BCM, Rainier are all good choices too.
Novesek, BCM, Rainier are all good choices too.
White Oak, Douglas from compass lake, Bravocompany are all MOA or better barrels. The rainier ultra match 16" I had was probably the tightest shooting non-bull-profile barrel I've ever owned. I recently bought one of those brownell white oaks and it arrived promptly, if it shoots well I will nitride it and just use it forever.
I just got the White Oaks 18" SPR mid-length from brownells. Put 70 rounds of plinking ammo through it and was pretty impressed. 55gr hornady fmj-bt's with 24.5gr of WC844 (surplus) powder and it was shooting MOA. Itll do better as i had some nice 3/4" or less 3-4 shot groups but always had one flier 
And the upper was nothing special. Surplus Arms and Ammo belmished stripped upper, cheap barrel nut, and generic FA/dust cover. With a SWFA 12x scope and a Troy Alpha rail in 9"....which has now been replaced by a Troy VTAC alpha 15" rail.
Anyways the White Oaks barrel looks promising! I have some 77gr SMK seconds to try with it to see how it does with those
And the upper was nothing special. Surplus Arms and Ammo belmished stripped upper, cheap barrel nut, and generic FA/dust cover. With a SWFA 12x scope and a Troy Alpha rail in 9"....which has now been replaced by a Troy VTAC alpha 15" rail.Anyways the White Oaks barrel looks promising! I have some 77gr SMK seconds to try with it to see how it does with those
I just bought a Nordic (Wilson) and slapped a new upper together, but have been sick as a dog and thus unable to take it to the range yet. It gets great reviews on brianenos.com for 3-Gun.
Nordic .223 Wylde 18? Competition Barrel | Nordic Components Retail
Nordic .223 Wylde 18? Competition Barrel | Nordic Components Retail
I have the Noveske midweight on a 3-Gun rig I assembled last month. Haven't put it through some serious paces as of yet, but I was printing sub-moa groups out the gate during zeroing with Southwest 77gr 5.56. The weight difference in it is significant in comparison to my 18" MK12 build as well, but that also is comparing the 12" KAC quad rail to a slick 15" Seekins SP3R. It's so light my PRS stock I had extra is totally off balancing it, so I'm shifting to a ARFX Skeleton stock to bring it back to how I like them.
If you're wanting an accurate and handy rifle to move with, the Noveske is a serious winner.
If you're wanting an accurate and handy rifle to move with, the Noveske is a serious winner.
The first WOA barrel I bought (20" SDM) I really liked, it balanced well and shot very nice groups.
My second WOA barrel, also a 20" SDM, had to get sent back to get the extension fixed as it wouldnt shoot 5 rounds without jamming.
Not what I'd expect from a $400+ barrel, so I'll probably go with Noveske or Compass Lake next time.
My second WOA barrel, also a 20" SDM, had to get sent back to get the extension fixed as it wouldnt shoot 5 rounds without jamming.
Not what I'd expect from a $400+ barrel, so I'll probably go with Noveske or Compass Lake next time.
Ok thanks for the suggestions. Never heard of compass lake ill have to check them out
I just went through the process of deciding what to buy for an 18" tube for a new build. Needless to say I couldn't settle, I'll end up with a Krieger or Noveske but in the meantime I went cheap buying an AR-Stoner barrel from Midway just to try out. I figured for $239, 223 Wylde, 1-8", 18" med-contour, fluted & black Teflon coated, it'll hold me over in the time that it'll take to order a Krieger or wait for a Noveske to be in-stock someplace. If it turns out to be a shooter I'll leave it on and just leave what ever I end up getting for a later date. How bad really can it be lol?
There's some great options (named above already) and some just depends on your budget. For me trying out the Midway barrel really isn't a big deal, no real loss if it doesn't pan out.
There's some great options (named above already) and some just depends on your budget. For me trying out the Midway barrel really isn't a big deal, no real loss if it doesn't pan out.
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I have an AR-Stoner 300BLK barrel in 16". Itll shoot 1MOA. Not the best but not the worst either. For the price (200 i paid for mine) cant really complain. May upgrade in the future though but for a holder barrel they will do just fine.
Many of your options have been mentioned, and I'm sure you can't really go wrong picking any of them. That being said, I went with a Centurion Arms, which is a Douglas, and I can't complain. My latest OCW test with 77s and Varget was printing less than .4 moa.
Rainier ultramatch gets my vote....ridiculously accurate with handloads
If accuracy is indeed #1, get a cut rifled blank and have a good smith take it from there. ( Bartlein, Brux, Krieger, Satern, etc)
That being said the button-rifled barrels hold lots of records in the 100 to 300 range, and cut-rifled beyond 600. Thus you need to decide the type of accuracy necessary. With an 18" barrel I am perfectly happy with RR, WOA, Shilen, or Rainee or Douglas. Another thing if accuracy is #1 you will want to chamber .223.
That being said the button-rifled barrels hold lots of records in the 100 to 300 range, and cut-rifled beyond 600. Thus you need to decide the type of accuracy necessary. With an 18" barrel I am perfectly happy with RR, WOA, Shilen, or Rainee or Douglas. Another thing if accuracy is #1 you will want to chamber .223.
I remember reading something about that very same topic, IIRC it was written by one of the guys at Comass Lake. The comparison was between the air-gauged Douglas button rifled SPR, and the cut rifled Kreiger SPR barrel.
What was said is that both barrels are about the same accuracy out of the gate. Where the difference is, is that the Kreiger will have a longer life in maintaining that accuracy.
What was said is that both barrels are about the same accuracy out of the gate. Where the difference is, is that the Kreiger will have a longer life in maintaining that accuracy.
For the money, White Oak is the best out there for the price. Did an upper build for a friend with one of them and his SPR MOD-1 is near perfect.
Raineer have proven performance as well.
I went a bit cheaper and installed a DPMS SASS 18" on my MOD-0 and its fluted under the handguard, so its a little lighter in that regard. Works fine with 75gr Hornady TAP, but sings with 77gr SMK handloads. After the initial 500rds, its settled in nicely and consistenly sub MOA. .675" is the best I have been able to do with a Bushnell LRS 4-12x44.
Zero regrets, but, I spent as much in practice ammo as the difference in buying a better barrel up front. Go figure.
Raineer have proven performance as well.
I went a bit cheaper and installed a DPMS SASS 18" on my MOD-0 and its fluted under the handguard, so its a little lighter in that regard. Works fine with 75gr Hornady TAP, but sings with 77gr SMK handloads. After the initial 500rds, its settled in nicely and consistenly sub MOA. .675" is the best I have been able to do with a Bushnell LRS 4-12x44.
Zero regrets, but, I spent as much in practice ammo as the difference in buying a better barrel up front. Go figure.
I have one of those barrels from dpms. I'll at the bore and I have a friend that is going to crown it. I'm curious to see how it shoots. The for this build I was wanting a little lighter barrel. What loads were you using. Thanks
I was told once by a reputable smith, that you can't go wrong with any big name domestic made barrel. That being said, I just finished a build.It's a Seekins irmt-3, 15" sp3r rail, JP carrier, JP Bennie Cooley brake and a 18" Terabatus model with matching bolt from Superior barrels. It's a Douglas blank turned by Compass Lake and treated with their hard blue treatment. I sighted it in with my 1-4x NSX and proceeded to put 8 shots in a 5/8" group. I was amazed by the accuracy, especially with a low power optic. I would buy a Douglas/Compass lake barrel again in a heartbeat.
Good luck, It's a great time to build with all the excellent options on the market.
Good luck, It's a great time to build with all the excellent options on the market.
Ya I started to look at the douglas barrels and they are affordable. I also have a rainier 16" ultra match that shoots well 3/4" without a suppressor and it is 1.5" and a huge poi shift with a suppressor. That tells me the threads ar we not true but the barrel shoots well. I would probalbly make my decision shortly after the firstfof the year
I'm assuming more people aren't suggesting noveske simply because they are out of stock everywhere?
When I was sourcing my Noveske LW 18" barrel over the summer, I had stock alerts in all over the place. I'm still getting emails six months later, and the barrel is worth every penny.
I ve looked at them but what you pay for them you can get a krieger. Right now I'm looking at the rainier ultra match or a douglas from compass lake. I'd like to fet something to my door for 400 or less
How do you guys think the Noveske SPR barrel's compare against a Krieger, Brux, Rainier douglas, Compass Lake, WOA, ect? I ask because I'm looking into building one of these in the near future and have a friend looking into building one as well.
Is this discussion similar to the bolt gun discussion on barrels.. where it basically comes down to- they all shoot extremely well its just kinda user preference? I know my Brux on my bolt gun shoots lights out and isn't anything to fast but its a little faster than the bartlien on my buddies GAP.
Is this discussion similar to the bolt gun discussion on barrels.. where it basically comes down to- they all shoot extremely well its just kinda user preference? I know my Brux on my bolt gun shoots lights out and isn't anything to fast but its a little faster than the bartlien on my buddies GAP.
Centurion Arms MK12 barrel. Actual contract barrel for the issued MK12s and extremely accurate.
Rainier UltraMatch...
