I’ve got an itch to build a new upper. or possibly rebarrel one of the uppers I have, for predator hunting. Problem is, I can’t settle on a plan - I’m all over the place. Lol! Short barrel?, medium barrel?, this caliber or that caliber? I just can't decide. I thought posting on here might help me find some focus. I don’t take a lot of long shots on predators around here because there’s so much dense brush, limited open fields and most of our coyotes don’t like open ground under ANY circumstances. IF I’m going to sit where I AM likely to take a shot farther than 200yds, I’m probably taking one of my custom bolt guns that shoot in the .2-.3 MOA range and are topped with big glass. But I’m a precision and accuracy nut and I’m always chasing accuracy I never seem to be able to achieve in a AR. Since I’m capable of shooting my custom bolt rifles with consistent sub .5moa out to 600yds (my home practice range), I’m chasing a consistant sub .75 moa gas gun. Anyway... because I don’t normally shoot too far, and end up with a LOT of close shots (I do a TON of shotgunning), I really like a shorter/lighter/handier rifle. Plus, I shoot almost exclusively suppressed. So, most of my AR’s are SBRs. However, I’m wondering, if I went with a carbon barrel, whether the lighter weight would make a longer (than my usual) barrel feel more like a shorter barrel? My primary AR has a fairly heavy Noveske 11.5” barrel that, with Leupold VXR and a Silencerco Omega on it is NOT what I would consider “light” gun, despite wearing a slim hand guard. Although, it’s certainly not like my old Larue 18” Stealth upper, I’d like a new build to be lighter. Would a carbon wrapped 11.5” (I.e. Proof) barrel provide a noticeable weight reduction over a same-length match barrel or no?
I’m intrigued by the .224 Valkyrie but it seems like its probably most suited to a pretty long barrel to wring out as much velocity as possible? Or is it a good/ok choice for a SBR build? I love the idea of being able to shoot some of the heavier bullet weights offered in the Valkyrie for whitetail, hogs and some smaller exotic species and the flat-shooting nature of of all that velocity really appeals to me for predator hunting. Is anyone making a tier 1 carbon barrel in .224 Valkyrie or would I have to get a blank and have it spun up? Anyone making short ones?
The 6.5 Grendel and the 6.8 SPC are also interesting to me. I’m a huge 6.5 fanboy - several of my customs are 6.5 variants and I’m considering building another one, lol! They seem pretty conducive to SBR builds, am I correct? What kind of velocities could I expect out of a 11.5”-13” barrel with these 2 calibers? Could I get enough velocity to be pretty flat shooting out to 250yds? I’d prefer to be able, in a rush, to be able to put the crosshairs on at any coyote between 40yds and 250yds and not have to worry about ‘holding?’ No, I know that’s not ideal; but it’s reality when you only get about 1.5 seconds to get on a dog before it hits the safety of the brush. I just wonder whether the velocities out of a short barrel, with the 6.5 bullet weights, might not be flat enough for my needs? I know y’all will steer me right on this.
Writing it all out hasn’t helped much but it does make me realize that the Valkyrie is the most interesting to me But, if I can’t make it ‘handy’ for fast action shots, that’ll be a deal breaker. Any input will be appreciated. I’m just trying to hash it out somehow. Only thing I DON’T want is a wildcat - I want to stick to factory available calibers for a gas gun; and I don’t need to add another caliber to my reloading bench. Lol! Also, I already have a 300blk.
The spare SBR lower receiver I have laying around is a Noveske with a TriggerTech trigger in it. I have a matching Noveske upper and a brand new Mega upper I can use.
Thanks to those that reply!
I’m intrigued by the .224 Valkyrie but it seems like its probably most suited to a pretty long barrel to wring out as much velocity as possible? Or is it a good/ok choice for a SBR build? I love the idea of being able to shoot some of the heavier bullet weights offered in the Valkyrie for whitetail, hogs and some smaller exotic species and the flat-shooting nature of of all that velocity really appeals to me for predator hunting. Is anyone making a tier 1 carbon barrel in .224 Valkyrie or would I have to get a blank and have it spun up? Anyone making short ones?
The 6.5 Grendel and the 6.8 SPC are also interesting to me. I’m a huge 6.5 fanboy - several of my customs are 6.5 variants and I’m considering building another one, lol! They seem pretty conducive to SBR builds, am I correct? What kind of velocities could I expect out of a 11.5”-13” barrel with these 2 calibers? Could I get enough velocity to be pretty flat shooting out to 250yds? I’d prefer to be able, in a rush, to be able to put the crosshairs on at any coyote between 40yds and 250yds and not have to worry about ‘holding?’ No, I know that’s not ideal; but it’s reality when you only get about 1.5 seconds to get on a dog before it hits the safety of the brush. I just wonder whether the velocities out of a short barrel, with the 6.5 bullet weights, might not be flat enough for my needs? I know y’all will steer me right on this.
Writing it all out hasn’t helped much but it does make me realize that the Valkyrie is the most interesting to me But, if I can’t make it ‘handy’ for fast action shots, that’ll be a deal breaker. Any input will be appreciated. I’m just trying to hash it out somehow. Only thing I DON’T want is a wildcat - I want to stick to factory available calibers for a gas gun; and I don’t need to add another caliber to my reloading bench. Lol! Also, I already have a 300blk.
The spare SBR lower receiver I have laying around is a Noveske with a TriggerTech trigger in it. I have a matching Noveske upper and a brand new Mega upper I can use.
Thanks to those that reply!
