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Which none varmint ar for sub moa??

peterh

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Feb 22, 2012
236
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71
Florida
Hey guy's! Looking for opinions on what's out there that would fit the following criteria. I'm not a competitive shooter, mostly use the AR for punching holes on paper hitting metal and for hunting varmints. My problem is I don't like the large heavy varmint type AR's that can shoot sub moa. Maybe I'm asking for too much, I want a shorter lighter rifle with max 20" barrel and under say 8lbs. I also don't want to go to a custom builder and spend ridicules money. I've owned in the past a RRA Predator Pursuit. The RR shot really nice but was heavy.

I there a mid length rifle or carbine that would be good for what I'm looking for? I was looking at an upper, the BCM SS410 w/BCM KMR 13" Hand guard 1/8 twist, or would their hammer forged barrels be better? I ask about BCM because I like their rifles I just never considered them for hunting. Also as far as BCM, I have not seen many whole rifles for sale from them.

In a nutshel I guess I want the best of both worlds, I want a light short bench gun. How's that for wishful dreaming. In all seriousness I don't want a short heavy barreled varmint gun again, I'm hoping that some one is making a mid length carbine or rifle that will fit.

Any and all opinions or comments would be greatly appreciated.......
 
I'd be curious to see if anyone has the results this gentleman is seeking: Light weight barrel but with good accuracy. Frankly, I see that as impossible. You cannot have both.

My recommendation, get a heavy rifle and then workout some. Build muscle and then the relative weight of the rifle is negligible. Just my $.02.
 
The 410SS barrels are made by Criterion. They are button pulled barrels. They were a division of Krieger but not near the quality of Krieger cut rifled barrels. I still think they would be more accurate than any hammer forged barrel.
A barrel .850 in dia under the guard and .730 in front is plenty big enough to be stiff and accurate. A heavier barrel is easier to shoot accurately for those that don't quite have the form to shoot lighter barrels well.
Look at Kriegers DCM barrels, they aren't that heavy but some of the most accurate made.
BTW you don't want a carbine or mid gas 20" barrel, stick with a rifle gas 20" if you want accuracy.
If you want an upper to swap to an existing rifle check with Ironworks tactical in CA or Suppression Solutions in NC either can build a good upper in the $800-900 range.
 
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My 16" rainier ultra match barrel was sub-moa. Noveske 14.5-16" barrels are good shooters too but they cost too much money. White Oak 16" barrels have a good rep, I have one of them and it is MOA, probably better if I were to play with it but I have not.

A good barrel is only part of it. Optics, handloads, and your technique are the rest of it. Lighter rifles are much more difficult to shoot accurately than a big, bull barreled bench rifle so even though they may have that 'sub moa' accuracy potential it will be harder to get it on a regular basis unless you are a good shooter.
 
I built one for myself with a rifle length gas system using a FN .750 barrel with a 1:7 twist. I shot sub MOA with 69 gr SMKs and 75 gr A-max. I wanted the same thing as you; accuracy without the weight.

Feel free to PM me if you want build specs and reloading specs.
 
I'd be curious to see if anyone has the results this gentleman is seeking: Light weight barrel but with good accuracy. Frankly, I see that as impossible. You cannot have both.

My recommendation, get a heavy rifle and then workout some. Build muscle and then the relative weight of the rifle is negligible. Just my $.02.

Light barrels can be incredibly accurate...just not for very many consecutive shots. For hunting though, where you wont get it hot, they can do pretty well. I made a ridiculously lightweight 6x45 barrel for my 6 year old. It shoots phenomenal 5 shot groups, but numbers 6 and 7 are anybody's guess as to where they will land.
 
You might check out JP Rifles Light weight barrels. I have one in 9 twist. On a recent trip to the range I shot 77's (3) into one inch at 200 yards with a 1-4 power scope. I know 3 shots is not definitive but I will be doing more testing. It's 18".
 
if you don't mind building it yourself, I've used the Green mountain barrels in a two builds and both hold sub MOA all day. with my optic on my 20" it might weigh 8.5-9 lbs. I use in my high power matches and its comparable to to some of the guys with heavy match barrels all day long.

5shots at 100.jpg
 
You might check out JP Rifles Light weight barrels. I have one in 9 twist. On a recent trip to the range I shot 77's (3) into one inch at 200 yards with a 1-4 power scope. I know 3 shots is not definitive but I will be doing more testing. It's 18".

A JP light stainless barrel, if you can find one in stock (and you can afford it), will be the tightest shooting carbine-weight barrel out there.

If not...get a white oak 16" 7 twist and be happy with 1" groups. Really, on varmints, coyotes, and target shooting that is all you need. And some people luck into ones that shoot a lot better, but for me 1" @ 100 with 69s and 77s has been the norm.
 
I would not be leary of rocking BCM SS410 in 13" KMR at all. Most likely will be a real solid shooter.

Heck, even my BCM 16" Mid-length Gas, BFH, Chrome lined, 13" KMR Upper put 3 rounds of M193 into a Ragged Hole at 50 Yards. So in all honesty, I'm not even afraid to scope it. It wears a T1 on GDI QD Mount at the moment, but I may also purchase a Variable Power Scope and put it into a Good QD Mount also, and switch between the two, as needed.

With the Heavier Profile (where it counts) of the 18" SS410, it should hold it's accuracy for a good bit of rounds before starting to string shots, due to heat.
 
Over several years I have put together five AR15s with shorter, lighter barrels. None have been pencils, but none were bull barrels either. I have easily been able to shoot sub-MOA consistently with them. I have used a medium profile, 16" DPMS; a DPMS 18" MK12; a 16" M4 profile PSA; and two 16" M4 profile Green Mountains.

Not hard to achieve what the OP is looking for, and it appears that there are a lot of ways to get there.
 
I'd be curious to see if anyone has the results this gentleman is seeking: Light weight barrel but with good accuracy. Frankly, I see that as impossible. You cannot have both.

My recommendation, get a heavy rifle and then workout some. Build muscle and then the relative weight of the rifle is negligible. Just my $.02.

Man! I'm 60 now, do you really think I'm gonna start lifting weights. I'm an old fart that just doesn't want to give up the game. Go easy on me.......
 
if you don't mind building it yourself, I've used the Green mountain barrels in a two builds and both hold sub MOA all day. with my optic on my 20" it might weigh 8.5-9 lbs. I use in my high power matches and its comparable to to some of the guys with heavy match barrels all day long.

View attachment 37512


It bugged me all day that I didn't know what my rig weighed. Got home and according to the scale 8.8 lbs, if you want a parts list PM me.

rifle.jpg
 
Look up iron works tactical on the net. Brett is good people and he will put together any kind of upper you would like and not break the bank. You can order a stripped lower from him with all the parts and put together yourself or with help. He uses ARP barrels, which i feel are among the best.

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