Good barrels: the what and why

Guns Magazine, July, 2005 by Glen Zediker

RELATED ARTICLE: Reality first.

Before getting wrapped in angst about the need to see long-range groups exceed probability, know for sure what you're after. If you are a very serious varminter or competitive shooter, what I said about warranting the extra cost of a custom barrel as a bargain is dead true. If you're not either of those folks and understand the accuracy display that will make you happy, save some money. You honestly may never see the improvement from the custom barrel. Happiness, all around, is what my brand of shooting is all about, and if that can come with a Wilson barrel as opposed to an Obermeyer, then a happy man keeps a yard folded away for mo' groceries. Do, however, do what you need to get happy, because if your AR-15 can't make you happy, you might turn green and try to steal Christmas.

RELATED ARTICLE: Can I save it?

Sub-standard barrel? Try two things. First get it recrowned. Bad crowns are prevalent on factory barrels and fixing one can be like a miracle. Any gunsmith can do that. Run a FinalFinish kit through it. This is a bore polishing/uniforming system developed by David Tubb that can work wonders. Both these should run under one hundred dollars total. Stop there. If you're still not happy with the accuracy, look then at what you are expecting and, mostly, see if there has been any positive difference. I wouldn't expect consistent grouping much under 1 MOA (despite accuracy guarantees in effect by some) for any "step one" barrel. The ammunition equation takes an entire bucket brigade of words, but make sure you're proofing the barrel with something known to perform like Black Hills, Hornady, or Federal Match ammo (something suitable for the twist rate). That will answer your questions. Forget cryo treatments (deep freezing) and anything not mentioned here. Cryo can sometimes make what's right a little better but won't fix anything that's wrong.

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