Which Barrel

[bobbyfairbanks]

I am building another AR. I am trying to decide what barrel to get. I have been thinking about getting a Noveske. I do know I want these specs

16"
Carbine gas system
5.56

What do you guys recommend

[Great-Kazoo]

i'm the odd ball guy. I say buy an affordable one vs, "Name" recognition and shott the piss out of it. The highest name brand bbl i have owned is a BCM and it shoots (or i do) the same grouping with the same ammo as any other bbl i have owned with the same twist rate. I shoot COM and can group them off the bench fairly tight. off hand all are within a 12x12 steel plate no matter what distance i shoot. Most of my shooting is 50-200 yards. iron sights, eotech or burris ar-332.
YMMV

[ray1970]

While I have had my share of cheaper barrels and they are perfectly serviceable pieces, I can definitely tell a difference in accuracy with the better barrels. I have been very pleased with barrels from Daniel Defense and Bravo Company. The ones I had from those companies were of the hammer forged variety. If resale in the future is of any consideration in your thought process you will have a much easier time selling a "name brand" barrel versus an "off brand" one.

[Great-Kazoo]

While I have had my share of cheaper barrels and they are perfectly serviceable pieces, I can definitely tell a difference in accuracy with the better barrels. I have been very pleased with barrels from Daniel Defense and Bravo Company. The ones I had from those companies were of the hammer forged variety. If resale in the future is of any consideration in your thought process you will have a much easier time selling a "name brand" barrel versus an "off brand" one.

who would you say is an "Off brand" besides a blatent import? my dpms rocked until i went SBR then it was bushy 10.5 to a 14.5 then a 14.5 DTI, now a BCM 10.5
When J&T Dist. was first offering their Ar15 kits (less lower) for $375.00 the bbl was not marked but advertised as a "wilson" mfg. they were semi-flamed for "quality". Unless they are stating a specific MOA from their bbls again IMHO you will find minimal variation in accuracy. Granted there are some lemons out there.
I know Stag Arms had bbls that people i shoot with first hand had , to them, accuracy issues. Stag informed them their expectation was .75 moa across the board using X ammo.
A member here had issues with his DPMS 16" bbl. DPMS told him they had no accuracy issues using Sierra Match King 69gr. As a hand loader sure high end bbls are the
way to maximize it's potential. Shooters running off the shelf ammo again, YMMV.

How about this, what are your expectations regarding overall performance?
You shooting off the bench wanting one ragged hole, or able to engage your target any style and score "hits" ?

[ray1970]

who would you say is an "Off brand" besides a blatent import? my dpms rocked until i went SBR then it was bushy 10.5 to a 14.5 then a 14.5 DTI, now a BCM 10.5
When J&T Dist. was first offering their Ar15 kits (less lower) for $375.00 the bbl was not marked but advertised as a "wilson" mfg. they were semi-flamed for "quality". Unless they are stating a specific MOA from their bbls again IMHO you will find minimal variation in accuracy. Granted there are some lemons out there.
I know Stag Arms had bbls that people i shoot with first hand had , to them, accuracy issues. Stag informed them their expectation was .75 moa across the board using X ammo.
A member here had issues with his DPMS 16" bbl. DPMS told him they had no accuracy issues using Sierra Match King 69gr. As a hand loader sure high end bbls are the
way to maximize it's potential. Shooters running off the shelf ammo again, YMMV.

How about this, what are your expectations regarding overall performance?
You shooting off the bench wanting one ragged hole, or able to engage your target any style and score "hits" ?

I started my post by saying that lower priced barrels are perfectly serviceable. When I mentioned "off brand" I was mostly referring to barrels of unknown or unmarked manufacturer and was referring to the resale value of such barrels compared to those with a pedigree of some sort.

[bobbyfairbanks]

I am a hand loader and do want good accuracy but more important to me is the barrel life. I would rather pay a little more and have the barrel last me a few thousand rds more.