Thinking about after market barrels vrs production barrels
- Thread starter dan158
- Start date
Originally Posted By: DiRTY DOGDepends on what brand of barrel the factory uses. Some are better than others.
That is SO true! I have been building rifles for a long time and the barrel is the most important part. Many big named companies skimp on their barrels for their off the shelf guns. Higher end manufacturers tend to have higher standards.
If you stick with the bigger named barrel manufacturers you will have better results, unless the builder will stand behind it. Some of us builders buy barrels in bulk to get better pricing, but we know what we want and need to see from them.
That is SO true! I have been building rifles for a long time and the barrel is the most important part. Many big named companies skimp on their barrels for their off the shelf guns. Higher end manufacturers tend to have higher standards.
If you stick with the bigger named barrel manufacturers you will have better results, unless the builder will stand behind it. Some of us builders buy barrels in bulk to get better pricing, but we know what we want and need to see from them.
I don't think many "factory" AR barrels are made by the same company that sells them.
I don't think many "AR barrel makers", actually make barrels.
The huge majority of them buy barrel blanks from a small handful of actual makers. All of those makers are capable of producing excellent barrels. For the right price.
It comes down to how much the AR "manufacturer" or "barrel maker" is wanting to pay for their barrels. From the guys that actually do make them.
So "factory", "aftermarket", it's pretty much the same thing in this market. With a few exceptions for the really big makers, who all make many types of firearms and have their own high volume barrel making capacity.
It actually kinda bothers me how the term "barrel maker" gets used in the AR space. Guys apply that term to anyone that buys a blank and does some machining on it to fit it to an upper. That guy doesn't make barrels. Having bought custom barrels directly from guys who actually make barrels for many years for bolt guns, it just bothers me how anyone that actually buys barrels from someone else is a "barrel maker". The vasty majority of them ain't no such thing.
- DAA
I don't think many "AR barrel makers", actually make barrels.
The huge majority of them buy barrel blanks from a small handful of actual makers. All of those makers are capable of producing excellent barrels. For the right price.
It comes down to how much the AR "manufacturer" or "barrel maker" is wanting to pay for their barrels. From the guys that actually do make them.
So "factory", "aftermarket", it's pretty much the same thing in this market. With a few exceptions for the really big makers, who all make many types of firearms and have their own high volume barrel making capacity.
It actually kinda bothers me how the term "barrel maker" gets used in the AR space. Guys apply that term to anyone that buys a blank and does some machining on it to fit it to an upper. That guy doesn't make barrels. Having bought custom barrels directly from guys who actually make barrels for many years for bolt guns, it just bothers me how anyone that actually buys barrels from someone else is a "barrel maker". The vasty majority of them ain't no such thing.
- DAA
OldTurtle
Moderator - Deceased
Many years ago (2006) I had a custom .204 AR upper built by a well known smith in California that used a Douglas XX match grade barrel and have had excellent results from it...On the same note, I picked up an 'on sale' ($335), .223 upper from an online distributor that had a relatively unknown Black Dog barrel and while I wasn't expecting much due to the low cost, it proved to be almost as accurate as my custom .223 DPMS upgraded competition AR with a barrel of the same length. While I haven't put near as many rounds through the less expensive upper, I have no complaints when it comes to general performance or accuracy..
When my .308 bolt action developed a stress crack about 8 inches past the chamber, I had a new barrel produced by Douglas in 6.5 Creedmore that is still waiting for load development to be completed when my eyes get back to where I can see the reticle, factory rounds have proven to be very tight grouping so far...
Some years ago, it was reported that Savage Arms produced/cut their own barrels and while they looked rough when viewed with a bore scope, they shot every bit as accurately as some custom name barrels..
I think it depends on the expectations and intended use of a rifle as to whether the custom barrel is worth the additional expense...I have to fight my Anal/OCD impulses when it comes to accuracy, so when I run into a factory barrel that shoots good, I tend to hesitate changing anything..
When my .308 bolt action developed a stress crack about 8 inches past the chamber, I had a new barrel produced by Douglas in 6.5 Creedmore that is still waiting for load development to be completed when my eyes get back to where I can see the reticle, factory rounds have proven to be very tight grouping so far...
Some years ago, it was reported that Savage Arms produced/cut their own barrels and while they looked rough when viewed with a bore scope, they shot every bit as accurately as some custom name barrels..
I think it depends on the expectations and intended use of a rifle as to whether the custom barrel is worth the additional expense...I have to fight my Anal/OCD impulses when it comes to accuracy, so when I run into a factory barrel that shoots good, I tend to hesitate changing anything..