Preferred barrel weight for "all-around" AR
Posted: March 16th, 2022, 10:35 pm
If you had just one AR to "do everything," which would you choose? Assumptions...16" length, good quality, nitrided 4150.
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“ The challenge, however, has been to find a STRAIGHT fluted barrel with all the other features I want. So many people have gone nuts with fancy-pants spiral fluting or diamond fluting, or some manufacturers only flute forward of the handguard.”Suck My Glock wrote: ↑March 17th, 2022, 12:34 am The AR system is already lightweight, so I don't mind suffering a little bit of a weight penalty for a thicker barrel.
However, a stiffer barrel can be lightweight if it is fluted.
That's why all my builds in the last 20 years have used fluted barrels.
The challenge, however, has been to find a STRAIGHT fluted barrel with all the other features I want. So many people have gone nuts with fancy-pants spiral fluting or diamond fluting, or some manufacturers only flute forward of the handguard.
I'm always on the lookout for a straight-fluted, 1/9 twist, nitride finish, with a Wylde chamber. I can find that rather easily in years past with 1/7 or even 1/8 twist, but it seems no one likes 1/9 anymore. Or,...for some stupid whacky reason, manufacturers cut flutes on the barrels now AFTER nitriding the barrel, to give it that supposedly sexy 2-tone look,...completely destroying the all-weather protection nitride provides.
And fluting promotes quicker cooling as well, by creating more surface area for heat to radiate off from.
Curious about the preference for 1/9. I've (perhaps incorrectly) been thinking for years that a 1/8 is the most versatile. Do you mostly shoot lighter stuff?Suck My Glock wrote: ↑March 17th, 2022, 12:34 am I'm always on the lookout for a straight-fluted, 1/9 twist, nitride finish, with a Wylde chamber. I can find that rather easily in years past with 1/7 or even 1/8 twist, but it seems no one likes 1/9 anymore.
My experience has been that if you never shoot 55 grain or lighter, yes, 1/8 or 1/7 is fine. And most 55 grain stuff will function in those twists,...usually low pressure .223 (compared to higher pressure 5.56). But I have seen full pressure 5.56 55-grainers shred themselves in flight from that fast a spin. And since 1/9 stabilizes everything up to 69 grain just fine - and since I never shoot heavier than that - for me, the 1/9 rate has the greatest adaptability to as many varieties of ammo in either .223 or 5.56 that I might need to feed the rifle with in a pinch.Old Jeff H wrote: ↑March 23rd, 2022, 1:02 pmCurious about the preference for 1/9. I've (perhaps incorrectly) been thinking for years that a 1/8 is the most versatile. Do you mostly shoot lighter stuff?Suck My Glock wrote: ↑March 17th, 2022, 12:34 am I'm always on the lookout for a straight-fluted, 1/9 twist, nitride finish, with a Wylde chamber. I can find that rather easily in years past with 1/7 or even 1/8 twist, but it seems no one likes 1/9 anymore.
Makes sense! Thanks.Suck My Glock wrote: ↑March 23rd, 2022, 7:54 pmMy experience has been that if you never shoot 55 grain or lighter, yes, 1/8 or 1/7 is fine. And most 55 grain stuff will function in those twists,...usually low pressure .223 (compared to higher pressure 5.56). But I have seen full pressure 5.56 55-grainers shred themselves in flight from that fast a spin. And since 1/9 stabilizes everything up to 69 grain just fine - and since I never shoot heavier than that - for me, the 1/9 rate has the greatest adaptability to as many varieties of ammo in either .223 or 5.56 that I might need to feed the rifle with in a pinch.Old Jeff H wrote: ↑March 23rd, 2022, 1:02 pmCurious about the preference for 1/9. I've (perhaps incorrectly) been thinking for years that a 1/8 is the most versatile. Do you mostly shoot lighter stuff?Suck My Glock wrote: ↑March 17th, 2022, 12:34 am I'm always on the lookout for a straight-fluted, 1/9 twist, nitride finish, with a Wylde chamber. I can find that rather easily in years past with 1/7 or even 1/8 twist, but it seems no one likes 1/9 anymore.
Now, if I had enough of a budget to stockpile 77grn heavy ammo for my exclusive supply, perhaps then I would bother building a rifle with a 1/7 to handle that. But I'm of the opinion that I want my rifle to feed the widest variety of feed pellets it is likely to get, and heavy grain stuff just ain't on the list.