AR-15 barrel question?

[Asaph]

This is my question----> I've been looking at some rock river arms
AR-15's but the one that I really want has the stainless steel bull barrel on it,
so that means I can't have a vortex flash hider. So without the flash hider will
it make a big deference in the muzzle jump, flash, accuracy compared to an
AR with a stainless steel heavy barrel and vortex flash hider?

This is the stainless steel bull barrel.
http://www.rockriverarms.com/item-detail.cfm?ID=AR0208ASY&storeid=1&image=bblv.gif&CFID=32016431&CFTOKEN=96230324

This is the stainless steel heavy barrel that would have the flash hider on it.
http://www.rockriverarms.com/item-detail.cfm?ID=AR0206ASY&storeid=1&image=bblss.gif&CFID=32016431&CFTOKEN=96230324


I'm no expert on AR's

 

[RockyMtnTactical]

You could have the barrel threaded and add a flash hider... I think it would cost $40+ to have the barrel threaded.

Or you could just skip the SS barrel and get a chrome moly barrel with a chrome lined barrel.

What are you getting it for?

The muzzle jump won't be much of a difference, but not having a flash hider will highly increase your flash at night.

Accuracy won't be affected much either way.

 

[Asaph]

The berrel is a bull barrel. I can have a bull barrel threaded?

It's going to be an all around rifle but more for long range shooting.

 

[RockyMtnTactical]

Personally, I'd avoid an HBAR or a bull barrel. I bought an HBAR for my 20" at first... A few days after lugging that thing around while hunting and I instantly hated the HBAR. Now it has a govt profile barrel, and to tell you the truth, I hardly notice the difference. I use it for varmint hunting quite a bit and it's awesome.

At the very least, I would skip the bull barrel and go with an HBAR.

An extra 1/4" better accuracy is not worth the excessive weight.

 

[Juna]

What is the difference between the stainless barrels and the chrome lined barrels? What are the advantages/disadvantages of each? I've heard mixed reports on this.

 

[ForeverArmed]

This is my question----> I've been looking at some rock river arms
AR-15's but the one that I really want has the stainless steel bull barrel on it,
so that means I can't have a vortex flash hider. So without the flash hider will
it make a big deference in the muzzle jump, flash, accuracy compared to an
AR with a stainless steel heavy barrel and vortex flash hider?

How much flash you'll have without a flash hider depends a lot on which barrel length you choose. A 16" barrel without a FH will have a LOT more flash than a 20" barrel without a FH. But even a 20" barrel without the FH will still have a good amount of flash, which will vary depending on ammo.

If your only purposes for this rifle are "sporting" (varmint hunting, target shooting, etc.), then the flash hider makes no difference. If you think you might someday need it as a weapon, then you definitely want a flash hider on that mother.

Accuracy shouldn't be seriously affected, and neither should muzzle jump. I've read that a barrel with a FH has a muzzle blast/report that's a little less sharp, and that seems plausible, but I can't confirm that.

 

[rojoko]

???? Best ask the people that make the rifle about this...

But the muzzle jump on the .223 isn't serious and not much to worry about. THe flash hider on a 15 is usually just that.. it breaks up and deminishes the huge ball of flash that comes out of a .223... I have shot .223 match rifles (non-15's, I'm talking bolt action rifles) and the wonderful ball of flame out the end was always great for late in the day/early evening matches... Because forget seeing the target..

No, I am somewhat serious and not competely joking.. night vision/twilight vision is a fragile thing and easy to screw up... If you want a serious tactical weapon... then look for other answers... but if you want a .223 with a match barrel, you don't want a flash hider on it.. because the flash hiders can detract from accurcy.. something they found out early on at the USMTU while trying to accurize the M14s...

And you might also want to know that if you get any kind of debre in a flash hider.. high velocity rounds will decinegrate if they hit anything passing through the flash hider, like rain drops, snow flakes, etc...

Dropped a shot at a match once.. couldn't for the life of my figure it out, until an old USMC Sniper came up.. took me aside.. and said: "CENSORED), that time you went prone in the normal HI power style fashion, you dipped your flash suppessor in the snow, just barely.. but you got some snow in it and the round never made it out of the flash suppressor (that's what they call the flash hider on the 14)... it decinegrated... and so I called a friend of mine at USMTU the next worked day to confirm this and he was right!

So flash hiders are a trade off.. good and bad! You decide! tactical or accuracy!

P.S. the standard procedure for accurazing the M14 calls for reaming out the Flash supressor with a specific taper reamer.. in other words you relieve the size of the hole in the middle of the hider so that that it can't affect the bullet as it passes through .... but it also deminshes the ability of the flash hider to work on the other hand.. :/

And yes I do ramble don't I

 

[ForeverArmed]

What is the difference between the stainless barrels and the chrome lined barrels? What are the advantages/disadvantages of each? I've heard mixed reports on this.

Chome-lined barrels last about twice as long, are much more corrosion-resistant, and are easier to clean. When the chamber is chrome-lined as well, the reliability of the rifle is improved. That's why military barrels (except for sniper rifles) are chrome-lined.

In case you're not aware, a chrome-moly barrel is not necessarily chrome-lined. Chrome-lining is a process that a manufacturer may or may not perform on a chrome-moly barrel.

To the best of my knowledge, stainless barrels have only one real advantage over chrome-lined: stainless barrels are generally more accurate.

As for chrome-moly barrels that don't have chrome lining, their properties might be somewhere between the chrome-lined and stainless steel barrels.

 

[ocabj]

What is the difference between the stainless barrels and the chrome lined barrels? What are the advantages/disadvantages of each? I've heard mixed reports on this.

The two different barrel types are stainless steel and chrome moly. Chrome lining is an option available for chrome moly barrels.

First off, chrome moly lasts longer than stainless steel. It's a fact. But, stainless steel is easier to cut. This is important because it is easier to make a quality match barrel out of a stainless steel tube. This is why most of the 'match grade' barrels are stainless steel. But there are some excellent chrome moly barrels for the AR, specifically Border barrels available through Northern Competition.

As far as accuracy is concerned, a chrome moly barrel will be just as accurate as a stainless steel barrel. It all relies on the barrel manufacturer.

Chrome lining is a method of lining the bore with chrome in order to make the surface of the bore harder and more durable. The lining applied affects accuracy, though, and will make for a less accurate barrel. Chrome lining is pretty much found in military barrels since barrel life is a high priority.