Best choice for a .300 BLK barrel (SBR)?

[coloradokevin]

I'm in need of some suggestions for a barrel for the .300 AAC Blackout I'm working on. This will initially be built into a pistol lower, that is going to be SBR'd as soon as the ATF can process the paperwork.

I'm looking at an 8-10" barrel, so that the overall length isn't too long once I throw my 9" suppressor on the end.

But, the barrel choices are rather endless on this subject. A few contenders I've thought about at various price points are as follows:

1) A Noveske 8.5" or 10.5"
2) One of the offerings from Rainier Arms
3) An AAC barrel (though they seem a bit overpriced)
4) A fully assembled upper from MAS Defense (good prices, but some mixed reviews online — some love the place, some hate it).

Naturally, I'm open to other suggestions that would work for this build!

 

[jbj]

Best is kind of amorphous, but Noveske and Rainier have good reputations for a reason; they work at it and have great customer service. MAS has spotty reviews because they aren't the tightest run ship from the product I've seen in the wild.

Voodoo and Ballistic Advantage are making some innovative products as well.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Ares has a great deal right now

http://aresarmor.com/store/Item/300Blk_Barrel9Upper_ar15?

 

[coloradokevin]

Ares has a great deal right now

http://aresarmor.com/store/Item/300B…el9Upper_ar15?

Yeah, that is a pretty good deal. Any dealings with these folks in the past? Do they make decent stuff?

It sure wouldn't take a whole lot of coin to finish the build with those parts, but I'd hate to do so if it meant putting together a crappy SBR.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Any dealings with these folks in the past? Do they make decent stuff?

I've never bought one of Dimitri's completed uppers, but plenty of lowers, BCG, some other parts. Ares is GTG. I would have bought that .300 upper if it had been available when I was shopping; bought a SOTA arms, and that was a mistake.

 

[coloradokevin]

Thanks for the input, and I'll definitely add them to my list of possibilities!

 

[Fishbed77]

You can't go wrong with the Noveske or Rainier options.

 

[coloradokevin]

yeah, I figured the Noveske option wouldn't disappoint. But, I've also been debating whether it's worth putting the extra coin into a barrel for a SBR that is shooting a cartridge designed mostly for 0-200 yard use.

Don't get me wrong, I know good barrels cost money… I've got an $800 barrel on my AIAX. I just simply don't want to waste money on components for which I won't see any tangible benefit. On the other hand, shooting small groups at 0-200 yards is still a function of the barrel. Hmmm...

 

[Arizona_Mike]

I would not get the Noveske barrel if you ever intend (or even want the ability in an emergency) to shot subsonics unsupressed. They are set up with pretty small gas ports.

Mike

 

[Ruezim]

I went with a Areo Percsion 8". Cost was more reasonable then the others. My build is here. www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=763393
It runs great now that I figured the sub sonic issue out.

 

[coloradokevin]

I would not get the Noveske barrel if you ever intend (or even want the ability in an emergency) to shot subsonics unsupressed. They are set up with pretty small gas ports.

Thanks for that information.

The gas port thing is a tricky subject with the .300 Blk, at least from what I'm reading. I guess it makes sense: small gas port probably means that it runs well with subsonic loads with the back pressure from a suppressor, and doesn't over gas the supersonic ammo. On the other hand, a large gas port allows it to run okay without a suppressor while shooting subsonic loads, but I'm guessing that might hammer the system when shooting supersonic ammo.

Hmmm.

Then there's always the possibility of going with an adjustable gas block, but that's just another thing to think about.

 

[TIMC]

Can't say its the best because I haven't shot it. My current build is an SBR that I have been working on, bought this upper from Texas Shooting Sports. 10" barrel, 10" free float handguard and Thunderbeast 30P1 suppressor.



Should get my stamp in a few weeks but until then I'm going to run it on my pistol lower to see how she does. The price was nice and the looks are awesome!