NWcityguy2
Member
Today I am going to review this new barrel I purchased, which I have mounted on my competition AR. I bought this barrel to replace my old one, which was starting to open up groups after approximately 10,000 rounds down the tube. Also, full disclosure, this is a replacement barrel for the one I originally received. The first one did not group well and was sent back to the factory, where it was found to have a defect in the bore. I talked about it and my experience with customer service in another thread (found here). The cliff notes summary is that Green Mountain took care of me and much faster than I expected.
A little bit about me, I am a recreational and competitive shooter, and have been shooting competitively for about 7 years. I'm an IDPA certified Safety Officer and the vice president of the El Paso IDPA club. I will host multi-gun competitions about 6 times a year through that club and also assist the Las Cruces USPSA with their multi-gun competitions when possible. I am rated B class in USPSA, Expert in IDPA and while multi-gun has no rating system, I generally finish in the top third or better.
For the barrel itself, I am reviewing the GM-M49 barrel (http://www.gmriflebarrel.com/gm-m49-223wylde-barrel/) The key features of this barrel are as follows:
- 18" Rifle length gas
- 416SS barrel with a Nitride finish
- 223 Wylde Chamber and 1:8" twist rate
- Gas Port measures 0.095"
- .850" thick behind the gas block and uses a .750 Gas Block
- Threaded to accept 1/2x28 threaded muzzle devices (standard for AR15s)
When I received it, it had a thread protector on the muzzle, and was coated in a light layer of oil. It came well packaged from the factory in a sturdy cardboard box and bubble wrap sleeve. The barrel was only marked "223 Wylde 1/8 G", and just in front of the barrel extension. When mounted on an AR, there are no visible markings showing.
The cost of the barrel itself is $209, and I paid $15 in shipping as well. For that price, as of early 2017, it places it in the same price range as a Faxon, Ballistic Advantage or AR Performance, which all offer Nitride treated barrels. That finds itself in a price range above the bargain bin barrels, which start at around $80 (some can shoot surprisingly well), but below the price range of barrels generally considered ideal for long range competitive shooting. For multi-gun shooters, a ton of our shooting happens at 50 yards or less, but can reach out to 400 or more yards on reactive steel targets as well. In my personal opinion, the increasingly popular SPR type barrel is ideal for shooting like this. Light enough to swing around, thick enough to absorb the heat of steady shooting, and either nitride treated or chrome lined to enhance barrel life. And, near the top of the ranking, being able to shoot at long range matters, because the scores are too competitive to drop a stage.
For accuracy testing, I used the following setup. It is not perfect, but it certainly gets the job done. The optic I am using is a Weaver Super Slam 2-10x42mm, and the trigger in my AR is a Geissele SSA-E. The barrel is free floated. All groups were done at a distance on 100 yards. For the purpose of my testing, I have found it worthwhile to shoot multiple groups. This is because a rifle isn't truly as accurate as the best group it ever shot, but isn't as inaccurate as its worst. My testing procedure is to shoot a single 5-round group, and if the group looked promising, to shoot two more 5 round groups. This also lets me determine that the groups are centering around the same POI, which is important.
For my style of shooting, I generally reload and shoot three types on ammo...
1. Cheap as possible blasting ammo for shooting 50 yards and in. These will use whatever appropriate ball powder is on sale when I stock up, along the cheapest FMJBT bullets available. Recently I have been using RMR mixed lot bullets, which are 55gr FMJBT bullets from multiple makers all mixed together, along with a handful of 62gr FMJBT bullets as well. Accuracy is irrelevant and price is the first and most important consideration. The example below is what type of groups I usually expect from ammo like this.
2. Cheap but accurate ammo. This is my main competitive ammunition, and I will shoot this out to 300 yards. For this, I will step up to quality bulk pack bullets. Examples are repackaged Hornady and Nosler bullets from places like Midwayusa and Midsouth Shooters Supply, or Speer bullets when they go on sale. Accuracy matters, but not at the cost of the time it takes to hand weigh powder charges or perform extensive brass prep. Here are some examples of the accuracy I get with quality bulk bullets, but with no load work-up or accuracy testing. (Powder used is IMR 4064, with an approximate weight of 24gr, which has always shot well in every AR barrel I've tried)
Hornady 62gr BTHP w/ Cannelure (Midsouth exclusive). 3 group average: 1.137" at 100 yards
Hornady 55gr Soft Point w/ Cannelure (Midsouth repack) 3 group average: 1.095" at 100 yards
Speer 50gr TNT HP. 3 group average: 0.896" at 100 yards
Nosler 55gr Varmageddon HP (Midsouth repack) 3 group average: 1.271" at 100 yards
3. High accuracy, high ballistic coefficient ammo. This ammo includes all the usual steps to ensure the most accuracy that is reasonable possible. 68gr+ BTHP bullets, load work-up, hand weighed powder charges,and prepped brass. I'll bring this ammo to any competition that have long range steel stages, but generally I just shoot this when practicing long range shooting on my own. Price isn't irrelevant, but accuracy is more important.
Unfortunately, I only have two bullets and one powder in my supply to work with (Hornady 68gr and 75gr BTHP and IMR 4064). Neither yielded a great result with this barrel, so I need to keep working at it. I'll update my results within the next month when I've experimented more.
However, given how the barrel is already shooting into an inch at 100 yards with bulk bullets, I do feel good enough about it to give it an initial review. I also am keeping an accurate round count, and will update this thread over time to show how the barrel is holding up at higher round counts.
Updates to follow...
A little bit about me, I am a recreational and competitive shooter, and have been shooting competitively for about 7 years. I'm an IDPA certified Safety Officer and the vice president of the El Paso IDPA club. I will host multi-gun competitions about 6 times a year through that club and also assist the Las Cruces USPSA with their multi-gun competitions when possible. I am rated B class in USPSA, Expert in IDPA and while multi-gun has no rating system, I generally finish in the top third or better.
For the barrel itself, I am reviewing the GM-M49 barrel (http://www.gmriflebarrel.com/gm-m49-223wylde-barrel/) The key features of this barrel are as follows:
- 18" Rifle length gas
- 416SS barrel with a Nitride finish
- 223 Wylde Chamber and 1:8" twist rate
- Gas Port measures 0.095"
- .850" thick behind the gas block and uses a .750 Gas Block
- Threaded to accept 1/2x28 threaded muzzle devices (standard for AR15s)
When I received it, it had a thread protector on the muzzle, and was coated in a light layer of oil. It came well packaged from the factory in a sturdy cardboard box and bubble wrap sleeve. The barrel was only marked "223 Wylde 1/8 G", and just in front of the barrel extension. When mounted on an AR, there are no visible markings showing.
The cost of the barrel itself is $209, and I paid $15 in shipping as well. For that price, as of early 2017, it places it in the same price range as a Faxon, Ballistic Advantage or AR Performance, which all offer Nitride treated barrels. That finds itself in a price range above the bargain bin barrels, which start at around $80 (some can shoot surprisingly well), but below the price range of barrels generally considered ideal for long range competitive shooting. For multi-gun shooters, a ton of our shooting happens at 50 yards or less, but can reach out to 400 or more yards on reactive steel targets as well. In my personal opinion, the increasingly popular SPR type barrel is ideal for shooting like this. Light enough to swing around, thick enough to absorb the heat of steady shooting, and either nitride treated or chrome lined to enhance barrel life. And, near the top of the ranking, being able to shoot at long range matters, because the scores are too competitive to drop a stage.
For accuracy testing, I used the following setup. It is not perfect, but it certainly gets the job done. The optic I am using is a Weaver Super Slam 2-10x42mm, and the trigger in my AR is a Geissele SSA-E. The barrel is free floated. All groups were done at a distance on 100 yards. For the purpose of my testing, I have found it worthwhile to shoot multiple groups. This is because a rifle isn't truly as accurate as the best group it ever shot, but isn't as inaccurate as its worst. My testing procedure is to shoot a single 5-round group, and if the group looked promising, to shoot two more 5 round groups. This also lets me determine that the groups are centering around the same POI, which is important.
For my style of shooting, I generally reload and shoot three types on ammo...
1. Cheap as possible blasting ammo for shooting 50 yards and in. These will use whatever appropriate ball powder is on sale when I stock up, along the cheapest FMJBT bullets available. Recently I have been using RMR mixed lot bullets, which are 55gr FMJBT bullets from multiple makers all mixed together, along with a handful of 62gr FMJBT bullets as well. Accuracy is irrelevant and price is the first and most important consideration. The example below is what type of groups I usually expect from ammo like this.
2. Cheap but accurate ammo. This is my main competitive ammunition, and I will shoot this out to 300 yards. For this, I will step up to quality bulk pack bullets. Examples are repackaged Hornady and Nosler bullets from places like Midwayusa and Midsouth Shooters Supply, or Speer bullets when they go on sale. Accuracy matters, but not at the cost of the time it takes to hand weigh powder charges or perform extensive brass prep. Here are some examples of the accuracy I get with quality bulk bullets, but with no load work-up or accuracy testing. (Powder used is IMR 4064, with an approximate weight of 24gr, which has always shot well in every AR barrel I've tried)
Hornady 62gr BTHP w/ Cannelure (Midsouth exclusive). 3 group average: 1.137" at 100 yards
Hornady 55gr Soft Point w/ Cannelure (Midsouth repack) 3 group average: 1.095" at 100 yards
Speer 50gr TNT HP. 3 group average: 0.896" at 100 yards
Nosler 55gr Varmageddon HP (Midsouth repack) 3 group average: 1.271" at 100 yards
3. High accuracy, high ballistic coefficient ammo. This ammo includes all the usual steps to ensure the most accuracy that is reasonable possible. 68gr+ BTHP bullets, load work-up, hand weighed powder charges,and prepped brass. I'll bring this ammo to any competition that have long range steel stages, but generally I just shoot this when practicing long range shooting on my own. Price isn't irrelevant, but accuracy is more important.
Unfortunately, I only have two bullets and one powder in my supply to work with (Hornady 68gr and 75gr BTHP and IMR 4064). Neither yielded a great result with this barrel, so I need to keep working at it. I'll update my results within the next month when I've experimented more.
However, given how the barrel is already shooting into an inch at 100 yards with bulk bullets, I do feel good enough about it to give it an initial review. I also am keeping an accurate round count, and will update this thread over time to show how the barrel is holding up at higher round counts.
Updates to follow...
