Replacement AR barrel for hunting

[oldrevolverguy]

My 8 year old son shoots our Bushmaster 16" heavy barrel 1:9 carbine very well. I would like for him to use it deer hunting. Unfortunately it does not shoot any bullets heavier than 55 grains accurately. I would prefer to use 62 grain Nosler Partitions. I would like to replace the existing barrel with an otherwise identical 1:8. Does anyone have any suggestions for a good quality accurate replacement barrel that is reasonably priced?

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

Have you tried the 60gr Noslers in it? The 1:9 should shoot 62gr M855 with good accuracy and I know my old Bushmaster barrel liked the Santa Barbara 62gr SS109 a lot accuracy-wise. I haven't tried the Nosler though and it may be longer than the 62gr FMJ which would affect accuracy.

I don't know anybody that makes a chrome-lined 4150 HBAR in 1:8, though I think CMMG may make one in 1:7. If you aren't concerned about the chrome lining or the slightly higher carbon content, you might take a look at one of the Wilson stainless HBARs in 1:8 as they provide decent accuracy for the price. I think Bushmaster, DPMS, and RRA all sell some version of that. If you want the chrome-lining and 4150 steel; but don't mind losing the HBAR profile, then CMMG, Sabre Defence, Bravo Co., Global Tactical, and a couple of other places all make 1:7 barrels with those criteria.

 

[rcmodel]

A 1/9 barrel should handle 62 grain bullets just fine.
In fact, it should handle anything up to 77 grain match bullets just fine. Whatever the problem is, it is not the 1/9 twist.

Heck, I have a 1/12 Colt that handles 60 grain V-Max just fine.

Perhaps you just got a bad barrel?


rcmodel

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

In fact, it should handle anything up to 77 grain match bullets just fine. Whatever the problem is, it is not the 1/9 twist.

1:9s can be marginal on rounds heavier than 69gr. Some shoot them just fine and others do not. Also, technically speaking, it is not the weight of the bullet that makes the difference in stability but the length. Usually the two are closely related; but it is possible to have a 62gr bullet that will not stabilize in a 1:9 because of its length (like 63gr M856 Tracer for example). It is possible the Nosler Partition in .223 may be longer than a similar bullet of the same weight. I haven't really looked at that.

 

[DnPRK]

If a 1:9 twist will not stabilize the 62 gr bullet, then you can go to a 1:8 or 1:7 twist
J&T distributing 16 inch barrels

 

[GunNut]

How about a 1:7 CMMG barrel? Might be worth a look.

We cannot hunt with anything less than .243 here in Washington, so I am hoping for a 6.8Spc sometime soon.

 

[Onmilo]

62 grain bullets generally work great in 1-9 twist barrels.
You won't lose much of anything as far as velocity and energy by just sticking with the 16 inch barrel either.

Winchester and PMC, if you can still find some PMC,, anyway, both make or made an excellent 64 grain pointed soft point that works extremely well on smaller deer and antelope.