Part 1 (a): 9/28/22 First Barrel
*(Note: The following is taken from emails to and from BRT and WO, corrections to spelling, grammar and other small mistakes were made but the content otherwise remains as it was delivered)
-I purchased the Black River Tactical Optimum 13.9 Barrel from Weapon Outfitters on 09/06/2022
-I purchased the BRT M4A1 Bolt from BRT on 09/06/2022
-I purchased a new Zev Wedgelock Barrel nut from Zev on 09/07/2022
-The barrel is installed on a SOLGW upper receiver with the new Wedgelock Barrel nut I ordered from Zev. The Upper was thermal fit to the barrel with a heat gun. With the barrel in my vice using soft vice jaws, I applied heat to the circumference of the upper receiver for approximately 90 seconds, and then attempted to slide the receiver onto the barrel though the receiver had not expanded enough. I then applied heat to the receiver for 60 more seconds and installed the receiver onto the barrel extension. For the Installation of the barrel, I used assembly grease on the barrel extension and the receiver threads.
-I took this picture of the crown prior to assembly.
-Using a Geissele Reaction Rod, the barrel nut was installed and torqued to 65lb ft per the spec, using a torque wrench and Wedgelock Barrel Nut Wrench.
-I installed a FCD Gas block and melonited mid length gas tube from Superlative Arms.
-I then installed a Surefire Closed Tine 556 Warcomp using the chamfered shim with the chamfer facing the shoulder of the barrel, 1 red shim, and 3 uncolored shims, which produced the following un-torqued timing:
-Following these instructions from Surefire
-Torque to 20lb ft. which produced a satisfactory timing. Uninstalled the muzzle device, cleaned the treads and reinstalled with rocksett.
-I installed the wedgelock handguard following the instructions from Triarc.
-The first time shooting with this barrel was 9/27/22. At 100 yards I first shot 20 rds of my 55gr reloads. I don't expect them to group under a minute, but on other rifles they have produced 1.5 minute groups. Using a range supplied stand and sand bag for forward support and my own Game Changer for rear support, I fired 20 rds, four, five rd groups from my rifle to zero, but the barrel wouldn't group, so I set it aside and let it cool down. I had 3 other rifles to test, 2 of which I was conducting a group and ladder test on. Using the same lot of IMI Razorecore 77SMK I would later try to group on the BRT barrel, I shot two .4 MOA groups out of a criterion 18" barrelled SPR with 600rds through, and my BCM 14.5 BFH, with over 5000 rds through. Given the fact this what as a public range, and my time was limited, I did not take pictures of my groups.
-After grouping my other guns, I went back to the 13.9 BRT, to refine my zero using the ammunition I intend for the gun to run normally. At 100 yards, I shot four, five rd groups of factory Fed LE223T3. Two groups with and two groups without the Surefire Mini 2 Suppressor. The group sizes were over 4 inches compared to the grid on the shoot-n-see targets I was using. (On other rifles, this loading produces roughly 1 minute groups. After seeing the barrel fail to group again, I shot another 20 rds of my 55 gr to see if the barrel required more break-in/seasoning, and set it aside to cool and zero another rifle.
-After about 30 minutes, I set up my Magneeto Speed V3 chronograph on my suppressor and installed it on my 13.9 BRT. My first 5 shots fired produced an ES of 150fps and 48 SD. My second 7 shot group produced a ES of 86 and an SD of 28. Seeing the ES and SD start to come down, I proceeded to attempt to group the IMI Razorcore I had previously fired through my two other rifles. The barrel again failed to group. The group size was greater than 4 inches at 100 yards.
-After discussion with Jaxon (Weapon Outfitters) and other knowledgeable individuals in the industry, I removed my muzzle device to inspect the device itself and the crown.
-The threads still have Rocksett residue but are otherwise appear in good shape. The muzzle device spins freely on and off. The Measurement internally from the shoulder to the inner port on the muzzle device is .845" and the threaded muzzle on the barrel measures .63", so no conflict there. The muzzle device does not interfere with the crown. There are no signs of strikes/contact on the interior of the device either.
-I also inspected my suppressor, no signs of baffles strikes.
-The following images are of a sample of cases fired from the barrel. The cases were from the LE223T3.
-The mouth and neck of the case exhibit non-unifiorm damage and pock marks. All cases fired exhibit the pock marks and about 40% of the cases fired exhibit the pictured damage to the mouth of the case. All cases were cleaned in soap and water and dried over night prior to the photos being taken.
My next steps are testing the barrel without the muzzle device attached. I am going to shoot 2 groups of 5 rds ea. One with my own hand loads(77SMK, 24gr Ramshot Tac, CCI 41 SRP, 2.25 COAL and Fed head stamp, once fired brass) and one with IMI Razorecore. Both produce sub-half-minute groups in my other rifles. I will photograph the groups and supplement with that data/photos.
* (Note: I did shoot two groups, though both were with IMI Razor Core)
*(Note: The following is taken from emails to and from BRT and WO, corrections to spelling, grammar and other small mistakes were made but the content otherwise remains as it was delivered)
-I purchased the Black River Tactical Optimum 13.9 Barrel from Weapon Outfitters on 09/06/2022
-I purchased the BRT M4A1 Bolt from BRT on 09/06/2022
-I purchased a new Zev Wedgelock Barrel nut from Zev on 09/07/2022
-The barrel is installed on a SOLGW upper receiver with the new Wedgelock Barrel nut I ordered from Zev. The Upper was thermal fit to the barrel with a heat gun. With the barrel in my vice using soft vice jaws, I applied heat to the circumference of the upper receiver for approximately 90 seconds, and then attempted to slide the receiver onto the barrel though the receiver had not expanded enough. I then applied heat to the receiver for 60 more seconds and installed the receiver onto the barrel extension. For the Installation of the barrel, I used assembly grease on the barrel extension and the receiver threads.
-I took this picture of the crown prior to assembly.
-Using a Geissele Reaction Rod, the barrel nut was installed and torqued to 65lb ft per the spec, using a torque wrench and Wedgelock Barrel Nut Wrench.
-I installed a FCD Gas block and melonited mid length gas tube from Superlative Arms.
-I then installed a Surefire Closed Tine 556 Warcomp using the chamfered shim with the chamfer facing the shoulder of the barrel, 1 red shim, and 3 uncolored shims, which produced the following un-torqued timing:
-Following these instructions from Surefire
-Torque to 20lb ft. which produced a satisfactory timing. Uninstalled the muzzle device, cleaned the treads and reinstalled with rocksett.
-I installed the wedgelock handguard following the instructions from Triarc.
-The first time shooting with this barrel was 9/27/22. At 100 yards I first shot 20 rds of my 55gr reloads. I don't expect them to group under a minute, but on other rifles they have produced 1.5 minute groups. Using a range supplied stand and sand bag for forward support and my own Game Changer for rear support, I fired 20 rds, four, five rd groups from my rifle to zero, but the barrel wouldn't group, so I set it aside and let it cool down. I had 3 other rifles to test, 2 of which I was conducting a group and ladder test on. Using the same lot of IMI Razorecore 77SMK I would later try to group on the BRT barrel, I shot two .4 MOA groups out of a criterion 18" barrelled SPR with 600rds through, and my BCM 14.5 BFH, with over 5000 rds through. Given the fact this what as a public range, and my time was limited, I did not take pictures of my groups.
-After grouping my other guns, I went back to the 13.9 BRT, to refine my zero using the ammunition I intend for the gun to run normally. At 100 yards, I shot four, five rd groups of factory Fed LE223T3. Two groups with and two groups without the Surefire Mini 2 Suppressor. The group sizes were over 4 inches compared to the grid on the shoot-n-see targets I was using. (On other rifles, this loading produces roughly 1 minute groups. After seeing the barrel fail to group again, I shot another 20 rds of my 55 gr to see if the barrel required more break-in/seasoning, and set it aside to cool and zero another rifle.
-After about 30 minutes, I set up my Magneeto Speed V3 chronograph on my suppressor and installed it on my 13.9 BRT. My first 5 shots fired produced an ES of 150fps and 48 SD. My second 7 shot group produced a ES of 86 and an SD of 28. Seeing the ES and SD start to come down, I proceeded to attempt to group the IMI Razorcore I had previously fired through my two other rifles. The barrel again failed to group. The group size was greater than 4 inches at 100 yards.
-After discussion with Jaxon (Weapon Outfitters) and other knowledgeable individuals in the industry, I removed my muzzle device to inspect the device itself and the crown.
-The threads still have Rocksett residue but are otherwise appear in good shape. The muzzle device spins freely on and off. The Measurement internally from the shoulder to the inner port on the muzzle device is .845" and the threaded muzzle on the barrel measures .63", so no conflict there. The muzzle device does not interfere with the crown. There are no signs of strikes/contact on the interior of the device either.
-I also inspected my suppressor, no signs of baffles strikes.
-The following images are of a sample of cases fired from the barrel. The cases were from the LE223T3.
-The mouth and neck of the case exhibit non-unifiorm damage and pock marks. All cases fired exhibit the pock marks and about 40% of the cases fired exhibit the pictured damage to the mouth of the case. All cases were cleaned in soap and water and dried over night prior to the photos being taken.
My next steps are testing the barrel without the muzzle device attached. I am going to shoot 2 groups of 5 rds ea. One with my own hand loads(77SMK, 24gr Ramshot Tac, CCI 41 SRP, 2.25 COAL and Fed head stamp, once fired brass) and one with IMI Razorecore. Both produce sub-half-minute groups in my other rifles. I will photograph the groups and supplement with that data/photos.
* (Note: I did shoot two groups, though both were with IMI Razor Core)
