Lightweight barrel choice

Mitch1993

Amateur
I'm comparing a Sionics 16" ML LW, BCM ELW 16" Mid, and Ballistic Advantage 16" BA Hansen Mid-length .625 GB. It's going to have a suppressor on and off. It's a Griffin Recce 5 and if it means anything I'd like as little POI shift as possible for a LW barrel.

What would ya'll pick?
 

Dpvaz56

Member
I don’t have a BCM ELW but I do have one of their BFH 14.5” pencil profile barrels for my LW/GP build and I like it a lot. I’m sure the ELW is equally good and I’ve also heard
Great things about BA. Might want to consider Faxon too
 

nightchief

Fighter of the Daychief
Is the most important issue POI shift with the can or is it the overall quality of the barrel? Is grouping the most important thing or longevity of the barrel? Is a consistent 2 MOA/100 yds barrel sufficiently accurate? One thing I would definitely pay attention to, especially if you intend to use a suppressor, is your gas port size. A well gassed gun unsuppressed will not be optimal suppressed. Additionally, a barrel that is overgassed, running unsuppressed may cause a lot of trouble with a suppressor.
 

Mitch1993

Amateur
Is the most important issue POI shift with the can or is it the overall quality of the barrel? Is grouping the most important thing or longevity of the barrel? Is a consistent 2 MOA/100 yds barrel sufficiently accurate? One thing I would definitely pay attention to, especially if you intend to use a suppressor, is your gas port size. A well gassed gun unsuppressed will not be optimal suppressed. Additionally, a barrel that is overgassed, running unsuppressed may cause a lot of trouble with a suppressor.
Well, overall quality I suppose. All the barrels are very similar profiles I'm just wondering if any of them would really make a difference compared to each other. I have a Sionics and it's been a great barrel. I've just heard a little about BCM's from Ted Procter about the lightweight barrels not wandering as much compared to other brands. I'm guessing he means heat stringing. I don't know if it's because of the profile or manufacturing process.
 

Sunshine_Shooter

Established
I've just heard a little about BCM's from Ted Procter about the lightweight barrels not wandering as much compared to other brands. I'm guessing he means heat stringing. I don't know if it's because of the profile or manufacturing process.

I've heard interviews with a sales guy from Faxon stating that their barrels don't deviate more than 1 MoA, maximum, due to heat stringing. I don't know of anyone personally near me with a Faxon pencil or Gunner profile to test and see for myself, but I've yet to hear any bad remarks about Faxon's barrels from any source.

The Faxon guy also stated that lightweight barrel stringing under fire is due to manufacturing skill and processes, so I'd imagine any good barrel maker would have minimal stringing.
 

Longinvs

Regular Member
Quantified Performance
I've heard interviews with a sales guy from Faxon stating that their barrels don't deviate more than 1 MoA, maximum, due to heat stringing. I don't know of anyone personally near me with a Faxon pencil or Gunner profile to test and see for myself, but I've yet to hear any bad remarks about Faxon's barrels from any source.

The Faxon guy also stated that lightweight barrel stringing under fire is due to manufacturing skill and processes, so I'd imagine any good barrel maker would have minimal stringing.
I've got a 16 inch faxon pencil and I had identical results to what InRange had. It wasn't so much stringing as it was just the group opening up. I haven't run it with a can on it though and I'm not certain it would be the best candidate. I think accuracy would suffer from the heat the can would retain and the thin barrel combined with the weight on the front.
 

Mitch1993

Amateur
I've heard interviews with a sales guy from Faxon stating that their barrels don't deviate more than 1 MoA, maximum, due to heat stringing. I don't know of anyone personally near me with a Faxon pencil or Gunner profile to test and see for myself, but I've yet to hear any bad remarks about Faxon's barrels from any source.

The Faxon guy also stated that lightweight barrel stringing under fire is due to manufacturing skill and processes, so I'd imagine any good barrel maker would have minimal stringing.

I like Faxon it's just they're gas ports are a little too generous for me. Their 16 inch mids run a .081 and a Sionics is a .076. Using a can and also thinking about how that hole is only going to get larger makes me want to go for a smaller one.
 

Sunshine_Shooter

Established
I like Faxon it's just they're gas ports are a little too generous for me. Their 16 inch mids run a .081 and a Sionics is a .076. Using a can and also thinking about how that hole is only going to get larger makes me want to go for a smaller one.
Huh, interesting. Where did you find that info? I'm looking into one of their barrels for a future build and would like to know what the gas port on it is.
 

nightchief

Fighter of the Daychief
I have a Faxon Gunner profile 16" mid...the gas port seems to be about .080. Might be a bit over gassed with a suppressor
 

nightchief

Fighter of the Daychief
They got back to me yesterday afternoon. I'm looking at their gunner profile 11.5" with a mid-length gas system (solely to be used suppressed) and their prints spec a 0.110" gas port size.

One other thing about The Faxon barrel that I have...it is not pre dimpled opposite the gas port. QPQ is harder to drill thru than phosphate coating. If you’re gonna run a suppressed SBR/Pistol, having the gas block properly secured is important.
 

Yondering

Regular Member
Well, overall quality I suppose. All the barrels are very similar profiles I'm just wondering if any of them would really make a difference compared to each other. I have a Sionics and it's been a great barrel. I've just heard a little about BCM's from Ted Procter about the lightweight barrels not wandering as much compared to other brands. I'm guessing he means heat stringing. I don't know if it's because of the profile or manufacturing process.

I think it's important to understand that you'll be dealing with 2 different sources of POI shift - heat and the suppressor.

The heat issue is directly related to barrel quality, or more specifically, evenness of the barrel walls down the length of the barrel. Most barrel bores are not perfectly straight and tend to wander, even if the ends are concentric, but a quality barrel maker puts a lot of effort into minimizing this. Quality of the steel is important too, and the better barrel makers will even reject certain batches of steel that aren't up to their standards.
This POI change will vary as you heat up the barrel, and may be exaggerated by the weight of the suppressor.

The POI change from suppressor mounting is partly due to gas effect on the bullet, but mostly because you're hanging a weight on the end of a steel bar (the barrel); that weight causes some deflection. That deflection is directly related to barrel stiffness, a long thin barrel will generally show more POI drop than a heavy barrel.
That POI change should be consistent and repeatable though, and is easy to account for with a mil/mil optic - just record your POI shift suppressed, and either dial that much when the can is installed, or hold on the reticle. The POI change (for example - 0.7 mil down, 0.2 mil right) is consistent at extended ranges; just add it to the values in your established dope chart.

Hope that helps.
 

Sunshine_Shooter

Established
One other thing about The Faxon barrel that I have...it is not pre dimpled opposite the gas port. QPQ is harder to drill thru than phosphate coating. If you’re gonna run a suppressed SBR/Pistol, having the gas block properly secured is important.

I didn't know that they don't come dimpled. I'll be sure to keep that in mind when I get around to building that upper.
 

Mitch1993

Amateur
That does help Yondering. Thanks. I think I'll still go with the lightweight barrel, specifically from Sionics. I have their medium contour and have had great accuracy results with it. It also helps that Will Larson is on the team and he doesn't mess around. I have had almost 0 POI shift with that barrel at least at 50 yards (maybe not far enough to tell) so I don't think I'll have a crazy amount with the lightweight version. BCM was a close second and I know they're great, but I just trust Sionics from my experience, and the price is a little better too.
 
I have a Faxon 14.5 gunner with their pinned flash hider. I assembled the upper its in myself have about 2k rounds through it and haven't had any movement from the set screws on the gas block (i used blue loctite i believe), granted the longest string of fire was about 40ish rounds. I love the profile but it is definitely over gassed. i through it on a lower with the A5 system and it is way smoother now. I also have a 14.5 Triarc systems complete upper with a similar round count. Their track 2.0 barrels have a straight contour so not necessarily a lightweight barrel but very well balanced (could also see it handling being suppressed better than the faxon), also the smoothest shooting rifle i own, also have the option to pin the gas block in place. I have the SOLGW nox on it in preparation for a dead air can in the future. For what its worth, between the 2 i always choose my Triarc. they also have a 12.5 midlength I'm looking at getting my hands on. Hope this helps.
 
AIM surpuls sells pinned gas block faxon barrels. I have the 14.5 Gunner with the pinned gas block. It's not over gassed at all. Accurate as any non match barrel I have ever used.
 
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