I need a good accurate AR15 barrel, who all makes good ones? I don't need stainless steel because the rest of the rifle isn't stainless and I don't do all THAT much shooting, maybe 500 rounds a year. Besides being a long time caster (50 years this last summer), I'm starting to know what I'm doing when it comes to shooting. Last summer I inherited a new Palmetto State Armory PA15, their version of the AR15 with a 16 inch barrel. Earlier I was whining and complaining about 8 inch groups, which is BAD. I had been using cheap store bought 55 grain ammo I had bought with the rifle to sight it in because I was too lazy to load some up that day, and to make a long story short, when I eventually got around to using my own GOOD processed brass with 62 grain red coats with 25.1 grains of TAC powder, I got my groups down to 4 inches at 100 yards. Right around four inches at 100 yards is all these rifles are guaranteed good for even though I have heard of other Palmetto State Armory PA15s that do under an inch out of the box, so it has lived up to its end of the deal. I have two other 5.56x45 rifles, a Harrington Richardson Ultra Varmint that gives me 1/2" groups at 200 yards with my same TAC loads, and a recent manufacture Ruger Mini-14 that gives me 1" at 100 yards with my same good TAC loads, so instead of fooling around beating a dead horse by trying to work up loads that will give me what I want out of a sick barrel, I think I'm better off putting a GOOD barrel in my Palmetto State Armory PA15 that is something more akin to what is in my Harrington Richardson Ultra Varmint that does 1/4-inch at 100 yards.
I don't mind an 18" or even 20" barrel in my AR15, just aslong as it shoots okay. I've heard of White Oak barrels plus I did a little research with the Palmetto State Armory PA15 and found out it is built from good components made by FN, among others, so is probably okay to just swap barrels without worrying too much about the quality of the rest of the rifle. Who else makes good barrels? I already do smithing on my own Garands, Mosin-Nagants, Model 98 Mausers and have changed out barrels and have set head-spacing on them (I know it is different on AR15s, I have the barrel tools, good torque wrench, and got several videos and watched them already). Thanks!
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