Whats the current consesus on BA barrels? Are they still pretty good? I had seen some threads a while back about some thread concentricity issues and some other things like that. Looking to pick up a hansen barrel for a rifle I’m working on for the wife and was considering them.
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They are acceptable barrels and better than the real low end quality barrels but I would not consider them to be a good barrel.
I just put together an upper with a Hanson barrel, good fit and finish, included pinned gas block is nice and aligned well, gassed very well, and as accurate as I am with the optic I’m using. Got it at RTB for ~$140+tax& shipping, definitely worth that to me.
The only issue I have with BA barrels is the lack of a dimpled gas port from the factory. I have several and all have properly spec’d gas ports and seem to shoot just fine. But it all depends on your intended purpose.
No dimple isn’t a dealbreaker for me as I have all my gas blocks pinned. If they shoot MOA with good ammo and sub 2 moa with standard ball thats good enough for me.
Their Hanson series comes with a pinned lo-pro gas block.
I have an upper, not built by me, using a 16" BA stainless black series barrel in .223 Wylde. My uses are as a dedicated iron sights upper, it has a standard front sight block and Magpul SL handguard. So far so good, I used it at my club two gun recently and it did me well. It didn’t take long to hit 200 and 300m steel targets standing, kneeling and prone. In fact, since the grass was so long I had to elevate the rifle above ground level to get a clear shot. I was impressed with my standing position accuracy and I attribute it, in part, to the barrel.
It is doubtful I will ever wear it out so I cannot speak to it’s longevity.
I’d say they are really good 100 yard barrels. Anything past that I don’t think you can expect decent accuracy out of a $150 barrel in late 2022.
I really like my BA 11.5 which is the hanson profile and is dimpled. I think they are better and more durable than most people give them credit for, especially for the money and would put them next to Roscoe barrels (non- Stainless steel) but there are better barrels on the market, you just have to pay for them
I used them twice…
The first one was a bare 10.5"…No issues
Second was a pinned FSB 14.5"…it was ridiculously canted and nearly maxed the windage on that particular build.
Pass for me from now on. They said they’d warranty the barrel. How about just make it correctly in the first place? I’ll stick to DD…many of barrels from them. (If they’re around after the current events)
Both were accurate enough, but something rubs me the wrong way on canted FSBs…I’ve have a few shitty OG Bushmasters that don’t have canted FSB’s.
I agree. Slight correction, the Hanson is 11.3".
The Hanson line pinned gas block is a nice bonus - no need to purchase a GB.
I honestly have no interest in the non-Hanson BA barrels.
Andy
Thanks for the correction, and I concur, I don’t care about their other barrels. I know that they are sister or partner companies with Aero Precision, and make go into SOLGW guns, as well as various other brands. I have a 13.9" BA upper of their I was going to build out, but I have too many other projects going on for that currently.
I have had pretty good results/ luck with all but 1 barrel I have purchased… strangely enough it was a 13.9 that would NOT shoot / group at all !! I returned it to PA for a 13.7 that was a tack driver…
All the other barrels I had were very good. I think their QC went down during the Flu… and it is back up now.
I only run their Hanson profile on all my builds now…
I DID seem to find that if you don’t clean the barrel before going out to zero you don’t get the best results…once cleaned out it seems accuracy improves …and then just continues to get better… I think initial cleaning is the key…at least it has been for me.