How important is the Hammer forged barrel?
BCM only has the standard upper in stock, and it is more near what I want to spend anyways.
I assume it would still be far better than most others for $400, but can anyone explain the differences?
Their website says its the same steel, does anyone know how the barrels are made if not hammer forged?
Just looking for opinions while I mull this purchase over
Thanks in advance
Looks like you should get the standard. I understand the difference in barrel production and I don’t see any real benefit over the standard barrel.
I got the 14.5" mid length with the standard barrel and couldn’t be happier.
I would only buy a hammer forged barrel.
As an FYI, we have BCM BCG’s available (with the purchase of an upper). 
C4
great link clint, very informative, thanks
Sounds like hammer forged is considerably better, but Considering that lots of really good barrels are button rifled I dont think im worried about it.
Thanks grant, I just bought a PSA Premium BCG last weekend during their fathers day sale.
Its gonna be a week or 2 before i order the upper, well see if the Hammer forged is in stock when im ready, hopefully one of the 2 is 
FWIW: Colt doesnt CHF their barrels and they seem to do pretty well.
Although I wouldnt turn down a CHF barrel either if I came across one for a good price.
Why? Just curious…
I would assume if I wanted to do lots of classes/competition/ super heavy use I would pay the extra $90 and get one, but for my once a week casual use I dont think I require it.
Although I suppose it is nice to have the proper equiptment if you ever decide to step your game up.
I would love to do some IDPA/USPSA with my M&P9, or 3 gun or anything else, but there really isnt anything close to me (1hour away minimum) unfortunatly. Maybe someday Ill find a good class and devote some time to it. But thats another topic.
Accuracy and round count.
C4
I would only pay the extra for the hammer forged if it was all that was in stock. If it was in stock and the standard was not, I would gladly pay the extra for it.
I find accuracy best in this order:
1st Stainless match top quality barrels (BCM SS410s, Novekse 7P barrels, Centurion barrels)
Chrome Moly non chrome lined barrels
Certain hammer forged barrels (BCM BFG, Noveske N4 and Centurion chrome lined)
Stainless 2nd tier quality ones
Standard chrome lined AR barrels from everyone else
Does anyone know if BCM plans on making 12.5" HF barrels in the near future?
Standard BCM barrels are more than sufficient, they are mil-tec and better than most manufacturers offer. I have two BCM standard barrels and more happier than a puppy with two peters.
I would go with the standard barrel if you’re on a budget. Which upper are you looking at? BCM has the 16" and 14.5" midlenght in both standard and BFH in stock.
I just purchased a BCM 16" mid length and decided to go with the hammer forged barrel. I am sure either one would work just fine. This will be my first mid length upper, cant wait to try it out and compare it to the carbine length upper.
Has anyone actually done any accuracy testing between a hammer forged and standard BCM barrel?
I would love to see the results of a few groups with the only difference being the Hammer or Standard.
I have been pretty impressed with the accuracy of my BCM 14.5" standard.
Cameron
I haven’t seen any, but I’d like to see it too.
FWIW, most of the hammer-forged fans cite longevity though, which is harder to quantify.
Robb,
Interested in how you’d rank the DD Hammer Forged barrels among the other examples you listed. As accurate as the BCM and Noveske N4, or more along the lines of most standard chrome lined offerings?
Also never having fired a BCM BFG against a Standard BCM would the accuracy differential be enough to notice during the course of shooting a class, match, or in an actual engagement or are we talking an accuracy difference noticed during slow fire with match ammo from a bench or bipod? Just curious.
In that regard the question of the day would be, who has seen a shot out standard barrel and how long, many rounds, did it take vs. the hammer forged counterpart?
There is only a $70 difference in the 14.5" BCM barrels but I really would like to see just how much of a difference in “longevity” there would be… They both have the same chrome lining after all.
I suppose I really would like to know as I may be in the market for a new barrel for my SBR soon…
Cameron
This is what I’d like to know, how many on average for each? I’ve been told by gunshops :rolleyes: you can’t wearout a modern barrel :rolleyes::rolleyes:. After somewhere in the neighborhood of 12k-15k through my XD I noticed a considerable decrease in accuracy than when I first bought it. Springfield wanted $300 to replace the barrel and I needed to ship it to them at my expense :rolleyes: I paid $400 for it brand new, fuck that I sold it and bought a Glock.