I have built ARs since the early 90s, and being 58 now, I am building my last one. I have always used chrome lined, but want something different this time, and have a few questions before I decide.
First, I am going the pencil barrel route, with a FF handguard. But main question with barrel material.
Knowing that some will say one material is more accurate than another, after a pencil barrel has emptied a couple mags, will one still be more accurate than another to the ratio it was when they were cold? Such as, if stainless is more accurate, will it still be after the different barrels are hot, or at this point, does it matter?
I am looking at chrome lined, CHF chrome lined, stainless, and melonite, though leaning towards the melonite because I don’t care for the stainless look.
Next, is a FF rail really heavy duty enough for rough use? Does it depend on brand? The last AR I built I used a FF rail on a BCM enhanced light weight barrel, and really like it, but have never treated it rough… yet. My other rail is a drop it and have put it through the paces and is something I trust a lot.
BUT, the older I get, the lighter I want.
Being old school and never really caring for the “modern” stuff on the market, and only in the last year getting into trying rails, barrel and bcg coatings, the newer red dots, stocks etcs… it takes a lot of time to filter through it all.
I don’t care about cleaning, barrel life etc, will one barrel material be better after sustained firing, should I go FF for rough use, or use a drop in?
Thank in advance…
You couldn’t find any info with the countless discussions about barrels?
Not that answered my question. I presume you don’t know from your sarcastic reply.
He’s not being sarcastic. He’s being helpful. If you use the search function you will find a vast number of threads about the subject. Lots of good info. Some old and some new.
Click this link and see what he means. LINK
Also, your 58 and building your last AR? 58 is the new 48. Enjoy the hell out of it. I am. 
Brother, 61 is the new 21, lots of miles left.
for me, 58 was Life 2.0. No beef, booze, bacon, ice cream, fried anything, ever again. go to a July 4th cookout, I can eat the beans. once a year on my birthday I look death in the face and eat corned beef hash for breakfast.
In Re “use the search function” parrots: yes, indeed, there are 2 thousand posts, with 1 to 256 replies each, 20 of which contain pearls of information. I have gone through SCUBA, Baja bug and wireless sites and created FAQs from those pearls of information, and a week later the site gets hacked and the FAQ is lost.
I too would like to see comprehensive ar15 testing on a variety of contours / materials… Like charts that showed rate of fire, barrel temp, accuracy, poi shift.
Not what you asked but here are some barrels that I’d call accurate from lots of reading:
Rainier Arms ultramatch, Lothar Walther, Larue, Daniel Defense S2W, Spikes ss (walther), Maga Arms, Seekins, High Caliber Sales, pri / douglas barrel, Compass lake, Krieger, Shilen, JP, BCM ss(Criterion?), Noveske, Bergara
Some of those are better than others.
Right now Larue barrels are available at introductory pricing. Their 16" preditAR barrel is 25 ounces and looks to have some sort of nitride finish. I have one on order to test out. Normal “match” 16" stainless barrels are usually 30 to 38 ounces.
No material suitable for use as an AR barrel is more accurate than another. It’s quality and proper dimensions that count. If you are not going to use good ammo in your AR, accuracy will be no better with a match or match grade barrel than it is with an ordinary barrel.
Barrels are like tires. Use them enough and they will wear out. How quick they wear out will depend on how they are used. A fat profile barrel handles heat better, a light barrel usually feels livelier. Even so, it takes a lot of money to buy enough ammo to shoot out a barrel. Whether you get a chrome lined barrel or a stainless steel barrel ir a melonited barrel, it will serve more than well enough so long as it’s made right
If you are leaning towards melonite you should look at Sionics barrels and uppers.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
My two cents: buy a barrel from a mfg who is well regarded here. Pay attention to the gas port size. Save yourself some headache and $$$ and get it right from the get go.
Buy a top tier manufacturer and call,it good. BCM, colt, Daniel defense, any of those should serve you well,