I’ve searched and read and came across barrels by FN that are supposed to be great. I see them sold by PSA, Spikes, Rifle Gear and Centurion.
What I noticed is that the chrome plating is listed as double thick machine gun steel. Same as a saw.
I looked at DD and BCM and they don’t list that type of chrome or steel. Is it really something special or worth going out of the way to get or is very specialized and more of a one off?
Thanks
Overkill. IMO the only company that makes sense with it is Noveske.
Outside of that, BCM BFH barrels IMO are better than any of the brands you posted above IMO. I steer clear of Spikes, definitely steer clear of PSA, and centurion, meh, for the price I’ll personally take a DD or BCM. IMO look at the filthy 14 and how many rounds through a standard BCM barrel (non BFH) they put through it without issue. Unless your running crazy amounts of ammo through it in full auto, I honestly doubt you’d ever see or notice a difference with twice the amount of chroming.
I have one of the M249 chrome spec barrels and love it. It’s accurate, consistent, and has not shown any issues in its performance.
I can tell you that buying a standard BCM is nearly the same cost, and owning one of those and a BFH as well, the BCM standard barrel has the best “bang for the buck.”
The better question is, what are you using the rifle for?
I am curious on why you say to stay clear of the spikes barrels. I have sold and installed many and all have been excellent shooters.
BCM BFH barrels are FN forged barrels too.
Out of those listed, you might want to do research on the maker of BFH/CHF barrels for Spikes, PSA, BCM. DD makes their own.
I did not know this…interesting.
I think Bravo’s Button barrels are FN too. Good stuff either way you go.
There are only 4 CHF barrel manufactures in this country. So everyone get there barrels from one of 4. I know FN ( who makes spikes, and centurion), Daniel defense, Ruger and I think Remington is the other but I may be wrong.
Does Colt Canada produce Hammer forged barrels?
I have not found my Noveske barrels to be anything out of the ordinary, regarding the bore. They were the CHF/2x thick chrome lined jobs. They were just as accurate as any of my other rifles. No more, no less. The clean-up was nice, though, because hammer forged barrel bores are nice and smooth compared to other methods. I would DEFINITELY spring for a CHF barrel. Whether it had 2x thick chrome lining or not, I would not stress over.
This was my experience as well. No increase in accuracy versus other chf barrels. For the money, without the hassle of worrying about proper port sizes, I’d get a BCM barrel. Hammer forged vs standard is sort of a toss up.
Yes and I believe the only company using them is KAC.
That’s the rumor I’d always heard, but never bothered to inquire about it.
There’s nothing really wrong with FN heavy chromed or Colt Canada barrels to begin with, both are very good in quality. Problems arise when certain companies contract them and spec the dimensions poorly like gas port size, etc. That and the few that gripe about the rounds needed to burnish in the bore to a polish, they don’t “come in” as fast as premium lapped ones do, but the chrome bores do last longer. Just pic the right barrel for the application.
Colt Canada AR barrels cannot be imported into the US because they are made for a rifle the .gov defines as having no sporting purpose
That’s bad news then, they were available unfinished. Maybe the situation has changed now? There are a lot of these barrels in circulation in the USA now.
KAC appears to have been using Colt Canada barrels at some point as it’s been confirmed by KevinB: https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?60051-Are-KAC-Barrels-made-by-Colt-Canada&p=731722#post731722
I suppose it’s possible that things have changed and KAC no longer sources barrels from them.
Agree on the overkill, however, as I understand it both BCM and PSA source their barrels from FN. So the rest of your statement only makes partial sense when you consider none of them actually manufacture barrels. I suppose the spec’s “could be” radically different but for most uses an BCM FN barrel is likely equivalent to a PSA FN barrel. If not someone please correct me.
Gas port on my PSA FN is larger than on my BCH BFH… Only measurable difference I recall finding, though if FN is making either to a specific drawing from the end purchaser there can be greater variances in profile that I just didn’t notice.