I'm trying to talk myself into a LaRue, but...

[strambo]

I don’t know much about different barrel steels or anything…but Larue got feedback on one of their uppers from a military user recently that had about 56,000 rounds through it before it key-holed. I think he said it went about 30K before accuracy opened up from less than MOA to about 2MOA then held there until it started keyhole-ing.

I couldn’t afford enough ammo to wear out either barrel…I’m sure either one would be great.

[NinjaTactics]

@Southern_Partisan

1.) The Chart and virtually everything else I have read here says to go with M4 feedramps. LaRue offers rifle feedramps on their Upper Receivers (directly through them, but these same uppers come with M4 feedramps through G&R - you just can’t get the LaRue barrels or lowers through G&R). When I asked LaRue Sales about their lack of M4 feedramps, I was told “… not necessary for 99% of shooters”, and “… in a mid-length, semiautomatic rifle, it simply isn’t necessary”. The Stealth would be a 16" mid-length without M4 feedramps, so the question is should I go with the LaRue barrel / receiver in a SHTF weapon if I cannot obtain it with the M4 feedramps??

The reason LaRue says feedramps aren’t necessary for 99% of shooters is because they were designed to aid in reducing complications of loading when on full-automatic fire rates, which 99% of civilian shooters will never do. That being said, if they are priced similarly, why not go with the option that 100% of shooters could use (ie with feedramps)?

@Southern_Partisan

2.) LW-50 stainless (LaRue) versus SS410 (BCM). LaRue’s website seems to employ a Sales technique known as FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) to turn you off their competitor’s offerings by implying potential issues with 416 and 410 Stainless such as throat erosion and shorter barrel life due to sulfur content in these lesser grades of steel. What are the real and tangible differences between LW-50 and SS410 for the average shooter?? This barrel will be on a semi-automatic rifle where the only anticipated use of a sustained, rapid-fire mode of firing would be if I found myself in a life-or-death personal defense situation where I was sending rounds downrange just as quickly as I could get them off.

For the ‘average shooter’ there will be no difference. Also, ask yourself why you need a stainless barrel as well for your purposes. Would it simply be better to use the extra money for additional ammo and training?

@Southern_Partisan

3.) My initial impressions of billet lowers, based on my admittedly limited experience, have been favorable. I like that they can have very clean lines, integrated trigger guards, flared magwells, and that a billet 7075-T6 lower is as strong as one that has been forged. I was advised by a well-known and respected member of this forum that I should “pass on the billet lowers. They cause more problems than fix”. Can anyone please explain to me what problems one could encounter by going with a quality billet lower like LaRue or Mega??

Most billet lowers try to improve the design of existing forged lowers, so sometimes people experiment. There’s nothing wrong with forged lowers, so again, ask yourself if the extra money is worth it, or would be better served for additional ammo and training.

Personally I’d rather use extra money for ammo and training, because I’m of the opinion that I’d rather have a mastery of my chosen weapon than just be decent with a possibly superior weapon. If you can afford the fanciest weapon plus unlimited ammo and training then that’s even better. Both of the options you outlined are high quality and should be reliable, so it’s up to you on what you value and how you wish to spend your money. I would say that you’ll probably only buy an AR-15 variant once, but that would be a lie because you’ll probably become very interested and buy multiple ones eventually.

Disclaimer: I own LMT, BCM, and Noveske stuff mainly (LaRue mounts as well).

[Belmont31R]

@NinjaTactics

The reason LaRue says feedramps aren’t necessary for 99% of shooters is because they were designed to aid in reducing complications of loading when on full-automatic fire rates, which 99% of civilian shooters will never do. That being said, if they are priced similarly, why not go with the option that 100% of shooters could use (ie with feedramps)?

For the ‘average shooter’ there will be no difference. Also, ask yourself why you need a stainless barrel as well for your purposes. Would it simply be better to use the extra money for additional ammo and training?

Most billet lowers try to improve the design of existing forged lowers, so sometimes people experiment. There’s nothing wrong with forged lowers, so again, ask yourself if the extra money is worth it, or would be better served for additional ammo and training.

Personally I’d rather use extra money for ammo and training, because I’m of the opinion that I’d rather have a mastery of my chosen weapon than just be decent with a possibly superior weapon. If you can afford the fanciest weapon plus unlimited ammo and training then that’s even better. Both of the options you outlined are high quality and should be reliable, so it’s up to you on what you value and how you wish to spend your money. I would say that you’ll probably only buy an AR-15 variant once, but that would be a lie because you’ll probably become very interested and buy multiple ones eventually.

Disclaimer: I own LMT, BCM, and Noveske stuff mainly (LaRue mounts as well).

Funny you mention LMT, BCM, and Noveske and then tell the guy to buy something other than LaRue to save money for “ammo and training”.

A comparitively outfitted LMT, BCM, and Noveske is going to cost in the same ballpark as those 3 brands, and Noveske’s uppers are more expensive.

Feedramps? We have how many thousands of guy in combat right now without M4 feedramps, and my Stealth never had a single malfunction in around 7k rounds. My only rifle Ive had to do this, and Ive owned all the brands discussed here + others. Some cost more some cost less.

The cheapest Noveske that is similar to the Stealth runs 2300-2400 dollars for the complete gun. LaRue is 1200+250 for the lower…That leaves almost a thousand extra dollars to finish the lower, sights, SSA trigger, stock, etc. You would undoubtely end up with a better value going LaRue over Noveske for a similar rifle (16"+ stainless). If you’re talking CHF barrel the KAC SR15 is a better value for the dollar. More advanced BCG design, better lower as far as functionality, better trigger, etc.

BCM would be cheaper but not by much. A compariable upper is still going to be close to 1k or more. LMT’s only factory offering that is close is the MRP which would probably cost the same or more.