Guys, I just recently purchased a N4 light basic rifle and really like it. I have shot 300 rounds through it since I have had it the last 2 weeks. I am now working on my next build and was contemplating the all stainless afghan rifle but am not sure if the afghan would be a better rifle than the light series. Which series of Noveske would be a best bet for a dedicated suppressor rifle as I have a AAC M4-2000 coming soon. I am up in the air on the switchblock at this point…
I bought an Afghan in 2007 and sold it. Very accurate but HEAVY. An N-4 Middy would suppress just fine and not weight a ton. YMMV.
Similar experience - I bought a Recon and sold it. Too heavy between the stainless barrel and SWS rail. I’m very pleased with my Noveske/VTAC rifle.
Nothing but good to say on my N4 light Recce. Even with the SWS rails my rifle is pretty light
for shooting targets and courses, standard barrel.
for hunting i’d say SS.
i read the SS gets more less accuracy when barrel gets hot.
I’d be down for a 14.5’’ N4 middy with fixed FSB.
It’s not a matter of one of these barrels being “better” than the other. It’s a matter of each serving a different role. Both of these barrels meet the needs of their intended mission extremely well. Define your needs and choose based on that.
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Excerpts:
Noveske: All the stainless barrels have…that button that we designed, I call “Improved Polygonal”. The polygonal that I used in the past and that some other people are using has one shortcoming, which is an unpredictable end-of-service life. It goes from shooting great to tumbling bullets. Our barrel now gives you a predictable end-of-service life. As it’s shooting out, it’s going to open up in group before the bullets tumble.
Crane: And how many rounds are you gonna’ get out of that?
Noveske: I don’t know. I know of barrels that are over 15,000 rounds still in service. So, I don’t know how long they’ll go, but I know that they’re going quite a ways.
rane: If you’re settin’ up an AR carbine for somebody, most of the time, are you gonna’ recommend the stainless polygonal?
Noveske: Well, it depends. I ask them what they’re gonna’ do with it. The stainless-barreled uppers and rifles that we sell are a precision carbine. The chrome-lined light carbines are…for the guy that says he’s gonna’ beat it up, he’s gonna’ abuse it, he’s gonna’ train hard, he’s gonna’ do full-auto mag dumps, that’s the gun for that kind of treatment. The guy that’s gonna’ be sniper, counter-sniper, or anything precision…
Noveske: Either one’s fine. They’re both very accurate. I’ve got groups that people have sent me with both barrels under half an inch at 100 yards, so it’s kind of like I’m competing with myself.
Crane: If you’re looking at both the stainless barrel and the chrome-lined barrel, what’s standard MOA on these guns, on these barrels.
Noveske: Stainless barrels–and I’m not sayin’ this from what I’ve shot. This is reports from customers—The typical end-user report on my stainless barrels is about .6 MOA, and the Light Carbine barrels, most everything I hear is sub-MOA, and that means it can be three quarters of an inch [3/4" MOA] or half an inch [1/2" MOA].
Crane: So stainless is gonna’ be a little bit more accurate, but not much.
If you look through the website there are a few more articles on some other Noveske products.
I recently got an Afghan myself and I really like it. I also agree with Molon’s thoughts. Find something that fits your needs and more importantly something you feel comfortable with using/ carrying.
Although, I would concede that the stainless Noveske rifles/ builds are not light-weight. I don’t find it to be a problem myself.
Good Luck in your search.
SkiDevil
thanks, I am leaning towards the light series w/ the switchblock for the AAC! should take care of what I am going to use it for.
Molon hit it on the head. They way I think about it is it depends on what you want the rifle and how you are going to set it up. I mean using a red dot on a rifle with a great stainless barrel seems like a waste. What I mean is, you will never really tell the difference using that optic between a Noveske stainless barrel and the N4. Now, if you are gonna use a 1-4 or more optic you will see a difference in the accuracy and maybe justify the stainless. Not saying you can not shoot accurately with a red dot, just do not think you will be squeezing every bit of accuracy potential with it plus it is really not what it is intended for. Anyway that is the way I think about it. Other folks may have different ideas. Hope that helps. Oh, and yes the stainless barrels are a bit heavier feeling.
This is on the money. The Noveske Recon barrel is quite accurate, but the profile and configuration of the Recon upper (using the VLTOR MUR) I think better lends itself to a magnified optic for use in a precision role. For the ranges typically available to me (I’m often limited to a 50 yard range), I found the Recon to be more than I required and that I was paying an unnecessary weight penalty for my needs. Were I planning to shoot out past 300M with a magnified optic and a bipod, the Recon would be my first choice. Using the Recon with a red dot didn’t add up, and I moved to the Noveske/VTAC rifle.
Just to add some numbers to the discussion…
2lb 3oz 16" Recon barrel w/GB
1lb 13oz 16" Light Recce barrel w/GB
1lb 3oz 11" SWS/Noveske rail (includes 5oz SWS barrel nut)
12.6 oz VTAC Extreme 13" rail (includes 1.5oz Troy barrel nut)
Hence my comments that if weight is a consideration, there is a noticeable difference between the chrome lined and stainless Noveske barrels (6 oz difference for the 16" barrels), as well as a noticeable difference between the various rails that Noveske offers.
so the way I am reading this is that the 14.5" Afghan is going to around 5 - 6 ounces heavier than the light version? I would opt for the Afghan because of the midlength gas system as well as the switchblock for my M4-2K. It is hard to decide these things looking at a computer screen???
Here is a picture of my Noveske Afghan Rifle 14.5" stainless steel barrel with a pinned Vortex Flash Hider.
The weight is approx. 9.2 Lbs as shown with a Leupold FX 2.5X20 mm scope, mounted with an American Defense Recon 1" scope mount, TROY front and rear BUIS, Milspec MagPul CTR, Voltr receiver extension, Colt Carbine Buffer/ Spring, DD QD end-plate, Tango Down Stubby VFG, Tango-Down Battle grip, MagPul trigger Guard, and mil-spec FCG.
The weight of rifle with a loaded 30 RD P-Mag with 25 rounds of Hornandy 55gr TAP rounds is approx. 10.4 LBS.
*Note: The weights are approx. from using a general weight scale. I don’t have access to a postal type scale.
