I have done some research and they seem to be very good. How would you compare them to Noveske, Centurion, Krieger etc quality wise?
I talked to their US office on the phone a few months ago and was told they do not offer any cold hammer forged barrels. So for a military barrel, you would be ahead with BCM, Daniel Defense, Centurion, Noveske.
I think Sabre BBLs are very good,not just cuz I have one,but they are a top notch outfit,with Gov. Contracts I believe ! If they are good enough for the Gov/Military,they should be good enough for us Normal folks !!
I think they are batch tested,not everyone is MP/HP tested. With the Centurion/Noveske we have the super duper double chrome lining that makes them last longer than we would ever need them to last anyways. If you want the Most accurate BBL buy a Krieger. I say whatever one you can get the best price on and that BBL configuration meets your needs,go for it,any of them will serve you well.
i think they’re good barrels, based on their reputation. and DoD contracts means something. i currently have a M5 barrel- it shoots, and doesn’t malfunction.
i called and rapped with a technician one time, not too long ago (few months)… i had questions about their specs, so i called, got transfered about 5 times, and finally was told “i know the guy to talk to… hang on, i’ll send you to the shop floor.” i was transfered to a real nice guy with a georgian accent… i asked him about different gas port sizing for their various barrels, interested mostly in the 11.5, as i have my own opinions about gas port sizing and really want to make sure i end up with exactly what i want. this time.
he said “i think they’re .085.” i said, “hmm… that’s a little big… what about your M4 barrels?” “ah, those are .085 too. yea… they’re all …085… we’ve found that size works well for all our barrels.”
i thanked him and hung up… i measured the port on my M5… came out to exactly .080"… so i dunno.
that’s my only issue with sabre… that and the fact that they batch test. for barrels, that’s not nearly as important as it is with bolts.
make of all that what you will
I have an 11.5" and the fit and finish is comparable to some of the other big name makers,Colt,LMT. In my opinion there definitely better than Bushmaster or DPMS.
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FWIW, I’ve never seen anyone rank Sabre barrels up there with the ones you mentioned.
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I’ve shot one and it was very accurate, and it’s never malfunctioned on its owner.
That said, I believe that Sabre was a company that had its chance. Many others, particularly BCM and Daniel Defense, have come out with their own commercial line of readily available hammer forged barrels that are also less expensive than Sabre’s.
I own a Sabre upper among my other AR’s, and that barrel has been a top-notch performer. I’ve had no problems with it, the reliability has been excellent, and as a bonus, the accuracy is nearly as good as my White Oak match barrel, which is a heavy profile 20" barrel for CMP matches!
My understanding of Sabre barrels is this:
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Sabre has a company policy of building barrels for strength and durability, as they are trying to supply numerous govt contracts. And apparently they’ve convinced somebody, see a listing of the military products they provide barrels for. Among personal acquaintances and forums I’m involved in, I have not heard of any instance of a Sabre barrel failing, anywhere. And they claimed last time I talked to them about a year ago that they had yet to have any barrel failures. At the very least, it seems they’ve had a good track record of building strong barrels.
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They use the same base barrel steel that is used in most of the top milspec AR’s, including Colt, LMT, and Noveske.
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The ONLY fundamental difference I know of between Sabre and the other barrels like Colt is that Sabre does not do individual MPI and HPT testing on their barrels (you can confirm this on Comparison Chart of leading AR brands). However, Sabre told me on the phone, and Grant (C4IGrant on this forum, of G&R Tactical) has also confirmed with them (see his post), that they do similar types of testing at the batch level with their materials before they are individual manufactured. Grant states in his post that the TDP apparently allows this approach now. I’ve not verified that personally, but usually Grant knows his stuff, and if that is correct, I would assume they allow this approach because it works and they’ve had no major problems with it.
IMHO, Sabre has a fine track record of building quality barrels that meet the standards for mil use. The only reason NOT to buy a Sabre barrel would be if you believe that MPI and HPT testing of individual barrels (as on LMT, Colt, Noveske, and a few others) is a requirement.
Thanks for the info…
Not enough information on the barrels to judge no stretch test no chemical test. Without these I put them in the same boat as any 4150 chrome v steel barrel that is tuned concentric with a correct chamber. This of course puts them in the same boat as lots of other companies in my eyes.
I have two and they have been very good .
I have 2 of their 11.5s. I got them before BCM had 11.5s available. No complaints… and they’re accurate.
My experience with about a 1/2 dozen Sabre barrels is that 3 CAR gas 11.5" length barrels had HUGE gas ports, larger than many others with 10.5" barrels. Their stainless barrels are VERY accurate on par with JP & White Oak stainless. BCM SS410 and Noveske stainless I find to generally be a little more accurate.
I wouldn’t buy one, just because their gas port sizes are waaaay too loose.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t doubt them.