minute barrel, epically over gassed.
forget about this if you wont put an adjustable gas block on it. there should be a note on it it is so bad. my extractor was trying to rip the rim off(h2 buffer). after adjustable gas block, it got to where i expected it would be with the brass. i polished feed ramps like others have mentioned. i really want to love on faxon and brownells, but i feel this was a swing and a miss.
minute barrel, epically over gassed.
forget about this if you wont put an adjustable gas block on it. there should be a note on it it is so bad. my extractor was trying to rip the rim off(h2 buffer). after adjustable gas block, it got to where i expected it would be with the brass. i polished feed ramps like others have mentioned. i really want to love on faxon and brownells, but i feel this was a swing and a miss.
High quality
This is a very high quality barrel. Although stainless it has a nice black nitride finish. It fit the upper receiver we use in our builds very snug. Couple of points to be aware of: 1) The gas block journal was slightly oversize. It is a nominal 0.750" but we had to try several gas blocks before finding one that came close to fitting. Even then, we had to grind the inside of the gas block for it to fit. This isn't necessarily a bad thing as it won't leak! 2) The gas block journal was NOT dimpled on the underside for set screws on the barrel we received. While we have the tooling to do this easily, most folks do not. So be aware.
Quality Barrel
I haven't yet installed this barrel, but like most Faxon products, it sets the industry standard in quality. It's a great looking barrel, and I have every expectation that it will shoot exceptionally well.
Nice Barrel!
So as much as I would love to give the barrel 5 stars, its only getting 4. The barrel machine work and exterior finish is amazing. I wasnt sure how the nitrated 416R stainless would look. It looks amazing. My chamber and bore look flawless. I put 40 rounds of Hornady Black down mine. I am running a superlative arms adjustable gas block with 27 clicks from closed. Which is 7 clicks into the bleed off function. I am using an H1 buffer and a Faxon 6.5 grendel BCG. After the break in, gas tuning, and sighting in I had 2 last groups that were good. However my scope did walk in the rings all the way forward. I cant wait to see what it does with a solid scope lol At 100 yards my 2nd to last 3 shot group was done and shot Sub MOA! Was a 7/8 group. My last group was 4. I had an extra round My last group was done roughly 150 yards. Was a 1-1/4 group. Ok. So now down to the negatives. The barrel extension. When I inspected mine after receiving I could see the hole drilled in my barrel extension for the index pin appears to have been started off center, then it was corrected. It was questionable. If I ever remove the barrel I will remove the index pin and install an oversized one. So the other negative as another user pointed out is the sharpness on the edge of the feedramps. Yes they were sharp. Yes they scored rounds and cases slightly. Yes I spent time deburring those sharp edges. I am totally happy with it now. Barrel itself is great. With full open gas block I was getting 2 o clock ejection consistently. I tuned it down to a 4 o clock ejection pattern currently. I did see a YouTube video of another user of this exact 18 barrel install his with a standard gas block. After testing he concluded his was way overgassed. Videos showed.
not great groups YET
I have shot 7 3 shot groups with this barrel and they were 1.3 -1.8MOA at 100yds with benchrest... not amazing thats for sure(i have 2 other rifles that shot 0.5 moa so its not the shooter) maybe it will get better with handloads? ive been trying the hornady factory 105 black and 108gr match. not sold on this barrel yet, but dies get here soon and will try some lighter gr bullets might be the trick with 1:8 twist. BTW 2550FPS with the hornadys
Gas much?!? Maybe too much...
The overall quality seems to be good; as expected from Faxon. The price was excellent and the 16" length coupled with the 6mm ARC makes for a very potent hunting/tactical carbine. The ammo I've tested so far, both factory and reloads, suggests that once this barrel is properly seasoned it should make for a consistent 1MOA to sub-moa shooter. My only complaints are the mid-gas: which seems to be a bit too much, especially suppressed, and the 1:8" twist rate. A rifle-gas and 7.5" twist would have made an "okay/good" barrel into a "great" barrel. Velocities with Hornady factory 108ELD-M were surprisingly high, at over 2500 ft/s on average: making for a very light and handy carbine that is capable of reaching 1000 yards. The 6mm ARC is a 100% 'YES' for me: the 16" barrel, no-brainer for average use and hunting. Gas length and twist rate choice: I might have gone another way, but it shoots pleasant enough and considering the price, it was worth it. Good barrel for the money, which supports a great caliber!
