A lot of AR-15 barrel manufacturers take a one-size-fits-all approach to some of the specs on their barrels: gas port diameter, gas system length, rifling twist rate, etc. This makes manufacturing easier, but does it result in the best-possible barrel performance? The folks at Rosco Manufacturing did a LOT of research and discovered that different barrel lengths require different specs in order to get the best accuracy with the softest recoil, without sacrificing reliability. Rosco has been an OEM manufacturer for a lot of AR-15 makers. If you've shot some higher-end ARs, you've probably shot more than one with a Rosco barrel, even if you didn't know it. Now, Rosco is offering barrels under their own brand name. Brownells Gun Tech™ Caleb Savant has been a fan of these barrels for a while now, so he's glad to give us an overview of them.
Quality is not just a word at Rosco, so they manufacture their barrels to exacting standards, with little enhancements like dimpling the gas journal for a low-profile gas block. You can get a Rosco barrel made of 416R stainless steel with a black Nitride finish, or if you prefer traditional carbon steel, you can get your Rosco in 4150 chrome-moly alloy. In keeping with their goal to customize specs to achieve the best-possible performance from each model, many Rosco barrels require a proprietary gas tube length. Don't worry, the unique gas tube comes with the barrel.
How good are Rosco barrels? Caleb's latest AR-15 builds ALL have Rosco barrels! By the way, the Rosco motto is "Proudly made in the USA by hardworking Americans." Sounds good, doesn't it?
