Thank you for putting together such a thorough video on barrel inspection. As you stated, while we demand the highest standards in quality with our manufacturing, we would be remiss to say we are perfect. However, we stand by our guarantee on our rifle barrels to give sub-MOA accuracy. As such, we would absolutely replace this barrel for any customer. Please give us a call.
Ballistic Advantage is the only barrel I use in my AR builds. I recently used their 14.7" pencil barrel...which is quite accurate, light weight at 20oz. And the gas block is pinned with set screws...comes this way from BA. The entire build is bomb proof, light weight and shoots well. I think the entire AR is 6lbs and 6 oz with an MRO optic on top....add another lb. when there's a full mag. Mags usually weigh about 4-5 oz and 30 rounds comes in at 12 oz.
@@tedundercarriage8183 this barrel but with a .22lr conversion shooting the 22lr rat/snake shot would be really interesting and entertaining to see nonetheless lol
I bought a BA barrel and they sent me the a 6.5 Grendel instead of 223 Wylde that I ordered. I called them and told them about the mistake. They immediately sent me out the correct barrel and said I could keep the other barrel for a future build if there's no return label inside the correct barrel package. No return label was inside the box so I got to keep the incorrect barrel. Can't beat that for customer service! The fact that they immediately sent me out the correct barrel without having to return the other with no questions asked speaks for itself. Very few companies would do that!
The gauges don’t lie!!! during our two day course at SOTAR we had Aero Precision/Ballistic Advantage barrels completely within spec, while there we factory new Hodge & Noveske barrels that were out of spec , so much that we had to recut the chamber on the Noveske to finish the build/class. Great learning experience!
@@johnkruer7557He didn't. He's talking about gaging in general. There were other checks performed using gauges in this video. It wasn't all about the rifling.
I’ve never seen a 22 caliber shotgun. Very neat. In all seriousness, this is to be expected anymore from any company. At least it’s an obvious problem that is easily resolved with a new barrel. It would be interesting to see what it shoots like.
I would much rather have a barrel that simply skipped an entire manufacturing process, rather than a barrel out of spec. It's shows that they know how to make a barrel, but humans are fallible creatures, and sometimes 3:30 on a Friday causes a worker to mistake the barrel he just chucked into the machine with the one he just finished.
@@mastur_grunt4244 Ya sometimes the taco from the taco truck ain't sitting right and the dude will make mistakes because he's got more important things on his mind.
My shop, 2A Tactical in Barrington NH, has been selling and installing Ballistic Advantage Barrels for 8 years. We've been extremely happy with the high quality of their products. I've had several conversations with Clint Hanson on the phone (despite never meeting him in person) for relatively minor issues, and he's fixed them immediately. Even the best companies have things that fall through the cracks. And even the best QA / QC programs miss something once in a while. I see no issue with your video Chad, you are addressing a serious flaw. And I think you handled it properly and responsibly, as a learning moment and as stated, as a sample "of one." Clint stands by his products and will continue to learn from rare issue such as this and will keep moving forward as one of the best manufacturers of AR barrels around. -Rob Russell, Owner, 2A Tactical LLC. PS - I don't know Clint personally, I am only a customer of his. I have nothing to gain from typing this. I just felt it was the right thing to do.
All the folks who wander in here to seek reason to complain, they should be reading your post over and over. As well as reading BA's direct comment elsewhere in the thread.
If anyone is in Southern NH, you'll want go over to 2a tactical and check them out👍👍 awesome to see your comment here! (I type this from Alaska now, but I'm from NH, and you guys were always great! 💪) One of the best shops in New England for sure.
@@buckaroobonsi555the irony of your statement talking about complaining liberals is hilarious. As you yourself complain about something that's not even an issue 😂 that was the most "I'm offended blue haired liberal" comment you could've made bud. Yikes!
This barrel reminds me of that rifle that Franklin armory came out with a few years ago where the 10" barrel didn't have rifling to try to get around the NFA.
I thought I was the only guy with a 5.56 shotgun. Bought a rifle a few years back and came to find out it had no rifling in the barrel. The company sent me a replacement, but I kept it like that great conversation piece. Actually, somewhat accurate as well, just shoots keyhole every time!
As a new mechnical engineer I love the clear explanations and when you touch on manufacturering processes. When in college I had a project for a manufacturing class. I chose something I enjoyed, AR-15 parts and the processes used to manufacture them. I want to say thank you as your channel helped inspire me to consider that topic. BTW, I got a A on the project in Dr. Zhu's Material and Process class.
Never been on this channel before but I’m impressed. It’s hard to find anyone who actually does any kind of testing and checking specs. Very informative video and subscribed!
I'd almost want to keep that barrel. You could do some fun experiments with a modern smooth bore. Great for rat shot 22 or with the conversion kit, Henry makes a smooth bore 22lr just for that reason. Not to mention all the other experiments you can do with it. I'd still want BA to send a replacement, or sell me a barrel at the cost of materials if I could keep the smooth bore.
I haven’t had any product issues with BA, just a billing issue on an order. Their customer service responded quickly and resolved the issue the same day.
Awesome. Did you send it back to ARP for them to use as their QA/QC demo reminder? Anyone who's done a fair amount of engine work or general auto mechanical work has seen, or knows an honest person who's seen, a manufacture goof. Even the most reputable companies have them, they just have fewer.
Interesting as always 👍 This was a bit suprising,a rifle barrel without rifling.. I was waiting for a bad crown,wrong chamber dimensions,gas port..what ever.. Not this😮
Im glad you mention multiple times that any manufacturer makes mistakes. Missing rifling is a big one but I've seen em slip by. People don't realize that even with pricier guns you're usually buying something that is mass produced and it's just a question of how much can be thrown away during the checking process... it doesn't mean that something can't slip by, however.
Years ago I bought a ruger single six made in 1954. Wouldn't group at all... Come to find out that the barrel was completely smooth and shiny. I really doubt that someone shot it so much that there is zero rifling left. I always figured that it left the factory that way.
Stuff happens. In early 90s my unit got issued new M249 machine guns with that we had to send to direct support for refitting with new style barrels (folding carry handle) none of them was rifled. I was the one who had to point that out after seeing the soldiers shots on 10m paster targets every bullet keyhole or hitting sideways. 18 guns from functional to deadline.
Wow! I have 5 BA barrels amongst my personal builds. I have found them all to be above average in accuracy, fit and finish. I certainly have had worse. Proof anyone can make mistakes. And no I don't work for BA or any related company. 23 years in the military and now I work in IT (disability prevents much else)
That’s unbelievable! I guess I’ll be checking all my barrels for rifling from now on! Shout out to ballistic advantage I know they would fix this 100%. I’ll still support them in fact I plan on picking up a 18” fluted spr barrel this week from them.
it was found that HEAT rounds fired out of a rifled barrel would wobble in flight and because of the spin not hit correctly every time. This barrel was obviously made to fire the 55.6 mm HE and APDS rounds. As opposed to the 76.2mm. (yes i'm being silly)
Please don’t stop listing the companies names on your videos!! Some of us want as much information as possible! Not to try and ruin a company. Great stuff. Very informative.
I can't fault him for not, but I agree. Done in the exacting & professional way he does it, it'd be pretty hard to argue with his results on what each company is putting together. The sample size he's able to inspect would be the only problem. That and his time.
oh my, I did notice when you were running your bore-scope down the barrel that I didn't see any rifling. I figured the scope was just too close to really be able to see the lands and grooves. That's amazing, I have to wonder how something like this even happens? As I recall Balistic Advantage barrels are button rifled so I wonder if an un-rifled blank somehow ended up in the stack of already rifled ones and made it all the way through the remainder of the processing without someone noticing.
It's got to be a process step oversight, as you suggest. In all human manufacture such things can happen, and even an automated process line can make mistakes! BA undoubtedly would fix this issue with a replacement barrel.
I used to work as an inspector for a machine shop. For large quantity of items, you normally do a percentage check on dimensions that have large tolerances, and only 100% inspection on things with super tight tolerances (Like 0.002" or less) unless the customer requests and pays for 100% inspection. I have seen parts come back from heat treatment where they missed 1 part, but had we not done 100% inspection (heat treat is easy as it leaves scale on the parts), it could have slipped back into production. I have also done inspections where a part had a +/- 0.0002" tolerance on dimension, and out of 200 parts only 1 failed. For something like this barrel, it could have been as simple as a shift change, and the person running the rifling pulled a part out of the machine without having actually been run and threw it in. Afterwards all other milling was performed, and this barrel didn't make it into the final 20% check (or whatever % BA uses), was checked for some other dimensions like thread tolerance and gas port hole diameter, and then got packaged and sent out. Some manufacturers like Foxtrot Mike do a 100% inspection on every barrel, which reflects in the cost.
@@MichaelPetty Thanks for the explanation, this particular barrel is from their Modern Series which is their lowest tier of barrel so I imagine they check a lower percentage of these barrels than their more premium barrels so it just slipped through the cracks. It does go to show though that the barrel passed every other check quite well so this is pretty clearly a fluke. While I'm sure Ballistic Advantage would be happy to replace this barrel I'd have a hard time not holding onto it if I got an un-rifled barrel just for the novelty of the thing.
I would also double check the gas port on their barrels. I only ever bought one but the undersized gas hole on my 16” 6.5 Grendel caused me headaches like you wouldn’t believe until I finally had my smith look at it. So no assumptions are made, I tried everything at my level like buffer, spring, and multiple company’s magazines before giving up and going to a pro. Looking around various forums I’m not alone in my experience either.
I have never seen that before!!! What an absolute proof to check out your barrel when you receive it! That would have been painfully obvious with a first look with a flashlight (torch) and BA would have been ecstatic to get it back and give a FULL quick and easy replacement!!! Good vid as always, thanks.
Your vids are so detailed. I really appreciate them and learn something new each time. I’m a hobbyist and love to build, but I don’t have gunsmithing credentials beyond, “hey look guys my rifle didn’t blow up in my face!” so knowing what to look for is crucial.
Ha, another video! This seems like a Monday morning or Friday afternoon mistake. Lol. Thanks for keeping us on our toes as to what to look for, Chad. Always appreciate a SOTAR vid.
Definitely true. I have three smith and Wessons, ez 380, 9mm, also a 648 revolver. Both the ez's had recalls because of parts harding, luckily, we didn't have to send them back. The revolver I did sent back because of a defective ejector rod. In comparison, I have a 4595ts and never had an issue out of 2k rounds.
Very informative with the various chamber/headspace/throat measurements. As a novice I can't think of any firearm where I haven't looked down a barrel before a build or with a new purchase. I'm guessing this order of inspection was for educational purposes and....suspense.
We need more good gunsmiths than we have. Thx for the work you do. I would still buy another BA barrel. Nobody is perfect and for the most part I think they are a good choice. Jmho
Wonderful video. Expect the unexpected. I have several ballistic advantage barrels and will buy more. However, this is just hilarious. IMO this is not a reflection on the company but a reflection on the machinist and the tech who produced this specific barrel. As stated, all manufacturers make mistakes.
i got all but one ballistics advantage barrels. and they are stellar barrels, that’s the first time ive seen something like that. this video was awesome and very informative. 😎👍
I've had several issues with BA barrels, most recently an 18"'stainless fluted that won't do better than 5" groups at 100 yards. At this point I'm done with BA.
An excellent video . . . with the big surprise at the end. I've got a number of BA barrels in several lengths and calibers, all excellent. Was sold on them after receiving the first one and examining it. They and their sister company, Aero Precision, provide a huge bang for the buck. Very affordable with precision work for those that want affordable components, but not a Poverty Pony.
That's pretty interesting. Obviously the barrel missed a step during the manufacturing process but of more concern is that error was not detected during the quality control process or final inspection. One failure or one mistake happens but that is actually two mistakes.
"Concerning" is misused above, though I'd forgive it because many mis-use the word "concern" in the same fashion. Your fantasy of every item given 100% QA/QC is not the sort of thing that results in mass-produced, lower-priced barrels. You're talking about small batch or individual custom maker territory with that fantasy. Bet you've never done a lick of mechanical work in your life.
@@seaswirl79 Projecting your issue onto me. How clever. Remind us all of your business that makes barrels in bulk, inspecting each one at each step with 100% QA/QC checking, and sells them at a price comparable to BA.
That’s usually the first thing that I look at when I get a barrel! I point it at the sky and look at the groove pattern to see if there’s chips in any of the grooves.
Damn, you would think a good ole eyeball down every tube real quick would be standard practice QC. You know. Just to be sure it’s free of obstructions. Oh it’s free all right.
This is a great comprehensive inspection. As an ME, i do have a Q. The barrel straightness gauge, what is the diametric clearance and length of the gauge? What is the acceptable straightness upper limit per lin ft?
Yeah, I say thats a fatal flaw...someone didn't do their QC. I got a BA Barrel on my AR to replace the shitty BCA one i had, Love it couldn't be happier. great video
They are very responsive when you point out the mistake on social media. I bore scope a new stainless fluted match barrel when it came out of the package. It showed tears in the bore some spots with 1-2" of rifling gone. I called and sent pictures in. The didn't want to replace it and wanted me to install and shoot it. This went on for 3 weeks. The 4th week I said I was going to post on you tube pics of the bore and my receipt and packaging. I got a full refund in less than 2 days.
I've got 5 B.A. barrels in various calibers. I'm satisfied with all of them. I really like the Hanson profile. Nice to have a pinned gas block. On a side note, I work for a well known AR manufacturer that hammer forges barrels. Every barrel is scoped and gauged before it goes out. There's 2 guys and all they do is borescope and inspect barrels all day. Not saying this could never happen to us but a lot of repeated failures would have to happen. Something like 10 people would have to completely fail to do their checks for this scenario to play out.
I had a BA barrel come in from Optics Planet that had some gnarly rust or corrosion on the inside. I contacted their support and they replaced it rather quickly. The one that came as a replacement was absolutely perfect.
Good job Ballistic Advantage. That is a very advantageous barrel. As soon as you said so far everything is good by brain was like "well he said autopsy so there must be a rifling problem" i didn't expect that though. There can't be a problem with the rifling if you don't have any i suppose. Im sure ballistic advantage would replace that barrel no question asked. If they wouldn't then i would never buy a barrel from them again. I usually get Faxon barrels for fighting rifles and white oak armament for SPRs and such, but i have installed a few BA barrels for people who request them.
Express any concerns or pertinent tests of the neat to ragged hole formed in the bore by penetration of the gas port. As a retired machine design engineer, spending good portion of life in a precision machine shop, I say scraping a portion of bullet jacket on its path down the barrel by a ragged port intersection can cause variation of flight accuracy. If borescope view shows a marked deposition of brass on the downstream edges of the port, then clearly some of the jacket is being deformed and scraped and deposited.
Being a smoothbore, you can technically cut that barrel down to any length and throw it on a lower with a stock (not a brace) and it's not an NFA item. Pretty cool, if you could find rifled 556 bullets lol.
Indeed every company occasionally messes up... Unless you go into the High-Rel lines of products in which case you spend like 200x more for a part or product knowing it's been tested again and again in every imaginable way. Regardless, thanks for the video once again. Its always good to see a break down of all the areas of AR parts we should inspect! I actually have a few Ballistic Advantage barrels. While they are not the best, they always seem to perform very well with most M193 and M855 5.56x45 ammo and they seem to hold that accuracy longer than most comparably priced barrels.
I have a Stag Arms AR barrel that the chrome pealed out of if interested. I noticed it the 1st time to the range after firing 20 rounds or so. Stag Arms wouldn’t stand behind it.
I once had a gun dealer make the smug comment that “its a brand new gun theres nothing wrong with the bore”. Comment made whenI ask if it was ok to open the slide and check the bore. Honestly it never occurred to me it might not have rifling but as a machinist I know mistakes sometimes slip past QC. Wish I could show that dealer this video.
Im not bashing B.A. either but out of the 40 or 50 ARs ive built, the only ones ive ever had an issue with were the ones with B.A. barrels, cycling issues from rough chambers, way off center reamers. Terrible workmanship. But, both still grouped reasonably well. Cleaning the chambers fixed the cycling issues. Not impressed.
Fantastic learning experience for I too have a handful of BA barrels. Recently got a Bear Creek Arsenal one (2nd) that passed inspections & i went back to have a 3rd look after this video. Thanks Brother! Your channel is F**king Awesome! 🤘
I’ve had 4 BA barrels, 18” an 20” in 6.5 Grendel, and a 20” and 22” in 6 mm arc. Never got any better than 1.7 moa at 100. This video helps me understand why. They have dookie quality control.
It's almost like you DIDN'T watch the video. Did you ever think to contact them about it? They will keep sending you new barrels til you get sub MOA. Also, it could be your ammo, I've known plenty of reloader who think they are gods ggift to reloading, and can't make ammo worth anything.
@@marcusborderlands6177 I watched the video, how do you think I went through so many BA barrels? Sure as shit didn't keep buying them lmao. "They will keep sending you new barrels until you get sub MOA." You said it yourself, BA barrels are pieces of shit.
More nuggets for the collection. It's a good idea to mention the manufacturer. That way one knows what to check first and there is no 100%. low single digit failure % is all that's achievable and often it's out of one's hand. Let's all works as usual of the production but the base material has a slight variation in a batch and there was a short delay in the heat treatment process or with a coating and already tolerances are stacking. More of that!
Obviously that barrel was optimized for "ball" ammo. How many grains of black powder can you fit in a 5.56 anyway? What is not obvious in the video is that indeed, this AR was fitted with a flintlock firing mechanism, a new innovation which has resulted in the very first semi-automatic magazine fed flintlock. This is fine example of American ingenuity at its best!
I love BA Hanson profile barrels. I bet BA will address the issue when you send it back to them. They stand behind their work from what I can tell and every company can have an issue with a project. How they respond to the issue, is the question.
You should totally keep this barrel for a cool conversion built of like a 22lr. Find someone to mill an lower and make 22lr mags. It would be fire! Maybe there already is something out there...
No, I just had to post I love BA barrels. I bought an Aero complete upper in 6.5 Creed 22" barrel and it started out shooting 3/8" groups with factory ammunition.. so I'm shocked to see this mistake but like in the video everyone can have an off day. Even the great Babe Ruth didn't bat a thousand.
I have an 5.56 Centurion CHF CrMOV barrel that has a slightly pitched gas block, didn't even realize it till I dimpled it, maybe a playing cards worth of clearance between the handguard and gas block, cycled great though once it was all built
Thank you for putting together such a thorough video on barrel inspection. As you stated, while we demand the highest standards in quality with our manufacturing, we would be remiss to say we are perfect. However, we stand by our guarantee on our rifle barrels to give sub-MOA accuracy. As such, we would absolutely replace this barrel for any customer. Please give us a call.
Ballistic Advantage,
Thank you for taking time to watch the video and post a reply. Great response as well.
And that’s why I still support BA!🤙🏻
Ballistic Advantage is the only barrel I use in my AR builds. I recently used their 14.7" pencil barrel...which is quite accurate, light weight at 20oz. And the gas block is pinned with set screws...comes this way from BA. The entire build is bomb proof, light weight and shoots well. I think the entire AR is 6lbs and 6 oz with an MRO optic on top....add another lb. when there's a full mag. Mags usually weigh about 4-5 oz and 30 rounds comes in at 12 oz.
I'd be curious to see how a smooth bore 5.56 barrel would shoot
@@tedundercarriage8183 this barrel but with a .22lr conversion shooting the 22lr rat/snake shot would be really interesting and entertaining to see nonetheless lol
I bought a BA barrel and they sent me the a 6.5 Grendel instead of 223 Wylde that I ordered. I called them and told them about the mistake. They immediately sent me out the correct barrel and said I could keep the other barrel for a future build if there's no return label inside the correct barrel package. No return label was inside the box so I got to keep the incorrect barrel. Can't beat that for customer service! The fact that they immediately sent me out the correct barrel without having to return the other with no questions asked speaks for itself. Very few companies would do that!
The gauges don’t lie!!!
during our two day course at SOTAR we had Aero Precision/Ballistic Advantage barrels completely within spec, while there we factory new Hodge & Noveske barrels that were out of spec , so much that we had to recut the chamber on the Noveske to finish the build/class. Great learning experience!
So how did a gauge pick up the no rifling?
@@johnkruer7557He didn't. He's talking about gaging in general. There were other checks performed using gauges in this video. It wasn't all about the rifling.
You're no doubt in good hands with the armourer wizardry this awesome gentleman commands.
Never saw a 0:0 twist before. Thats crazy. BTW you have the coolest toys on the block.
I’ve never seen a 22 caliber shotgun. Very neat.
In all seriousness, this is to be expected anymore from any company. At least it’s an obvious problem that is easily resolved with a new barrel.
It would be interesting to see what it shoots like.
Works phenomenal, provided shooter gives a proper gay “Tally Ho!” Before letting loose onto a line of Red Coats.
I would much rather have a barrel that simply skipped an entire manufacturing process, rather than a barrel out of spec. It's shows that they know how to make a barrel, but humans are fallible creatures, and sometimes 3:30 on a Friday causes a worker to mistake the barrel he just chucked into the machine with the one he just finished.
@@TheMachRider "Get thee to an Appleseed shoot, and with all due haste!"
@@rsh4599CCB barrel, you say?
@@mastur_grunt4244 Ya sometimes the taco from the taco truck ain't sitting right and the dude will make mistakes because he's got more important things on his mind.
Smooth-bore assault rifle, like the founding fathers intended!
Flannel patch, powder horn, tamping rod, ball... dangerous old men.
Assault Unrifle!
@@atomic_wait Maybe call it an Assault Non-Rifle.
Semi auto musket.
@@largelarry2126 made me laugh 😊
Thanks Chad. What an awesome thing to discover. I bet you did a double take when you first noticed, "no rifling here."
My shop, 2A Tactical in Barrington NH, has been selling and installing Ballistic Advantage Barrels for 8 years. We've been extremely happy with the high quality of their products. I've had several conversations with Clint Hanson on the phone (despite never meeting him in person) for relatively minor issues, and he's fixed them immediately. Even the best companies have things that fall through the cracks. And even the best QA / QC programs miss something once in a while. I see no issue with your video Chad, you are addressing a serious flaw. And I think you handled it properly and responsibly, as a learning moment and as stated, as a sample "of one." Clint stands by his products and will continue to learn from rare issue such as this and will keep moving forward as one of the best manufacturers of AR barrels around. -Rob Russell, Owner, 2A Tactical LLC. PS - I don't know Clint personally, I am only a customer of his. I have nothing to gain from typing this. I just felt it was the right thing to do.
All the folks who wander in here to seek reason to complain, they should be reading your post over and over. As well as reading BA's direct comment elsewhere in the thread.
If anyone is in Southern NH, you'll want go over to 2a tactical and check them out👍👍 awesome to see your comment here! (I type this from Alaska now, but I'm from NH, and you guys were always great! 💪) One of the best shops in New England for sure.
@@chriskenny6520 thanks for the kind words and be safe up there in AK!
Rob I'll be sure to stop in next time I'm home for a visit 👍👍
@@buckaroobonsi555the irony of your statement talking about complaining liberals is hilarious. As you yourself complain about something that's not even an issue 😂 that was the most "I'm offended blue haired liberal" comment you could've made bud. Yikes!
This barrel reminds me of that rifle that Franklin armory came out with a few years ago where the 10" barrel didn't have rifling to try to get around the NFA.
I thought I was the only guy with a 5.56 shotgun. Bought a rifle a few years back and came to find out it had no rifling in the barrel. The company sent me a replacement, but I kept it like that great conversation piece. Actually, somewhat accurate as well, just shoots keyhole every time!
As a new mechnical engineer I love the clear explanations and when you touch on manufacturering processes.
When in college I had a project for a manufacturing class. I chose something I enjoyed, AR-15 parts and the processes used to manufacture them. I want to say thank you as your channel helped inspire me to consider that topic.
BTW, I got a A on the project in Dr. Zhu's Material and Process class.
Nice, 2 new videos back to back. Thanks Chad.
Never been on this channel before but I’m impressed. It’s hard to find anyone who actually does any kind of testing and checking specs. Very informative video and subscribed!
I’ve got about six BA barrels and they’ve all performed flawlessly and within manufacturer claims, so this is absolutely wild to see!
I'd almost want to keep that barrel. You could do some fun experiments with a modern smooth bore. Great for rat shot 22 or with the conversion kit, Henry makes a smooth bore 22lr just for that reason. Not to mention all the other experiments you can do with it. I'd still want BA to send a replacement, or sell me a barrel at the cost of materials if I could keep the smooth bore.
I haven’t had any product issues with BA, just a billing issue on an order. Their customer service responded quickly and resolved the issue the same day.
This the new M15 (M stands for Musket)😂.
Yeah rifled muskets were never a thing.
@@johnqpublic2718 no shit
@@johnqpublic2718 joke went right over your dense head
@@derek3154 rifled muskets are a thing
Reminds me of the ARP head stud I was using for an engine build that wasn't threaded on one side. I still have it.
Awesome. Did you send it back to ARP for them to use as their QA/QC demo reminder?
Anyone who's done a fair amount of engine work or general auto mechanical work has seen, or knows an honest person who's seen, a manufacture goof. Even the most reputable companies have them, they just have fewer.
Dude
I fully understand,
@@seanoneil277 I did not. I kept it and they just sent a replacement.
thats impressive, ARP rarely misses
@@hreindustries Yeah, they replaced it pretty quick. That's why I thought it was funny.
Interesting as always 👍
This was a bit suprising,a rifle barrel without rifling..
I was waiting for a bad crown,wrong chamber dimensions,gas port..what ever..
Not this😮
Im glad you mention multiple times that any manufacturer makes mistakes. Missing rifling is a big one but I've seen em slip by. People don't realize that even with pricier guns you're usually buying something that is mass produced and it's just a question of how much can be thrown away during the checking process... it doesn't mean that something can't slip by, however.
Years ago I bought a ruger single six made in 1954. Wouldn't group at all... Come to find out that the barrel was completely smooth and shiny. I really doubt that someone shot it so much that there is zero rifling left. I always figured that it left the factory that way.
Stuff happens. In early 90s my unit got issued new M249 machine guns with that we had to send to direct support for refitting with new style barrels (folding carry handle) none of them was rifled. I was the one who had to point that out after seeing the soldiers shots on 10m paster targets every bullet keyhole or hitting sideways. 18 guns from functional to deadline.
Wow! I have 5 BA barrels amongst my personal builds. I have found them all to be above average in accuracy, fit and finish. I certainly have had worse. Proof anyone can make mistakes. And no I don't work for BA or any related company. 23 years in the military and now I work in IT (disability prevents much else)
I have one of their 18” barrels. So far I have been impressed with it
as a home diy ar builder, these videos are fascinating, i wish i had the money for all these guages!
That Makes 2 of us
Three of us!
Gauges aren't that expensive. At minimum, I would recommend a headspace gauge. My problem is I can't find all of them.
Gauges can be add up quickly and be expensive and as he has stated in previous videos not all of his gauges are available. @@pale_2111
That’s unbelievable! I guess I’ll be checking all my barrels for rifling from now on! Shout out to ballistic advantage I know they would fix this 100%. I’ll still support them in fact I plan on picking up a 18” fluted spr barrel this week from them.
I think you should run it and see what kind of groups you get. I’d have to, you know.. for science.
The BA hanson barrels are pretty sweet.
it was found that HEAT rounds fired out of a rifled barrel would wobble in flight and because of the spin not hit correctly every time. This barrel was obviously made to fire the 55.6 mm HE and APDS rounds. As opposed to the 76.2mm.
(yes i'm being silly)
Been missing & looking sooo forward to new physical & autopsy videos!
Thank you Chad!
Please don’t stop listing the companies names on your videos!! Some of us want as much information as possible! Not to try and ruin a company.
Great stuff. Very informative.
I can't fault him for not, but I agree. Done in the exacting & professional way he does it, it'd be pretty hard to argue with his results on what each company is putting together. The sample size he's able to inspect would be the only problem. That and his time.
oh my, I did notice when you were running your bore-scope down the barrel that I didn't see any rifling. I figured the scope was just too close to really be able to see the lands and grooves. That's amazing, I have to wonder how something like this even happens? As I recall Balistic Advantage barrels are button rifled so I wonder if an un-rifled blank somehow ended up in the stack of already rifled ones and made it all the way through the remainder of the processing without someone noticing.
It's got to be a process step oversight, as you suggest. In all human manufacture such things can happen, and even an automated process line can make mistakes! BA undoubtedly would fix this issue with a replacement barrel.
I used to work as an inspector for a machine shop. For large quantity of items, you normally do a percentage check on dimensions that have large tolerances, and only 100% inspection on things with super tight tolerances (Like 0.002" or less) unless the customer requests and pays for 100% inspection. I have seen parts come back from heat treatment where they missed 1 part, but had we not done 100% inspection (heat treat is easy as it leaves scale on the parts), it could have slipped back into production. I have also done inspections where a part had a +/- 0.0002" tolerance on dimension, and out of 200 parts only 1 failed.
For something like this barrel, it could have been as simple as a shift change, and the person running the rifling pulled a part out of the machine without having actually been run and threw it in. Afterwards all other milling was performed, and this barrel didn't make it into the final 20% check (or whatever % BA uses), was checked for some other dimensions like thread tolerance and gas port hole diameter, and then got packaged and sent out.
Some manufacturers like Foxtrot Mike do a 100% inspection on every barrel, which reflects in the cost.
@@MichaelPetty I've got a Foxtrot Mike PCC (glock mag pattern) lower on my PCC, it's very nicely made & assembled.
@@MichaelPetty Thanks for the explanation, this particular barrel is from their Modern Series which is their lowest tier of barrel so I imagine they check a lower percentage of these barrels than their more premium barrels so it just slipped through the cracks. It does go to show though that the barrel passed every other check quite well so this is pretty clearly a fluke. While I'm sure Ballistic Advantage would be happy to replace this barrel I'd have a hard time not holding onto it if I got an un-rifled barrel just for the novelty of the thing.
@@phosistkar6425lol the amount of comments here of people wanting this barrel is hilarious😂
Yes I want it too!
I have a number of BA barrels and all have performed perfectly. Very good, US made equipment.
Just purchased a Ballistic Advantage 13.9.....Gonna go inspect it right now before I proceed with the build.....Very interesting.....
I found it very educational as it never occurred to me that that might happen. Thank you.
I would also double check the gas port on their barrels. I only ever bought one but the undersized gas hole on my 16” 6.5 Grendel caused me headaches like you wouldn’t believe until I finally had my smith look at it. So no assumptions are made, I tried everything at my level like buffer, spring, and multiple company’s magazines before giving up and going to a pro. Looking around various forums I’m not alone in my experience either.
I have never seen that before!!! What an absolute proof to check out your barrel when you receive it! That would have been painfully obvious with a first look with a flashlight (torch) and BA would have been ecstatic to get it back and give a FULL quick and easy replacement!!! Good vid as always, thanks.
Your vids are so detailed. I really appreciate them and learn something new each time. I’m a hobbyist and love to build, but I don’t have gunsmithing credentials beyond, “hey look guys my rifle didn’t blow up in my face!” so knowing what to look for is crucial.
Ha, another video! This seems like a Monday morning or Friday afternoon mistake. Lol. Thanks for keeping us on our toes as to what to look for, Chad. Always appreciate a SOTAR vid.
+1 on having 3 BA barrels and have been very satisfied with all of them. It doesn’t change my opinion on them as mistakes happen.
When you said a major flaw, you weren’t kidding!
Now That was a shocker. Very good video.
Definitely true. I have three smith and Wessons, ez 380, 9mm, also a 648 revolver. Both the ez's had recalls because of parts harding, luckily, we didn't have to send them back. The revolver I did sent back because of a defective ejector rod. In comparison, I have a 4595ts and never had an issue out of 2k rounds.
I love these demonstrations. Thanks for sharing.
I had an issue with a 6.5 cm barrel and Ballistic Advantage fixed me right up.
Good catch 👍
Thanks for sharing.
Every time I watch one of these videos I learn more valuable information. Thank you so much for taking the time to do this.
Thanks for this video I'm on my first build and I got this barrel on sale didn't know much about it
Very informative with the various chamber/headspace/throat measurements. As a novice I can't think of any firearm where I haven't looked down a barrel before a build or with a new purchase. I'm guessing this order of inspection was for educational purposes and....suspense.
We need more good gunsmiths than we have. Thx for the work you do. I would still buy another BA barrel. Nobody is perfect and for the most part I think they are a good choice. Jmho
Wonderful video. Expect the unexpected. I have several ballistic advantage barrels and will buy more. However, this is just hilarious. IMO this is not a reflection on the company but a reflection on the machinist and the tech who produced this specific barrel. As stated, all manufacturers make mistakes.
That's awesome! So for our Maryland viewers, this would be a compliant AR :). It's not a "rifle!"
That's a first for me, never saw an otherwise processed rifle barrel with no rifling. Thanks for sharing!!
i got all but one ballistics advantage barrels. and they are stellar barrels, that’s the first time ive seen something like that. this video was awesome and very informative. 😎👍
I've had several issues with BA barrels, most recently an 18"'stainless fluted that won't do better than 5" groups at 100 yards. At this point I'm done with BA.
An excellent video . . . with the big surprise at the end. I've got a number of BA barrels in several lengths and calibers, all excellent. Was sold on them after receiving the first one and examining it. They and their sister company, Aero Precision, provide a huge bang for the buck. Very affordable with precision work for those that want affordable components, but not a Poverty Pony.
The elusive AR “garden Gun”. 👍🏻
I have two of these barrels. Both are excellent shooters. I'm glad I didn't get the shotgun variation.
I love ballistic advantage hanson barrels. Great company.
That's pretty interesting. Obviously the barrel missed a step during the manufacturing process but of more concern is that error was not detected during the quality control process or final inspection. One failure or one mistake happens but that is actually two mistakes.
"Concerning" is misused above, though I'd forgive it because many mis-use the word "concern" in the same fashion.
Your fantasy of every item given 100% QA/QC is not the sort of thing that results in mass-produced, lower-priced barrels. You're talking about small batch or individual custom maker territory with that fantasy.
Bet you've never done a lick of mechanical work in your life.
@@seanoneil277 Your self-importance fantasy is of no concern.
@@seaswirl79 Projecting your issue onto me. How clever.
Remind us all of your business that makes barrels in bulk, inspecting each one at each step with 100% QA/QC checking, and sells them at a price comparable to BA.
I love my ballistic advantage barrels that shoots amazing
That’s usually the first thing that I look at when I get a barrel! I point it at the sky and look at the groove pattern to see if there’s chips in any of the grooves.
Damn, you would think a good ole eyeball down every tube real quick would be standard practice QC. You know. Just to be sure it’s free of obstructions. Oh it’s free all right.
I like this guy he's no nonsense just to the point
This is a great comprehensive inspection. As an ME, i do have a Q. The barrel straightness gauge, what is the diametric clearance and length of the gauge? What is the acceptable straightness upper limit per lin ft?
Yeah, I say thats a fatal flaw...someone didn't do their QC. I got a BA Barrel on my AR to replace the shitty BCA one i had, Love it couldn't be happier. great video
Dude, i love you and this channel
They are very responsive when you point out the mistake on social media. I bore scope a new stainless fluted match barrel when it came out of the package. It showed tears in the bore some spots with 1-2" of rifling gone. I called and sent pictures in. The didn't want to replace it and wanted me to install and shoot it. This went on for 3 weeks. The 4th week I said I was going to post on you tube pics of the bore and my receipt and packaging. I got a full refund in less than 2 days.
I've got 5 B.A. barrels in various calibers. I'm satisfied with all of them. I really like the Hanson profile. Nice to have a pinned gas block.
On a side note, I work for a well known AR manufacturer that hammer forges barrels. Every barrel is scoped and gauged before it goes out. There's 2 guys and all they do is borescope and inspect barrels all day. Not saying this could never happen to us but a lot of repeated failures would have to happen. Something like 10 people would have to completely fail to do their checks for this scenario to play out.
I'll buy from you. Since you can't say, just give which state and a wink then we'll basically know.
@@ericmckinley7985 GA.
I’m a Hanson fan as well very accurate.
@@oldscratch3535 DD
@@ramzankadyrov6035DD is butt buddies with the ATF
BA is solid company and I use the BA Hansen profile exclusively.
I had a BA barrel come in from Optics Planet that had some gnarly rust or corrosion on the inside. I contacted their support and they replaced it rather quickly. The one that came as a replacement was absolutely perfect.
Good job Ballistic Advantage. That is a very advantageous barrel. As soon as you said so far everything is good by brain was like "well he said autopsy so there must be a rifling problem" i didn't expect that though. There can't be a problem with the rifling if you don't have any i suppose. Im sure ballistic advantage would replace that barrel no question asked. If they wouldn't then i would never buy a barrel from them again. I usually get Faxon barrels for fighting rifles and white oak armament for SPRs and such, but i have installed a few BA barrels for people who request them.
Express any concerns or pertinent tests of the neat to ragged hole formed in the bore by penetration of the gas port. As a retired machine design engineer, spending good portion of life in a precision machine shop, I say scraping a portion of bullet jacket on its path down the barrel by a ragged port intersection can cause variation of flight accuracy.
If borescope view shows a marked deposition of brass on the downstream edges of the port, then clearly some of the jacket is being deformed and scraped and deposited.
Always say every manufacturer of anything makes mistakes, its how they handle them is what's important!
Great job. I was just about to buy a 11.5 from them. Never mind now!
Being a smoothbore, you can technically cut that barrel down to any length and throw it on a lower with a stock (not a brace) and it's not an NFA item. Pretty cool, if you could find rifled 556 bullets lol.
Been using ba barrels for a while, great product. Definitely wild they missed this but it does happen. Excellent video
super tools to check the rifle. looks nice - thank for sharing what top end AR repair shop should have
Indeed every company occasionally messes up... Unless you go into the High-Rel lines of products in which case you spend like 200x more for a part or product knowing it's been tested again and again in every imaginable way.
Regardless, thanks for the video once again. Its always good to see a break down of all the areas of AR parts we should inspect!
I actually have a few Ballistic Advantage barrels. While they are not the best, they always seem to perform very well with most M193 and M855 5.56x45 ammo and they seem to hold that accuracy longer than most comparably priced barrels.
I have a Stag Arms AR barrel that the chrome pealed out of if interested. I noticed it the 1st time to the range after firing 20 rounds or so. Stag Arms wouldn’t stand behind it.
I once had a gun dealer make the smug comment that “its a brand new gun theres nothing wrong with the bore”. Comment made whenI ask if it was ok to open the slide and check the bore. Honestly it never occurred to me it might not have rifling but as a machinist I know mistakes sometimes slip past QC. Wish I could show that dealer this video.
Thanks for showing this to us Chad. It was very informative!
Im not bashing B.A. either but out of the 40 or 50 ARs ive built, the only ones ive ever had an issue with were the ones with B.A. barrels, cycling issues from rough chambers, way off center reamers. Terrible workmanship. But, both still grouped reasonably well. Cleaning the chambers fixed the cycling issues. Not impressed.
Wow...that's one serious flaw! Can only imagine the key-holing this barrel produced.
Thank you Sir.
Holy cow, yea, they need to take that back.
Fantastic learning experience for I too have a handful of BA barrels. Recently got a Bear Creek Arsenal one (2nd) that passed inspections & i went back to have a 3rd look after this video. Thanks Brother! Your channel is F**king Awesome! 🤘
I would love to experiment with this unique barrel.
Your comments reflect those of the gunsmith at my local FFL. He likes BA for the customer service. He stresses that all manufacturers have issues.
I’ve had 4 BA barrels, 18” an 20” in 6.5 Grendel, and a 20” and 22” in 6 mm arc. Never got any better than 1.7 moa at 100. This video helps me understand why. They have dookie quality control.
It's almost like you DIDN'T watch the video. Did you ever think to contact them about it? They will keep sending you new barrels til you get sub MOA. Also, it could be your ammo, I've known plenty of reloader who think they are gods ggift to reloading, and can't make ammo worth anything.
@@marcusborderlands6177 I watched the video, how do you think I went through so many BA barrels? Sure as shit didn't keep buying them lmao. "They will keep sending you new barrels until you get sub MOA." You said it yourself, BA barrels are pieces of shit.
More nuggets for the collection. It's a good idea to mention the manufacturer. That way one knows what to check first and there is no 100%. low single digit failure % is all that's achievable and often it's out of one's hand. Let's all works as usual of the production but the base material has a slight variation in a batch and there was a short delay in the heat treatment process or with a coating and already tolerances are stacking. More of that!
Obviously that barrel was optimized for "ball" ammo. How many grains of black powder can you fit in a 5.56 anyway? What is not obvious in the video is that indeed, this AR was fitted with a flintlock firing mechanism, a new innovation which has resulted in the very first semi-automatic magazine fed flintlock. This is fine example of American ingenuity at its best!
Very cool, thank you for sharing
I love BA Hanson profile barrels. I bet BA will address the issue when you send it back to them. They stand behind their work from what I can tell and every company can have an issue with a project. How they respond to the issue, is the question.
Excellent video yet again.
A super rare .556 musket barrel.
Always get new information from these! 👍
You should totally keep this barrel for a cool conversion built of like a 22lr. Find someone to mill an lower and make 22lr mags. It would be fire! Maybe there already is something out there...
No, I just had to post I love BA barrels. I bought an Aero complete upper in 6.5 Creed 22" barrel and it started out shooting 3/8" groups with factory ammunition.. so I'm shocked to see this mistake but like in the video everyone can have an off day. Even the great Babe Ruth didn't bat a thousand.
I have an 5.56 Centurion CHF CrMOV barrel that has a slightly pitched gas block, didn't even realize it till I dimpled it, maybe a playing cards worth of clearance between the handguard and gas block, cycled great though once it was all built
Congratulations on your musket
New subscriber. Much respect to Chad. Very very impressive work.