Building AR's is highly addictive. I have so many spare parts laying around that I always have an excuse to build another. A guy can quickly go bankrupt once they develop a passion for firearms like I have. 😜
Have you ever dinged up a lower during a build? What do you do if you have a mangled roll pin sticking out of a bolt catch along with a marred up finish where the roll pin goes. Asking for a friend.
@@nifepartie Yes I think we all have. I would remove the magled roll pin and buy a new one to put in. If you have a black lower, just use a black sharpie to literally write on the nicked spots to cover the nicks. Ive done it before, it sounds super mickey mouse but its not permanent. It can wipe right off. Its not perfect by any means but it DOES work pretty good. You can also use some type of black paint or whatever. Im just trying to help.
Amen dude. I am doing same currently. Another Franken-Gun. It's addictive and sometimes it's a pleasant surprise how well the random parts work together. On a side note, glad he did this video. I thought he did a good job. (I still cant afford anything from Proof haha)
Major difference that you missed was the timing of the gas ports. Cheap barrel's port was right in the middle of a rifling land. Proof barrel was timed when ported and had it properly placed in the groove between the lands which eliminates the chance of damaging the bullet jacket.
@@swatbwana the crown of the muzzle doesn’t matter after a few rounds? First, steel is much harder than copper or lead so bullets aren’t going to smooth out any rough edges at the crown. Second, virtually every person I can think of who is interested in accuracy would tell you that any imperfections in the crown reduce accuracy.
After building a lot of AR's I've dealt with Bear Creek arsenal a lot and I have to say I love this company! Especially when after my wife's sub 5lb 6.5 Grendel build I purchased the stainless 16 inch barrel for 45 dollars on sale and it surprised the hell out of me when I shot a .55 inch shot group from a bench at 100 yards. the price and performance is phenomenal 👌
I purchased a complete 6.5 Grendel Upper assembly with 20" barrel. It served me well for all of 150 rounds. And then the extractor broke. I ordered a replacement bcg from Faxon. I dont trust the BCA bcg after the extractor failed like that. How is your wife's grendel holding up? Better than mine I hope.
@@happysnowfish almost 1000 rounds through it the BCA bolt is holding up fine. I have to tell you unless you have the CMMG mutant the Grendel or 7.62x39 bolt face and extractor are weak from being milles so thin. I've had a spikes tactical 7.62x39 bolt face break the extractor and cracked in three spots. The CMMG mutant uses an AR-10 bolt and is way more durable for 7.62x39 and Grendel if you can find a type 1 barrel
@@happysnowfish that's concerning. I have a bca grendel with very few rds. I noticed the last cleaning the extractor looked rough for the little use it's seen.
I used to shoot about 388 rounds of .223 weekly, 6 National Match Reduced Course of Fire daily practice matches. Then, with same rifle, a Sunday full range 80 round course plus 8 sighters. I found that button rifled barrels were most accurate but wore out faster than cut rifled barrels. I could typically get about 2000 rounds from a button rifled barrel before my X-Count would fall at 600 yards. With a cut barrel I could usually get about 3000 rounds out before 600 yard X-Count would begin to fall. I finally settled on button rifling, perceiving better scores in Long Range Competition. At any rate, my ideas on all of this is based on good score book usage and keeping a round count. All button barrels 1/7 twist by Douglas smithed by CLE and all 1/7 cut barrels by Krieger smithed by CLE. BTW, a shooter performing at less than a High Master level will not be able to appraise barrel wear since appraisal requires enough skill to clean a 600 yard target with at least a 50% X-Count in wind and weather presented.
Just looking at the machining, I'm not seeing justification for the price difference. The thicker barrel is nice for long-duration shooting in matches and so forth as you say but for real-life use, the BCA looks just fine- copper fouling, screw marks and all. Nothing that can't be cleaned up or won't be covered up during assembly. It will be instructive to see how both barrels' groups change over time after five or six mags for sure though.
Thanks for the video, I was considering this very thing. This is very helpful. Btw, bear creek does test fire each barrel to ensure they are within 1 MOA @ 100 yards, so that’s probably the gas block attachment and copper residue.
That's complete BS, Just look on the forums and read about all of the poor accuracy from BCA parts. They couldn't afford to build a rifle with each barrel then shoot enough ammo to determine every barrel shoots less than MOA. Then take the riffle apart, clean it and box it.
Love that you take time to show us not only the comparison but the detail inside of each. I will just say I'd buy the BCA all day long! I have four ARs built with BCA barrels and they are flawless at 200 - 500 yards and you gotta love the price! I like the fact that the BCA has contor chamber and visible swirling marks. For $500+ barrel, I'd expect better detail like you noticed with the BCA barrel. The Proof feed ramp machining looked better but that was only thing in my opinion. Thanks for sharing and keep us posted.
Friend of mine bought a complete .223 Wylde upper from BCA and it wouldn't cycle due to a metal shaving still attached in the gas port from drilling! It was one of those curled metal shavings you get when drilling with a dull bit and crooked.
As far as I know, BCA proof fires all their barrels and uppers. They're good guys, I have two of their complete uppers on AR builds in my safe, both have run flawlessly.
At that price point I don’t believe they test fire each barrel, that would be cost prohibitive What I think they may do however, is test fire a barrel per batch (or run) which would be consistent with Lean manufacturing principles.
@@paulpatriot1776 if you look at their web site, many of the barrels have MOA measurements and a picture of a target allowing you to buy that specific barrel.
@@Paulsmith-lr1kg haha and your calling me a noob that's pretty funny considering I was pointing out that the set screw marks at 5:24 on the barrel are from test firing the barrel or as you put it proofing the barrel but what I was getting at is since they used a gas block at all means they mounted it in an ar and shot it vs a test bench with no gas block. so I don't know where your hostility came from but kindly GTFO
I've picked up two BCA barrels (.223 Wylde and 7.62x39) and have had outstanding luck with both. I was really surprised with the accuracy of the 7.62x39 barrel - keeps rounds within about 1.5 MOA.
I have two BCA uppers, both chambered in .223 Wylde. The front sight is slightly canted left on one, so my wife gets that one until I can replace it with something better. I just took the other one to the range and shot 160 rounds at 200 yards with iron sights (no optic). It's been about 25 years since I've shot an m16 at 200 yards. That's what the Navy Seabees qualified at, with a 20" barrel, back in my day. So, this past Saturday, I was trying to replicate my Expert Quals, but with a 16" barrel and poor eyesight. I was using an NRA 200 yard match target. I consistently put rounds in the 12" Black, with an occassional round just outside the edge of the black. I measured the black center circle and it was actually 11 7/8", so some of those outside the edge were still within a 12" diameter. I also had a few flyers a little further out, but for the most part, I was eating up the black. Every other guy there was shooting with optics, most of them at 200 yards. It's only a 250 yard range. Some were shooting shorter distances like 50, 100, 150 yards. It seemed that my groups opened up a little more as the barrel got hot, but overall, I was very pleased at putting most of the rounds within a 12" circle, with a 16" barrel, using iron sights and failing eyes. I can't see a face clearly at 30 feet. The black center of the target looked like a tiny dot at 200 yards. My ARs are cheap builds, but if I can still hit within 12" at two hundred yards with iron sights and bad eyes, I'm not worried about pookie and his gang, or ANTIFA.
I bought a BCA Upper which I'm super happy with. It came with a small plastic bag that had 2 spent casings in it. I'm not sure they test fire all their barrels, but they tested mine. Gr8 vid. 🔫
The chamber dimensions of all should all be the same with the difference in the throat lead that causes different chamber pressures. Also getting a barrel with 4150 steel with cold hammer forge and chrome lining increases heat resistance (warp resistance=less change in point of impact and accuracy loss) and chamber throat life.
As a gearhead and gun nut, that's half of the fun. Squeezing 231 WHP out of a 170 BHP engine with nothing but careful hand porting and EFI tuning was one of the best feelings I ever experienced. I was far more proud of that than I was bolting a blower onto my other engine and passing 400 WHP.
For what it's worth, I take the same initiative with a $400 barrel that I do with a $75 one. I think most of us likely do, even if we expect more from the high dollar purchase.
Thank you very much. I loved the video and learned also. I'm playing catch up with your vids but plz keep them coming. I really enjoy them alot, youre a good charecter to learn from.
I've seen more QC issues brought up over the past year related to BCA than I did for Radical Firearms, and RF had extensions coming unscrewed under fire.
I've had great accuracy out of Bear Creek barrels. They shoot better than I can. 4 barrels so far. My only gripe with BCA is their barrels are very heavy. I've paid as little as $30 for them.
I bought a 12.5” kak barrel which uses green mountain blanks for a hd/truck gun. It shoots softball size groups at 50 yards with me standing behind it and doing my part. I paid 79.00 for it plus shipping. I’m happy.
Change of impact is a "cause and effect" situation. Its important to check the seating face of the receiver, plus put a caliper on the diameter of the barrel extension to determine whether the 609 is necessary to seat the barrel. I would expect greater precession from an expensive barrel and a forged upper receiver. Any way, it looks like an interesting series ...sub'ed.
Have done quite a few builds using barrels from BCA, Classic Firearms as well as others. My opinion on barrels is that like anything else, you can spend as much as you want on one. Probably don't want the cheapest you can find but after a certain point it takes a LOT of money to gain negligible performance increases. One of my best shooting guns has a stainless I got from classic in one of their barrel sales for $69. Bottom line is all of my guns shoot well, some marginally better than others but the difference is negligible and I find the quality of my hand loads to be more the deciding factor than who made the barrel and how much I paid for it. In all honesty I have been very pleased with Bear Creek products especially for the price. Their side charging uppers BCG combos are great for the price.
Classic firearms is a joke cheap until shipping comes up that’s where they get their money back site is a scam I don’t buy there unless I have no other choice
Too bad a company named "Pudding" doesn't make uppers, because after you install the barrel, you could say, "The Proof is in the Pudding". Bah dumbump!
Kotaboy, I've seen Bear Creek Arsenal barrels that still had a burr hanging off the gas port in the bore, so it couldn't have been tested fired because the first round would have pushed that out. I'm talking about a 416r. This is why it's a good idea to give new barrels a good look over before use. I would want to clear out all burrs and other machining debris. Yours was clearly tested as it had copper fouling.
Back during Memorial Day PSA had their AR pistol kit and AR 15 16" Carbine kit for $259 then receivers for 29$.. with a 15$ back ground check 303$ for the rifle.. Not going to beat that price anywhere. I love what PSA is doing.
I did similar with their PA 10, 20" complete upper was something like $379, lower complete, A2 stock, under $200. It shoots fine, could use an adjustable gas block. Under $600 for the basic setup, I cannot complain.
I've built many ARs, which doesn't make me any more than another half-assed mechanic. A short barreled AR (or any machine) is never going exceed it's physical limitations. In the AR platform, with it's implied usage, the only thing that matters is that it functions reliably and hits what you're aiming at. Semper Fi!
Very interesting, I have heard of the 2 different gas system lengths that are in between mid length and rifle length. Intermediate and KAC. This is the first time Ive seen an intermediate in a video, still haven't seen a KAC gas system yet. There is also another length called "extended" which is longer than rifle length. So in total there are 7 different gas lengths. From shortest to longest: Pistol, carbine, midlength, KAC, intermediate, rifle, extended. From what I gather KAC is proprietary and only about 1/2" shorter than intermediate. So one could argue there are 6 standard lengths.
I am glad that you're not talking any faster than you already do! I recently have purchased a Wylder 24" bull barrel (~ 6 lbs.) from CBC (very nice folks, mostly retired Army, seem to be very nice and knowing their good quality stuff, all having with a lifetime warranty) being attached to my ArmaLite and need to get it sighted in for a distance of 300 m if the weather will get less windy and much warmer one of these days. Take care and try to stay out of trouble!
Notice the gas hole is in the groove on the better barrel. It is partially on the land of the cheaper barrel. It is thought to be more desirable to have it in the groove.
@@chrisgullett4332 really? Is that why the two most respected AR barrel makers (White Oak and Kreiger) insist on the port being completely in the groove?
@@Fatelvis111 That means nothing, but facts do. Gas pressure is more reliable on the lands because it is a higher surface, and gas escapes easier in the grooves. It is basically impossible to do it on a large scale, cause the extension determines where the gas port will be, and the barrels are rifled before the extension is added. This has already been talked about by several barrel makers, and all of them have said the same thing, no barrel maker is purposely putting gas ports in the grooves, but you got around a third of a chance of it happening. The port is either gonna land in a groove, on the lands or a combination of both. The extension determines everything when it comes to AR barrels. Now you could do it on a lot of other barrels, but when it comes to AR barrels it is not as simple as just potting the gas port hole wherever you want to drill it. Most other guns have the port drilled after it is on the receiver, but ARs do not.
Krieger absolutely makes sure the port is in the groove and has for the 33 years I have been using their DCM barrels. Other companies that make barrels that are not single point cut have a jig to locate the port and then time the extension to the port. I timed the extension on the premium barrels I made but did not on standard $200 AR barrels. The extension is installed and then the port is drilled, timed off of the extension on 99% of all AR barrels. @@chrisgullett4332
That BCA barrel almost seems to have been in someone's gun and then returned. Hence the gas block markings and the set screw marks. I have 3 BCA barrels and all came dimpled and had 0 marks on them. Mine also came with an elastic plastic mesh in a cardboard tube. Haven't had any issues with them and they all shoot 1 moa at 100 yrds.
My 18" bca ss barrel I had did not hold that 1 moa accuracy for long. It started going down hill somewhere betwee 800-1200 rounds and 1 moa became 6 moa. This of course is a sample size of 1 so ymmv. I for one learned my leason and will only buy quality tested barrels from now on.
I'm a big fan of the Ballistic Advantage Hanson barrel. The Fit/Finish is very good, comes with a Sub-MOA Guarantee and the price is very reasonable. Mine is shooting 1/2 MOA or better with the right ammo. I'll never go back to a government profile again.
BCA has been good to me, 308 7.62x39 and multiple 223 wylde builds. The 7.62x39 has the fat 300 blackout feed ramps, i can't get it to miss feed, i got rid of my psa 7.62x39 it was frustrating to own., BCA is producing some good quality items.
Bear creek got raided by ICE and had THIRTY illegals placed into custody. No american should be buying their products or be rooting for them. ...I used to buy from them before knowing this but there are plenty of other inexpensive offerings to choose from. PSA, I am looking at you here.
Thanks for the video, but my problem was that during the great bore scope scene one barrel that had excessive copper on the lands also had the hole for the gas right thru the lands, if true good luck. The other barrel appeared between , between the lands. I figure if is corrrct the super heated copper jacket will expand and get shaved coming off the misdrilled gas port. For you others look at slow cooker speed. I almost spit my beer out.
"I'm gonna compare side by side" by the way, .... totally different caliber, totally different contour, different everything, but here's why price matters on two completely different things....
Yes they are. However the sami spec is slightly different for cast thickness and pressure along with neck thickness. Not completely interchangeable regardless if the same slut is fired. One should not call someone else stupid just because the presenter is a little better educated on the subject than you are. You could not be called stupid, other than your comment. But ignorant of the facts does fit. Presenter, unless really cleaned afterwords, yes there should be trace copper in the barrel. They must be proof tested. Or am I mistaken and only fully built firearms have to be proofed? Now my ignorance o the subject is showing. 'KnifeMaker
One of the best videos I've seen is on a TH-cam channel called Fitty%. Look up his video called Precision Rifle 6.5 Creedmore Lapping and you have it. His technic is different than most and he explains why he does it his way and it makes a lot of sense. He does it vertically instead of horizontally.
John Parrish, that is a good video you recommended and the vertical technique looks to be the way to go. I hope Kota sees your message. Thanks for the referral. 👍👍
Not really, but whatever. Maybe they attach one , or maybe they don't. The only point of a gas block is to cycle the gun for follow up shots. Even if they felt it was necessary to test fire with a gas block on it you would think they would have a quick tool rather than screwing one on to barrel, when the barrel doesn't come with one.
Robert Presti Jr they do fire more than one round to ensure the MOA accuracy they market the barrels with. For an $80 barrel from a super small company out of rural NC, I’d say it’s pretty awesome that they test fire them.
I have 2 BCA Barrels and they seem to do just fine, but they are just for plinking and for the kids at our youth camp to have fun with. My real AR's "lol" have Ballistic Advantage, Wilson Combat and Sharps Rifle Company Barrels in them. Every one of those barrels shoot Sub-Moa all day long and I couldn't be happier with the finish and quality. I just recently discovered the Sharps 25/45 and man that is one sweet cartridge. It shoots a little bit faster than the .223/5.56 and a lot faster than the 300 Blackout and the ballistics at range is quite impressive. I have 8 of them and not a single one of them has given me any problems whatsoever. Great stuff and so easy to convert to from .223/5.56 or 300 Blackout. And their XPB Relia-Bolt with the DLC is amazing. Everyone should have that BCG in their AR-15.
One of my best shooing guns has a 7" $50 300 Blackout Anderson barrel. One of the worst barrels Ive ever shot had the Daniel defense 10" $400 barrel on it.
Barrels are indeed test fired. However they are cleaned and all the fouling and residue is removed. With the gas block screw imprint and the exterior condition of the bear creek barrel coupled with the copper in the barrel says he was sent a used barrel. Used enough that when cleaned the copper isn't able to be removed.
If there are burrs hanging from the gas port they weren't test fired. Read where several people here said they had burrs in their barrel. Been a gunsmith and engineer for 24 years, all it takes is a borescope to know BCA lies about testing every barrel.
I’ve been looking at bear creek barrels for budget build but have been on the fence about it, so glad your doing a comparison review on it, I will be waiting for your results, I’ve seen other reviews but usually one sided reviews, never a comparison 👍 thanks, you and other TH-camrs You recommend are most informative in what y’all do appreciate it so much( I am almost there on the moar build my first build)
Bear creek got raided by ICE and had THIRTY illegals placed into custody. No american should be buying their products or be rooting for them. ...I used to buy from them before knowing this but there are plenty of other inexpensive offerings to choose from. PSA, I am looking at you here.
I've never understood people buying cheap barrels and then sticking a $400 handguard and $200 muzzle device on them. BCA is as bad as they can get unless you just want to make noise at the range.
That was pretty cool. The proof barrel had a choked rifling. Where the grooves and lands are very shallow and then at the end of the barrel they get a lil bigger. It’s what they do in precession air rifles. I thought that was cool. I haven’t had any issues with my bear creek uppers so far. Really accurate for the price. And you know they tested that barrel before they sent it too you. That just shows the devotion of the company
It would be cool to take both barrels to a machinist after cleaning and measure chamber dimensions and land and grove dimensions now and after 1000 rounds to compare wear , accuracy and other dimensional differences as well.
@@colt45peacemaker Yes I agree. That was definitely a well used barrel. Used enough that the copper is embedded and unable to be removed. The gas block screw and scratches on the barrel would be a tale tale signal that it might be a return or on a BCA show gun that had been fired. Point being that it definitely was NOT a new barrel.
NoNameRequired new barrels looks like that after 3 rounds, could just be that they tested that barrel. Furthermore to those who say the bca looks better: you will always see less of the rifling when you view a high end barrel through a bore scope, it’s due to more lapping.
@@antonw-uw4ov it's been awhile since I wrote that. Had to go back and re-read lol. Ok. Yes a new barrel that has been fired and or test fired will look like that. However, a manufacturer will normally clean the barrel and remove any fouling and the gas port will be cleaned in the process. From what I recall the individual "ASKED' them for a barrel to review. So I am of the opinion that a barrel sent was NOT new (first sale quality) and has been fired, I'll say more than just test firing. This was my thinking I believe in my response. I have ordered alot of barrels. From manufacturers and private parties. I have never received any new that were in a similar condition. Whether just test fired or not. For a company who wants their barrel to shine in a review it just wouldnt happen without some serious oversight. But, we are human and mistakes do happen.
Modern machining capabilities, if the operator gives just a bit of attention, is amazing. I just tested a new 223 Wylde upper with a cheap lower I pinned to it that did sub moa...gave $135 for it during the holidays sales. Unless I get into high end precision shooting, I don't see a reason to sink wads of cash into an AR rig.
Mid range run around $200, Proof has always been very expensive when compared to others that shoot almost as good. There are some $200 barrels with good specs that will shoot 1/2MOA with good ammo, 5R rifling and Wylde chambers, 4150 steel and Melonite treated...Blackstone
Got a daytona tactical kit gun an an anderson lower. Overall I'm happy with it. It shoots straight enough. No 500 yard shots in my area, too many hills.
They don’t have enough differences to matter. Training is what you should blow your money on if you’re going to blow money. Most guns will outshoot their shooter
BCA to my understanding test fires all barrels and complete upper assemblies. When i got my uppers and barrel I also received 3 spent shells in each upper box along with the barrel.
@Gibson Fender I love the several I have built using BCA components. No they aren't going to group 1/2 MOA at 500 yards but for the money you can't go wrong. I would recommend them to anyone wanting a decent AR platform at an affordable cost.
Don't you suspect that the BCA barrel was test-fired, and thus the gas block marks? (I wrote this before the obvious copper traces were revealed by the bore scope)
Looks like the $500.00 barrels interior is missing the groves and valleys of the rifling and of course the $80.00 barrel was tested but it should had been cleaned before delivered
Personally I wouldn't care if someone tested my barrel, that's few rounds closer to proper copper fouling without using my ammo and I'm sure the barrel won't suddenly blow up in my face lol. To each their own tho.
Thanks for your video, it was interesting, but I was not sold on the $500 barrel. Yup it was better, but in today's world, a few minutes of hand finishing adds up to hundreds for dollars by the time it hits the retail market. I have machining capabilities as well as precision metal working and fairly often work in tenths. (1/10,000") My wife corrected me when I told her, I was building a gun. She said, no it looks like you are assembling a gun. She has seen me "build" stuff from a chunk of steel or aluminum. I'm doing a couple of AR builds, my first, and I recently bought a couple of 16" barrels, one at $70, and the other for $3 less. Both were on sale and look very good, the cheaper actually looks better, is chrome lined and has finer finished machining throughout. I've ordered many parts through several different vendors and what I'm finding is many suppliers buy from the same manufacturers and label the item as an "house brand" with a catchy name. Prices are changing every few days, things are always on sale, and sugg retail prices are somewhat of a fabrication. It reminds me of meat and produce in the grocery store. It must be largely a supply and demand situation. Also upon close scrutiny, my 2 uppers, even though branded differently and one costing 50% more than the other are identical, both being forged of 7 series aluminum, even having the same very small manufacturers logo in the same spot. I'm careful to use all USA produced parts, even still, I'm betting some small Chinese or other foreign stuff like roll pins, springs, detent pins and other stuff get imported, packaged and sold here as US made. My end result will be a super quality piece that I will have taken time and patience to use the skills I've developed over the last 50 years in precision fabrication. Keep up the good work!
Shinny isn’t always a good sign on the inside of a barrel when you pair that with too tight of a tolerance, as if a new, pre broken in button was used when this barrel was being made. Also, the scope you were using had a nice image, the down side to using that type of scope is that you don’t really get much information from looking down the barrel, you need to inspect the sides where the grooves and lands are to check for chatter in the ream that occurred before the buttoning process. An RA value comparison between the two barrels would also be interesting information to know as well, as that determines a lot in the end. Overall both barrels looked pretty clean though
I dont see any point to spending 500 on a barrel when you can get just as good accuracy from a 200 dollar barrel. And it's heavy, huh. Don't understand
Kotaboy32= I have a fantastic video idea for you. At least I think it would be. You should buy a set of the cheap chinese imitation MBUS PRO sights off of ebay. They only cost between $10-13 for metal backup sights. They look identical to the MBUS PRO metal sights that cost more than like $150 for a set of them, so I think it would be amazing to see you review them and show the differences.
@@rhess10 Well the link frequently changes because they are ebay listings. If you just go on ebay and type in the authentic name of the product(So Mbus Pro back up sights). And any listing that comes up under $30-40 for a set is most likely an imitation or fake ones. There are a few videos comparing authentic ones versus "imitation" (non authentic) ones. I can share one of those links if you want. However sharing links makes your comment get flagged so idk if you would even see it.
@@aholegunner Roger that. I'll check the Ebay. Many thanks. No need to post a link if they'll remove it. Very frustrating. Now that I can see the search terms, I'll give it a go. Thanks again.
Excellent topic, and great video... Good to know the differences btwn lower and higher end barrels. Are the more inexpensive barrels still acceptable for an AR build ?
Depends on what u want to use them for and what kind of life expectancy your lookin for I'm just using mine to hunt as long as I can hit a 6 in kill zone I'm good and it will take me a long time to make it thru 20k rounds so 2 low end barrels will prob last me forever Now if u want to do competition shooting and think u will shoot 10-20k rounds a year the high end might be for u
I'd recommend running a stone over the accurizing jig. I bought one for 5.56 and one for .308 and both had dings and raised burrs that would have probably caused some damage in my upper receivers if I hadn't removed the high spots with a stone prior to use.
Building AR's is highly addictive. I have so many spare parts laying around that I always have an excuse to build another. A guy can quickly go bankrupt once they develop a passion for firearms like I have. 😜
Have you ever dinged up a lower during a build? What do you do if you have a mangled roll pin sticking out of a bolt catch along with a marred up finish where the roll pin goes. Asking for a friend.
I built one just because I found a lower parts kit...
@@nifepartie Yes I think we all have. I would remove the magled roll pin and buy a new one to put in. If you have a black lower, just use a black sharpie to literally write on the nicked spots to cover the nicks. Ive done it before, it sounds super mickey mouse but its not permanent. It can wipe right off. Its not perfect by any means but it DOES work pretty good. You can also use some type of black paint or whatever. Im just trying to help.
Amen dude. I am doing same currently. Another Franken-Gun. It's addictive and sometimes it's a pleasant surprise how well the random parts work together. On a side note, glad he did this video. I thought he did a good job. (I still cant afford anything from Proof haha)
Indeed
Major difference that you missed was the timing of the gas ports. Cheap barrel's port was right in the middle of a rifling land. Proof barrel was timed when ported and had it properly placed in the groove between the lands which eliminates the chance of damaging the bullet jacket.
This is why try to read all the comments, you learned me something today👍🏽
I noticed that too. Being a former machinist helps in catching details like that.
Johnny nailed one of the significant factors in accuracy differences. I’d like to see the crown detail as well.
@@chipsterb4946 it's a zero factor in accuracy difference after the first few rounds.
@@swatbwana the crown of the muzzle doesn’t matter after a few rounds? First, steel is much harder than copper or lead so bullets aren’t going to smooth out any rough edges at the crown. Second, virtually every person I can think of who is interested in accuracy would tell you that any imperfections in the crown reduce accuracy.
After building a lot of AR's I've dealt with Bear Creek arsenal a lot and I have to say I love this company! Especially when after my wife's sub 5lb 6.5 Grendel build I purchased the stainless 16 inch barrel for 45 dollars on sale and it surprised the hell out of me when I shot a .55 inch shot group from a bench at 100 yards. the price and performance is phenomenal 👌
@B real you won't be disappointed
I purchased a complete 6.5 Grendel Upper assembly with 20" barrel. It served me well for all of 150 rounds. And then the extractor broke. I ordered a replacement bcg from Faxon. I dont trust the BCA bcg after the extractor failed like that.
How is your wife's grendel holding up? Better than mine I hope.
@@happysnowfish almost 1000 rounds through it the BCA bolt is holding up fine. I have to tell you unless you have the CMMG mutant the Grendel or 7.62x39 bolt face and extractor are weak from being milles so thin. I've had a spikes tactical 7.62x39 bolt face break the extractor and cracked in three spots. The CMMG mutant uses an AR-10 bolt and is way more durable for 7.62x39 and Grendel if you can find a type 1 barrel
@@happysnowfish that's concerning. I have a bca grendel with very few rds.
I noticed the last cleaning the extractor looked rough for the little use it's seen.
I used to shoot about 388 rounds of .223 weekly, 6 National Match Reduced Course of Fire daily practice matches. Then, with same rifle, a Sunday full range 80 round course plus 8 sighters. I found that button rifled barrels were most accurate but wore out faster than cut rifled barrels. I could typically get about 2000 rounds from a button rifled barrel before my X-Count would fall at 600 yards. With a cut barrel I could usually get about 3000 rounds out before 600 yard X-Count would begin to fall. I finally settled on button rifling, perceiving better scores in Long Range Competition. At any rate, my ideas on all of this is based on good score book usage and keeping a round count. All button barrels 1/7 twist by Douglas smithed by CLE and all 1/7 cut barrels by Krieger smithed by CLE. BTW, a shooter performing at less than a High Master level will not be able to appraise barrel wear since appraisal requires enough skill to clean a 600 yard target with at least a 50% X-Count in wind and weather presented.
Just looking at the machining, I'm not seeing justification for the price difference. The thicker barrel is nice for long-duration shooting in matches and so forth as you say but for real-life use, the BCA looks just fine- copper fouling, screw marks and all. Nothing that can't be cleaned up or won't be covered up during assembly.
It will be instructive to see how both barrels' groups change over time after five or six mags for sure though.
I have been very happy with my Ballistic Advantage barrels. Haven't had any issues, with my PSA and BCA barrels either though.
I've had the same good results ^
Working on a build with a Rosco, interested to see how this one turns out
Thanks for the video, I was considering this very thing. This is very helpful. Btw, bear creek does test fire each barrel to ensure they are within 1 MOA @ 100 yards, so that’s probably the gas block attachment and copper residue.
That's complete BS, Just look on the forums and read about all of the poor accuracy from BCA parts. They couldn't afford to build a rifle with each barrel then shoot enough ammo to determine every barrel shoots less than MOA. Then take the riffle apart, clean it and box it.
Love that you take time to show us not only the comparison but the detail inside of each. I will just say I'd buy the BCA all day long! I have four ARs built with BCA barrels and they are flawless at 200 - 500 yards and you gotta love the price! I like the fact that the BCA has contor chamber and visible swirling marks. For $500+ barrel, I'd expect better detail like you noticed with the BCA barrel. The Proof feed ramp machining looked better but that was only thing in my opinion. Thanks for sharing and keep us posted.
This is why I go somewhere in the middle. I'll take Faxon or Ballistic Advantage any day. I like the Gunner and Hanson profiles respectively.
Faxon all day everyday
I've built 4 guns with Faxon Gunner barrels, they're all shooters. Until I have a reason to go with something else they're what I'll be using.
I’ve never seen such an in-depth review, very nice!
Friend of mine bought a complete .223 Wylde upper from BCA and it wouldn't cycle due to a metal shaving still attached in the gas port from drilling! It was one of those curled metal shavings you get when drilling with a dull bit and crooked.
As far as I know, BCA proof fires all their barrels and uppers. They're good guys, I have two of their complete uppers on AR builds in my safe, both have run flawlessly.
At that price point I don’t believe they test fire each barrel, that would be cost prohibitive
What I think they may do however, is test fire a barrel per batch (or run) which would be consistent with Lean manufacturing principles.
@@paulpatriot1776 if you look at their web site, many of the barrels have MOA measurements and a picture of a target allowing you to buy that specific barrel.
@@ingelri2 I've been thinking of going with a BCA for my new build heard lots of positive remarks on them
the barrel was mounted and test-fired by bear creak that's why it has those marks
All barrels are proofed. So before you say something know something. Go learn something noob
@@Paulsmith-lr1kg haha and your calling me a noob that's pretty funny considering I was pointing out that the set screw marks at 5:24 on the barrel are from test firing the barrel or as you put it proofing the barrel but what I was getting at is since they used a gas block at all means they mounted it in an ar and shot it vs a test bench with no gas block. so I don't know where your hostility came from but kindly GTFO
And you all play with guns,wtf?
@@Paulsmith-lr1kg hahaha nobody is more of a noob than someone that uses the term "noob"
K Core and you just used 2x.... lol...just having fun..🍻
I've picked up two BCA barrels (.223 Wylde and 7.62x39) and have had outstanding luck with both. I was really surprised with the accuracy of the 7.62x39 barrel - keeps rounds within about 1.5 MOA.
@@cpfpv6410 Ok, gayboi.
Me to I have two 7.62x39 and 458 socom .
1.5 MOA isn't very accurate.
I have two BCA uppers, both chambered in .223 Wylde. The front sight is slightly canted left on one, so my wife gets that one until I can replace it with something better. I just took the other one to the range and shot 160 rounds at 200 yards with iron sights (no optic). It's been about 25 years since I've shot an m16 at 200 yards. That's what the Navy Seabees qualified at, with a 20" barrel, back in my day. So, this past Saturday, I was trying to replicate my Expert Quals, but with a 16" barrel and poor eyesight. I was using an NRA 200 yard match target. I consistently put rounds in the 12" Black, with an occassional round just outside the edge of the black. I measured the black center circle and it was actually 11 7/8", so some of those outside the edge were still within a 12" diameter. I also had a few flyers a little further out, but for the most part, I was eating up the black. Every other guy there was shooting with optics, most of them at 200 yards. It's only a 250 yard range. Some were shooting shorter distances like 50, 100, 150 yards. It seemed that my groups opened up a little more as the barrel got hot, but overall, I was very pleased at putting most of the rounds within a 12" circle, with a 16" barrel, using iron sights and failing eyes. I can't see a face clearly at 30 feet. The black center of the target looked like a tiny dot at 200 yards. My ARs are cheap builds, but if I can still hit within 12" at two hundred yards with iron sights and bad eyes, I'm not worried about pookie and his gang, or ANTIFA.
Love my BCA upper, it's a 16" barrell with a carbine gasblock and 15"mlock rail. Grabbed one when I was building my first AR.
Vaughn precision laps his receivers as well, he does 220 grit and then 600 grit for a finer polish and better matchup. Sounds like a great series
Thank you for your hard work! Love the vid as always!
I bought a BCA Upper which I'm super happy with. It came with a small plastic bag that had 2 spent casings in it. I'm not sure they test fire all their barrels, but they tested mine. Gr8 vid. 🔫
11:03 anyone else trying to wipe that strand of hair off "your" screen?
I don't have any hair so it wasn't mine lol
I was blowing on my screen like an idiot....
Yes, around 10:00 I started to see it. Everything he said went out the window at that point.
M Frisky same 😂
@@rustytaylor7708 90
The chamber dimensions of all should all be the same with the difference in the throat lead that causes different chamber pressures. Also getting a barrel with 4150 steel with cold hammer forge and chrome lining increases heat resistance (warp resistance=less change in point of impact and accuracy loss) and chamber throat life.
*Buys cheap barrel*
Spends hour with a fine file making all the edges nice
yep. a guy who has some machining knowledge can improve on a lot of the parts with hand tools.
As a gearhead and gun nut, that's half of the fun.
Squeezing 231 WHP out of a 170 BHP engine with nothing but careful hand porting and EFI tuning was one of the best feelings I ever experienced. I was far more proud of that than I was bolting a blower onto my other engine and passing 400 WHP.
For what it's worth, I take the same initiative with a $400 barrel that I do with a $75 one. I think most of us likely do, even if we expect more from the high dollar purchase.
I've been waiting for a video like this. I will definitely stay tuned for more videos on this.
Thank you very much. I loved the video and learned also. I'm playing catch up with your vids but plz keep them coming. I really enjoy them alot, youre a good charecter to learn from.
I've seen more QC issues brought up over the past year related to BCA than I did for Radical Firearms, and RF had extensions coming unscrewed under fire.
I've had great accuracy out of Bear Creek barrels. They shoot better than I can. 4 barrels so far. My only gripe with BCA is their barrels are very heavy. I've paid as little as $30 for them.
Minute of hog?😎
@@kevinroberts9580 yes sir MOH👍
Shootin' with Uncle Dan bull barrels require less machining, so they’re typically cheaper and shoot better than a lighter weight barrel
@@brkbtjunkie that is very true. They offer some flutted models. I wish they made a lighter profile though.
I bought a 12.5” kak barrel which uses green mountain blanks for a hd/truck gun. It shoots softball size groups at 50 yards with me standing behind it and doing my part. I paid 79.00 for it plus shipping. I’m happy.
Your video is definitely helpful I purchased a BCA 223 WYLDE barrel this weekend and couldn't find many reviews or videos on them
Change of impact is a "cause and effect" situation. Its important to check the seating face of the receiver, plus put a caliper on the diameter of the barrel extension to determine whether the 609 is necessary to seat the barrel. I would expect greater precession from an expensive barrel and a forged upper receiver. Any way, it looks like an interesting series ...sub'ed.
Have done quite a few builds using barrels from BCA, Classic Firearms as well as others. My opinion on barrels is that like anything else, you can spend as much as you want on one. Probably don't want the cheapest you can find but after a certain point it takes a LOT of money to gain negligible performance increases.
One of my best shooting guns has a stainless I got from classic in one of their barrel sales for $69.
Bottom line is all of my guns shoot well, some marginally better than others but the difference is negligible and I find the quality of my hand loads to be more the deciding factor than who made the barrel and how much I paid for it.
In all honesty I have been very pleased with Bear Creek products especially for the price. Their side charging uppers BCG combos are great for the price.
Classic firearms is a joke cheap until shipping comes up that’s where they get their money back site is a scam I don’t buy there unless I have no other choice
Too bad a company named "Pudding" doesn't make uppers, because after you install the barrel, you could say, "The Proof is in the Pudding". Bah dumbump!
Lol
::eye roll::
Ha!! Well done.
Just grab your coat
Dibs, going to trademark the 'Pudding Armsworks' and make cheap, high- end uppers.
Kotaboy, I've seen Bear Creek Arsenal barrels that still had a burr hanging off the gas port in the bore, so it couldn't have been tested fired because the first round would have pushed that out. I'm talking about a 416r. This is why it's a good idea to give new barrels a good look over before use. I would want to clear out all burrs and other machining debris. Yours was clearly tested as it had copper fouling.
Back during Memorial Day PSA had their AR pistol kit and AR 15 16" Carbine kit for $259 then receivers for 29$.. with a 15$ back ground check 303$ for the rifle.. Not going to beat that price anywhere. I love what PSA is doing.
I did similar with their PA 10, 20" complete upper was something like $379, lower complete, A2 stock, under $200. It shoots fine, could use an adjustable gas block. Under $600 for the basic setup, I cannot complain.
I've built many ARs, which doesn't make me any more than another half-assed mechanic. A short barreled AR (or any machine) is never going exceed it's physical limitations. In the AR platform, with it's implied usage, the only thing that matters is that it functions reliably and hits what you're aiming at. Semper Fi!
Very interesting, I have heard of the 2 different gas system lengths that are in between mid length and rifle length. Intermediate and KAC. This is the first time Ive seen an intermediate in a video, still haven't seen a KAC gas system yet.
There is also another length called "extended" which is longer than rifle length. So in total there are 7 different gas lengths. From shortest to longest: Pistol, carbine, midlength, KAC, intermediate, rifle, extended.
From what I gather KAC is proprietary and only about 1/2" shorter than intermediate. So one could argue there are 6 standard lengths.
Don’t forget Micro.
I am glad that you're not talking any faster than you already do!
I recently have purchased a Wylder 24" bull barrel (~ 6 lbs.) from CBC (very nice folks, mostly retired Army, seem to be very nice and knowing their good quality stuff, all having with a lifetime warranty) being attached to my ArmaLite and need to get it sighted in for
a distance of 300 m if the weather will get less windy and much warmer one of these days.
Take care and try to stay out of trouble!
Notice the gas hole is in the groove on the better barrel. It is partially on the land of the cheaper barrel. It is thought to be more desirable to have it in the groove.
No it's not
@@chrisgullett4332 really? Is that why the two most respected AR barrel makers (White Oak and Kreiger) insist on the port being completely in the groove?
@@Fatelvis111 That means nothing, but facts do. Gas pressure is more reliable on the lands because it is a higher surface, and gas escapes easier in the grooves. It is basically impossible to do it on a large scale, cause the extension determines where the gas port will be, and the barrels are rifled before the extension is added. This has already been talked about by several barrel makers, and all of them have said the same thing, no barrel maker is purposely putting gas ports in the grooves, but you got around a third of a chance of it happening. The port is either gonna land in a groove, on the lands or a combination of both. The extension determines everything when it comes to AR barrels. Now you could do it on a lot of other barrels, but when it comes to AR barrels it is not as simple as just potting the gas port hole wherever you want to drill it. Most other guns have the port drilled after it is on the receiver, but ARs do not.
Krieger absolutely makes sure the port is in the groove and has for the 33 years I have been using their DCM barrels. Other companies that make barrels that are not single point cut have a jig to locate the port and then time the extension to the port. I timed the extension on the premium barrels I made but did not on standard $200 AR barrels. The extension is installed and then the port is drilled, timed off of the extension on 99% of all AR barrels. @@chrisgullett4332
Should throw a mid range barrel like a Faxon into the mix just for comparison.
Copper is from the HP Test round most likely. Wont hurt anything, and over time will fill in any of the minor cracks
Loving your content man. Pretty new to the AR platform, your videos have been helpful.
Cool series as look forward to the rest of the testing......Good stuff....
I really enjoy your Reviews and Thoughts. Thanks for your time! Thanks For Your Service, GOD Bless The United States of America!
That BCA barrel almost seems to have been in someone's gun and then returned. Hence the gas block markings and the set screw marks. I have 3 BCA barrels and all came dimpled and had 0 marks on them. Mine also came with an elastic plastic mesh in a cardboard tube. Haven't had any issues with them and they all shoot 1 moa at 100 yrds.
My 18" bca ss barrel I had did not hold that 1 moa accuracy for long. It started going down hill somewhere betwee 800-1200 rounds and 1 moa became 6 moa. This of course is a sample size of 1 so ymmv. I for one learned my leason and will only buy quality tested barrels from now on.
@@Fourty5 did you try contacting them? that seems terrible barrel life, maybe they can send you a replacement
Pretty sure they test fired it. They usually guarantee 1 moa
@@bigc7710 Yeah, their website reads all 16"+ barrels are guaranteed 1 MOA.
I'm a big fan of the Ballistic Advantage Hanson barrel. The Fit/Finish is very good, comes with a Sub-MOA Guarantee and the price is very reasonable. Mine is shooting 1/2 MOA or better with the right ammo. I'll never go back to a government profile again.
Great, now we wait for the lapping tool video of the job procedure. Awesome, cheers
Reading the subtitles before clicking the video is hilarious. The one began with "all right gasp go boy 32 chicken out..." 😆
This would be an interesting video to see what a rosco blood line and purebred barrel look like compared to a high end barrel
BCA has been good to me, 308 7.62x39 and multiple 223 wylde builds. The 7.62x39 has the fat 300 blackout feed ramps, i can't get it to miss feed, i got rid of my psa 7.62x39 it was frustrating to own., BCA is producing some good quality items.
Bear creek got raided by ICE and had THIRTY illegals placed into custody. No american should be buying their products or be rooting for them. ...I used to buy from them before knowing this but there are plenty of other inexpensive offerings to choose from. PSA, I am looking at you here.
BCA has good quality control and responds to customer concerns. I don't have to go to bat for these guys, their work speaks for itself.
This is a great series of comparison videos! Great work sir.
Thanks for the video, but my problem was that during the great bore scope scene one barrel that had excessive copper on the lands also had the hole for the gas right thru the lands, if true good luck. The other barrel appeared between , between the lands. I figure if is corrrct the super heated copper jacket will expand and get shaved coming off the misdrilled gas port. For you others look at slow cooker speed. I almost spit my beer out.
Thanks for the like. I learned more from your channel than any others. Especially the one on ar gas piston.Thanks for the heads up.
Anyone else notice on the BCA that opposite the gas port it looked like they hit the land with the drill bit?
YES THEY DID.
Nice video ! Thank you Kotaboy32.
Awesome video!!! I really liked the bore scope...learned a lot!
"I'm gonna compare side by side" by the way, .... totally different caliber, totally different contour, different everything, but here's why price matters on two completely different things....
They're the same caliber stupid
Yes they are. However the sami spec is slightly different for cast thickness and pressure along with neck thickness. Not completely interchangeable regardless if the same slut is fired.
One should not call someone else stupid just because the presenter is a little better educated on the subject than you are.
You could not be called stupid, other than your comment. But ignorant of the facts does fit.
Presenter, unless really cleaned afterwords, yes there should be trace copper in the barrel. They must be proof tested. Or am I mistaken and only fully built firearms have to be proofed? Now my ignorance o the subject is showing.
'KnifeMaker
If they had been for exactly identical setups or not, the stuff we are looking at would have been the same.
Would you show how you use the Wheeler AR 15 Receiver Lapping Tool On a video
One of the best videos I've seen is on a TH-cam channel called Fitty%. Look up his video called Precision Rifle 6.5 Creedmore Lapping and you have it. His technic is different than most and he explains why he does it his way and it makes a lot of sense. He does it vertically instead of horizontally.
John Parrish, that is a good video you recommended and the vertical technique looks to be the way to go. I hope Kota sees your message. Thanks for the referral. 👍👍
@@johnparrish9215 rofl; his 'results' video showed LESS accuracy... you dont bed-in/lap an AR-x upper/barrel like with a bolt-action.
New subscriber here. Really enjoying the channel and quality videos 👍🏼
Great video and insight. Really appreciate the content.
Looking forward to seeing the final build and testing!
BCA test fires its barrels which requires a gas block.
Not really, but whatever. Maybe they attach one , or maybe they don't. The only point of a gas block is to cycle the gun for follow up shots. Even if they felt it was necessary to test fire with a gas block on it you would think they would have a quick tool rather than screwing one on to barrel, when the barrel doesn't come with one.
Robert Presti Jr they do fire more than one round to ensure the MOA accuracy they market the barrels with. For an $80 barrel from a super small company out of rural NC, I’d say it’s pretty awesome that they test fire them.
I have 2 BCA Barrels and they seem to do just fine, but they are just for plinking and for the kids at our youth camp to have fun with. My real AR's "lol" have Ballistic Advantage, Wilson Combat and Sharps Rifle Company Barrels in them. Every one of those barrels shoot Sub-Moa all day long and I couldn't be happier with the finish and quality. I just recently discovered the Sharps 25/45 and man that is one sweet cartridge. It shoots a little bit faster than the .223/5.56 and a lot faster than the 300 Blackout and the ballistics at range is quite impressive. I have 8 of them and not a single one of them has given me any problems whatsoever. Great stuff and so easy to convert to from .223/5.56 or 300 Blackout. And their XPB Relia-Bolt with the DLC is amazing. Everyone should have that BCG in their AR-15.
Last two I built have Widham Weaponry barrels. Very accurate and not too pricey.
One of my best shooing guns has a 7" $50 300 Blackout Anderson barrel. One of the worst barrels Ive ever shot had the Daniel defense 10" $400 barrel on it.
Sure
@@ZERO_42069 The piece of shit Daniel Defense upper wouldnt function with ANY subs . The Anderson POS digested everything I poured through it.
TEST FIRED BARREL, YES THEY DO
Wow this is why I love your channel 100 thumbs up fantastic vid thanks.
TH-cam has cracked down on videos showing people building guns.
Well done...great idea to do a compariso video series. Thanks for the info.
If I'm not mistaken they do test fire their barrels to make sure they're accurate to be 1" moa on all their barrels !!
Barrels are indeed test fired. However they are cleaned and all the fouling and residue is removed. With the gas block screw imprint and the exterior condition of the bear creek barrel coupled with the copper in the barrel says he was sent a used barrel. Used enough that when cleaned the copper isn't able to be removed.
If there are burrs hanging from the gas port they weren't test fired. Read where several people here said they had burrs in their barrel. Been a gunsmith and engineer for 24 years, all it takes is a borescope to know BCA lies about testing every barrel.
I’ve been looking at bear creek barrels for budget build but have been on the fence about it, so glad your doing a comparison review on it, I will be waiting for your results, I’ve seen other reviews but usually one sided reviews, never a comparison 👍 thanks, you and other TH-camrs You recommend are most informative in what y’all do appreciate it so much( I am almost there on the moar build my first build)
Bear creek got raided by ICE and had THIRTY illegals placed into custody. No american should be buying their products or be rooting for them. ...I used to buy from them before knowing this but there are plenty of other inexpensive offerings to choose from. PSA, I am looking at you here.
I've never understood people buying cheap barrels and then sticking a $400 handguard and $200 muzzle device on them. BCA is as bad as they can get unless you just want to make noise at the range.
Very kool video....I might try out the BCA barrel......That lapping tool looks interesting, are you going to make a video on doing that??.👍🇺🇸
That was pretty cool. The proof barrel had a choked rifling. Where the grooves and lands are very shallow and then at the end of the barrel they get a lil bigger. It’s what they do in precession air rifles. I thought that was cool. I haven’t had any issues with my bear creek uppers so far. Really accurate for the price. And you know they tested that barrel before they sent it too you. That just shows the devotion of the company
Sweet, I always use antiseeze when seating the barrel. There is a milspec one but don't recall the name
Don Hill Aeroshell 33MS
Man show the video of you putting everything together. Thanks captjohn.
Looking forward to the series.
Great idea. I'm anxious to see the results.
Cheap video cameras Vs Expensive What is the Difference? Better autofocus?
It would be cool to take both barrels to a machinist after cleaning and measure chamber dimensions and land and grove dimensions now and after 1000 rounds to compare wear , accuracy and other dimensional differences as well.
For sure. Been waiting for someone to do an in depth video on this because this is the real answer we all need
The wear will principally be in the throat...
unless of course improper cleaning tools and techniques are used
Awesome review, thanks so much
Very cool series you have going here KB Im excited to see the results!!! Thanks again for great content and God bless brother!
Granted I know absolutely nothing about barrels, but I thought the Bear Creek was the better-looking one
The bca was copper fouled, but the lands and grooves were sharper. Give me the bca
You know nothing. The lands didnt contact the bullet across the width. Notice uneven copper wirh gaps😱💀
@@colt45peacemaker Yes I agree. That was definitely a well used barrel. Used enough that the copper is embedded and unable to be removed. The gas block screw and scratches on the barrel would be a tale tale signal that it might be a return or on a BCA show gun that had been fired. Point being that it definitely was NOT a new barrel.
NoNameRequired new barrels looks like that after 3 rounds, could just be that they tested that barrel.
Furthermore to those who say the bca looks better: you will always see less of the rifling when you view a high end barrel through a bore scope, it’s due to more lapping.
@@antonw-uw4ov it's been awhile since I wrote that. Had to go back and re-read lol. Ok. Yes a new barrel that has been fired and or test fired will look like that. However, a manufacturer will normally clean the barrel and remove any fouling and the gas port will be cleaned in the process. From what I recall the individual "ASKED' them for a barrel to review. So I am of the opinion that a barrel sent was NOT new (first sale quality) and has been fired, I'll say more than just test firing. This was my thinking I believe in my response. I have ordered alot of barrels. From manufacturers and private parties. I have never received any new that were in a similar condition. Whether just test fired or not. For a company who wants their barrel to shine in a review it just wouldnt happen without some serious oversight. But, we are human and mistakes do happen.
Modern machining capabilities, if the operator gives just a bit of attention, is amazing. I just tested a new 223 Wylde upper with a cheap lower I pinned to it that did sub moa...gave $135 for it during the holidays sales. Unless I get into high end precision shooting, I don't see a reason to sink wads of cash into an AR rig.
I had the Doctor Who theme music playing in my head at 12:30 lol. Good vid showing the internals!
I could easily picture you with a ponytail. Sorry so random. Good shit keep up the good work.
That is a crazy price for a barrel.
Mid range run around $200, Proof has always been very expensive when compared to others that shoot almost as good. There are some $200 barrels with good specs that will shoot 1/2MOA with good ammo, 5R rifling and Wylde chambers, 4150 steel and Melonite treated...Blackstone
Got a daytona tactical kit gun an an anderson lower. Overall I'm happy with it. It shoots straight enough. No 500 yard shots in my area, too many hills.
If I'm going to spend that much on a barrel, I think I would get a Krieger.
My future son in law has a BCA 6.5 grendel that has a chamber that's out of spec and the case gets stuck in chamber. Get what you pay for.
They don’t have enough differences to matter. Training is what you should blow your money on if you’re going to blow money. Most guns will outshoot their shooter
BCA to my understanding test fires all barrels and complete upper assemblies. When i got my uppers and barrel I also received 3 spent shells in each upper box along with the barrel.
@Gibson Fender I love the several I have built using BCA components. No they aren't going to group 1/2 MOA at 500 yards but for the money you can't go wrong. I would recommend them to anyone wanting a decent AR platform at an affordable cost.
Yes they test them. 1 under power 1 correct 1 slightly over. If you open the gas port slightly it will over gas but function dirty is enhanced.
Don't you suspect that the BCA barrel was test-fired, and thus the gas block marks?
(I wrote this before the obvious copper traces were revealed by the bore scope)
Looks like the $500.00 barrels interior is missing the groves and valleys of the rifling and of course the $80.00 barrel was tested but it should had been cleaned before delivered
Personally I wouldn't care if someone tested my barrel, that's few rounds closer to proper copper fouling without using my ammo and I'm sure the barrel won't suddenly blow up in my face lol.
To each their own tho.
I would take the $80. Every day especially when they had already been tested with real rounds.
I got a BCA barrel a little over a year ago. It shoots 1.5 MOA consistently. Good for the money for sure.
Thanks for your video, it was interesting, but I was not sold on the $500 barrel. Yup it was better, but in today's world, a few minutes of hand finishing adds up to hundreds for dollars by the time it hits the retail market. I have machining capabilities as well as precision metal working and fairly often work in tenths. (1/10,000") My wife corrected me when I told her, I was building a gun. She said, no it looks like you are assembling a gun. She has seen me "build" stuff from a chunk of steel or aluminum.
I'm doing a couple of AR builds, my first, and I recently bought a couple of 16" barrels, one at $70, and the other for $3 less. Both were on sale and look very good, the cheaper actually looks better, is chrome lined and has finer finished machining throughout. I've ordered many parts through several different vendors and what I'm finding is many suppliers buy from the same manufacturers and label the item as an "house brand" with a catchy name. Prices are changing every few days, things are always on sale, and sugg retail prices are somewhat of a fabrication. It reminds me of meat and produce in the grocery store. It must be largely a supply and demand situation. Also upon close scrutiny, my 2 uppers, even though branded differently and one costing 50% more than the other are identical, both being forged of 7 series aluminum, even having the same very small manufacturers logo in the same spot. I'm careful to use all USA produced parts, even still, I'm betting some small Chinese or other foreign stuff like roll pins, springs, detent pins and other stuff get imported, packaged and sold here as US made. My end result will be a super quality piece that I will have taken time and patience to use the skills I've developed over the last 50 years in precision fabrication. Keep up the good work!
Shinny isn’t always a good sign on the inside of a barrel when you pair that with too tight of a tolerance, as if a new, pre broken in button was used when this barrel was being made. Also, the scope you were using had a nice image, the down side to using that type of scope is that you don’t really get much information from looking down the barrel, you need to inspect the sides where the grooves and lands are to check for chatter in the ream that occurred before the buttoning process. An RA value comparison between the two barrels would also be interesting information to know as well, as that determines a lot in the end. Overall both barrels looked pretty clean though
The Proof barrel isn't button rifled. They're cut rifled and subsequently hand lapped.
Even worse lol
The “freedom shack”..LoL...
Wish I had more neighbors like you...
They do test fire the barrel. That's also why its marked up where the gas block goes.
It appears they put a gas block on mine for testing. Not sure that they did, but it made me think they did.
cant wait to see how that plays out!!!
I dont see any point to spending 500 on a barrel when you can get just as good accuracy from a 200 dollar barrel. And it's heavy, huh. Don't understand
I’ve got a $1,200 stainless bull 24” barrel that it’s performance has justified the price
@@danjohnson6870how so? 2 years later. Still good as new?
Kotaboy32= I have a fantastic video idea for you. At least I think it would be. You should buy a set of the cheap chinese imitation MBUS PRO sights off of ebay. They only cost between $10-13 for metal backup sights. They look identical to the MBUS PRO metal sights that cost more than like $150 for a set of them, so I think it would be amazing to see you review them and show the differences.
A-Hole Gunner - Could you please share a link to those sights you mentioned?
@@rhess10 Well the link frequently changes because they are ebay listings. If you just go on ebay and type in the authentic name of the product(So Mbus Pro back up sights). And any listing that comes up under $30-40 for a set is most likely an imitation or fake ones. There are a few videos comparing authentic ones versus "imitation" (non authentic) ones. I can share one of those links if you want. However sharing links makes your comment get flagged so idk if you would even see it.
@@aholegunner Roger that. I'll check the Ebay. Many thanks.
No need to post a link if they'll remove it. Very frustrating. Now that I can see the search terms, I'll give it a go.
Thanks again.
@@rhess10 My pleasure buddy! Have a fantastic day
AR’s are nice but ever since I touched my first scar I can’t get off it, you build less of them but it’s a wonderful piece of art
Excellent topic, and great video... Good to know the differences btwn lower and higher end barrels. Are the more inexpensive barrels still acceptable for an AR build ?
Depends on what u want to use them for and what kind of life expectancy your lookin for
I'm just using mine to hunt as long as I can hit a 6 in kill zone I'm good and it will take me a long time to make it thru 20k rounds so 2 low end barrels will prob last me forever
Now if u want to do competition shooting and think u will shoot 10-20k rounds a year the high end might be for u
I'd recommend running a stone over the accurizing jig. I bought one for 5.56 and one for .308 and both had dings and raised burrs that would have probably caused some damage in my upper receivers if I hadn't removed the high spots with a stone prior to use.