X-Caliber barrels are awesome
- By Ape_Factory
- Semi-Automatic Rifles
- 29 Replies
Ever have one of those range days where everything went right? I feel like they've been few and far between lately and after the absolute shit show I had with another barrel maker that took months to resolve, I have to say the 223 Wylde barrel X-Caliber made for me is just fantastic. Absolutely puts a smile on my face and it's like hitting the easy button. Nothing special, Wylde chamber, 16" 1:7 twist HBAR fluted profile with 5/8x24 threaded end. No cryo or other special treatments. I paid an extra $100 to rush it but thanks to the sale the barrel itself was $400 and worth every penny. The rest of the gun is self-assembled, V-Seven GI Seven upper (their cheapest one), ADM lower, Normal buffer tube setup and an RCA lightweight BCG. It was an interference fit with the V-Seven upper.
I knew the barrel was sub-MOA from the get go but I did a little experiment today changing scopes and taking two different hand loads that'd I'd done for a completely different barrel. The first was a Nosler 52 grain custom competition and a Hornady 60 grain V-Max. The Noslers were a bulk "2nd's" I'd purchased of of GunBroker back in 2018. Instead of using the 1-8 Burris I usually have on the rifle, I stripped the 3-18 Meopta6 off my 308 gas gun. I suspected the 1-8X was holding me back a bit from producing really tight groupings and I think I was right. Took four rounds to zero it in using some crappy Fiocchi factory-loaded ammo and I started with a squeaky clean barrel. Can't say enough good stuff about the Meopta. Seriously overlooked scope.
I slapped the first magazine in and I did a 10-shot group with the Noslers that I could cover with a nickel (@100 yards). The best part is this is one of the first finalized hand loads I ever did years ago and was very new to reloading. I hand the same with the Hornady V-Max which is not exactly a precision bullet. Those were my first "bulk" load using a Dillon 750. Looking at the Nosler group, honestly, any variation was down to the shooter. Just me, bipod and a rear bag. Trigger is a Velocity with a 4lb. pull so not a precision light pull trigger. Some of you guys probably could have put them all through the same hole (many were). Still, I'll take it.
Even the Riflespeed gas block, which had been giving me issues, was actually working as it should.
On top of that, I brought along the POF P415 12.5" SBR (5.56) with nothing more than an RDO and I have no doubt it could produce at least MOA @100 with that red dot (actually green). It's a surprisingly accurate factory barrel and a fantastic gun all around. I do wish it were a tad lighter and the gas system was a bit more intuitive but it surprises me every time I take it out. It's one of those rifles that inspires confidence right off the bat and feels like a unicorn rifle. I have one of the higher end Holosun RDO's on it and the dot is very crisp. I have a lower-tier Holosun as a temp on my Sig Spear LT and I kid you not, the "dot" looks more like an off kilter chevron with one leg longer than the other. A tight dot really makes quite a difference.
Speaking of the Sig, took it out as well. Loaded up some Hornady Black 208-grain subs, which have never cycled in any other rifle I've owned. Whelp, they cycled and locked the bolt back. Pinching myself.
I knew the barrel was sub-MOA from the get go but I did a little experiment today changing scopes and taking two different hand loads that'd I'd done for a completely different barrel. The first was a Nosler 52 grain custom competition and a Hornady 60 grain V-Max. The Noslers were a bulk "2nd's" I'd purchased of of GunBroker back in 2018. Instead of using the 1-8 Burris I usually have on the rifle, I stripped the 3-18 Meopta6 off my 308 gas gun. I suspected the 1-8X was holding me back a bit from producing really tight groupings and I think I was right. Took four rounds to zero it in using some crappy Fiocchi factory-loaded ammo and I started with a squeaky clean barrel. Can't say enough good stuff about the Meopta. Seriously overlooked scope.
I slapped the first magazine in and I did a 10-shot group with the Noslers that I could cover with a nickel (@100 yards). The best part is this is one of the first finalized hand loads I ever did years ago and was very new to reloading. I hand the same with the Hornady V-Max which is not exactly a precision bullet. Those were my first "bulk" load using a Dillon 750. Looking at the Nosler group, honestly, any variation was down to the shooter. Just me, bipod and a rear bag. Trigger is a Velocity with a 4lb. pull so not a precision light pull trigger. Some of you guys probably could have put them all through the same hole (many were). Still, I'll take it.
Even the Riflespeed gas block, which had been giving me issues, was actually working as it should.
On top of that, I brought along the POF P415 12.5" SBR (5.56) with nothing more than an RDO and I have no doubt it could produce at least MOA @100 with that red dot (actually green). It's a surprisingly accurate factory barrel and a fantastic gun all around. I do wish it were a tad lighter and the gas system was a bit more intuitive but it surprises me every time I take it out. It's one of those rifles that inspires confidence right off the bat and feels like a unicorn rifle. I have one of the higher end Holosun RDO's on it and the dot is very crisp. I have a lower-tier Holosun as a temp on my Sig Spear LT and I kid you not, the "dot" looks more like an off kilter chevron with one leg longer than the other. A tight dot really makes quite a difference.
Speaking of the Sig, took it out as well. Loaded up some Hornady Black 208-grain subs, which have never cycled in any other rifle I've owned. Whelp, they cycled and locked the bolt back. Pinching myself.
