White oak armament SPR barrels?

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bllistc

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Mar 1, 2019
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#1
I'm working on a mk12-ish build and was gonna get a bartlein or kreiger barrel from compass lake. But WOA is having a black friday deal on their SPR barrels for less than half the price of a CLE. Seems like both companies are highly regarded here from what I've seen. Anyone know what blanks WOA uses or recommend one over the other? This would be running DMR/gas gun matches out to 700ish and just because I want a mk12.

www.whiteoakarmament.com

White Oak SPR .223/5.56, 18

SPR Barrels Mid or Rifle Gas, 1-7 or 1-8 Twist
www.whiteoakarmament.com www.whiteoakarmament.com
 
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#2
WOA uses Wilson blanks but there's no free lunch when it comes to putting together a precision gas gun. The barrel is the heart of the system so if you can afford to get a Bartlein or Kreiger CLE barrel by all means do it, I doubt you're going to regret that decision. However, I don't believe you're going to get the same level of performance from a WOA SPR barrel as the CLE, all things being equal. WOA is no slouch, I've used their barrels quite a bit and in my experience they're a great value that will give you sub-MOA performance with factory match and be reliable.

Getting back to the DMR/gas gun match thing and the Mk12. If you haven't seen the thread yet, check this one out, it has some good insights into putting together a good small frame gas gun.

 
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#3
I just used a White Oak SPR 18" barrel to win 1st Overall at the Quantified Performance Bill Guesman Memorial Match. Targets from 150-1050 yards, and beat all other shooters, including those running large frame 6.5cm, JPs, KACs, etc.

My barrels have run 69 SMK, 77 SMK, and 77 Berger OTMs fantastically, with regular accuracy <0.5 MOA.

Only question is whether you are capable of shooting that with a gas gun.
 
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#4
Trigger Monkey said:
WOA uses Wilson blanks but there's no free lunch when it comes to putting together a precision gas gun. The barrel is the heart of the system so if you can afford to get a Bartlein or Kreiger CLE barrel by all means do it, I doubt you're going to regret that decision. However, I don't believe you're going to get the same level of performance from a WOA SPR barrel as the CLE, all things being equal. WOA is no slouch, I've used their barrels quite a bit and in my experience they're a great value that will give you sub-MOA performance with factory match and be reliable.

Getting back to the DMR/gas gun match thing and the Mk12. If you haven't seen the thread yet, check this one out, it has some good insights into putting together a good small frame gas gun.

Click to expand...
CLE are great but WOA has always been a step above CLE.
that 200.00 spr will be a great barrel and buy a matched bolt with it.
 
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#5
Really? That kind of surprises me to be honest. I'll be the first to admit I've never used a CLE barrel but the way they're regarded made it seem as if they're second to none. I've used WOA barrels plenty because they were affordable, fit my needs and were readily available and don't regret that. I'm genuinely curious why you'd put a CLE barrel made from a cut rifled blank a step behind a WOA barrel made from a button rifled blank?
 
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#7
Trigger Monkey said:
Really? That kind of surprises me to be honest. I'll be the first to admit I've never used a CLE barrel but the way they're regarded made it seem as if they're second to none. I've used WOA barrels plenty because they were affordable, fit my needs and were readily available and don't regret that. I'm genuinely curious why you'd put a CLE barrel made from a cut rifled blank a step behind a WOA barrel made from a button rifled blank?
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I am not comparing a WOA house barrel to a bartlin blank spun by either company. WOA and CLE both offer the same barrels.
 
#8
I would put my WOA against any of the other SPR/MK12 barrels on the market. and we have tried just about all the ones out there. In the end, ammo is the deciding factor in pure accuracy of the barrels.
 
#10
LV Precision said:
I just used a White Oak SPR 18" barrel to win 1st Overall at the Quantified Performance Bill Guesman Memorial Match. Targets from 150-1050 yards, and beat all other shooters, including those running large frame 6.5cm, JPs, KACs, etc.

My barrels have run 69 SMK, 77 SMK, and 77 Berger OTMs fantastically, with regular accuracy <0.5 MOA.

Only question is whether you are capable of shooting that with a gas gun.
Click to expand...

Last sentence says it all........................

You won't go wrong with a WOA, Wilson blank barrel & it will likely be sub-moa, & I have several, but in absolute terms, it likely won't fully be the equal of a Bartlien or a Kreiger or a Rock Creek barrel, whether it's done by WOA, CLE or Craddock Precision.

JMHO

MM
 
#11
MontanaMan said:
Last sentence says it all........................

You won't go wrong with a WOA, Wilson blank barrel & it will likely be sub-moa, & I have several, but in absolute terms, it likely won't fully be the equal of a Bartlien or a Kreiger or a Rock Creek barrel, whether it's done by WOA, CLE or Craddock Precision.

JMHO

MM
Click to expand...

If price and availability weren't considerations, I'd absolutely prefer a Bartlein barrel every time. Having said that, the WOA barrels shoot fantastic for something that can be picked up from stocking dealers with no wait time (usually).
 
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#12
LV Precision said:
I just used a White Oak SPR 18" barrel to win 1st Overall at the Quantified Performance Bill Guesman Memorial Match. Targets from 150-1050 yards, and beat all other shooters, including those running large frame 6.5cm, JPs, KACs, etc.

My barrels have run 69 SMK, 77 SMK, and 77 Berger OTMs fantastically, with regular accuracy <0.5 MOA.

Only question is whether you are capable of shooting that with a gas gun.
Click to expand...
Congrats on the win.
 
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#13
WOA with the Wilson barrels tend to be really good especially for the cost. I’m pretty sure JP and Cooper use Wilson barrels. CLE, Keystone, WOP and Croddock use premium blanks. White Oak Precision (a division of WOA) sources premium barrels from Kreiger and Bartlein. John who owns WOA & WOP is an accomplishment competitive service rifle shooter and is as good as anyone at finishing and chambering a barrel.
 
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#14
Johnny's reloading bench on youtube uses WOA barrels in his 223 videos. Lots of content there, summary is they shoot above what you would expect for a $200 barrel. If I ever want a precision gas gun, WOA.
 
#15
I have a WOA SPR contour barrel on my Mk12 Mod 0 and a Bartlein SPR on my Knights SR 15. Both shoot sub MOA groups, with each giving me a few 1 hole groups over the years with my handloads. My 12th model fit better on the WOA without needing any additional machine work to get the proper thread engagement on the suppressor. The Bartlein maintains slightly better groups once It gets hot. Both are excellent barrels.

diiga37.jpg


YWmWrBP.jpg
 
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#16
S197 said:
CLE are great but WOA has always been a step above CLE.
that 200.00 spr will be a great barrel and buy a matched bolt with it.
Click to expand...
I am not sure where you get your information. CLE turns Douglas, Bartlein, Criterion, Kreiger and maybe a blank I missed. To the best of my knowledge, WOA does not offer different blanks, and each of these blanks is superior to a Wilson blank. WOA makes a quality barrel, but CLE barrels are a cut above, in my opinion, and we buy from many, many barrel shops.
 
#18
If I had the cash to throw around I'd go with a bartlein from CLE. But I don't. I just ordered a 20" WOA varmint barrel. If the WOA barrel isn't in stock it's going to be between 12 to 16 week wait, same for CLE from what I'm seeing.
 
#20
longshot2000 said:
I am not sure where you get your information. CLE turns Douglas, Bartlein, Criterion, Kreiger and maybe a blank I missed. To the best of my knowledge, WOA does not offer different blanks, and each of these blanks is superior to a Wilson blank. WOA makes a quality barrel, but CLE barrels are a cut above, in my opinion, and we buy from many, many barrel shops.
Click to expand...
A 5 second search on their site would show that they offer bartlin, krieger, shilen… exc.. and A deeper search would show that their barrels win competitions. But your part of Charlies Customs Soo……
 
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#21
Imthatguywithquestions said:
If I had the cash to throw around I'd go with a bartlein from CLE. But I don't. I just ordered a 20" WOA varmint barrel. If the WOA barrel isn't in stock it's going to be between 12 to 16 week wait, same for CLE from what I'm seeing.
Click to expand...
I’ve been seeing an 6-8 week turnaround on their house barrel but that was before this BF.
 
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#22
S197 said:
I’ve been seeing an 6-8 week turnaround on their house barrel but that was before this BF.
Click to expand...
Yeah I haven't ordered from CLE that was just on the website. My invoice from WOA says 12-16 weeks. That would be awesome if it's 6-8 weeks. Hopefully you didn't get my hopes up! 😂
 
#25
I got one from Brownell’s with a coupon a few weeks ago (ended up being about the same price as the Black Friday deal)
Haven’t had time to work up a load for it yet, but it was shooting nice groups with some cheap 55gr plinking ammo I had around. Seems promising so well.
 
#27
So I ordered a WOA, 3 gun 1.9 lb barrel on 11/20. It said out of stock, but shipped 3 days later.

It was by far the tightest to fit the GB. They design it like that to minimize gas leakage and include a note saying use emery cloth to take a little of as needed. I just tapped it on.
 
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#30
I chose to sand the inside of my gas block instead of the barrel. Just took a few revolutions with high grit and it tapped on snug.

I jumped on the pirate day sale and got my 2 barrels in like 6 weeks, less than half quoted time. So far they look good, but haven’t tested them yet. They appear to have a slightly oversized extension as they fit snug(needing a good thunk) into an aero receiver. I liked that.

Both woa and compass lake have been more than helpful in my calls to them and both met or bettered quoted time for me. CLE cut a rock blank for me this spring. If the woa barrels shoot close to what that shoots I’ll be thrilled for the $. I have high expectations they will get close.
 
#34
JohnCarter17 said:
So I ordered a WOA, 3 gun 1.9 lb barrel on 11/20. It said out of stock, but shipped 3 days later.

It was by far the tightest to fit the GB. They design it like that to minimize gas leakage and include a note saying use emery cloth to take a little of as needed. I just tapped it on.

I also emailed to ask what the recommended offset for the GB was and they said mount it flush to the shoulder.
Click to expand...
WOA's definitely on the large size for the GB journal.............. with those barrels, I usually just use a low profile, clamp on GB like an SLR..............no fuss, no muss.

MM
 
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#35
I'll probably go back and run the GB against the shoulder. I did the toothpick trick and was happy with its movement.

Its range ready now, but I wasn't to give it a PRS Lite when those come out (Luth AR on it now).
 
#36
JohnCarter17 said:
I'll probably go back and run the GB against the shoulder. I did the toothpick trick and was happy with its movement.
Click to expand...

SOP for me is to actually measure the gas port location from the journal shoulder & then measure the gas block's hole location relative to the back surface & place it accordingly, but with a dimpled barrel, unless you choose not to use a screw in the dimpled location, you are pretty much locked in to where that dimple set screw located the GB on the barrel.

With a clamp on GB, you can put it wherever you need to put it.

I've never seen a rail that SLR's clamp on (.750") GB wouldn't fit under.

MM
 
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#37
Ok, I previously posted I contacted White Oak and they said run the GB against the shoulder.

That has been deleted. I accidentally contacted Compass Lake, and they said that.

Oops.
 
#39
Not really pertinent for the OP, but my mk12 ish rifle has a Noveske match 18" bbl w/ switchblock and it shoots lights out. Used my kac Xmas cheer upper and lower from back in the silencer talk days.

I love that stick. But I really still want a PRI gen2 upper because.....reasons.
 
#40
maestrogustav said:
I would love to hear how the project turns out!
Click to expand...

Just shot it for the first time today. About 30 rounds of 62gr FMJ and a couple mags worth of my 77gr SMK pet load. Very happy with the accuracy and the build. Shot MOA or better with the SMKs and 1-1.5 MOA with FMJ. Now I just need to get an OCM5 for this.
 

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#43
Yes, they have some "standard" contours available for quick ship most of the time, as long as you are willing to take one of those.

CLE's work is consistently as good as anyone's, they have solid blank selection & they are reasonably easy to deal with.

Paul Craddock (Craddock Precision) is another great source, but lead times have gotten almost unbearable as his OEM business has exploded.

MM
 
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#45
Just ordred a WOA barrel and a Forward Controls Designs gas block. Planning on using this to polish the inside of the gas block vs polishing the barrel. Feel like polishing the inside of the gasblock will be easier to make sure I'm taking off material evenly, and the gasblock is a lot cheaper! Got this on amazon for $17. Will see how it works out. 320 grit and designed for 0.75 inch bores.

 

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#46
yosemite_sam said:
Just ordred a WOA barrel and a Forward Controls Designs gas block. Planning on using this to polish the inside of the gas block vs polishing the barrel. Feel like polishing the inside of the gasblock will be easier to make sure I'm taking off material evenly, and the gasblock is a lot cheaper! Got this on amazon for $17. Will see how it works out. 320 grit and designed for 0.75 inch bores.

Click to expand...
Why are you planning to do any of that?
 
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#48
yosemite_sam said:
Check out post #29 in this thread
Click to expand...
I worked my WOA SPR barrel over with some emery cloth and when my patience wore thin I just tapped the gas block in place with a wood dowel. It was a tight fit but not horrible, and I now have 0 leakage between the barrel and gas block, which I am guessing is exactly what one wants. Dont overthink it.
 
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