Finally just getting over my disdain for spending $200 on a tax stamp to have a shorter barrel. I wont go down the DI vs piston or the optimal barre length questions as i have read as much as i can find on this. My big this is 1, I plan to get a suppressor for this set up in the future, possibly this year but who know with the way my wife spends money and 2, i realize separating cheap barrels from more quality ones will probably make a difference but as far as spending $300 vs $600 am I going to see THAT big of a performance difference? I want something that will be capable of 1 to 1.5 moa with off the shelf ammo. Realistically I’ll be shooting 55g and 62g ammo for the most part for plinking and then getting quality ammo occasionally for seeing what me and the gun can do. If I’m going to soend the money on a quality barrel i fee like i might as well get a headspace matched bolt with it. CLE has a ready to ship 10.5 for like $515 with the bolt… am i going to see that big of improvement over a DD or a noveske for $300?
Depends on your priorities.
It's a bit of a lottery, but your a lot more likely to get a good shooter with the higher end barrels.
If you want durability + gas port for suppressed use over accuracy. Still should be fairly capable of good accuracy.
Hodge defense carbine gas Chrome lined.
https://www.weaponoutfitters.com/ho...tripped-carbine-barrel-11-5in-1-2x28-tpi.html
If accuracy + reliability is the priority I'd go this way or the CLE you mentioned.
Bart gain twist 7.7-7 carbine gas
https://craddockprecision.com/signature-11-5-223-wylde/
For me it is mostly a range toy, but still wanted good accuracy. That's why I went with the $275.00 10.5" 8T carbine gas Rock Creek linked earlier.
Rock's also have a reputation for being fast barrels & my experience aligns with that, so it factored in my decision.
It's fun shooting 600y with a 10.5" AR.
First attempt with the 2575fps 73 eldm load was spot on for elevation, but I couldn't see splash from the misses (wind) via the 10x scope. Went 2 for 5 on the 8" plate @600y.
In reality though, the 2-10x was just on here for load development. I always intended this thing to wear a Vortex Huey & I'll just through a 3x behind it when I want to reach past 200.
The mid price Craddock was a bit of a pain to find good loads for & I suspect the signature series Bart would be a lot less picky.
Still It's a ton of fun and my 60gr Vmax load is stupid fast for a 10.5" using Tac.
Did I mention it's obnoxiously loud!!!
Just put a KGM 5.56 Hard use can in jail. Looking forward to shooting this with a can.