Budget AR-15 and AR-10 Barrel Options

[Kwfranklin88]

Looking to build a ar-15 and ar-10 in the near future. They will be used for plinking and hunting.

Im hoping to get 1 moa accuracy as cheap as possible with factory ammunition.

Which barrel manufacturers do you recommend that are cheaper but still provide moa accuracy?

 

[Greg Langelius *]

My shooting Buddy was looking for that and bought this. He's very happy with it.

For the AR 10, try this; I just got one and I'm not yet ready for serious load development, other projects are first on my list. Good price, and no building required.

Building the AR, the accuracy is often improved most by barrel choice, and a good trigger. I put four of these in as many PSA lowers.

Greg

 

[Kwfranklin88]

My shooting Buddy was looking for that and bought this. He's very happy with it.

For the AR 10, try this; I just got one and I'm not yet ready for serious load development, other projects are first on my list. Good price, and no building required.

Building the AR, the accuracy is often improved most by barrel choice, and a good trigger. I put four of these in as many PSA lowers.

Greg

Awesome thanks! I have been leaning towards the psa uppers for the ar-15 and ar-10 just because they are so budget friendly. How does the gen 3 pa-10 perform? I don’t reload yet. Have you shot any groups with it yet with factory ammo?

 

[Alphatreedog]

I just purchased a gen 3 PA 10 . I'm alredy looking at ballistic advantage barrels and I haven't even shot it yet . Let me know what you come up with and vood luck .

 

[The DFC]

PSA is great stuff. You rarely hear a bad thing about them. A while back they would take forever to ship-but they've stepped up their game in that respect from what I've seen. They've expanded their selection a whole lot too. Anyways-I have several of their offerings in 556 that have taken a beating. Accuracy-including FN barrels-for me at least has never been anything but combat accurate-2-3 moa range. That's just me-I have a KAC LPR with a ss Krieger barrel that I don't always get moa with fwiw. I have no experience with heavy PSA rigs.

 

[Kwfranklin88]

I just purchased a gen 3 PA 10 . I'm alredy looking at ballistic advantage barrels and I haven't even shot it yet . Let me know what you come up with and vood luck .

Hurry up and shoot it and let me know what kind of groups you get lol!

 

[eastexsteve]

If you are looking at building an AR-10 for accuracy, you have your work cut out for you. That is not a platform that was designed to be a tack driver. It was designed as a battle rifle. I owned and currently own a high-end AR-10 build and I can tell you that from the right gun vise, it will almost use the same hole at 100 yds with good match ammo, fed one round at a time. The problem starts when you try to get the same results from your bare hands. Collapsing stocks, uncomfortable cheek welds, absolute or co-witness sight height, split receiver design, and a super light semi-auto rifle in general do not promote bench rest accuracy. You will need great patience and plenty of good ammo to learn how to shoot that gun as accurately as you do your favorite bolt gun. Oh, I can do it, but it takes A LOT of work on my part, and I still have plenty of flyers that I know are my fault and not the guns fault.

 

[The Muffin Man]

Have you decided on a chambering for either option yet? Assuming 223 Wylde for small frame and probably .308 for large frame, Id look at Ballistic advantage for new since they have a 1 MOA guarantee and are fairly budget friendly. Other possibility is to watch the PX here for a take-off from either someone who is chasing accuracy with a new barrel or you might be able to pick up a 308 from someone looking to make the switch to 6.5. Another thing to keep in mind if you are building on a budget is the tool costs; while building will definitely be cheaper, that is assuming you already have the tools.

 

[Greg Langelius *]

My Buddy with the 24" Stoner 223 barrel bought it because he liked the performance on my Stag Model 6 Super Varminters, with similarly configured 24" 1:8" Bull barrels. All of my 223 chambers are either Wylde or 5.56 NATO.

My AR's shoot IMI 77gr Razor Core, M855 (and soon an M855 clone using the 62gr Gold Dot), M193, Federal Fusion MSR 62gr, or a Handload using Starline brass, CCI-400/BR4, HDY 75gr HPBT Match, and 23.5-23.7gr of Varget.

He bought the PSA PA-10 18" Upper and had lock back issues with it, which we attributed to the mid-length Gas system. He added an adjustable gas block and resolved his issue.

Based on his experience, I opted instead for the PSA 20" Upper, which uses a rifle length gas system. Once I had my PSA-10 assembled, upgraded, and scoped, I fired 10rd through it (about two weeks ago) to confirm feed and function. I had no issues whatever.

So I'd suggest the 20" Upper.

For the 308, I've been using IMI 7.62x51 NATO 168gr Razor Core Semi-Auto Match in my Savage 11VT 24" 1:10" F Class rifle. My Buddy tried some in his 1" PA-10 and it cycles well, shoots quite accurate. It's a clone of the 168gr FGMM, pretty much.

I have the Bushnell AR Drop Zone BDC308 scope on it. It has trajectory accurate aim points for this load at 100yd increments from 100-500yd and has an trick to provide a 600yd aim point. I use this scope on both of my 308's and both of my 6.5 Grendels, which share a nearly identical trajectory curve out to 500yd.

As of this past week, all of my 223, 6.5G, .260, and .308 rifles use various versions of the Bushnell AR Drop Zone BDC scopes. The 260 uses the 6.5CM version. The BDC Reticle simplifies aiming solutions; requiring only a 600yd LRF to determine range, then aligning target and reticle aim point for that distance. The first round hit probability is improved, and happens faster. It's limited to 600yd as a slam dunk solution, but that's really not such a bad limitation. The only real issue is density altitude; I live at 4350ft ASL.

I am working on a 308 handload for my two rifles, mostly a slight alteration to my 168gr FGMM clone. It's the Speer 168gr Gold Dot over 43.5gr of IMR-4064, in Starline Brass, with WLR primers, which have a more positive ignition capability. Assuming this load works as expected, I'll be doing a run of it to set some aside.

I'm also developing a 6.5 Grendel Handload employing Starline brass, the Speer 120gr Gold Dot, WSR Primers, and W748, charge to be determined, but we're close (testing cautiously in the 30gr+ range right now). The Grendels are a pair of AR Stoner sourced Uppers, both factory 20", and homebuilt 24". Lowers are PSA PA-15's.

My AR's use 6-position collapsible stocks with this recoil pad, which makes the Grendel more pleasant to shoot and convinced me that I didn't need a brake on the 308. In addition to the PSA 2 Stage trigger I linked above, I also use a Bolt Release Extension on my AR's. AR Stoner Version.

I know there are more answers here than you asked for, but you could probably use the info in days to come, and others here, maybe sooner.

Greg

 

[sprad05]

Take it for what it's worth, but I was gifted this upper from a friend. With good ammo I average sub moa groups. This is only a 3 shot group, I know it doesn't say as much as a 5 or 10 shot group would say. I was quickly trying to gather some data and true up my strelok app.

 

[Triple D]

Rainier Match for the AR15 223wylde

Ballistic advantage for the large frame.

 

[flyer]

PSA is good for budget AR15 stuff, the PA10, not so much.

It's actually pretty easy to make an AR shoot well, large frame or small. It's mostly in the barrel and a free float handguard. If you get a nice trigger and shim or setscrew the upper to lower fit to reduce rattles, there isn't anything stopping you from realizing the accuracy potential of your barrel.

If you are unlucky, you might need to lap your upper receiver and use some Loktite on the receiver extension.

If you do all that and still can't group, it's the guy behind the trigger.

Instead of PSA, if you know you want a large frame AR with good accuracy potential for a reasonable amount of money, I think the best deal is to build up an AR based on an Aero M5E1 upper, handguard, lower and partial LPK. Add parts to make it the gun you want.

It's better than buying a gun you don't want and then changing parts until you are satisfied.

Plan on spending about $1,200-1,500 plus optics and mount to build up a really good but budget oriented M5E1.

If you want the best for your budget, ask questions and research before you start buying stuff. Once you have your plans, start waiting for sales if you really want to get the absolute best deal but it's an election year, sooner might be better than later.

 

[D1gger]

Flyer is dead on here. I basically built mine like described, bought some things used too. I have about $1200 in it, not counting the scope and I need a better buttstock, but it will shoot sub 1/2 MOA in 6.5 Creedmoor. It took the better part of a year to build it, waiting on sales and such. The only things I bought new were the BCG, barrel and lower.

 

[ShooterwithNoName]

I agree with watching the PX here on the site. You can find some great deals on lightly used and sometimes new components.

I built a lot of my AR308 from parts I got here. I got a Seekins SP10 barrel, 18", 1:11.25, with ATC comp included for like $175 iirc... I picked up a JP enhanced bolt here too, like new. It may take a little patience but you can find pretty much anything for a large frame build on the px.

Afaik, the SP10 barrels are Rock Creek blanks. Here's a few groups I shot with this set up:

The top group I forgot to adjust my scope back up for the 185's. 4 shot groups and the 185's went just below MOA. Definitely took a lot of shooting to get myself to a point where I could get an AR to shoot under MOA.

I started off on 223 and learned to shoot the rifle before really trying to get accuracy out of it. But there's no substitute for quality parts. Ballistic Advantage barrels are decent, their Hanson barrels are pretty good.

 

[flyer]

I don't get why people say ARs are hard to shoot accurately.

My first pretty accurate AR was a 6.8 SPC II and it shoots right around MOA if I try a little. It holds that accuracy to at least 5-600 yards. I haven't tried it further.

My first really accurate AR was a LR308 type that I put together with a grab bag of parts, the most important being a Criterion barrel (6.5 Creedmoor). It was my first large frame AR and challenging because some of my parts were not strictly compatible with each other. After some filing and machining it was ready and my first group was 7/8 MOA including a flyer because I was not used to the new trigger.

Basically it was 1/2 MOA "out of the box" and I've been shooting 1,000 yards with it ever since so I can't tell you what it is doing now because of wind.

It has an SR Gold trigger which I'm not sure is ideal because the pull is not what I'm used to. The upper isn't lapped, nor does it have Loktite on the barrel extension. The only expensive parts that might enhance accuracy are a JP bolt, JP SCS and an adjustable gas block. I also reamed the upper and lower for oversized takedown pins. The SCS and pins mostly eliminate rattles. The bolt looks pretty and the gas block lets me tune the gas system for my ammo.

The rifle is special to me but I didn't really do anything special to make it accurate beside the Criterion barrel, SR Gold trigger and a DPMS tube free float handguard.

I'm a decent shot, maybe above average but nothing special and I think my ARs are easy to shoot. I have a hard time imagining what could screw that up that wouldn't also create poor accuracy with a bolt action.

 

[Triple D]

I started off on 223 and learned to shoot the rifle before really trying to get accuracy out of it. But there's no substitute for quality parts. Ballistic Advantage barrels are decent, their Hanson barrels are pretty good.

Their 6.5 Creed barrels are better than decent Imo

 

[Triple D]

I don't get why people say ARs are hard to shoot accurately.

I'm a decent shot, maybe above average but nothing special and I think my ARs are easy to shoot. I have a hard time imagining what could screw that up that wouldn't also create poor accuracy with a bolt action.

IMO, how the rifle is held, the pressure on the rifle, how the bipod is loaded and follow through can all impact the shot more with an AR vs with a bolt gun.

I definitely pay more attention to what I’m doing as far as fundamentals when running a gas gun vs a bolt gun. That said, I still strive for less than 3/4moa from a gas gun, and would prefer .5moa, but it’s harder to get consistently from an AR.

 

[ShooterwithNoName]

I don't get why people say ARs are hard to shoot accurately.

My first pretty accurate AR was a 6.8 SPC II and it shoots right around MOA if I try a little. It holds that accuracy to at least 5-600 yards. I haven't tried it further.

My first really accurate AR was a LR308 type that I put together with a grab bag of parts, the most important being a Criterion barrel (6.5 Creedmoor). It was my first large frame AR and challenging because some of my parts were not strictly compatible with each other. After some filing and machining it was ready and my first group was 7/8 MOA including a flyer because I was not used to the new trigger.

Basically it was 1/2 MOA "out of the box" and I've been shooting 1,000 yards with it ever since so I can't tell you what it is doing now because of wind.

It has an SR Gold trigger which I'm not sure is ideal because the pull is not what I'm used to. The upper isn't lapped, nor does it have Loktite on the barrel extension. The only expensive parts that might enhance accuracy are a JP bolt, JP SCS and an adjustable gas block. I also reamed the upper and lower for oversized takedown pins. The SCS and pins mostly eliminate rattles. The bolt looks pretty and the gas block lets me tune the gas system for my ammo.

The rifle is special to me but I didn't really do anything special to make it accurate beside the Criterion barrel, SR Gold trigger and a DPMS tube free float handguard.

I'm a decent shot, maybe above average but nothing special and I think my ARs are easy to shoot. I have a hard time imagining what could screw that up that wouldn't also create poor accuracy with a bolt action.

Lol, there's always going to be one I guess. Here, imagine this:

Every single person is different, both physically and mentally. As variable as the rifles we shoot, so are the shooters. I grew up shooting bolt guns, by that I mean bone stock Win M70's, Ruger M77's and R700's. In chamberings like 243, 308, 7mmMag, etc. With basically low end duplex hunting scopes. We reloaded to get better accuracy or if we wanted to use a certain bullet, etc. Never had a custom bolt gun to shoot "groups" with. The only reason we shot groups was to verify our scope was zeroed.

Physically, every person is different. I'm 6'2" and an AR is small to me, even a large frame. I just recently even started to accurately shoot an AR. I have a lifetime of bolt gun programming I even catch myself starting to lift my hand from time to time to run the bolt.

Mentally, every person is different, has different expectations and mindsets when they shoot. I hunt with my rifles, so I'm shooting for that purpose. I'm not sitting at a bench burning through hundreds of rounds trying to see how small of a group I can get. I'm just zeroing my scope, verifying my zero hasn't moved after having dropped or knocked the rifle around in the woods, or just getting an idea on how a certain factory load shoots.

I can get 8 out of 10 shots on a dot drill in the black 1moa dot usually. But I'm not shooting for a competition, I'm shooting to get used to a new platform I've never shot before. This is the first large frame I've ever had that I built with accuracy in mind. So it's new to me, I posted a couple honest groups that I shot. With a $75 Millett scope I got from the px and the PNT Trigger. Would a better scope and trigger give me better group sizes? Yea probably... I am happy with it considering the glass I'm using and I'm honest enough to admit that the platform is awkward to me when shooting from a bench.

I never really shot prone much growing up either. It's something I'm learning to do as well. Most shots I took were either off hand, kneeling or sitting. So for my purpose, I could really give a shit about tiny group sizes. It means nothing, it's just another data point for me. I pay closer attention to a dot drill.

To say: "I think my ARs are easy to shoot. I have a hard time imagining what could screw that up that wouldn't also create poor accuracy with a bolt action." Is just retarded. You have all these people, with infinite differences all aiming toward the same goal, to shoot accurately. Good for you, you can shoot tiny groups with an AR, just because you claim it's "natural" for you, doesn't mean it should be for everyone else. It's certainly not something to judge someone's shooting skills on, it means nothing.

I am just trying to help the OP out. I appreciate the PX on this site. LL has given a lot of us the ability to get long range gear for a price point that would normally put it out of our reach. It helps run the site so we can all share info, buy, sell, trade, help each other out, etc. I've built nearly entire rifles from the px here, rifles I couldn't have had if not for this site. I'm not poor, I just have priorities that I have to care for first. I'll eventually get better gear, better ammo and afford to shoot more and become a better shot in return. My rifles are tools, I build them to produce clean kills as accurately as I can afford to build them. I drag them through brush and briars, woods and rain and damn snow and ice. To use them for what they were made for. I'm still learning, I would say most here are if they will be truly honest.

I don't judge anyone's shooting because, I don't know you. You may very well be a savant with an AR who can put every round through the same hole like deadshot... You could come down here to WV and shoot side by side with me and shoot 3moa groups... Can you hit a coyote running at night at 150yds with my rifle and an old surplus M951 incandescent light? Not knowing the distance, with a duplex scope. I've done it, I will be the first to admit luck had a lot to do with it, but so did the years of practice taking those same off hand, moving target shots. It gave me the confidence mentally to lead that coyote and know when to squeeze that trigger. It gave me the muscle memory physically from years of shooting at moving targets. If you can't do that, then should I judge you as an all around bad shot in any platform?

It means just about as much as the group size does... Not everyone can be "you"... There's a lot more to all this than if you can naturally shoot small groups with an AR or not.

 

[Jsp556]

AR15Performance offers 223wylde and 308 dpms pattern barrels. You can’t do better for the price point in my experience.

 

[ShooterwithNoName]

Good call jsp556, I forgot about ARP, they do make great barrels. I've had their recon 16" 6.8 barrel but sold the upper. I have one of their 12.5" 6.8 barrels now. For the money they are top notch. They make one of the best 6.8 barrels out there. I would assume their 223 barrels are the same quality.

AR Performance barrels

6.8 SPCII barrels, AR Performance, ARP has been the number 1 choice in 6.8 SPC barrels for over 10 years, that is my only goal.

www.ar15performance.com

 

[Triple D]

AR15Performance offers 223wylde and 308 dpms pattern barrels. You can’t do better for the price point in my experience.

I need to get an ARP to try. I’ve been using the Rainier Match series barrels for budget 223wylde. When on sale, they are sub 160$.


The honest truth is we are fortunate to live in a time with so many great options that are also affordable.

 

[flyer]

Good call jsp556, I forgot about ARP, they do make great barrels. I've had their recon 16" 6.8 barrel but sold the upper. I have one of their 12.5" 6.8 barrels now. For the money they are top notch. They make one of the best 6.8 barrels out there. I would assume their 223 barrels are the same quality.

AR Performance barrels

6.8 SPCII barrels, AR Performance, ARP has been the number 1 choice in 6.8 SPC barrels for over 10 years, that is my only goal.

www.ar15performance.com

My 6.8 SPC II that shoots right around MOA out to 5-600 yards is an ARP.

I have a couple more that I haven't been able to try out yet.

They are good and a good value but not specifically a match quality barrel. If you ask them, they will tell you the same thing.

Most of the time the results are near match quality but I wouldn't plan on using one of his barrels in a match rifle. He typically doesn't make barrels in match rifle type profiles either.

It's no knock on ARP, there is just a difference between a barrel that is chambered one at a time using the best technique possible on a premium blank and barrels that are racked up in a machining center for chambering and use less expensive blanks.

You absolutely get what you pay for from ARP and more sometimes but for tiny groups at long range there are choices that are probably going to be more consistent.

If you are a hunter or around MOA is good enough for you, ARP is a great choice.

 

[Jsp556]

My 6.8 SPC II that shoots right around MOA out to 5-600 yards is an ARP.

I have a couple more that I haven't been able to try out yet.

They are good and a good value but not specifically a match quality barrel. If you ask them, they will tell you the same thing.

Most of the time the results are near match quality but I wouldn't plan on using one of his barrels in a match rifle. He typically doesn't make barrels in match rifle type profiles either.

It's no knock on ARP, there is just a difference between a barrel that is chambered one at a time using the best technique possible on a premium blank and barrels that are racked up in a machining center for chambering and use less expensive blanks.

You absolutely get what you pay for from ARP and more sometimes but for tiny groups at long range there are choices that are probably going to be more consistent.

If you are a hunter or around MOA is good enough for you, ARP is a great choice.

They aren’t Kriegers, but you can get them to shoot in the .6-.75 moa range with little load development. That’s good enough for my use of the AR platform. The stress relief on the blanks is pretty good too. The groups open a little but poi shift is almost nonexistent as the barrel heats up. I’ve built 6 rifles with those barrels and they’ve all performed about the same.

ETA: all of these I’ve used had the 5/8x24 threaded muzzles.

 

[Randy_Lahey]

My PSA 6.5 creedmoor shoot sub moa and will shoot 1/2 moa on a good day.

for small frame stuff I’d go with recommended parts listed above.

fwiw. I have two psa 6.5 creedmoor setups. One in their upper/lower and one barrel/bolt combo I put in an Aero enhanced setup. I do like the Aero stuff better. It’s higher quality etc.. but both shoot about the same if I’m being honest

 

[Ravenworks]

If you're in no hurry keep checking Primary Arms on Friday's because they always have huge Ballistic advantage sales.
I bought up a bunch of shooter/replacement barrels, the 16" 5.56 was shipped to my house for $89.
The 16" chrome linded 308 was shipped to my house for $118

 

[TACC]

I have a KAK 243, 19 inch, PSA upper, shoots moa all day long.
Got a PSA 308 20 inch, shoots just moa with the right ammo.

My baby is my 6.5 CM, 22 inch( +2 gas tube) odin works moa guarantee upper. And it will shoot that with factory 140 grain American gunner ammo all day everyday.

 

[bfoosh006]

IMHO... PSA makes good foundations for AR's. A little tuning and polishing can go a long way to improving precision and smooth function.

I do suggest buying the best barrel you can afford. Buying a cheaper barrel "might" produce the results you are happy with.

Buying a "better" barrel, increases the odds of it being a shooter that you enjoy firing.

And , frankly, you can spend the cost difference, on ammo , just trying to make your cheaper barrel shoot to your expectations.

I would suggest a Criterion barrel or a PSA FN barreled upper. Both brands have been very satisfying precision wise.
I do tune the cyclic action and lap the upper receiver face and Loctite in the barrels. I feel the improvements merit the effort on my PSA's, Rainer Arms, BCM's, SOLGW uppers ( heck, I do it to every brand upper )

My AR's allow me to shoot best when the receiver's have a snug fit ( for easy consistent wielding ) I typically shim them snug.. and I am a believer in lapping the upper receiver face and Loctiting in the barrel. ( YMMV )

You can buy tight fitting receiver sets... but, they typically cost more. I will say, the SOLGW AR15 bare uppers I have bought , generally have a tighter fit across a variety of different brand lowers... ranging from very, very tight on a Rainer lower, good n' tight on a BCM lower, and much better on PSA lowers.
The same applies to the barrel fit with the SOLGW AR15 uppers.

My large frame AR's have all benefited from Adj. GB's ( various calibers, brand barrels , gas system lengths, and barrel lengths )

IMHO, Being able to tailor / tune the gas volume, seems to make the Large Frame more sedate as far as all the moving parts going back into the same "consistent" position.... and that helps precision. ( perceived improvements or not, the AR's have produced some outstanding precision results ... far better then I expected. )

I also... grudgingly , have seen my best groups produced from freshly cleaned barrels..... so clean those barrels if great groups are desired from a proven load in your barrel.

Will a better barrel shoot everything better ? ... nah.. you still need to seek a load / factory round it likes best.
Will a better barrel probably shoot more brands of ammo better ? Increased odds it will.

And while at the bench... when you start firing for precision... don't move at all, lock in and remain locked in. Even a slight head adjustment will mess with your groups.

Try "Molon's Quarter MOA challenge" if you want to see what I mean.