LGS has a well worn one on consignment in 5.56. I’m looking for something lighter than my LMT NZ Reference 5.56 for carrying around.
plusses and minuses?
plusses and minuses?
-
Having trouble using the site?
Contact support
Noveske N4?
- Thread starter david walter
- Start date
It would depend on how many rounds have actually been fired through the barrel, and how those rounds were fired.
Noveske 16” N4 Barrel Accuracy Evaluation
I’ve posted short reviews of Noveske N4 Light barrels in the past, so for this article we’re going to take a more in-depth look at the Noveske 16” N4 Light barrel. For starters, Noveske’s nomenclature of “Light” for this barrel is somewhat misleading/confusing. When most shooters hear the term “light- weight” in regard to AR-15 barrels, they think of the “pencil” barrel profile of the original Colt M16/M16A1 and also the same light-weight profile of the Colt 16” carbine barrel found on the Colt 6520 and 6720. However, this is not the profile of the Noveske N4 Light barrel.
Colt M16/M16A1 barrel . . .
Colt 6520 16” light-weight barrel . . .
The stripped-weight (no flash hider, no front sight base/gas block, just the barrel and barrel extension) of the Colt 16” light-weight barrel is 1 pound, 6 ounces. The stripped-weight of the Noveske 16” N4 Light barrel is 1 pound, 12 ounces; which is the same stripped-weight of the Colt 16” government profile barrel found on the ubiquitous Colt 6920.
Colt 6920 government profile barrel . . .
Noveske 16” N4 Light barrel . . .
As you can see in the pics above, for the N4 Light barrel, Noveske has done away with the next-to-useless M203 (grenade launcher) cut-out found on the Colt government profile barrel. The N4 profile also has a more evenly distributed barrel diameter (and thus weight) fore and aft of the gas block journal, which moves the center of gravity of the barrel farther aft compared to a government profile barrel. This all makes for a superbly handling 16” barrel.
The reason that Noveske uses the “Light” nomenclature for their N4 barrels is simply because the N4 barrels are lighter than Noveske’s original medium contour stainless steel barrels. For comparison, the Noveske 16” medium contour Recon barrel has a stripped-weight of 2 pounds, 2 ounces and as mentioned above, the 16” N4 Light barrel has a stripped-weight of 1 pound, 12 ounces.
The Noveske 16” Recon barrel . . .
The Noveske 16” N4 Light barrel is a cold hammer forged barrel. It has a mid-length gas system, “M4” feed-ramps and a chrome-lined chamber and bore. The barrel has a 5.56mm NATO chamber and a 1:7” twist and has been high-pressure/magnetic particle tested; as the barrel stamp indicates. Contrary to erroneous Internet reports, the N4 barrel does not have polygonal rifling.
The barrel stamp . . .
The mid-length gas system . . .
For this evaluation, I used one of my standard match-grade hand-loads topped with Sierra 55 grain BlitzKings. When fired from my Krieger barreled AR-15s, this load has produced ½ MOA 10-shot groups at 100 yards.
Three, 10-shot groups were fired in a row from the Noveske 16” N4 Light barrel from a distance of 100 yards with the resulting extreme spreads:
1.29”
1.18”
1.31”
for a 10-shot group average extreme spread of 1.26”. The three, 10-shot groups were over-layed on each other using RSI Shooting Lab to form a 30-shot composite group. The mean radius of the 30-shot composite group was 0.37”.
After firing the above three groups, I fired an additional five, 10-shot groups in a row for a total of eight, 10-shot groups fired in a row. The average extreme spread for all eight of the 10-shot groups was 1.24”. I over-layed all eight of the 10-shot groups on each other using RSI Shooting Lab to form an 80-shot composite group. The mean radius for the 80-shot composite group was 0.39”.
....
Noveske 16” N4 Barrel Accuracy Evaluation
I’ve posted short reviews of Noveske N4 Light barrels in the past, so for this article we’re going to take a more in-depth look at the Noveske 16” N4 Light barrel. For starters, Noveske’s nomenclature of “Light” for this barrel is somewhat misleading/confusing. When most shooters hear the term “light- weight” in regard to AR-15 barrels, they think of the “pencil” barrel profile of the original Colt M16/M16A1 and also the same light-weight profile of the Colt 16” carbine barrel found on the Colt 6520 and 6720. However, this is not the profile of the Noveske N4 Light barrel.
Colt M16/M16A1 barrel . . .
Colt 6520 16” light-weight barrel . . .
The stripped-weight (no flash hider, no front sight base/gas block, just the barrel and barrel extension) of the Colt 16” light-weight barrel is 1 pound, 6 ounces. The stripped-weight of the Noveske 16” N4 Light barrel is 1 pound, 12 ounces; which is the same stripped-weight of the Colt 16” government profile barrel found on the ubiquitous Colt 6920.
Colt 6920 government profile barrel . . .
Noveske 16” N4 Light barrel . . .
As you can see in the pics above, for the N4 Light barrel, Noveske has done away with the next-to-useless M203 (grenade launcher) cut-out found on the Colt government profile barrel. The N4 profile also has a more evenly distributed barrel diameter (and thus weight) fore and aft of the gas block journal, which moves the center of gravity of the barrel farther aft compared to a government profile barrel. This all makes for a superbly handling 16” barrel.
The reason that Noveske uses the “Light” nomenclature for their N4 barrels is simply because the N4 barrels are lighter than Noveske’s original medium contour stainless steel barrels. For comparison, the Noveske 16” medium contour Recon barrel has a stripped-weight of 2 pounds, 2 ounces and as mentioned above, the 16” N4 Light barrel has a stripped-weight of 1 pound, 12 ounces.
The Noveske 16” Recon barrel . . .
The Noveske 16” N4 Light barrel is a cold hammer forged barrel. It has a mid-length gas system, “M4” feed-ramps and a chrome-lined chamber and bore. The barrel has a 5.56mm NATO chamber and a 1:7” twist and has been high-pressure/magnetic particle tested; as the barrel stamp indicates. Contrary to erroneous Internet reports, the N4 barrel does not have polygonal rifling.
The barrel stamp . . .
The mid-length gas system . . .
For this evaluation, I used one of my standard match-grade hand-loads topped with Sierra 55 grain BlitzKings. When fired from my Krieger barreled AR-15s, this load has produced ½ MOA 10-shot groups at 100 yards.
Three, 10-shot groups were fired in a row from the Noveske 16” N4 Light barrel from a distance of 100 yards with the resulting extreme spreads:
1.29”
1.18”
1.31”
for a 10-shot group average extreme spread of 1.26”. The three, 10-shot groups were over-layed on each other using RSI Shooting Lab to form a 30-shot composite group. The mean radius of the 30-shot composite group was 0.37”.
After firing the above three groups, I fired an additional five, 10-shot groups in a row for a total of eight, 10-shot groups fired in a row. The average extreme spread for all eight of the 10-shot groups was 1.24”. I over-layed all eight of the 10-shot groups on each other using RSI Shooting Lab to form an 80-shot composite group. The mean radius for the 80-shot composite group was 0.39”.
....
Thats a bit high. Sounds like he's trying to cash in on the Covid/Biden pandemic. Without seeing pics of condition or anything, if that guy would've walked into my shop I would've sent him elsewhere.
No statement of end-use from the OP except "carrying it around".......intend to shoot the eyes out of squirrel @ 200 M or defeat 2-legged vermin at short contact distance, or just punch holes in range paper.....intent matters.
I only have this Noveske 10.5" N4 SBR I have setup in a couple of different QD optic (S&B 1.1-4x short dot / Aimpoint red dot) configurations, but in particular it has a good round count with Surefire 60 mag, Safariland WLS to secure sidearm + extra mag, folding stock and muzzle brake that allows for QD SOCOM suppressor / Warden muzzle brake, everything together in one grab-and-go package; installed a Geiselle SSA 2 stage trigger; Blue Force Jedburgh model or LaRue discreet case for carry. It's been a really nice accurate rifle for anticipated use out to 200M. It is easy to re-configure it into a KAC-style Master Key if you live in a de-funded law enforcement zone. I purchased this one from John Noveske's mfg. facility just prior to his unfortunate motor vehicle accident in 2013, a conspiratorial demise at that. My experience inspecting other Noveske firearms is that in general they are a high quality firearm.
I only have this Noveske 10.5" N4 SBR I have setup in a couple of different QD optic (S&B 1.1-4x short dot / Aimpoint red dot) configurations, but in particular it has a good round count with Surefire 60 mag, Safariland WLS to secure sidearm + extra mag, folding stock and muzzle brake that allows for QD SOCOM suppressor / Warden muzzle brake, everything together in one grab-and-go package; installed a Geiselle SSA 2 stage trigger; Blue Force Jedburgh model or LaRue discreet case for carry. It's been a really nice accurate rifle for anticipated use out to 200M. It is easy to re-configure it into a KAC-style Master Key if you live in a de-funded law enforcement zone. I purchased this one from John Noveske's mfg. facility just prior to his unfortunate motor vehicle accident in 2013, a conspiratorial demise at that. My experience inspecting other Noveske firearms is that in general they are a high quality firearm.
Last edited:
I agree the Noveske N4 is a quality firearm. I own 2 N4's 1 of them is the Afghan N4. My mist accurate 556 AR. Both purchased before John's untimely death.
