Josh @bohem from Patriot Valley Arms posted up on Facebook that he is now offering Osprey match grade AR15 .223 Wylde barrels in 16", 18" and 20" length. Anyone who has used the other Osprey barrels knows that they shoot so I don't expect anything less from these barrels. Worth a look if you are looking to get the best accuracy out of your AR platform.
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PVA now offering AR15 barrels!
- Thread starter Rob01
- Start date
These are ready to ship barrels, not customs, as such they're run to a spec and 1/2-28 is still (as much as I don't care for it) the 223 spec muzzle thread. If you would like a custom we can do that for an upcharge. If you won't want to do that we do have a 1/2 to 5/8 adapter that we make in house and it's dead true. We've been using them for helping hunting rifle users and factory barrel AR users for a number of years now.
Built this upper this week to test PVA's 16" 223 Wylde AR15 barrel..
Specs
16" PVA 223 Wylde
Mid length gas
1/2-28 muzzle threads
0.750" Gas tenon
BCM MOD4 thermofit upper receiver
BCM 15" MCMR MLOK
BCM .750 fixed gas block
Rubber City Armory adjustable gas key BCG
Found loads with 77c/8208 and 69TMK /Varget that were shooting in the 0.2s @ 100yd.
Varget / 69TMK was very slow. Super accurate, but very slow.
22.6gr Varget 69 TMK
23.2gr 8208 77cc
23.4gr 8208 77c
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Here the highest Varget /69 TMK charge I tested (23.6gr).. still very good 0.5moa accuracy but man as the Varget charge weights went up, the SD's went through the roof and the velocity was still very slow for a 16" barrel and 69gr bullet.
8208 is the ticket for speed, accuracy and low single digit SD's which is no suprise. 77's with 23.2-23.6gr 8208 has been my AR accuracy load for a long time
8208 is the ticket for speed, accuracy and low single digit SD's which is no suprise. 77's with 23.2-23.6gr 8208 has been my AR accuracy load for a long time
@bohem - It's awesome that you are now offering Osprey AR barrels. A few quick questions.
1. Any plans to offer a 6mm ARC version?
2. What are the weights of the different lengths for the 223 Wylde versions? I'm mainly interested in the 16".
3. Are these barrels customizable in any way? I'm interested in fluting options and finish options like bead blast and Cerakote.
1. Any plans to offer a 6mm ARC version?
2. What are the weights of the different lengths for the 223 Wylde versions? I'm mainly interested in the 16".
3. Are these barrels customizable in any way? I'm interested in fluting options and finish options like bead blast and Cerakote.
1) Yes, it's in the works currently. We have a couple prototypes being shot now and I'm gathering final data on them. The performance is impressive, the best thing you can do is get an adjustable gas system on the gun (key or block). We are also working on 22ARC with a SAAMI throat as well as a short (Wylde) throat for using light bullets and a thermal.
2) The 16" is 2lb 3oz ready to install on the upper.
3) The barrels can be spiral fluted and cerakoted to spec, we aren't doing straight fluting them at this point because it saves so little weight and the fixture is better setup for doing spiral work.
Here's the IG post I made showing off the spiral fluted bid sample for a contract.
Thank you @bohem.
Would you happen to know the weight of the 16” with the spiral flutes?
Also, how much extra does the fluting and Cerakote add to the $400 base price?
Last question, can you do a media blasted finish instead of the Cerakote?
Spiral Fluting the 16 cuts 3.5oz
Fluting and cerakote are $250 together
We only offer Bead Blast and Clear, not a basic blast only. The clear cerakote keeps the blasted finish looking nice much longer.
@bohem - I’d love to hear your thoughts on fluting and it’s effects on accuracy (or lack there of) for your Osprey barrels. I’ve read that fluting should be avoided with button rifled barrels because it can induce additional stress in the metal that can cause changes in the bore diameter. But it sounds like you’ve got special manufacturing processes with these Osprey barrels so maybe the “don’t flute buttoned barrels” belief is completely irrelevant for your barrels?
"Dont Flute Button" falls under the end result of "buttons have extra stress" which is an offshoot of the button vs. cut argument.
If the barrel isn't properly stress relieved it doesn't really matter what kind of rifling it has you're very likely to get problems when fluting, contouring, or getting it hot while shooting.
We haven't seen our fluting cause a problem in anything on the Ospreys which I am pretty convinced has to do with the stress relieving steps we take on the barrels.
Have you run any factory ammo through it and how did that look. For those non reloaders, we are stuck with factory offering. Thanks
I'm getting one, but I don't reload, so my groups will not be showcasing the quality of the barrel. The price is right on these barrels and if the quality is anything like their bolt action barrels, these should be pretty good.
Correct, we are using RCA bolts and carriers. I've been very happy with the consistency and overal fit and finish.
Sounds good Josh. I didn't see an option for the standard gas key carrier on your site. If you have it, i will get it from you. If not, I will get it from RCA.
I have bolts you can put in a standard carrier and complete RCA carriers with the adjustable key already staked on them. I do like the adjustable key approach a lot more than the adjustable gas block approach.
Possibly interested in a 22 arc spiral fluted.
What’s the weight on the different lengths spiral fluted?
What’s the weight on the different lengths spiral fluted?
Offhand I'm not sure, the 16" fluted removes about 4oz from the weight I posted above but I don't know what the difference in 18 and 20 is specifically, it's not going to be much more than 4 oz
The difference is what was printed on the barrel, entirely due to the ignorance of someone insisting that 556 was superior and different than 223W even though he couldn't describe how it was in either regard. He's thrilled and the barrel is shooting like Dominic posted above while using FGMM 77SMK.
The 223W is on the shelf for 16's and 20's, the 18's we make from cutting down 20's and those are 2 weeks from time of order so we can have time to chop/thread/polish again.
Hey Josh, I placed an order back in The middle of December for a 16” 223 wylde. Can you shoot me a PM. Curious if it’s waiting on the bolt/BCG or what to ship
Email us so I can get the order info, but my gut says it's just a backup due to the flood in December and we missed it. Sorry about that.
@bohem - Any chance we could get a 16” 223 Wylde with an intermediate gas length (instead of midlength) and 5/8x24 threads? You would have the market covered because no one currently offers that barrel off the shelf despite a lot of people asking for those specs.
If not, would you ever take custom barrel orders so customers can choose their gas system length and muzzle thread size?
If not, would you ever take custom barrel orders so customers can choose their gas system length and muzzle thread size?
Proof Research does…I just ordered one. But yes, I probably would have bought the PVA barrel if it came with those specs. I’d also be interested in a 14.5”.
We are not offering custom requests because we run these in batches and unlike bolt guns the 1-offs would be hell on production.
However, I will look at making a batch of intermediates in 16", I'm not familiar with that and I need to make one before we sell them. If I do make a small run of them I'll announce it here first, if I had to guess it would be Q2 before I have the space in production to be able to make a couple and test them.
For the 14.5's we can cut down a 16" with a mid length on it, if you shoot an email to office (at) patriotvalleyarms.com either Ben or I can discuss with you.
I'm not looking to chase the 1-off custom AR market any more than we want to try competing with Green Mountain or Ballistic Advantage with a sub $100 tomato stake.
However, I will look at making a batch of intermediates in 16", I'm not familiar with that and I need to make one before we sell them. If I do make a small run of them I'll announce it here first, if I had to guess it would be Q2 before I have the space in production to be able to make a couple and test them.
For the 14.5's we can cut down a 16" with a mid length on it, if you shoot an email to office (at) patriotvalleyarms.com either Ben or I can discuss with you.
I'm not looking to chase the 1-off custom AR market any more than we want to try competing with Green Mountain or Ballistic Advantage with a sub $100 tomato stake.
@bohem- I totally understand about wanting to avoid making customs.
For 16” barrels, I really think the intermediate gas length is the sweet spot. It’s similar to running an 18” with rifle length gas. The problem is that there isn’t an industry standard for the intermediate gas length which has definitely hurt the industry adoption. Personally, I’d go with the Noveske Intermediate length which is 13.625” and the same intermediate length that White Oak uses on their barrels.
The 5/8x24 muzzle threads are nice to have but not a deal breaker. I wish more companies offered that as on option on 223 Wylde barrels. I just think it’s better to preserved more material around the muzzle.
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Agreed. I'm fairly agnostic on the thread thing, but at this point I won't even briefly consider buying a 16" mid length, regardless of the maker or price.
I'm certainly not opposed to doing it as long as there's a way to handle the availability of gas tubes and running enough to make it worth the setup time and avoiding a custom deal. That number is probably about 20 barrels to make it worthwhile running and I would match it up with a gas tube so that the right parts are included. It makes them a little more expensive but that would solve the headache of finding the right tube.
The 16" mid-length with 1/2" threads is a canned item, we make 50 at a time and stick them on the shelf so that (as we're caught up) the lead time is low. I don't mind making something special, but we need enough interest to kick off the package.
@Big Timber I ordered one 12/19 and it was shipped 1/9. I spoke with CS and they told me it was going to be 4-6 weeks wait beforehand. My understanding is it will be an off the shelf option moving forward.
@bohem I would be interested in an intermediate length if a group buy starts getting assembled.
@bohem I would be interested in an intermediate length if a group buy starts getting assembled.
Charlie, thank you for the reply. I ordered on 12/1 and crickets so far. I saw some other guys that also ordered after I did and they have received theirs as well. Looks like I pulled the short straw again.
@bohem by all means, do a special run of barrels if you can get the required number of buyers, but I belive, and I think I speak for @Leicafan1990 when I say that the intermediate barrel should be the regular stock item, mid gas needs to go away as the go to for 16" barrels. With all the advancements we've had in AR's in the last decade I can't fathom why the industry has been so slow to pick up on this one.
I don't know people's names by the forum usernames but I can say that I/we are behind on two specific things:
Matched bolt setups
Fluting
I can list all the things we had go sideways in the end of december and we did get a lot of orders that cleaned us out and we made more, but suffice it to say we under-estimated the demand and both Ben and I are scrambling to get things situated for folks. I apologize for the delay, we're going to get things right and make sure that there's not any question of quality slipping in lieu of making schedule.
I received my 22 arc barrel last week and put it together today using spare parts I had on the shelf. I put 20 rounds through it just to see what I was dealing with. The first 7 rounds were 75 grain black box(that was all I had). The first shot was further away from the rest, but the group including the "flyer" was less than an inch.
Then I shot a couple groups of factory 88's. This is the only barrel I've had that will shoot the 88's. I'm happy with it so far. I'll have to run to the store tomorrow and get more ammo.
Then I shot a couple groups of factory 88's. This is the only barrel I've had that will shoot the 88's. I'm happy with it so far. I'll have to run to the store tomorrow and get more ammo.
I ordered a 6ARC 20” fluted on Nov 26 and im still waiting to get the shipment email. Hopefully soon though, ready to get it together and het a load worked up as weather will be getting more pretty over the coming weeks.
That Black Friday time frame is super busy so it may take a while to get through the orders. I ordered a bolt rifle barrel in December and still patiently waiting. Part of the game when buying customs in that time of year.
