Should I send barrel back to Faxon, or return to OpticsPlanet and give up on them?

[Rxgrt]

I know you are talking .223, but the same goes for 6mm ARC. I swapped out my 20in Faxon barrel for an 18in SS Proof barrel and the difference is incredible. The SS is going to be a lot heavier but still manageable. The Faxon is a very light barrel. The weight difference alone can help or hurt accuracy.

In regards to my input on Faxon...they are just okay. They are capable of being a decent option if you are building a really light build. Obviously their pencil profile is light, but also is their medium and heavy contour when compared to other brands.

I have a Faxon match barrel now in 6.5 creedmoor. I replaced by Ballistic Advantage barrel because I wanted to cut weight on my AR10. I was able to save a pound and it shot just as well as the BA...which is just okay...5 rounds with 1.5 MOA groups.

I have a 20in Faxon match barrel in 6mm ARC. Shoots 5 rounds at 1 MOA very consistently. It is a lighter barrel so does have a very large change of impact shift with a suppressor. I fell in love with the 6mm ARC cartridge so I traded out the Faxon barrel for a 18in Proof SS. With my hand loads I can shoot 5 round clovers all day. The plan is to sell my 6.5 creed faxon and BA barrels, and faxon 6mm arc barrel for a Proof barrel for my 6.5 cm. Should have just spent the big money the first time.

I don't bash Faxon, but I don't expect anything special from them either. Great barrel if you want a light build. If going .223 and want to be in the same price range, I recommend the 16in BA fluted .223 wylde. It's a 1MOA barrel, 3/4 MOA with custom load ammo.

I wasn't asking about faxon. I've heard to many horror stories from when my company supported their CS department.

I was looking at BA, but came to the conclusion I want a better barrel without spending close to 1k on one. Especially for my do it all/shtf build. Still wanted a sub moa rifle.

Decided on the compass lake Douglas Tacticle 1/7 twist since I'll be zeroing with 77gr.

Almost went with a BA Hanson. Then started to hear a lot of 50/50 QC stuff.

Not worried about weight to much since I'm wanting all the accuracy I can squeeze out of this. While being capable of being ran over, thrown, long string of fires, etc.

Is Proof that much better that the difference in cost makes it worth it over the Douglas? Same question stands for Douglas vs BA.

I know all 3 companies are good. I am wanting this build to theoretically last as long as me. While doing everything I want it to do. Cry once buy once.

So if Proof is worth 2x the cost, then I'll snag one. I feel like Compass Lake hits that's mark of diminishing returns. Yes you can get better, but how much better are you getting for "2x" the cost.

 

[mttw29]

I haven't tried a compass lake barrel so unable to comment on that. For .223, my BA .223 wylde has been all I needed...but I only use my .223 out to 200-250 yards. For me, the .223 is good for close quarters, but can take the occasional long shot when needed. The .223 is a fast cartridge so it can definitely can go the longer distance if you need it to, it's just not what I use it for. I'm fine with a 3 MOA group at 300 yards. I don't think you need to go to a Proof barrel unless you really are wanting to go out to 400-500 yards plus. I was so happy with my BA .223 wylde (1 MOA at 100 yards with custom loads) that I never considered a more expensive option. It wasn't until I went to a bigger cartridge (6mm arc and 6.5 cm) that I cared more about accuracy and shooting out to longer distances that I found BA and Faxon to come up short...not bad, I just wanted better.

 

[Devanzo]

How did all those loads group well in your criterion? Several of those loads are only good for 1.5-3” groups! PMC Tac and Frontier ammo are not known for great precision.

How are you cleaning the barrel? You may have heavy fouling from shooting the cheap ammo through the barrel and then trying to gauge precision after that if you aren’t cleaning.

Do you have a borescope? If so, what does the barrel/gas port look like?

Also, you showed what your best group ever looked like. What do typical average groups look like? Are you capable of shooting sub 3/4moa with an AR consistently? If not, part of the results could be due to your technique.

I had 16 inch criterion core in 223 Wylde is shot very good around .75 with hornady match if i remember correctly I have the groups somewhere I’ll se if I can find em

 

[wvfarrier]

In my experience cheap PSA barrels will outshoot faxons and 1/3 the price