Which light weight 308 barrel should I get, BSF carbon fiber or Faxon pencil?

[Long Range]

I want to build an Ar-10 light weight battle rifle off of an Aero Precision M5 upper and lower.

I narrowed the barrel choices down to a BSF carbon fiber barrel which weighs 28 oz with fluting cost = $600

.308 | bsfbarrels

ALL AR-10 BARRELS ARE DPMS PLATFORMDue to supply and demand, some barrels may take longer than others to receive. Please email or call us if you would like an estimated time of arrival.After turning down the barrel, we jacket a 416R Stainless steel match barrel in a roll-wrapped carbon fiber...

www.bsfbarrels.com

Or a Faxxon 308 pencil barrel for $259?

Faxon Duty Series 16", Pencil .308 WIN, Mid-Length, 4150 QPQ Nitride AR-10 Barrel

Manufactured from 4150 CMV and given a nitride finish, this pencil profile .308 16 inch barrel is built for improved value, durability, and performance.

faxonfirearms.com

Both look to be 1:10 twist. Which one would you say I should go with?

Considering both weigh almost exactly the same weight is there any advantages going with the BSF carbon fiber barrel?

Is there something else I should consider?

Thanks

 

[aznmistborn]

I ended up going with the BSF barrel though honestly cuz the faxon was sold out at the time.
The only thing I could think of is heat. That pencil barrel will probably heat up faster than the carbon one.

 

[Long Range]

Do you think one barrel shoots better groupings then the other? Or it doesn't really matter because both barrels will shoot about the same?

So you paid over $300 bucks more because something was out of stock?

I know it seems cool to get a carbon fiber barrel, but if it really doesn't offer any advantages then why bother?

 

[JasonB]

I got a proof 20” CF barrel for my AR10 , waiting on them to ship

 

[Long Range]

I just happened to read something about the BSF barrels.

The gas block is a .875" and someone said that didn't fit under the atlas 1 handguard. That could mean standard gas blocks will not work.

The Foxon has a .750 gas block.

This could be something to take into consideration that the BSF barrels will be larger outer diameter and will not fit standard hand guards, or at least many of the skinny ones. This is important to me because I wanted to use a skinny atlas s one or a vseven light weight hand guard.


What do you guys think of this, is this something to be concerned about? Will the availability of gas blocks also be limited for the .875" gas block diameter?

 

[Earnhardt]

Any updates on your barrels?
Thanks

 

[Long Range]

I was going to buy the 20" Ballistic advantage creedmoor, then I started reading stuff about gas tube length, like +2" rifle lengths, and barrel length. Where a 22" barrel length really benefits by a +2". Just so many variables and ballistic advantage doesn't offer +2.

I then just decided to wait for now as these barrels are in stock right now and I could see if Trump wins and then I'll take my time and research it better and probably get a much better price after reading they had these $300 barrels on sale for $190 a year or two back.

 

[Ape_Factory]

Just build an AR15 with a Faxon Gunner Match 223 Wylde barrel, 416R, nitrided, 5R rifling. Didn't want to go with the pencil barrel honestly as I didn't want it heating up too quickly. It was a battle between the gunner and a fluted heavy. Gunner ended up winning as it seemed the best balance.

Can't say I made a bad choice. Shoots extremely well with cheap ammo. Finished building all my development loads and have high hopes moving forward. I couldn't find a ton of reviews on the Faxon barrels but based on this one barrel, I'd not hesitate to purchase another.

I used it with a VSeven upper, their forged M4, and it required freezing the barrel and heating up the the upper to get them to interface easily. Faxon treats the barrel extension with a slick coating which makes the job a bit easier.

 

[Darryle]

I have a Faxon 308 big gunner barrel that shoots a full 20rd mag into a 2" group using a Wraith digital night vision and local brewed reloads. I recently replaced the 2 stage trigger with a 2.5lb CMC trigger. I have been meaning to pull off the Wraith and put a Leica up top to see what this barrel is really capable of with the same ammo and then work up a load for it. I didn't built this rifle for precision, I just wanted a lighter night rifle for pigs and yotes at the farm.

 

[Cotay]

For a real world battle or hunting rifle, a pencil barrel is not going to open up so much as to be inaccurate for the purpose. My AR10 was built to be a hunting rifle so I chose a 20" Faxon pencil barrel. Never had any accuracy issues in that role.

That said, a Faxon Gunner would be my choice if I thought I might want to shoot for groups as well, but this idea that a pencil barrel isn't suitable for a home defense or "battle" role is bogus.

 

[Long Range]

Cotay, I agree that is why for my battle rifles, Ar15 & ar10, I went with a bunch of pencil barrels and V Seven hyperlight rail. These builds are super light and I love them. These would be for pure battle where I wouldn't be hitting more than 200-300 yards. Mostly these rifles are for Close quarter combat where you need to move around a lot with them and why have such a heavy barrel.

For shooting long range, like with a 6.5 creedmoor, I don't really care about barrel weight as I would not be carrying it around or doing close quarter combat with them. These are just for shooting long range targets.

 

[drewthebrave]

I'd go Faxon. If I was going to spend $600 on a barrel, I'd get a Krieger or Bartlein.

 

[JbBooks]

100% Faxon! They have got their poop in a group on affordable barrels that shoot really good.