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Im building my first AR-10 and im curious about opinions on the Wilson Combat Barrels as opposed to Faxon.

My preference was Faxon based on their reputation however they have been out of stock on the fluted barrels for weeks. Would you consider Wilson Combat Barrels as equivalent to Faxon? Any experience with either brand?
 
I've got a handful of WC ARs, but haven't gotten around to shooting any of them. My understanding is that they make them, so it's been my assumption that they'll be just as good as their 1911 stuff.
 
I have a 22" or 24" Wilson Combat barrel (can't remember the length) on a precision AR build. This thing shoots lights out. OP, what barrel were you looking at from them for your AR10? I have been wanting to upgrade the Barrel on my AR10.
 
My Faxon 18" "big gunner" .308 barrel works fine, however it has some really sharp edges on the feed ramp that scar up my brass. Kinda stupid to have sharp steel right where soft brass slides
 
Trying to build an "all around" 308 that can be used for Hunting, SHTF and range fun. Target weight is 7ish pounds.

I been considering the Faxon Heavy Fluted, 16in match barrel. The pencil barrels are too much of a compromise for my intended purpose.
 
Nicest AR barrels I've got in the safe are my two Rainier Ultramatch barrels. Only downside there is they are a bit on the heavy side.....but they really shoot.

Also had very good experience with BA Hanson barrels, in 223 Wylde and 300 BLK.
 
I know some have gotten good results but I would not go with either.

I looked at WC rifles and/or uppers several years ago and some of their inclusions seemed off. Faxon is just okay shooter grade in my book.

why not spend a bit more?
 
I know some have gotten good results but I would not go with either.

I looked at WC rifles and/or uppers several years ago and some of their inclusions seemed off. Faxon is just okay shooter grade in my book.

why not spend a bit more?
I don't mind spending more but i need to know what im getting for the extra money. Have any recommendations? Sounds like you have more experience with this than i do.
 
I have exactly one Faxon barrel (16" 7.62x39) and so far I am not super impressed. I have had a couple Wilson super sniper 223 wylde barrels and they both are very accurate. Betwenn the two, Wilson hands down.
 
I have a very long and frustrating story about building my AR 308. It involves no less than 4 Faxon barrels, two receiver sets, 2 BCG's, 2 scopes, 2 scope mounts, a loose barrel extension, 2 Faxon returns, hundreds of factory match rounds fired, and several years time. All the while attempting to reduce my group size to less than 2 MOA.

I then tried a Black Hole Weaponry barrel. Instant .7MOA 5-shot group.

Not happy with the heavy contour of the BHW barrel, I tried a Wilson Combat. I was getting right above 1 MOA with it. I then went back to the BHW.

This was several years ago. I was happy with Faxon's customer service. I was extremely dissatisfied with their consistenly poor performance. Things may be different now.

I would recommend a Wilson Combat over Faxon.
 
I have had 2 Rainier Ultra match barrels on AR-15s. One is pretty good but not great. The other was not great and has moved on to another lucky soul.


I have a 16" fluted Faxon on my AR-10 and I'm not overly impressed. As mentioned above, it is pretty consistent 2 MOA barrel. Maybe a bit better on occasion but not much. I have tried more than a couple of bullets weights and loads without much success. Not a gun that has been at the top of my priority list so I haven't changed it yet. Looking at the prices on the WC barrels, seems like it might be worth a try.

What higher end options are others using?
 
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I don't mind spending more but i need to know what im getting for the extra money. Have any recommendations? Sounds like you have more experience with this than i do.
Could you be more precise about what you are building this rifle for?

So far we know that you seem to want to use it for SHTF, hunting, and casual (?) target shooting, and that you don't think a pencil barrel is going to be good for all that.

What level of accuracy is acceptable to you for your intended purposes?
Why specifically do you find a pencil barrel inadequate?
 
Could you be more precise about what you are building this rifle for?

So far we know that you seem to want to use it for SHTF, hunting, and casual (?) target shooting, and that you don't think a pencil barrel is going to be good for all that.

What level of accuracy is acceptable to you for your intended purposes?
Why specifically do you find a pencil barrel inadequate?
Which more expensive 308 AR barrels do you recommend? I would hope for sub MOA. That would be it's intended purpose, shooting sub MOA off a bench. If it can do that, I think it would cover all my other needs.
 
I have a Faxon 9mm carbine barrel. Excellent finish and threading. I've seen less expensive Wilson barrels that are probably comparable but don't own any. I have Wilson 1911 parts that required gunsmith fitting so I can't say they are perfect, but the finish quality is always above average.
 
Which more expensive 308 AR barrels do you recommend? I would hope for sub MOA. That would be it's intended purpose, shooting sub MOA off a bench. If it can do that, I think it would cover all my other needs.
If I were going to the trouble of building an AR-10 and I wanted sub MOA I would just buy something from Compass Lake. Douglas, Kreiger, Bartlein, Lilja. I'd also look at Rainier Ultra, and Proof Research. If I were looking to pay less I would look at Criterion.

My 'accuracy' rifles have barrels like Douglas, Satern (cut-rifled) Kreiger, Criterion.
 
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Cut rifled
Krieger
Bartlein
Proof Research

Button Rifled
Douglas
Criterion
Lilja
Rainier

Satern has a cut line and a button line

Screen Shot 02-24-23 at 03.23 PM.PNG
 

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