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Hey...I am building my first AR and was wondering which barrel to get. The gun will mostly be used for plinking/recreational shooting, so probably going to be shooting mostly inexpensive 55gr ammo. Cost is basically the same for both barrels. Both barrels are 5.56 16" Carbine M4 profile...

1.) Stainless Steel 1x9 twist
2.) 4150 Chrome Lined 1x7 twist

Which barrel would you recommend and why?
 
Manufacturer is everything. There's some deals out there for decent plinking barrels, and depending on what the price is some dang nice barrels. What's your budget?
 
1x9 - good all around twist ratio. Best suited for 52-69 gr, but either end of the envelope will be questionable.

1x7 - technically too tight of a twist for any .224 bullet widely available, including the 80 gr. Manufactured originally to stabilize SS109 and/or tracer ammo, but further military testing has shown other twists to be superior. Some of the very heavy custom stuff (87 gr?) may work well, but why????

For barrel purchase,

Rainier Arms™ | Browse | AR15 Barrels
 
- I'm pretty much tied to one of these barrels for now as the price can't be beat (I have an associate who had two new barrels & I basically get the pick).

- So 1x9 sounds better, as I don't see myself using heavy rounds or tracer ammo very often...What's all the hype with 1x7 then?? :huh:
 
Just that IMHO. Hype. My personal barrels are either 1:9 or 1:8.
Once upon a time in a forum far, far away, someone said 1:7 was better.
Now we all must live with the results of that statement.
If you're shooting 55 gr. take the 1:9 and happy shooting!
 
For your intended use I would recommend a 1x9 twist, it is better suited to stabilize lighter to medium grain bullets. The 1x9 is also the most common twist rate in AR barrels, thus ammo being more readily available for that twist ratio. Down the road if you decide that you want to do more technical shooting you can always buy a different barrel, until then I would stick with the 1x9.
 
What's interesting is that when I just checked out the Rainier site that Skang posted, almost all of the 16" Carbine barrels are 1:7. Noveske, Centurion, Daniel Defense, and White Oak. I think the Spike's barrels are also 1:7 (not on their site). Only the Rainier barrels are offered in a 1:8, and I didn't see any 1:9 at all. Not arguing what is better ('cause I really don't know), but who offers the 1:9? Is the 1:7 better for the carbine or the 16" length?
 
Lots of incorrect information in this thread. I'm going to say it one time, and you can take it or leave it. I'm not going to waste time and effort arguing with the NWFA "experts".

1/7 twist works just fine with 55gr bullets.
 
Lots of incorrect information in this thread. I'm going to say it one time, and you can take it or leave it. I'm not going to waste time and effort arguing with the NWFA "experts".

1/7 twist works just fine with 55gr bullets.


"Fine" is correct

1/9 is just better with the 55 grain
 
What's interesting is that when I just checked out the Rainier site that Skang posted, almost all of the 16" Carbine barrels are 1:7. Noveske, Centurion, Daniel Defense, and White Oak. I think the Spike's barrels are also 1:7 (not on their site). Only the Rainier barrels are offered in a 1:8, and I didn't see any 1:9 at all. Not arguing what is better ('cause I really don't know), but who offers the 1:9? Is the 1:7 better for the carbine or the 16" length?

bushmaster
stag
RRA
oly
armalite
colt but limited and hard to find in 1/9
Daniel defense
i think dpms as well maybe not in chrome

to name a few

wakejoe is correct a 1/7 will do fine, and better if you use a quality 1/7 barrel and even better with quality ammo, and for the type of shooting your doing a 1/7 is fine. but if your ever shooting against buddies and its down to hitting the tacks on a pc of plywood while using lower cost ammo, i would rather have the 1/9


i have shot side by side 1/9 and 1/7 with 55 grain and the 1/9 is always tighter groups even with the same brand of barrel and same ammo
 
I would recommend Palmetto State Armory. They have a great variety of configurations and twists. I personally am waiting for their entry into the 18in upper category, but have been seriously considering their 20in matte stainless upper for some time now...
 
Notice the list of makers of 1/7 barrels, then look at the 1/9 list.

Both will work- but again a screaming deal isn't if the barrels are junk. Manufacturer will have much more to do then twist rate.
 
Lots of incorrect information in this thread. I'm going to say it one time, and you can take it or leave it. I'm not going to waste time and effort arguing with the NWFA "experts".

1/7 twist works just fine with 55gr bullets.

No one was arguing. Most 1-7 barrels handle 55grs just fine, there are reports of some that key hole, but they are the exception.

If you take the time to actually measure the twist you well find that they are not always exactly 1-7 or 1-9, but can vary. A 1-7 may measure 1-6.5 to 1-7.5. I've measured 1-9 marked barrels that were closer to 1-8.

The military developed the 1:7 twist barrels in the early 1980s in order to stabilize the new composite core M855 5.56x45mm NATO ammunition. Early M16A1 rifles used a 1:12 twist rate which was acceptable for stabilizing the then current M193 55-gr lead cored FMJBT round.

M855 bullets have a center of mass further back, making them more susceptible to tumbling in flight without a fast spin rate provided by barrels with tighter twist rates. As such the early M16A1 (1-12) could not fire an M855 round for more than 100 yards or so without the onset of tumbling.


This argument is thirty years old.;)
 

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