Would Like To Build A 24” Upper for One Of My AR’s

[Fire4Effect]

I have an older Colt factory Accurized rifle with a 24” SS barrel and it shoots exceptionally well with my 52 gr SMK handloads. The groups open up to around 1/2"-3/4” inch with 69 gr SMK handloads. The barrel is marked 1-9, but I hear it might be slightly less.

I would like to build an upper with a 24” SS barrel that will perform as well with 77 gr SMK bullets. I shoot from the bench so weight will not be an issue. I am looking at Criterion’s AR-15 24” barrel with a 1-8 twist. Are there better choices out there for my application?

AR-15 24" BULL BARREL - Criterion Barrels

Designed to push the .223 Rem/5.56 NATO cartridge to its limit, this bull contour model is a favorite of varmint hunters and long range shooters alike.

criterionbarrels.com

My current factory rifles are Colt, Daniel Defense and LMT. I was thinking of starting with either Colt, Daniel Defense and LMT upper receiver. These are all mil spec and I believe would interface well with my Colt, Daniel Defense and LMT lowers. Are there better choices out there for my application?

I would imagine I could use any of my factory BCG’s if they headspaced properly, or I could go with a Colt, Daniel Defense or LMT BCG. Are there better choices out there if I went with a new BCG?

Thank you for considering my questions.

 

[tobnpr]

JMO...
Bench/target shooting application- you're not building a "SH**" rifle, for self-defense that your life may depend on go bang every time you pull the trigger, guaranteed, regardless of conditions. For me, that would be a rifle that I'd build to a different standard. This isn't about survivability, it's about accuracy.

I'd get the best quality barrel I could (I do like Criterion, and White Oak- but there are others), quality trigger with break suited for benchrest shooting. I find upper/lower matter little at the target- kinda like a Savage will punch tiny holes in the target, but running the bolt sucks. If fit and finish is important to you, go for it. Lap the upper, use retaining compound on the barrel. That's all I do with them, and all shoot an honest 1/2 to 3/4 without much effort. I'm primarily a bolt gun guy by preference, so maybe someone else knows a reason why a $350 BCG would shoot tinier holes than one thats $125...

 

[jelenko]

Lap the upper, use retaining compound on the barrel.

This.
By 'lap the upper' means lap the face of the upper. Brownells has a tool that will do it for ~ $50. The idea is to get the barrel extension/barrel square to the upper.
Use a 'sleeve retaining' low strength loctite to 'bed' the barrel extension to the upper. The idea is to keep the barrel extension/barrel square to the receiver.
Use a wooden dowel to knock the barrel out when it's time to rebarrel. Or, apply heat to soften the loctite.

Definitely want a good trigger. Personally, I use a Geissele High Speed National Match with the 'match' spring in the disconnector. Runs just under 2lbs first stage and right at 6oz for the second. There are other fine AR triggers out there.

That barrel will work fine.
If I've got it right, the theory on barrel accuracy vs price is: All quality manufacturers produce great barrels along with some that don't shoot as well. The pricier the barrel the less chance the one you get won't shoot well.
For benchrest, [I only know about it through what I've read, mainly here], there appears to be a strong preference for a relatively small set of barrel manufacturers. Benchrest looks for groups at 100 yards in the 1's and 0's. It's unlikely that, no matter what care is put into it, an AR based rifle isn't going to produce groups in that range. That said, I was testing some loads yesterday with an AR at 100 yards and did get a 3 shot group at .180 [I forgot which load I was using for that group - I was surprised to see it on the target] and a .390 5 shot group. And, a .690 5 shot group. My point is, a solid upper, a good trigger, a good barrel [it was a Criterion], can produce small groups but not all day every day.

BCG's have little impact on accuracy - unless they are out of spec. One from any of the named providers should be fine. Not sure what 'factory' means, but, mostly likely, they are fine.
Checking headspace with a go and no-go gauge is not a bad idea - although, in the 30 or so barrels I've gone through [all from WOA, CLE, or Criterion], I've simply used whatever bolt I had in the previous barrel - but do resize the brass to just under SAAMI min.
For the 77 SMK's, I'd recommend an 1:8 twist. You can push them as hard as you can without worrying about over spinning them.

 

[Cemetery21]

Consider a "slick side" upper (no dust cover or forward assist). The side walls are a little thicker/maybe stiffer. Also consider an Aero lower - they have a built-in adjustment to eliminate play between upper and lower.

 

[SG4247]

Consider a really good trigger too.

WTS New AR GOLD AR-15 trigger Custom

This 14 oz trigger is SOLD, but I have others just like it. New AR-15 AR Gold trigger (adjustable) that has been custom tuned for competition by me. 1st stage is 5 ounces 2nd stage 9 ounces Total pull weight is 14 ounces Superbly crisp break, with super fast reset. $350 shipped in CONUS.

forum.accurateshooter.com

BBL and trigger have had the most positive impact to my groups, at least on my equipment.

Bolts and carriers are not so important.

Some groups from my 24" Upper been testing this winter...with a 13oz AR GOLD trigger.

Lantec Billet smooth side upper, Krieger 24" heavy profile, JP Bolt, Mil Spec carrier.

Been having a blast shooting and making loads for it.

 

[LVLAaron]

5 shot groups @ 100. I'm pretty confident in building an accurate AR. Some good tips in the thread so far. Lapping the upper and loctite'ing (609, green stuff) the barrel in easily give you a quarter minute improvement.

I would get a White Oak or Compass Lake in 223 Wylde. I like a 7.7 twist personally.

 

[Fire4Effect]

Thanks for the recommendations.

Barrel – Looks like Krieger does not have a 24” barrel in stock or even listed. I guess you have to go custom.

I see White Oak offers two 24” barrels with a significant price difference. Besides twist rate I can’t see any difference between them.

White Oak Precision 24

White Oak Precision Krieger Match Rifle Barrel, 24-inch This 24-inch barrel is for the Match Rifle shooter who has switched to optics and no longer needs the long 26" sight radius. We start with a Krieger blank in your choice of a Krieger 1-7 or 1-7.7 t

www.whiteoakarmament.com

Optic Match Rifle Barrel, 24

The new NRA and CMP match rifle rules allow for the use of optics on match rifles. With this in mind we have decided to offer match rifle barrels specifically for optics match rifles. As there is no need for a front sight, these new barrels do not have t

www.whiteoakarmament.com

Upper Receiver – Sounds like any upper I mentioned will be fine. I will check out the Lantec. I also watched a video on lapping the upper.

BCG – I will source a mil spec BCG.

Lower Receiver – I can’t change out my lower receiver since I am in California. Except for one, all my lowers from Colt, Daniel Defense and LMT have the Geissele SSA-E 3.5 lbs 2-stage triggers. The Colt accurized rifle has a Milazzo-Krieger MKII trigger I installed that I think is superior to the Geissele SSA-E.

 

[LVLAaron]

Thanks for the recommendations.

Barrel – Looks like Krieger does not have a 24” barrel in stock or even listed. I guess you have to go custom.

I see White Oak offers two 24” barrels with a significant price difference. Besides twist rate I can’t see any difference between them.

White Oak Precision 24

White Oak Precision Krieger Match Rifle Barrel, 24-inch This 24-inch barrel is for the Match Rifle shooter who has switched to optics and no longer needs the long 26" sight radius. We start with a Krieger blank in your choice of a Krieger 1-7 or 1-7.7 t

www.whiteoakarmament.com

Optic Match Rifle Barrel, 24

The new NRA and CMP match rifle rules allow for the use of optics on match rifles. With this in mind we have decided to offer match rifle barrels specifically for optics match rifles. As there is no need for a front sight, these new barrels do not have t

www.whiteoakarmament.com

Upper Receiver – Sounds like any upper I mentioned will be fine. I will check out the Lantec. I also watched a video on lapping the upper.

BCG – I will source a mil spec BCG.

Lower Receiver – I can’t change out my lower receiver since I am in California. Except for one, all my lowers from Colt, Daniel Defense and LMT have the Geissele SSA-E 3.5 lbs 2-stage triggers. The Colt accurized rifle has a Milazzo-Krieger MKII trigger I installed that I think is superior to the Geissele SSA-E.

One is from "White Oak Precision" - They're much nicer. I might be talking out of turn but I believe they are hand cut - hence the cost difference. I could be wrong, but I want to say that's correct.

I'll add that the "Precision" version will be worth every penny.

 

[jelenko]

Interesting. I'm not finding the White Oak Precision 24" barrel from WOA's site.
There is a White Oak Precision service rifle barrel - it's built using a Krieger barrel.

 

[jepp2]

I guess you have to go custom.

I shoot a lot of WOA barrels and don't have anything bad to say about them. But my Kriegers will always outshoot them. If you are looking for the best accuracy, custom order what you want. If not quite the best is good enough for you, WOA, Criterion, and others will be a good choice.

5 shot groups @ 100.

Those are impressive!

 

[Fire4Effect]

I just received a response from White Oak about the differences between the barrels I posted:

The difference is the barrel blank we start with. White Oak Precision barrels ($495) are on a Krieger cut-rifled blank. The $300 barrel is on our match grade stainless steel button rifled barrel.

 

[LVLAaron]

I have many barrels from them. Their standard ones (SPR / Varmint / etc) are very fine barrels... but don't hold a candle to the Precision barrels if you're shooting for score.