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Looking for a solid .308 M5 barrel.

chris_1001

chris_1001

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Long story short….

My 16” .308 M5 Areo upper is not shooting well.

I’ve eliminated the obvious, loose scope, ammo and had an accomplished shooter match my results, so not human error.

As such, I’m looking for a replacement barrel for it so that I can use this for some long range 300-600 yard events.

So looking for a really good 18-20” .308 replacement barrel.

What say NES?

TIA.
 
Krieger will make one up, but you won't like the price: over $500.

I'd give John Hollinger a call. I don't think he lists them on his website, but he may make up a barrel from a Wilson blank.

An AR10 Match barrel is an odd thing, so that's why I have no quick answer.

Ever think of switching to another, more common, large-frame AR "match" chambering? 6.5-08, 6 or 6.5CM, 6XC, etc.
 
Tackdriver VillenTactical said:
I don't have one, but I hear the Premium Ballistic Advantage barrels can shoot 1/2 inch if you do your part.

Dave
Click to expand...

Since they won’t ship to MA had a buddy order a blemished 20” one for me.

Price was right. Figured I’d spend less on a new barrel vs ammo proving mine sucks.

I’ll be unable to install it and shoot it for a few weeks. So stay tuned. Might be a while.

.308 sniper over and out.
 
PatMcD said:
Krieger will make one up, but you won't like the price: over $500.

I'd give John Hollinger a call. I don't think he lists them on his website, but he may make up a barrel from a Wilson blank.

An AR10 Match barrel is an odd thing, so that's why I have no quick answer.

Ever think of switching to another, more common, large-frame AR "match" chambering? 6.5-08, 6 or 6.5CM, 6XC, etc.
Click to expand...
I have read here that 6.5 is a man bun caliber… pass lol

I’m looking to make my M5 a workhorse gun.

Say 300-600 yards.

If I wanted a 1000 yard gun, I’d go bolt action. And I might at some point.

This is just a fun gun.

But the results yesterday were not fun… sniff
 
snax said:
Warranty?
Click to expand...
True. But I bought it from a MA friendly dealer and Aero hates MA.

Plus I’ve read barrel warranty’s are not easy to do.

They take them, test them and charge you to test them and the ammo to test them. Not worth it, in the event they do better than the claim.
 
chris_1001 said:
I have read here that 6.5 is a man bun caliber… pass lol

I’m looking to make my M5 a workhorse gun.

Say 300-600 yards.

If I wanted a 1000 yard gun, I’d go bolt action. And I might at some point.

This is just a fun gun.

But the results yesterday were not fun… sniff
Click to expand...
Dude, once you go 6.5 you will question why you ever wasted your time with the Boomer 308.

You are changing barrels, might as well try it.
 
chris_1001 said:
Since they won’t ship to MA had a buddy order a blemished 20” one for me.

Price was right. Figured I’d spend less on a new barrel vs ammo proving mine sucks.

I’ll be unable to install it and shoot it for a few weeks. So stay tuned. Might be a while.

.308 sniper over and out.
Click to expand...
I have a BA M5 barrel in 6.5 Manbun. Years of good service and it shoots consistently at .5 to .7 MOA. I'll occasionally get 5 shot groups of .25 or lower and my record is .12 MOA. Mrs Mountain has a FDE Aero M5 in 308. It has a BA Premium fluted barrel and will shoot sub MOA.

Have you checked chambered but unfired rounds for damage to the projectile or case neck?
 
chris_1001 said:
Long story short….

My 16” .308 M5 Areo upper is not shooting well.

I’ve eliminated the obvious, loose scope, ammo and had an accomplished shooter match my results, so not human error.

As such, I’m looking for a replacement barrel for it so that I can use this for some long range 300-600 yard events.

So looking for a really good 18-20” .308 replacement barrel.

What say NES?

TIA.
Click to expand...
it would help if you gave a bit more details on what is the upper, where is it from, if you did assembly yourself or if it came as is. you say aero upper, so i would presume an aero barrel, and those are supposed to be just fine and usually close to sub-moa.

first thing to do is to take it all apart, with the barrel you got, then use lapping tool on the upper and then lube and re-torque barrel nut properly. in majority of scenarios for the .308 AR gun you should be able to shoot any 168-175gr bullets in under 2 moa.

if you have no tools for that, well, then need to ask your local ffls if hey can help, it is a very simple job usually. to get consistent sub-moa, you cannot use any stock ammo, you would need to reload and run a ladder of loads to find which one your setup likes the best.

this is a BA 20" barrel that is same as aero, on 175gr nosler rdf at 100yds. a properly assembled upper should be close enough.
1702388109932.png
 
paul73 said:
it would help if you gave a bit more details on what is the upper, where is it from, if you did assembly yourself or if it came as is. you say aero upper, so i would presume an aero barrel, and those are supposed to be just fine and usually close to sub-moa.

first thing to do is to take it all apart, with the barrel you got, then use lapping tool on the upper and then lube and re-torque barrel nut properly. in majority of scenarios for the .308 AR gun you should be able to shoot any 168-175gr bullets in under 2 moa.

if you have no tools for that, well, then need to ask your local ffls if hey can help, it is a very simple job usually. to get consistent sub-moa, you cannot use any stock ammo, you would need to reload and run a ladder of loads to find which one your setup likes the best.

this is a BA 20" barrel that is same as aero, on 175gr nosler rdf at 100yds. a properly assembled upper should be close enough.
View attachment 827008
Click to expand...

Fully built M5 Aero 16” upper, all aero components factory built from a quality vendor.

I can disassemble it myself if needed.

And I was using hornandy match ammo in both 168 and 178 grain.
 
chris_1001 said:
Fully built M5 Aero 16” upper, all aero components factory built from a quality vendor.

I can disassemble it myself if needed.

And I was using hornandy match ammo in both 168 and 178 grain.
Click to expand...
make sure to have a proper upper mount, and aero sometimes needs their own barrel nut wrench, depending upon a model.
if you decide to swap out a barrel - I would use at least 18" long one, or 20" one. how bad was the spread you got from 178gr? have a picture?
what i ask is - was the spread randomized in all directions around the POA, or not?

also, if it is a short thin barrel - here is a target from my ruger sfar test, look how tight groups 1 and 2 were, and then 3 4 5 spread out, until i let it cool down for group 6.
plus those groups were shot with a 1-6x optic, not a 20x optic where i can see an actual line.

the point there is - groups like 2 and 4 can be as good as it gets for a light pencil style 16" barrel.

1702407368045.png
 
Last edited:
paul73 said:
make sure to have a proper upper mount, and aero sometimes needs their own barrel nut wrench, depending upon a model.
if you decide to swap out a barrel - I would use at least 18" long one, or 20" one. how bad was the spread you got from 178gr? have a picture?
what i ask is - was the spread randomized in all directions around the POA, or not?

also, if it is a short thin barrel - here is a target from my ruger sfar test, look how tight groups 1 and 2 were, and then 3 4 5 spread out, until i let it cool down for group 6.
plus those groups were shot with a 1-6x optic, not a 20x optic where i can see an actual line.

the point there is - groups like 2 and 4 can be as good as it gets for a light pencil style 16" barrel.

View attachment 827107
Click to expand...
Sadly no pics.

The best groups I got were most like #3. No real pattern.

I ordered this yesterday. Had to send it to NH so it will be a while before I get it.

Ballistic Advantage

IMG_7065.jpeg
 
Mountain said:
I have a BA M5 barrel in 6.5 Manbun. Years of good service and it shoots consistently at .5 to .7 MOA. I'll occasionally get 5 shot groups of .25 or lower and my record is .12 MOA. Mrs Mountain has a FDE Aero M5 in 308. It has a BA Premium fluted barrel and will shoot sub MOA.

Have you checked chambered but unfired rounds for damage to the projectile or case neck?
Click to expand...
No, but I will when I have time.

I won’t have much time the next two weeks.

ETA: One of the things a well know NES sniper suggested was bullet jump in the event of a poorly cut chamber.
 

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