I have an SBR lower, so barrel length doesn’t matter for anything NFA length. Looking for a stainless barrel that is sub MOA. Budget is $250. I was thinking Rainier or Wilson Combat. Any other thoughts?

13.7 - 16”.

I get military discount and dealer discounts thankfully. I forgot about WOA. As well

I can’t confirm but I am almost certain the Rainier barrels are Craddock. I have one in .308

This has been the story for awhile. They’ve switched suppliers for their Ultramatch barrels at least once. The almost certainty of that is that they went from Shilen to Criterion awhile back, and that they’re finished by Craddock. That’s not official AFAIK, but it is probably the situation IMO. Note that this is specific to their UM line, they’ve stated before their match line changes suppliers often. I’ve only owned one match, it shot great and 100% neck and neck against a comparable Noveske (in the sense that both were 18” 6.5G) that was considerably more expensive.

I’d treat the RUM as a fluted Craddock RTR, only with a Rock Creek blank vs Criterion.

I’ve owned some of both. They’re both great. Im definitely on a Craddock kick though. There are better barrels, but they’re way up there on the diminishing returns scale. I’ve used a few RTRs now, and they all shoot GREAT. Those aforementioned better barrels, ironically, would also be from Craddock. Just their custom spun Bartleins. I don’t handload so im already leaving precision on the table, so I tend to opt for their RTRs. They’re still hammers and even their 10” 300BLK averages .8 MOA with Hornady VMAX. Never thought I’d have such a short stumpy 300BLK shoot so precisely. They’re some good barrels. I’ve got a Grendel in the works from them now.

PS if you’re a stickler for your prices, WOA is the best game in town. Wilson Combat and Rainier Match are both great in my experience, but I’d swing WOA for a bit more. Their barrels hit way above their price point and shoot neck and neck with, and often surpass, my barrels that cost hundreds more.

Taking your budget into consideration, I would take a look at models from Green Mountain.

They make several from 16" to 22" in stainless, fluted and conventional...possibly shorter too.

The GM barrels I have built with have been top notch, in spite of the bargain price.

Just an FYI, many OEMs use their barrels or blanks on their production rifles.

White Oak Armament is the way to go.

I would call white oak and ask what they have.
I seem to remember some short barrels made from high end blanks that they had left over from time to time. A 10.5 Lija barrel could be cool

Why limit yourself to $250?

Considering you're going to have this rifle for years and years, and considering the cost of match grade ammo or reloading components, why risk not getting what you want, and that's a sub-MOA barrel capable of delivering consistent performance.

We're talking about a rifle with a barrel that will perform sub-MOA on demand, all the time, always, no excises... right?

If so... what's an extra $300 or so in the budget? That way, you get closer to making sure the barrel will deliver.

Sure, a cheaper barrel "might" give you a sub-MOA groups here and there... but I'm not sure that is what you want... no?

Unless a rifle will shoot back to back multiple 5-round groups and stay sub-MOA, it's not a sub-MOA rifle. Better yet, will it shoot two 10-shot groups back to back that are sub-MOA?

Anyway it ends up being cheaper in the long run. I’ve spent TONS of money on cheap barrels and trying to get them up and running, only to finally abandon the effort. In those situations, if I’d have just spent a bit more, I’d have quickly come out ahead and actually have a nice rifle to show for the effort at the end.

BA barrels and the like are great for dirt clod shooting, and will sometimes even perform “well”, but in the scheme of things paying a bit more will always be a good investment if expecting more than generic dirt clod shooting.

I know, not my first rodeo. My Triarc barrel was way less than $250 is sub MOA. Just looking for barrel recommendations not advice on shooting or what is considered sub MOA

Attached File

I’ve been very impressed with my Triarc. The last time I took mine out for a quick confirmation group it printed .49 MOA. It won’t do it every time but between its precision and reasonably sized gas port I’d gladly buy more.

I am beyond impressed with my Triarc 12.5. It started life as a 13.9 because 12.5 were out of stock. It has never shot anything above 1 MOA. It is a laser beam.


I found this on WOA website. I am ordering it now

https://www.whiteoakarmament.com/white-oak-14-5-barrel-1-7-twist-223-wylde.html

My apologies if it sounded as if I were lecturing you.

Good luck on your quest for a good barrel and future build.

No worries, all good my friend

Back in stock!

https://www.sigsauer.com/srd762-qd-taper-lok-cqb-flash-hider-5-8-x-24-tpi.html