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3/21/2014 7:50:38 PM EDT
Building a 308 on a Maten Set. Wanting a 20" barrel, but now I am not sure which barrel will fit my needs the best. I currently have a bunch of surplus (german and african) 7.62 that I will shoot and then consider buying some match ammo. Really just target shooting, and I don't care about weight.

Rainier Select - 1:11 w/ Polygonal Rifling
Rainier Match - 1:10, this is what I think I want, but it is "Returning Soon"
Rainier Ultra Match - 1:10, a bit too pricey for me
Mega Arms - 1:10

Will consider others. For the surplus ammo, is a 1:11 preferred for the lower weight projectiles compared with match ammo? Will I regret the RA Select barrel in a few years?

I was also considering looking for a good used barrel on the EE to start out with and once I start hand loading I could switch out the used barrel for a new Match or Ultra Match Barrel, but thought that might be a waste of time and money.
3/21/2014 8:06:03 PM EDT
[#1]
I just got the 20" select... I put 100 rounds of box ammo through it so far. It liked the 180gr core-lokt SP. My first day shooting it I put my last 4 shots of that type ammo(of 15 total) in a .575" group at 100 yards while tuning the gas block, zeroing and early stages of barrel break-in. However, after that I shot 145/147/150gr PMC, PPU and American Eagle(cheap crap) it didn't seem to like any of it and PMC was the most inconsistent from my experience.

Before I start reloading my own I'm going to try a couple different 168gr boxes of match ammo.

So far I really like the barrel and I didn't expect to shoot anywhere near that well with the core-lokt ammo and expected a tad better from the other cheap stuff. But the search is still on for the best 'affordable' box ammo and then on to hand-loads.
3/22/2014 2:05:20 PM EDT
[#2]
I went with a Mega Arms Barrel. Love it! Did alot of research between Rainier and others. Mega stood out to me the most, and i got a good deal on it.
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