Like barrels for bolt guns, with AR barrels, you generally get what you pay for.
Having said that, with "cheap" barrels you might get a shooter, & then you might not.
With a higher quality barrel from a maker with a good rep, consistency is the name of the game & when you buy a barrel from one of them, you can generally be assured of high, & reliable performance from all their barrels so it's not a crap shoot.
Building a gun is a personal thing & JackSchitt from Bumfucked Egypt can build the best gun in the world with the best components but it'll never be worth the cost of the components too most anyone else; a gun from Noveske or KAC or Larue costs up front, but guarantees a significant amount of resale value.
The best value on the market today for a reasonably priced high performance rifle at $1300 or so, might be Stag's 3G; it has a 410 SS Shaw barrel & a Gieselle 3G trigger, but they will only guarantee 1.5 MOA but Mallard Addict, here, has one & reports it to be a 1/2-3/4" gun.
Shaw is not Kreiger, for sure, but they make a decent & consistent product.
I would rather have seen the barrel made from 416 SS rather than 410 & I don't understand their logic for choosing 410, but that's a lot of gun for the money.
MM
