Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles Feedback on PSA & BCM Stainless

Barrels? Anyone got any 1st hand experience on accuracy & fouling?

PSA's are 416R, supposedly from Wilson; BCM's are 410 & supposedly from Douglas.........at least that's the info I have.

I have other higher end SS barrels, but am looking for something less for more general use but not CL or nitrided.

MM

The BCM I have is accurate but I don't think I've ever cleaned the bore so I can't speak to fouling. BCM's SS barrels are a pretty heavy contour though. I wouldn't consider one for a general purpose rig.

The PSA SS barrel I had was accurate enough for me 1.25"ish for five shots. It was a much lighter profile. That barrel was from around four years ago. I don't know if they're still sourcing from the same people.

Plan on the PSA being over gassed and the BCM perfect.

Thanks, Blue.

Not really worried about the overgassing as I can work that out for the most part, with buffer/springs tuning. And it's CHEAP, FWIW. It would be mid-length gas.

The one & only BCM (with a 16" CL barrel) that I have is really good with an H buffer & a blue Sprinco spring with mid-length gas.

MM

Marking for future reference

black hole weaponry.

I have the PSA stainless for one of my daughters. 1 1/2" at 100 years with iron sight and 55gr NBT's. Can't complain for the price.

So, almost no one here is using either a PSA or BCM stainless barrel?????

MM

MM, I have one of PSA's 1/7 freedom stainless kits and really could not be happier with it. Built it on an Anderson lower as the ultimate budget build so to speak. Accuracy is plenty good enough for me with cheaper fmj ammo which is what I bought it to shoot primarily. Can hold 3" groups easily with wolf and pmc bulk and I am FAR from accomplished with open sights... Barrel does not foul excessively at all.
I'd guess 6-800 rounds so far and not a hiccup

I remember reading where BCM's 410SS barrels were done by Criterion. BCM was in the thread and didn't deny it.

I've shot one and they were good. However, a White Oak done Wilson barrel is as good as it gets without going to a custom barrel maker.

Thanks; this won't be "custom" barrel on this rifle........just something pretty good, short of that.

I've got a"precision" rifle with a Kreiger barrel & really don't need another one at that level, hence looking at readily available, decent, mid-priced stuff.

MM

Given that the Criterion and Wilson barrels are both lapped, match-grade barrels and the chambering was done right, the only differences would be cosmetic - contour, length, etc. I'd be happy with either one on a match-grade rifle.

Ditto here.

PSA doesn't say that their barrels are lapped & I imagine that if they were, they be talking about them.

BCM's are lapped & they says so right up front.

With BCM, you always know exactly what you are going to get; with PSA, sometimes it's a crap shoot as they are pretty vague (on purpose?) about a lot of their stuff.

Thanks for all the info so far, guys.

MM

True, if they have hand lapped barrels, they say so. My recce upper came from PSA a few years ago, specifically advertised as "hand lapped barrel". It's a great barrel FWIW that does turn out sub 1/2" 5-shot groups when I do my part, with very little fouling as well.

Thing about PSA is their barrels have come from multiple sources, at least in the past, so I'm not sure you can talk about a "PSA barrel" the same as one from a specific manufacturer.

A barrel doesn't need to be hand lapped to be accurate. WOA doesn't state that their barrels are hand lapped either and they are some of the best out there. Non lapped barrels generally take a little break in before they shoot to their true potential though.

If you get one and its not shooting to your liking, try hitting the throat with some JB, some Tubb's Final Finish, or a traditional (shoot, clean...) break in method.

No, a barrel surely doesn't have to be lapped to be accurate.........I've had several cut rifled barrels that were extremely accurate & most were not lapped & actually, they took very little, to no break-in, to be accurate.

But, cheaper & maybe more mass produced & perhaps less uniform, button rifled barrels will usually be improved by lapping. Somebody (maybe Douglas or Ed Shilen?) once said that lapping will not make a bad barrel good, but it will surely make a good barrel better, or something along those lines.

I've dealt with a lapping process on other things for years & have a variety of compounds available when I've felt the need to touch up a barrel from time to time.

MM

On this forum, only 10 shot groups matter; & even then, preferably 20 or even 30 shots................

MM

That's just for the "all day long" crowd.

TFF !!




MM

I've heard/read the same but am not sure if it's true.

Regarding lapped bores, I haven't seen them offered in awhile. I bought an 18" fluted, Wylde, 8-twist that they claimed was lapped. The Wylde-chambered 8-twists were the only ones that I ever saw claimed to be lapped, but there might have been others.

I can't complain about my 18" PSA. I shoot Horny 75gr SteelMatch thru it now. It's slow, but is good enough for what I want/need. I also shot 25gr RL15 under the same bullet with good results and more velocity. But I'm not interested in reloading for this rifle.

Pics below:

1. Quick zero at 100y
2. 5-shots at 490y; 12"x12" plate, ~6" pink
3. Here's your 10-shot groups, but seated w/elbows on legs & fired in quick succession at 150y
4. The rifle





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