COBrien Posted December 28, 2018 Report Share Posted December 28, 2018 I've got a friend who's asked me to help him assemble his first .308 AR. Wanting, essentially, an exact replica of the rifle I built for my wife, but in .308. While I ran a Criterion Hybrid in the wife's 5.56 rifle, he's not looking to spend that kind of money. I'd recommended the Faxon Big Gunner 16" mid-gas to him. Then he found the BA Modern Series 16" mid-gas. I know the Faxon barrels are, to some extent, "darlings" around here. The BA can be had for ~$40 less than the Faxon, but it's about 5 oz. heavier (not trying to go ultra-light, but obviously the lighter, the better). And I have zero experience with BA. Which of these two barrels would y'all gurus recommend, as far as accuracy, stringing, and general impressions of quality? TIA, fellas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravenworks Posted December 28, 2018 Report Share Posted December 28, 2018 I would tell your freind to reconsider the Criterion and a good trigger and to save money elsewhere. When people come to me and want good but cheap,I tell them to look elsewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtallen83 Posted December 28, 2018 Report Share Posted December 28, 2018 I would feel comfortable with either. I have decided between BA and Faxon twice on different builds and used one of each, no regrets with either of the barrels. I've built rifles for others that used Criterion and was super impressed with them, fit and finish plus accuracy. But given your choice I'd save the $40 and get the BA. My LGS told me last week that Aero was buying up the rest of BA "soon". I cannot confirm anything on this with google searches but he is usually dead on. If true, and given both BA and Aero's aggressive marketing there very well might be some good sales to come. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRracer912 Posted December 28, 2018 Report Share Posted December 28, 2018 BA are always recommended whenever I've seen them brought up. I've not used one. I've used quite a few faxon barrels(only in 556) and they've always been excellent shooters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COBrien Posted December 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, Ravenworks said: I would tell your freind to reconsider the Criterion and a good trigger and to save money elsewhere. When people come to me and want good but cheap,I tell them to look elsewhere. I understand that sentiment, I do. Rifles for myself and the wife fall squarely into that line of thinking. Money is no object, just make it perfect. That's why her rifle cost me $1,200.00 to build. Well, that and the fact that I got in a hurry there toward the end and didn't want to wait for sales. I've got him a LaRue MBT ($87 + shipping) on the way. This makes the 6th or 7th MBT I've purchased. I'm impressed, especially for the price. However, this rifle is a dare, to some extent. He was asking me about PSA PA-10s back in the spring, and was just losing his mind over the fact that he could get a complete "AR-10" [insert Hank Hill eye twitch] for ~$850 and that would only weigh 8.5(ish) lbs. So I popped off and said, "Give me some time to find some good deals on parts, and we can build you a much better rifle. But you're gonna have to bump your budget up a touch. Make it an even $1,000." So this is a build with a hard-line budget. So, watching for deals, some time on DVOR, and I've got a complete rifle built (in Excel) for $972.73, excluding sights/optics and a mag. That's with the Faxon barrel. And it should weigh in right around 7.25 lbs., again, sans sights/optics/mag. Edited December 28, 2018 by COBrien Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98Z5V Posted December 29, 2018 Report Share Posted December 29, 2018 CO B, I have several of both, Faxon and Ballistic Advantage. Both are very good barrels, and neither pick will leave you wishing that you'd done the other. The Faxons are the 16" 5.56 Pencil Barrel, 16" midlength .308 Win barrel, and the 18" midlength gas Grendel barrel. All those barrels are fantastic. The Ballistic Advantage barrels are the 18" SPR profile 5.56 barrel (Mk12 Mod 1 gun), and the 18" SPR profile Grendel barrel (Mk12-ish Army Green Grendel) - those things just shoot the lights out. Either one will leave the owner with a bigass smile on his face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robocop1051 Posted December 29, 2018 Report Share Posted December 29, 2018 I can deal Faxon barrels. I personally use Big Gunner barrels on all my .308’s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98Z5V Posted December 29, 2018 Report Share Posted December 29, 2018 (edited) 10 minutes ago, Robocop1051 said: I can deal Faxon barrels. I personally use Big Gunner barrels on all my .308’s. ^^^ I completely forgot that he was a Faxon Dealer... *** I also completely forgot about another Faxon barrel - I've got a 12.5" Faxon barrel on a short Grendel - and THAT BEAST DELIVERS!!! I have so much shiit, I forget about some, sometimes. Don't hold that against me... Edited December 29, 2018 by 98Z5V Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robocop1051 Posted December 29, 2018 Report Share Posted December 29, 2018 I have something I want to hold against you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98Z5V Posted December 29, 2018 Report Share Posted December 29, 2018 22 minutes ago, Robocop1051 said: I have something I want to hold against you. Just bring it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt.Cross Posted December 29, 2018 Report Share Posted December 29, 2018 11 hours ago, Robocop1051 said: I have something I want to hold against you. Get in line, ya shmoe.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98Z5V Posted December 30, 2018 Report Share Posted December 30, 2018 As long as it's not your weiners that you wanna hold against me, then I can weather the storm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COBrien Posted February 15, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2019 Sorry to re-rail this thread, fellas... ? We got tired of waiting for DVOR to list the 16" Mid Faxon (the 18s and 20s have been all over DVOR lately...), and everyone else is out of stock. I sent a message to Robo re: pricing, but didn't hear back. So... I got an e-mail today from Right To Bear re: their Presidents' Day Sale. BA Modern 16" Mid for $169.99. Checked out OpticsPlanet, and they're listing them at $181.31. Wrote a quick review on some Leupold Alumina scope caps, got my 7% coupon, and ordered one up for $168.62, free shipping. It'll be a touch heavier than the Faxon (35.9 oz. vs. 30.6 oz.), but this rifle should still come in under 8 lbs. And the BA 1 MOA guarantee is something he can brag about, though we all know accuracy guarantees on barrels really aren't a thing one should concern himself with... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robocop1051 Posted February 15, 2019 Report Share Posted February 15, 2019 So sorry brother. I meant to hit you back. I’m waiting on a shipment of 16” Big Gunners. They are all back ordered. They said sometime in February, but I haven’t heard anything since SHOT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COBrien Posted February 15, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2019 34 minutes ago, Robocop1051 said: So sorry brother. I meant to hit you back. I’m waiting on a shipment of 16” Big Gunners. They are all back ordered. They said sometime in February, but I haven’t heard anything since SHOT. No worries, I know you've got several irons in the fire. Plus there was SHOT. I expect my father-in-law will want to build a .308 or 6.5CM after we get his 5.56 rifle together (they're coming down in a couple weeks, and I can finally get this box o' parts out of my way...). I'll definitely hit you up on the next go-around! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepp Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 On 2/15/2019 at 10:45 AM, COBrien said: Sorry to re-rail this thread, fellas... ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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