Sub-MOA Accuracy Guaranteed?? Ballistic Advantage AR-15 Barrel Put to the Test!!

[@PolenarTactical]

This is the way!

[@bartekkrasinski7720]

Again, this is what we love to see. Clean, percise and thorough testing with everything layed out so it can be repeated, leaving nothing unclear. Amazing, keep doing what youre doing.

[@PrestonJMoore]

Thank you!!

[@d.r.sandbo1570]

Yup, very well done.

[@comacoda]

The best answers to what barrels truly provide in terms of real world performance on KZbin or anywhere else! Thanks Preston!

[@PrestonJMoore]

Happy to do it! Thanks for the support!!

[@partisandoomer1286]

Your channel is such a breath of fresh air

[@PrestonJMoore]

Thanks!! I appreciate it. Hopefully I'll be able to keep this thing going!!

[@charlesstanavich8648]

Excellent, informative content. Your "signal to noise" ratio is topped out, virtually the opposite of most guntube channels. Outside of a lab, that's probably the best testing protocol I've seen. Using the mantis to account for the human/shooter variable is very clever.

[@PrestonJMoore]

Thanks!! Glad you enjoyed it!!

[@zal7782]

Another great upload, I’m really excited to see more barrels get actually tested instead of some influencer shooting three shots and claiming it’s sub moa without showing the target. Im also now deeply disturbed by how few channels actually use a borescope to show what the rifling looks like and instead just take a shot of the rifling from the muzzle.

[@zhenkunguo5725]

Excellent content. No bullshit, just science!

[@bearman000ify]

You do such an awesome job on your barrel tests! How about a test on 18 inch barrels? Maybe BCM vs Daniel's Defense???

[@PrestonJMoore]

I have an 18" PSA barrel in hand that I'll get videoed in the next couple months. BCM and DD are on the to-get list... Not sure how long it will take me to acquire those, but, I think there would be a lot of interest in those. Thanks for the support!

[@generalbakedpotato6150]

Thanks to your vid I was able to decide on a barrel between the BA and Faxon.

[@towman2012]

Absolutely incredible work!

[@GBGuns]

Keep up the great work!

[@PrestonJMoore]

Thanks, will do!

[@glenns89]

I just got my first AR and have been looking for a channel that gives no BS data. Looks like I found the right one. Besides, fellow Arizona resident.

[@TacticoolTommy]

I just found your channel. This is really good stuff! Especially for a barrel / hand loader nerd like myself. I have a WOA 16” that I load 77 SMKs for and it does really well. Thank you for this content.

[@bobbymah2682]

I really like the way you did this testing. Great methodology

[@PrestonJMoore]

Thank you!!

[@AJ-js1vm]

So much work went into this video, thank you! I love the format. I am now a follower!

[@PrestonJMoore]

Thank you!!

[@urbanbasementoperator]

bro is the king for this type of content, much appreciated

[@The3OfSwords]

This presentation was perfect, hope you keep going. You've earned my sub.

[@CaptainCreampie69]

Spectacular video. A bit cheesy of BA to guarantee sub MOA with only three shots. I understand that barrels heat up and start stringing but 10 shots should be the industry standard for accuracy guarantee as people use guns for matches and they will shoot way more than 3 in a round. Keep up the great work!

[@inexpensivearms6952]

Nice work. Love the format and methodology.

[@hunterriley755]

This is some impressive testing methodology. I’d love to see this on other barrels. My BA Hanson barrel seems pretty hit or miss depending on ammo but I have noticed its groups tighten up significantly with a suppressor. The BA SPR fluted barrels have been less sensitive to ammo in my experience, and generally produce more consistent groups.

[@J-lz3dg]

This channel is going to explode! Good shit

[@PrestonJMoore]

@@J-lz3dg thank you!!

[@samuels7749]

Love your testing methods, keep it up 👍

[@PrestonJMoore]

Thanks!! I plan to!

[@jeffpittman8725]

Nice, I definitely appreciate gauges.

[@max_vano]

That was a phenomenal review. Thank you. My experience with the Hanson profile 16-in barrels has been horrible. I ordered one through Brownells, boriscoped it and it appeared that the rifling had been cut with a butter knife. There were tool marks galore, chattering, clear evidence of parts of the lands being chewed off and certainly not cut cleanly. I sent the borescope video into BA and Mr handsome himself purportedly looked at the footage and said there's something not right there. I was told that they would hand pick a replacement for me. Six weeks later, I received a replacement and to my dismay it was just as bad as the first one. In addition they forgot to send a coil pin for the gas block. Insult to injury I suppose. I reached back out to BA and got no real response other than we will look into it. So I called Brownells and arranged for a return and refund under their lifetime guarantee. However, Brownells does not refund your money after 45 days. They give you store credit. That was fine with me as I regularly order from them. That was the last time I have ordered a BA product and it will probably be the very last. I had a 16-in 9 mm BA barrel, that I had forgotten about that had been sitting in my stack of parts and I decided to clean it and borescope it. It was adequate, however not great. I decided to keep it as I'm going to have a friend of mine who's a gunsmith and machinist who is a 40 year veteran of that trade, cut the barrel down to 10 in and recut the threads and shoulder so that I can use it in a project gun. By the way that gunsmith and another very respectable gunsmith who has been to school of the American rifle, both looked at the borescope footage from each barrel and in kind words, I will say they suggested that I get rid of those female dogs. Thanks again for a great review.

[@PrestonJMoore]

Dang, that sounds like a heck of an experience! Hopefully you don't have to go through something like that again.

[@llhosall7735]

I never would have guessed this Well done man thank you

[@PrestonJMoore]

Thanks man!! I appreciate it!

[@rustknuckleirongut8107]

My god this scratches my need for details and variables being accounted for so much better than other testing on youtube. Just shower me with data points and keep refining variables further if you can.

[@Wmbhill]

I have one of those barrels, mine shoots about the same. Thanks for the video.

[@ByronGoes]

Thank you for such incredible content!

[@DonJohn-h8l]

This is the kind of testing I love. Great use of the Mantis and crono. I have a stupid amount of barrels laying around because they did not meet expectations. I found it impossible to find any real data on these different barrel brands and profiles. Companies are starting to zero in on better combinations of: length, profiles, gas port placement and size, chamber, twist, material and treatment. But without this kind of transparency and data collection, it can seem very subjective. The other kind of testing I would like to see is high speed video of barrel whip with different profiles and length.

[@Jordan882007]

This is a great video! This is the information i nerd out over. Thank you for doing this.

[@read6281]

Nice vid, happy to see 10+ shot groups starting to become the norm for this type of testing, 3 shot groups make me want to rip my hair out.

[@rossarnett8079]

Another great video, thanks for posting these!

[@dancarter7009]

Love the 30rnd groups! Thank you for all the info & hard work! 🤙🏻

[@PrestonJMoore]

Thanks for the support!!

[@Masrafi]

i personally dont expect sub-moa from BA barrels and i buy them knowing that. reading around online, 1.5-2moa seems to be realistic expectations for 5-10 shot groups. personally i would expect criterion to be 1-1.5 in the 5-10 shot range, and the really expensive stuff to be truly sub-moa. theyre good well priced battle/fighting/duty rifle barrels where 2moa is good enough. the only guns i expect to actually stay true to the guarantee are really expensive custom/semi-custom bolt guns.

[@gunfighterwannabe777]

I LOVE YOUR FORMAT

[@ppmnox]

great testing method and excellent presentation. subscription earned!

[@PrestonJMoore]

Thank you very much!! I appreciate it!

[@daviddrago9360]

Man you do an amazing job with this whole thing.

[@PrestonJMoore]

Thanks!! I appreciate it!

[@thelastjohnwayne]

This is some of the information and type of channel that I have been looking for. I want to know which companies in reality make the most Accurate AR Barrels

[@chrisbailey8460]

Amazing results! Thanks for the work sir!

[@joshuamiguez8119]

Awesome video, as usual.

[@PrestonJMoore]

Thanks again!

[@yupyup4209]

One thing for some of the viewers to take into consideration, most AR barrel profiles seem to like having weight at the end of them. Sometimes adding a heavier muzzle device can make pretty big improvements in it's accuracy.

[@yupyup4209]

Johnny's Reloading Bench did a video titled "Barrel Harmonics Testing - Part 3" where he made 5 different barrel weights to thread on the end of the rifles along with shooting with a suppressor and bare muzzle. Summary: With 2 completely different ARs in 2 different calibers, there was a big difference when going from bare muzzle to the lightest weight (6.3oz). On one of them it cut the group in half. And on both of them going from the 6.3oz to the 9.6oz made another big difference. Again roughly cutting the group in half again. Its a small sample size and test but the trend stood out

[@yupyup4209]

So on both rifles, when comparing bare muzzle to the 9.6oz weight, the bare muzzle's group was 3 times bigger

[@mtnbound2764]

quite surprising that the pmc did the best, overall excellent test

[@3of11]

Ive noticed more than once the higher velocity going lower and the low velocity going higher. seems counterintuitive?!

[@AM-321-c6u]

PMC 223A continues to perform! Such a great budget round.

[@SnapD24]

You almost had me with the PMC Bronze. Then it started to line up with my experience with BA's Hanson profile barrels.

[@PrestonJMoore]

Haha, Yeah, it started out strong, but then....

[@PrestonJMoore]

When did you get your BA barrel?

[@SnapD24]

@@PrestonJMoore I got two. One was three years and the other was last year. I ended up selling both of them though.

[@jason91notch]

Another great video. I have this same barrel and have found the same thing as you. Doesn't seem to be super picky on ammo, I average 1.5-2.5" 10 shot groups with it. Thanks!

[@gunsandcommissions]

Thank you fort sharing this.

[@nickdavidson7138]

Funny enough I have this same barrel and have found the same results, I typically get the best groupings with 55gr, I always thought that was strange and figured it could be a me issue but I'm glad/mildly annoyed to see that it's just how these barrels are

[@markn.1473]

Holy crap, great vid

[@yupyup4209]

I love that you included breaking them up into the 3 shot groups at the end. Really puts things into perspective compared to how most people test accuracy. Also i personally like that it favored cheap 55gr ammo 😆

[@PrestonJMoore]

Thank you!! Moving forward, I'll probably include a 5 or 10-shot breakdown of the groups so that people can have a more direct comparison with a metric they are more familiar with... and to showcase the variation that can be present in small sampler size groups.

[@PrestonJMoore]

And yes, the barrel doing comparably well with cheap 55gr stuff is definitely a bit of a silver lining here.

[@mattdrake9214]

I’ve got a 10.3 Hanson .223 Wylde and I’m seeing about 1.8 MOA groups at 100 w/ HORNADY Frontier 68 in 223 and about 2MOA in the 5.56. But my 20 inch 6 arc barrel shoots sub half MOA with all Hornady offerings above 100 grain but I do have a barrel tuner on that system and I shoot sub .25 MOA groups with my hand loads

[@PrestonJMoore]

@@mattdrake9214 nice!! Sounds like you got things dialed in!!

[@FreeBayArea]

Id like to see the roscoe purebred tested for accuracy at about 6-7k rds. Curious how the stainless holds up.

[@elliotm5599]

Greatly appreciate this! TYVM

[@TwoWheelNinja]

Loving these barrel videos. Where can I get that target that you use?

[@PrestonJMoore]

I made it myself. Give me a day and I'll see if I can setup a link to it.

[@IndependentArmz]

Almost hated to change that 556 like number, but I figured you'd prefer the like since you are doing all this work..

[@AnselGaddy]

This is a really great way to analyze true real world accuracy. Thanks for putting in the time to do this thorough testing. What do you think about LaRue barrels? On the "small groups" thread on arfcom the larues seem to perform well.

[@PrestonJMoore]

Yes, I am definitely interested in getting a LaRue barrel at some point.

[@jatollar]

I expected it to do well with the SMK's. I shoot groups of 10 and get around 1.5" which is not significantly worse than I get with my JP barrels. I'd be very surprised to see a "flyer" expand it to 3" so maybe I have a shooter. I bought a few more BA barrels because I was impressed so I hope those work out!

[@clidester18]

I've got a 308 barrel bull barrel for BA that is lights out accurate. Shoot prs marches with it but haven't really shot a group over 1.5 in with it. And any quality match ammo is under an inch. Great barrel. Same experience with my 556 barrel as you had mabey slightly better. And their stainless 223 wild barrel seem to shoot a bit better then the one I.your video. Overall I'd say fairly quality

[@Jj-1924]

Awesome video.

[@boostedgsr8580]

Man i love my ba hanson barrels on my 556 and 300blk but now i wana try a roscoe but have also wanted to get a DD barrels

[@DanCarney-y7s]

I have three BA barrels. One is a DMR profile, one is goverment, and one is heavy. The DMR and heavy are laser beams. The government is more tempermental but with the right ammo is still Sub MOA. I love the 30 round groups that is good stastically significnt information.

[@spamjones3081]

Great vid.

[@PrestonJMoore]

Thank you!!

[@1unkn0wn]

Hello. Love the channel. I Would like to see a CHF CL barrel from BCM tested if you get the opportunity. Thank you.

[@somebrains5431]

Good for hosing lots of cheap 55gr. Thats a category in of itself I guess. Would be more palateable if Aeros pricing was half of what it is now. Im curious what line they make their bolt gun barrels on.

[@CaveLife652]

I just shot a 20 round group with my BA 20" HBAR a few days ago. I was shooting 69gr ADI 223. According to BallisticX it was a 2.697 MOA group with a mean radius of .734 MOA. I was using a PA Glx 1-6x and a recycled bolt from a PSA upper I bought that wouldn't shoot anything better than a 12MOA group (garbage barrel). Generally speaking my BAs (I have several uppers with BA barrels installed) shoot 1.25-2 MOA 5 round groups with loads like AAC 77gr SMK, IMI Razor Core 77gr HPBT, and ADI 69gr. With cheap plinking rounds there is a huge variance in group size so I don't think it is very useful data. I have always liked PMC Bronze 223 though, funny it came out on top.

[@SiliconeSword]

Definitely a very realistic look at what things do. Curious how bad the heavy ones were vs PMC Bronze. Wonder how a varmint type barrel would do

[@X-ForceBro]

HEY‼️ have you thought about doing an "EC tuner break" 90 rounds, three groups, lowest setting medium saying highest saying and seeing if a tuner break really works in your testing conditions I'm curious about them but not sold

[@X-ForceBro]

It could be any tuner break

[@PrestonJMoore]

Thank you!! Testing a tuner brake is on the list of things to do, but I am not sure I will get to it any time soon though. But they do seem interesting.

[@X-ForceBro]

@@PrestonJMoore so excited

[@X-ForceBro]

I have a stainless steel ballistic advantage barrel in my AR 15 DMR 223 wild medium contour heavy flute I'd say it preconsistently would shoot a 30 round group at about 3 in

[@Beard_Man_Rob]

I have the same barrel in 18" form. Par for the course, no matter what I put through it, about the best it will do is 2.5 MOA with 10rd groups. Hardly sub-MOA.

[@benwall99]

I would love to see a Noveske stainless barrel tested!

[@fail_fast]

Incrediblely rigorous. Subbed. Ever thought about becoming a test engineer?

[@PrestonJMoore]

Ha, yeah, that sounds like fun. If I could do life over again, I'd probably try to be an engineer of some sort. I was way too immature in high school and college.

[@joesephkingston1621]

Really appreciate the 30 round group size. It is interesting that every test failed even the scummy Knights Armament MOA guarantee.

[@sheepdog457]

I have several BA barrels, including a couple of the Hanson profile versions. They’re in GP rifles that I haven’t gotten around to accurizing. Overall, I’m satisfied with their performance at the price point, but I haven’t done the deep dive of exploring a variety of match ammo to see what their actual performance is. What are your thoughts on bedding and lapping this barrel and trying an even wider variety of match ammo to see if you could determine an MOA “sweet spot”?

[@PrestonJMoore]

I plan on investigating barrel bedding at some point. I'd be interested in seeing what affect that might have.

[@MultiSycorax]

Ive got a BA barrel, 14.5 hanson profile, that has shot some sub moa groups but this has me wanting to go verify it again, if anything this is indicatice of poor QC at best

[@javiersp01]

Great study !!!

[@glockfowtay]

They're good barrels but at 10k I've had mine keyhole pretty bad with just regular shooting, nothing crazy. I replaced it with another BA because the Hanson barrels are super light and good enough.

[@Patrick-xd8jv]

I’m now really anxious to test my Criterion hybrid 20” barrel. The moral of the story is 3 shots is not a group

[@coltonowens2742]

I still like Aero recivers, and the enhanced upper and handguard, but BA barrels dont seem to be what they used to be. Ben Stoeger has shot out around three of them, and they all failed around the 6k mark.

[@imberaeris6768]

I’m right at 1” at 100 with a ten round group with my 14.5 Hanson. That was with the 77 OTM by AAC.

[@PrestonJMoore]

Nice!! How long have you had your barrel?

[@imberaeris6768]

It’s newer. Bought about 1 year ago and has ~300 rounds through it.

[@imberaeris6768]

Excellent review by the way!

[@PrestonJMoore]

@@imberaeris6768 thank you!!

[@WaterZer0]

Only critique I have is to try some loads with different projectiles since 2 loads of SMKs is kinda redundant. Otherwise, keep it up!

[@PrestonJMoore]

Thanks!!

[@PhilVogt6384]

I’d love to see you review the Rosco 14.5 or 12.5 husky barrel. It’s hbar with CL. I’d provide the barrel.

[@PrestonJMoore]

That'd be cool!! My email address is listed on my channel page in the "More about this channel" section. Send me an email and hopefully, we can work something out.

[@PhilVogt6384]

@@PrestonJMoore not seeing it there. Just your YT @.

[@PrestonJMoore]

@@PhilVogt6384 gmail prestonjmoore2

[@fmyles3]

Aero Precision lost their way a while ago. Don't know what happened, probably new management but I moved on. They are still good about warranty but I'd rather get it right the 1st time. I have at least 6 Aero build's in my inventory but all are at least 4-5 years old.

[@X-ForceBro]

It would appear this barrel's harmonics are shooting best with lighter ammunition

[@PrestonJMoore]

yup, this barrel seems to like the 55gr stuff.

[@purplepenguin43]

Fucking love all the data, excel is the only part of my life i allow to cross between work and play.

[@allihatw]

That’s good enough for a fighting barrel.

[@zact9941]

Hey Preston; I have a BRT and Rainer barrel you can test. Lmk I’m in your area

[@kacasio1]

Your results seem to coincide with what I have seen from my Hanson upper that I purchased pre covid. Some 55gr loads seemed to be more consistent than heavier loads. It did the group sizes you had with the 77gr AAC is similar to what I had with 75 gr Frontier. It did seem to like FGMM 69gr sierra SMK, and FGMM 73gr Bergers. Not a bad upper, considering the price with mil discount. But in my mind it’s a 2-2.5 MOA upper and it seems your results confirm that. If you would consider, I would love to see a WOA barrel, the Rosco K9 16in intermediate gas, a new criterion. Those seem to fit the theme of the channel without getting into the $500+ range.

[@PrestonJMoore]

Thanks for your input!! It's helpful to hear from others that have the same/similar barrel. I have a couple more barrels in my inventory. Then I'll look for more barrels and will definitely consider your recommendations.

[@jphynes1]

You point out the position of the highest and lowest velocities and they're also the extremes of vertical position. Is this a coincidence or is there a correlation between vertical position and velocity?

[@PrestonJMoore]

On KZbin, I have heard a lot of people say that faster shots will hit higher on the target. At 100 yards, I don’t think this really makes sense. I think there are other factors that come into play more than velocity. But, if you are shooting farther ranges, say 1,000 yards, then yes, velocity variation will definitely correlate with high/low shots. So, in my video, I like to go over the velocity highs and lows to see if there is any information to be gained.

[@jphynes1]

@@PrestonJMoore Time of flight differences aren't going to show up at 100 yards and would have the wrong sign to explain shot 14/28 anyway. If the barrel wiggles in a consistent pattern then changes in the exit timing could potentially correlate with position on the target. I've been meaning to run the test myself but haven't gotten around to it yet.

[@jphynes1]

@@PrestonJMoore Okay, I transcribed your data and did some analysis. There does seem to be a real but minor correlation (p=0.06 horizontal, p=0.002 vertical). For every 100fps, the average shifts (-.44,-0.76), and under a linear model the mean radius would drop about 11% if the velocity were perfectly consistent. At ~400m this effect and the time of flight effect would theoretically cancel.

[@PrestonJMoore]

@@jphynes1 hmm, that'd be interesting... How do you plan on testing the barrel wiggle correlation? High speed camera?

[@PrestonJMoore]

@@jphynes1 Dang man, I need to get on your level! Thanks for the analysis!!

[@Brez1969]

I almost bought one

[@dragonusmc0311]

MoM minute of man 🧐

[@jesse5167]

Unfortunately this is how I expect an AR barrel with a sub-MOA guarantee to perform

[@PrestonJMoore]

Yeah, I don't put a lot of stock into MOA guarantees.They can be interpreted a lot of different ways.

[@hopewilliams6705]

​@PrestonJMoore was this after the 3000 rounds or at the beginning

[@PrestonJMoore]

@@hopewilliams6705 After ~3k.

[@hopewilliams6705]

@@PrestonJMoore okay... I thought that was what you said but

[@mtnbound2764]

I understand the 30 round groups for data and consistency, but the BA MOA guarantee specifically calls for 3 or 5 round groups, why not stick to that?

[@PrestonJMoore]

9:00 I broke down each 30-shot group into 10x 3-shot groups. Is that what you mean? Or are you talking about something different?

[@mtnbound2764]

@@PrestonJMoore i saw that part. its just an unusual way to do it to shoot 30 rounds into a group. especially when you are trying to replicate or comfirn a standard that is 3 or 5 shot groups. just shoot 3 shots per target.

[@PrestonJMoore]

@@mtnbound2764 Shooting 30-shot groups gives me information that is useful to me based on how I use my AR’s. And since I can separate the shots into 3-shot groups by using a target camera, what different information would I get by shooting separate 3-shot groups?

[@mtnbound2764]

@@PrestonJMoore i get what your saying. just seemed odd to me i guess.

[@PrestonJMoore]

@@mtnbound2764 Okay. Thank you for the feedback!

[@PnP-td1mt]

Yeah a 3 shot mag fed group or 5 shot “single load”.. I have never been impressed with BA.. I just trashed a SOLGW marked BA “combat” barrel. 200$ barrel that groups 3 moa on its best day..

[@rohawaha]

Think I'll stick with Wilson Combat barrels ..

[@HobbiesWithMike]

This is that nerdy gun shit I like.

[@BullseyeBallistics-kf1jw]

Ballistic Advantage blows.

[@John_439]

Great content but you gotta work on those handloads. That SD and extreme spread were way to high for good hand loads. Honestly those should be called reloads not hand loads. If your SD is over 15 or extreme spread is over 50 you should change your loading settup or recalibrate. The whole point of hand loads is to be better than you can get from factory manufacturers otherwise it's a massive waste of time.

[@KotaMW]

My BA shit the bed 😢

[@yupyup4209]

2nd

[@garyjohns4711]

ya, and they keep sending barrel after barrel till you finally give up on their guarantee.

[@Somethingpolicysomething]

Please slow down.

[@PrestonJMoore]

I know... It's a lot of information. But, I'm afraid if I slow down too much, the video will get really boring, really fast.