Thank you for putting together such a thorough video on barrel inspection. As you stated, while we demand the highest standards in quality with our manufacturing, we would be remiss to say we are perfect. However, we stand by our guarantee on our rifle barrels to give sub-MOA accuracy. As such, we would absolutely replace this barrel for any customer. Please give us a call.
Ballistic Advantage is the only barrel I use in my AR builds. I recently used their 14.7" pencil barrel...which is quite accurate, light weight at 20oz. And the gas block is pinned with set screws...comes this way from BA. The entire build is bomb proof, light weight and shoots well. I think the entire AR is 6lbs and 6 oz with an MRO optic on top....add another lb. when there's a full mag. Mags usually weigh about 4-5 oz and 30 rounds comes in at 12 oz.
@@tedundercarriage8183 this barrel but with a .22lr conversion shooting the 22lr rat/snake shot would be really interesting and entertaining to see nonetheless lol
The gauges don’t lie!!! during our two day course at SOTAR we had Aero Precision/Ballistic Advantage barrels completely within spec, while there we factory new Hodge & Noveske barrels that were out of spec , so much that we had to recut the chamber on the Noveske to finish the build/class. Great learning experience!
@@johnkruer7557He didn't. He's talking about gaging in general. There were other checks performed using gauges in this video. It wasn't all about the rifling.
I bought a BA barrel and they sent me the a 6.5 Grendel instead of 223 Wylde that I ordered. I called them and told them about the mistake. They immediately sent me out the correct barrel and said I could keep the other barrel for a future build if there's no return label inside the correct barrel package. No return label was inside the box so I got to keep the incorrect barrel. Can't beat that for customer service! The fact that they immediately sent me out the correct barrel without having to return the other with no questions asked speaks for itself. Very few companies would do that!
This barrel reminds me of that rifle that Franklin armory came out with a few years ago where the 10" barrel didn't have rifling to try to get around the NFA.
My shop, 2A Tactical in Barrington NH, has been selling and installing Ballistic Advantage Barrels for 8 years. We've been extremely happy with the high quality of their products. I've had several conversations with Clint Hanson on the phone (despite never meeting him in person) for relatively minor issues, and he's fixed them immediately. Even the best companies have things that fall through the cracks. And even the best QA / QC programs miss something once in a while. I see no issue with your video Chad, you are addressing a serious flaw. And I think you handled it properly and responsibly, as a learning moment and as stated, as a sample "of one." Clint stands by his products and will continue to learn from rare issue such as this and will keep moving forward as one of the best manufacturers of AR barrels around. -Rob Russell, Owner, 2A Tactical LLC. PS - I don't know Clint personally, I am only a customer of his. I have nothing to gain from typing this. I just felt it was the right thing to do.
All the folks who wander in here to seek reason to complain, they should be reading your post over and over. As well as reading BA's direct comment elsewhere in the thread.
If anyone is in Southern NH, you'll want go over to 2a tactical and check them out👍👍 awesome to see your comment here! (I type this from Alaska now, but I'm from NH, and you guys were always great! 💪) One of the best shops in New England for sure.
@@buckaroobonsi555the irony of your statement talking about complaining liberals is hilarious. As you yourself complain about something that's not even an issue 😂 that was the most "I'm offended blue haired liberal" comment you could've made bud. Yikes!
I haven’t had any product issues with BA, just a billing issue on an order. Their customer service responded quickly and resolved the issue the same day.
I’ve never seen a 22 caliber shotgun. Very neat. In all seriousness, this is to be expected anymore from any company. At least it’s an obvious problem that is easily resolved with a new barrel. It would be interesting to see what it shoots like.
I would much rather have a barrel that simply skipped an entire manufacturing process, rather than a barrel out of spec. It's shows that they know how to make a barrel, but humans are fallible creatures, and sometimes 3:30 on a Friday causes a worker to mistake the barrel he just chucked into the machine with the one he just finished.
@@mastur_grunt4244 Ya sometimes the taco from the taco truck ain't sitting right and the dude will make mistakes because he's got more important things on his mind.
I'd almost want to keep that barrel. You could do some fun experiments with a modern smooth bore. Great for rat shot 22 or with the conversion kit, Henry makes a smooth bore 22lr just for that reason. Not to mention all the other experiments you can do with it. I'd still want BA to send a replacement, or sell me a barrel at the cost of materials if I could keep the smooth bore.
Interesting as always 👍 This was a bit suprising,a rifle barrel without rifling.. I was waiting for a bad crown,wrong chamber dimensions,gas port..what ever.. Not this😮
Awesome. Did you send it back to ARP for them to use as their QA/QC demo reminder? Anyone who's done a fair amount of engine work or general auto mechanical work has seen, or knows an honest person who's seen, a manufacture goof. Even the most reputable companies have them, they just have fewer.
Stuff happens. In early 90s my unit got issued new M249 machine guns with that we had to send to direct support for refitting with new style barrels (folding carry handle) none of them was rifled. I was the one who had to point that out after seeing the soldiers shots on 10m paster targets every bullet keyhole or hitting sideways. 18 guns from functional to deadline.
I thought I was the only guy with a 5.56 shotgun. Bought a rifle a few years back and came to find out it had no rifling in the barrel. The company sent me a replacement, but I kept it like that great conversation piece. Actually, somewhat accurate as well, just shoots keyhole every time!
As a new mechnical engineer I love the clear explanations and when you touch on manufacturering processes. When in college I had a project for a manufacturing class. I chose something I enjoyed, AR-15 parts and the processes used to manufacture them. I want to say thank you as your channel helped inspire me to consider that topic. BTW, I got a A on the project in Dr. Zhu's Material and Process class.
Years ago I bought a ruger single six made in 1954. Wouldn't group at all... Come to find out that the barrel was completely smooth and shiny. I really doubt that someone shot it so much that there is zero rifling left. I always figured that it left the factory that way.
Im glad you mention multiple times that any manufacturer makes mistakes. Missing rifling is a big one but I've seen em slip by. People don't realize that even with pricier guns you're usually buying something that is mass produced and it's just a question of how much can be thrown away during the checking process... it doesn't mean that something can't slip by, however.
oh my, I did notice when you were running your bore-scope down the barrel that I didn't see any rifling. I figured the scope was just too close to really be able to see the lands and grooves. That's amazing, I have to wonder how something like this even happens? As I recall Balistic Advantage barrels are button rifled so I wonder if an un-rifled blank somehow ended up in the stack of already rifled ones and made it all the way through the remainder of the processing without someone noticing.
It's got to be a process step oversight, as you suggest. In all human manufacture such things can happen, and even an automated process line can make mistakes! BA undoubtedly would fix this issue with a replacement barrel.
I used to work as an inspector for a machine shop. For large quantity of items, you normally do a percentage check on dimensions that have large tolerances, and only 100% inspection on things with super tight tolerances (Like 0.002" or less) unless the customer requests and pays for 100% inspection. I have seen parts come back from heat treatment where they missed 1 part, but had we not done 100% inspection (heat treat is easy as it leaves scale on the parts), it could have slipped back into production. I have also done inspections where a part had a +/- 0.0002" tolerance on dimension, and out of 200 parts only 1 failed. For something like this barrel, it could have been as simple as a shift change, and the person running the rifling pulled a part out of the machine without having actually been run and threw it in. Afterwards all other milling was performed, and this barrel didn't make it into the final 20% check (or whatever % BA uses), was checked for some other dimensions like thread tolerance and gas port hole diameter, and then got packaged and sent out. Some manufacturers like Foxtrot Mike do a 100% inspection on every barrel, which reflects in the cost.
@@MichaelPetty Thanks for the explanation, this particular barrel is from their Modern Series which is their lowest tier of barrel so I imagine they check a lower percentage of these barrels than their more premium barrels so it just slipped through the cracks. It does go to show though that the barrel passed every other check quite well so this is pretty clearly a fluke. While I'm sure Ballistic Advantage would be happy to replace this barrel I'd have a hard time not holding onto it if I got an un-rifled barrel just for the novelty of the thing.
Wow! I have 5 BA barrels amongst my personal builds. I have found them all to be above average in accuracy, fit and finish. I certainly have had worse. Proof anyone can make mistakes. And no I don't work for BA or any related company. 23 years in the military and now I work in IT (disability prevents much else)
Please don’t stop listing the companies names on your videos!! Some of us want as much information as possible! Not to try and ruin a company. Great stuff. Very informative.
I can't fault him for not, but I agree. Done in the exacting & professional way he does it, it'd be pretty hard to argue with his results on what each company is putting together. The sample size he's able to inspect would be the only problem. That and his time.
Ha, another video! This seems like a Monday morning or Friday afternoon mistake. Lol. Thanks for keeping us on our toes as to what to look for, Chad. Always appreciate a SOTAR vid.
I have never seen that before!!! What an absolute proof to check out your barrel when you receive it! That would have been painfully obvious with a first look with a flashlight (torch) and BA would have been ecstatic to get it back and give a FULL quick and easy replacement!!! Good vid as always, thanks.
it was found that HEAT rounds fired out of a rifled barrel would wobble in flight and because of the spin not hit correctly every time. This barrel was obviously made to fire the 55.6 mm HE and APDS rounds. As opposed to the 76.2mm. (yes i'm being silly)
Very informative with the various chamber/headspace/throat measurements. As a novice I can't think of any firearm where I haven't looked down a barrel before a build or with a new purchase. I'm guessing this order of inspection was for educational purposes and....suspense.
Your vids are so detailed. I really appreciate them and learn something new each time. I’m a hobbyist and love to build, but I don’t have gunsmithing credentials beyond, “hey look guys my rifle didn’t blow up in my face!” so knowing what to look for is crucial.
Never been on this channel before but I’m impressed. It’s hard to find anyone who actually does any kind of testing and checking specs. Very informative video and subscribed!
Im not bashing B.A. either but out of the 40 or 50 ARs ive built, the only ones ive ever had an issue with were the ones with B.A. barrels, cycling issues from rough chambers, way off center reamers. Terrible workmanship. But, both still grouped reasonably well. Cleaning the chambers fixed the cycling issues. Not impressed.
I would also double check the gas port on their barrels. I only ever bought one but the undersized gas hole on my 16” 6.5 Grendel caused me headaches like you wouldn’t believe until I finally had my smith look at it. So no assumptions are made, I tried everything at my level like buffer, spring, and multiple company’s magazines before giving up and going to a pro. Looking around various forums I’m not alone in my experience either.
I have an 5.56 Centurion CHF CrMOV barrel that has a slightly pitched gas block, didn't even realize it till I dimpled it, maybe a playing cards worth of clearance between the handguard and gas block, cycled great though once it was all built
This is a great comprehensive inspection. As an ME, i do have a Q. The barrel straightness gauge, what is the diametric clearance and length of the gauge? What is the acceptable straightness upper limit per lin ft?
That’s unbelievable! I guess I’ll be checking all my barrels for rifling from now on! Shout out to ballistic advantage I know they would fix this 100%. I’ll still support them in fact I plan on picking up a 18” fluted spr barrel this week from them.
Definitely true. I have three smith and Wessons, ez 380, 9mm, also a 648 revolver. Both the ez's had recalls because of parts harding, luckily, we didn't have to send them back. The revolver I did sent back because of a defective ejector rod. In comparison, I have a 4595ts and never had an issue out of 2k rounds.
An excellent video . . . with the big surprise at the end. I've got a number of BA barrels in several lengths and calibers, all excellent. Was sold on them after receiving the first one and examining it. They and their sister company, Aero Precision, provide a huge bang for the buck. Very affordable with precision work for those that want affordable components, but not a Poverty Pony.
I have a Stag Arms AR barrel that the chrome pealed out of if interested. I noticed it the 1st time to the range after firing 20 rounds or so. Stag Arms wouldn’t stand behind it.
i got all but one ballistics advantage barrels. and they are stellar barrels, that’s the first time ive seen something like that. this video was awesome and very informative. 😎👍
I had a BA barrel come in from Optics Planet that had some gnarly rust or corrosion on the inside. I contacted their support and they replaced it rather quickly. The one that came as a replacement was absolutely perfect.
Wonderful video. Expect the unexpected. I have several ballistic advantage barrels and will buy more. However, this is just hilarious. IMO this is not a reflection on the company but a reflection on the machinist and the tech who produced this specific barrel. As stated, all manufacturers make mistakes.
About a month ago sent a FN CHF 16'' mid gas back to FN . After 480 rounds of 556 PMC Ex-Tac I noticed chrome flakes on a cleaning patch.After bore scope inspecting found all lands right after the throat for app.1/4 in. chrome flaking off the lands. They said ''normal wear . Quite upset..
Good job Ballistic Advantage. That is a very advantageous barrel. As soon as you said so far everything is good by brain was like "well he said autopsy so there must be a rifling problem" i didn't expect that though. There can't be a problem with the rifling if you don't have any i suppose. Im sure ballistic advantage would replace that barrel no question asked. If they wouldn't then i would never buy a barrel from them again. I usually get Faxon barrels for fighting rifles and white oak armament for SPRs and such, but i have installed a few BA barrels for people who request them.
That's pretty interesting. Obviously the barrel missed a step during the manufacturing process but of more concern is that error was not detected during the quality control process or final inspection. One failure or one mistake happens but that is actually two mistakes.
"Concerning" is misused above, though I'd forgive it because many mis-use the word "concern" in the same fashion. Your fantasy of every item given 100% QA/QC is not the sort of thing that results in mass-produced, lower-priced barrels. You're talking about small batch or individual custom maker territory with that fantasy. Bet you've never done a lick of mechanical work in your life.
@@seaswirl79 Projecting your issue onto me. How clever. Remind us all of your business that makes barrels in bulk, inspecting each one at each step with 100% QA/QC checking, and sells them at a price comparable to BA.
Even LMT and HK have hiccups. Noticed from some videos they didn’t shoot without a malfunction and HK can’t shoot full auto suppressed with the piston gas system. I looked on Ballistic Advantage’s website, I am guessing they button rifle the barrel and the whole step was missed. I was trying to think if they have Polygonal rifling.
We need more good gunsmiths than we have. Thx for the work you do. I would still buy another BA barrel. Nobody is perfect and for the most part I think they are a good choice. Jmho
You need to make a gauge to check the distance between the bolt face and the chamber face, when in battery. If that distance is excessive, the case will be dangling out the back of the chamber, be unsupported, and cause a case blow-out, even though it passes all the head space checks. Tony Rumore - Tromix
I love BA Hanson profile barrels. I bet BA will address the issue when you send it back to them. They stand behind their work from what I can tell and every company can have an issue with a project. How they respond to the issue, is the question.
Yeah, I say thats a fatal flaw...someone didn't do their QC. I got a BA Barrel on my AR to replace the shitty BCA one i had, Love it couldn't be happier. great video
Express any concerns or pertinent tests of the neat to ragged hole formed in the bore by penetration of the gas port. As a retired machine design engineer, spending good portion of life in a precision machine shop, I say scraping a portion of bullet jacket on its path down the barrel by a ragged port intersection can cause variation of flight accuracy. If borescope view shows a marked deposition of brass on the downstream edges of the port, then clearly some of the jacket is being deformed and scraped and deposited.
Great video!! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise! Have you ever found anything wrong with a Shaw/Wilson Combat barrel? I just put put one on my 308 build....but havent shot it yet
Indeed every company occasionally messes up... Unless you go into the High-Rel lines of products in which case you spend like 200x more for a part or product knowing it's been tested again and again in every imaginable way. Regardless, thanks for the video once again. Its always good to see a break down of all the areas of AR parts we should inspect! I actually have a few Ballistic Advantage barrels. While they are not the best, they always seem to perform very well with most M193 and M855 5.56x45 ammo and they seem to hold that accuracy longer than most comparably priced barrels.
Fantastic learning experience for I too have a handful of BA barrels. Recently got a Bear Creek Arsenal one (2nd) that passed inspections & i went back to have a 3rd look after this video. Thanks Brother! Your channel is F**king Awesome! 🤘
That’s usually the first thing that I look at when I get a barrel! I point it at the sky and look at the groove pattern to see if there’s chips in any of the grooves.
More nuggets for the collection. It's a good idea to mention the manufacturer. That way one knows what to check first and there is no 100%. low single digit failure % is all that's achievable and often it's out of one's hand. Let's all works as usual of the production but the base material has a slight variation in a batch and there was a short delay in the heat treatment process or with a coating and already tolerances are stacking. More of that!
They are very responsive when you point out the mistake on social media. I bore scope a new stainless fluted match barrel when it came out of the package. It showed tears in the bore some spots with 1-2" of rifling gone. I called and sent pictures in. The didn't want to replace it and wanted me to install and shoot it. This went on for 3 weeks. The 4th week I said I was going to post on you tube pics of the bore and my receipt and packaging. I got a full refund in less than 2 days.
I bought a criterion CORE series barrel and found a chip in the feed ramp. Everyone I talked to said it wasn’t a big deal, even the manufacturer, I still however sent it back and got a full refund. Manufacturer let me keep the BCM BCG for free. One of the other reasons I sent it back was how over gassed the barrel was but that is a manufacturer decision on what port size to use so I don’t hold that against them. More of preference with me.
Never heard it mentioned in the video what the twist rate was on the barrel. Depending on the order of the manufacturing process, this barrel could have been complete up to a point where they only required the twist rate and finish for the customer. If that is the case it could have been a packaging oversight and sure that is pretty common.
Thank you for putting together such a thorough video on barrel inspection. As you stated, while we demand the highest standards in quality with our manufacturing, we would be remiss to say we are perfect. However, we stand by our guarantee on our rifle barrels to give sub-MOA accuracy. As such, we would absolutely replace this barrel for any customer. Please give us a call.
Ballistic Advantage,
Thank you for taking time to watch the video and post a reply. Great response as well.
And that’s why I still support BA!🤙🏻
Ballistic Advantage is the only barrel I use in my AR builds. I recently used their 14.7" pencil barrel...which is quite accurate, light weight at 20oz. And the gas block is pinned with set screws...comes this way from BA. The entire build is bomb proof, light weight and shoots well. I think the entire AR is 6lbs and 6 oz with an MRO optic on top....add another lb. when there's a full mag. Mags usually weigh about 4-5 oz and 30 rounds comes in at 12 oz.
I'd be curious to see how a smooth bore 5.56 barrel would shoot
@@tedundercarriage8183 this barrel but with a .22lr conversion shooting the 22lr rat/snake shot would be really interesting and entertaining to see nonetheless lol
Never saw a 0:0 twist before. Thats crazy. BTW you have the coolest toys on the block.
The gauges don’t lie!!!
during our two day course at SOTAR we had Aero Precision/Ballistic Advantage barrels completely within spec, while there we factory new Hodge & Noveske barrels that were out of spec , so much that we had to recut the chamber on the Noveske to finish the build/class. Great learning experience!
So how did a gauge pick up the no rifling?
@@johnkruer7557He didn't. He's talking about gaging in general. There were other checks performed using gauges in this video. It wasn't all about the rifling.
You're no doubt in good hands with the armourer wizardry this awesome gentleman commands.
Thanks Chad. What an awesome thing to discover. I bet you did a double take when you first noticed, "no rifling here."
I bought a BA barrel and they sent me the a 6.5 Grendel instead of 223 Wylde that I ordered. I called them and told them about the mistake. They immediately sent me out the correct barrel and said I could keep the other barrel for a future build if there's no return label inside the correct barrel package. No return label was inside the box so I got to keep the incorrect barrel. Can't beat that for customer service! The fact that they immediately sent me out the correct barrel without having to return the other with no questions asked speaks for itself. Very few companies would do that!
This barrel reminds me of that rifle that Franklin armory came out with a few years ago where the 10" barrel didn't have rifling to try to get around the NFA.
Smooth-bore assault rifle, like the founding fathers intended!
Flannel patch, powder horn, tamping rod, ball... dangerous old men.
Assault Unrifle!
@@atomic_wait Maybe call it an Assault Non-Rifle.
Semi auto musket.
@@largelarry2126 made me laugh 😊
My shop, 2A Tactical in Barrington NH, has been selling and installing Ballistic Advantage Barrels for 8 years. We've been extremely happy with the high quality of their products. I've had several conversations with Clint Hanson on the phone (despite never meeting him in person) for relatively minor issues, and he's fixed them immediately. Even the best companies have things that fall through the cracks. And even the best QA / QC programs miss something once in a while. I see no issue with your video Chad, you are addressing a serious flaw. And I think you handled it properly and responsibly, as a learning moment and as stated, as a sample "of one." Clint stands by his products and will continue to learn from rare issue such as this and will keep moving forward as one of the best manufacturers of AR barrels around. -Rob Russell, Owner, 2A Tactical LLC. PS - I don't know Clint personally, I am only a customer of his. I have nothing to gain from typing this. I just felt it was the right thing to do.
All the folks who wander in here to seek reason to complain, they should be reading your post over and over. As well as reading BA's direct comment elsewhere in the thread.
If anyone is in Southern NH, you'll want go over to 2a tactical and check them out👍👍 awesome to see your comment here! (I type this from Alaska now, but I'm from NH, and you guys were always great! 💪) One of the best shops in New England for sure.
@@chriskenny6520 thanks for the kind words and be safe up there in AK!
Rob I'll be sure to stop in next time I'm home for a visit 👍👍
@@buckaroobonsi555the irony of your statement talking about complaining liberals is hilarious. As you yourself complain about something that's not even an issue 😂 that was the most "I'm offended blue haired liberal" comment you could've made bud. Yikes!
I haven’t had any product issues with BA, just a billing issue on an order. Their customer service responded quickly and resolved the issue the same day.
I’ve never seen a 22 caliber shotgun. Very neat.
In all seriousness, this is to be expected anymore from any company. At least it’s an obvious problem that is easily resolved with a new barrel.
It would be interesting to see what it shoots like.
Works phenomenal, provided shooter gives a proper gay “Tally Ho!” Before letting loose onto a line of Red Coats.
I would much rather have a barrel that simply skipped an entire manufacturing process, rather than a barrel out of spec. It's shows that they know how to make a barrel, but humans are fallible creatures, and sometimes 3:30 on a Friday causes a worker to mistake the barrel he just chucked into the machine with the one he just finished.
@@TheMachRider "Get thee to an Appleseed shoot, and with all due haste!"
@rsh4599CCB barrel, you say?
@@mastur_grunt4244 Ya sometimes the taco from the taco truck ain't sitting right and the dude will make mistakes because he's got more important things on his mind.
I'd almost want to keep that barrel. You could do some fun experiments with a modern smooth bore. Great for rat shot 22 or with the conversion kit, Henry makes a smooth bore 22lr just for that reason. Not to mention all the other experiments you can do with it. I'd still want BA to send a replacement, or sell me a barrel at the cost of materials if I could keep the smooth bore.
Nice, 2 new videos back to back. Thanks Chad.
Interesting as always 👍
This was a bit suprising,a rifle barrel without rifling..
I was waiting for a bad crown,wrong chamber dimensions,gas port..what ever..
Not this😮
Reminds me of the ARP head stud I was using for an engine build that wasn't threaded on one side. I still have it.
Awesome. Did you send it back to ARP for them to use as their QA/QC demo reminder?
Anyone who's done a fair amount of engine work or general auto mechanical work has seen, or knows an honest person who's seen, a manufacture goof. Even the most reputable companies have them, they just have fewer.
Dude
I fully understand,
@@seanoneil277 I did not. I kept it and they just sent a replacement.
thats impressive, ARP rarely misses
@@hreindustries Yeah, they replaced it pretty quick. That's why I thought it was funny.
Stuff happens. In early 90s my unit got issued new M249 machine guns with that we had to send to direct support for refitting with new style barrels (folding carry handle) none of them was rifled. I was the one who had to point that out after seeing the soldiers shots on 10m paster targets every bullet keyhole or hitting sideways. 18 guns from functional to deadline.
I thought I was the only guy with a 5.56 shotgun. Bought a rifle a few years back and came to find out it had no rifling in the barrel. The company sent me a replacement, but I kept it like that great conversation piece. Actually, somewhat accurate as well, just shoots keyhole every time!
As a new mechnical engineer I love the clear explanations and when you touch on manufacturering processes.
When in college I had a project for a manufacturing class. I chose something I enjoyed, AR-15 parts and the processes used to manufacture them. I want to say thank you as your channel helped inspire me to consider that topic.
BTW, I got a A on the project in Dr. Zhu's Material and Process class.
Years ago I bought a ruger single six made in 1954. Wouldn't group at all... Come to find out that the barrel was completely smooth and shiny. I really doubt that someone shot it so much that there is zero rifling left. I always figured that it left the factory that way.
I’ve got about six BA barrels and they’ve all performed flawlessly and within manufacturer claims, so this is absolutely wild to see!
Im glad you mention multiple times that any manufacturer makes mistakes. Missing rifling is a big one but I've seen em slip by. People don't realize that even with pricier guns you're usually buying something that is mass produced and it's just a question of how much can be thrown away during the checking process... it doesn't mean that something can't slip by, however.
oh my, I did notice when you were running your bore-scope down the barrel that I didn't see any rifling. I figured the scope was just too close to really be able to see the lands and grooves. That's amazing, I have to wonder how something like this even happens? As I recall Balistic Advantage barrels are button rifled so I wonder if an un-rifled blank somehow ended up in the stack of already rifled ones and made it all the way through the remainder of the processing without someone noticing.
It's got to be a process step oversight, as you suggest. In all human manufacture such things can happen, and even an automated process line can make mistakes! BA undoubtedly would fix this issue with a replacement barrel.
I used to work as an inspector for a machine shop. For large quantity of items, you normally do a percentage check on dimensions that have large tolerances, and only 100% inspection on things with super tight tolerances (Like 0.002" or less) unless the customer requests and pays for 100% inspection. I have seen parts come back from heat treatment where they missed 1 part, but had we not done 100% inspection (heat treat is easy as it leaves scale on the parts), it could have slipped back into production. I have also done inspections where a part had a +/- 0.0002" tolerance on dimension, and out of 200 parts only 1 failed.
For something like this barrel, it could have been as simple as a shift change, and the person running the rifling pulled a part out of the machine without having actually been run and threw it in. Afterwards all other milling was performed, and this barrel didn't make it into the final 20% check (or whatever % BA uses), was checked for some other dimensions like thread tolerance and gas port hole diameter, and then got packaged and sent out.
Some manufacturers like Foxtrot Mike do a 100% inspection on every barrel, which reflects in the cost.
@@MichaelPetty I've got a Foxtrot Mike PCC (glock mag pattern) lower on my PCC, it's very nicely made & assembled.
@@MichaelPetty Thanks for the explanation, this particular barrel is from their Modern Series which is their lowest tier of barrel so I imagine they check a lower percentage of these barrels than their more premium barrels so it just slipped through the cracks. It does go to show though that the barrel passed every other check quite well so this is pretty clearly a fluke. While I'm sure Ballistic Advantage would be happy to replace this barrel I'd have a hard time not holding onto it if I got an un-rifled barrel just for the novelty of the thing.
@@phosistkar6425lol the amount of comments here of people wanting this barrel is hilarious😂
Yes I want it too!
Wow! I have 5 BA barrels amongst my personal builds. I have found them all to be above average in accuracy, fit and finish. I certainly have had worse. Proof anyone can make mistakes. And no I don't work for BA or any related company. 23 years in the military and now I work in IT (disability prevents much else)
I have one of their 18” barrels. So far I have been impressed with it
When you said a major flaw, you weren’t kidding!
Please don’t stop listing the companies names on your videos!! Some of us want as much information as possible! Not to try and ruin a company.
Great stuff. Very informative.
I can't fault him for not, but I agree. Done in the exacting & professional way he does it, it'd be pretty hard to argue with his results on what each company is putting together. The sample size he's able to inspect would be the only problem. That and his time.
The BA hanson barrels are pretty sweet.
I found it very educational as it never occurred to me that that might happen. Thank you.
Been missing & looking sooo forward to new physical & autopsy videos!
Thank you Chad!
Ha, another video! This seems like a Monday morning or Friday afternoon mistake. Lol. Thanks for keeping us on our toes as to what to look for, Chad. Always appreciate a SOTAR vid.
I love these demonstrations. Thanks for sharing.
Now That was a shocker. Very good video.
I have never seen that before!!! What an absolute proof to check out your barrel when you receive it! That would have been painfully obvious with a first look with a flashlight (torch) and BA would have been ecstatic to get it back and give a FULL quick and easy replacement!!! Good vid as always, thanks.
it was found that HEAT rounds fired out of a rifled barrel would wobble in flight and because of the spin not hit correctly every time. This barrel was obviously made to fire the 55.6 mm HE and APDS rounds. As opposed to the 76.2mm.
(yes i'm being silly)
I like this guy he's no nonsense just to the point
Very informative with the various chamber/headspace/throat measurements. As a novice I can't think of any firearm where I haven't looked down a barrel before a build or with a new purchase. I'm guessing this order of inspection was for educational purposes and....suspense.
Every time I watch one of these videos I learn more valuable information. Thank you so much for taking the time to do this.
Your vids are so detailed. I really appreciate them and learn something new each time. I’m a hobbyist and love to build, but I don’t have gunsmithing credentials beyond, “hey look guys my rifle didn’t blow up in my face!” so knowing what to look for is crucial.
Good catch 👍
Thanks for sharing.
Never been on this channel before but I’m impressed. It’s hard to find anyone who actually does any kind of testing and checking specs. Very informative video and subscribed!
Im not bashing B.A. either but out of the 40 or 50 ARs ive built, the only ones ive ever had an issue with were the ones with B.A. barrels, cycling issues from rough chambers, way off center reamers. Terrible workmanship. But, both still grouped reasonably well. Cleaning the chambers fixed the cycling issues. Not impressed.
I would also double check the gas port on their barrels. I only ever bought one but the undersized gas hole on my 16” 6.5 Grendel caused me headaches like you wouldn’t believe until I finally had my smith look at it. So no assumptions are made, I tried everything at my level like buffer, spring, and multiple company’s magazines before giving up and going to a pro. Looking around various forums I’m not alone in my experience either.
+1 on having 3 BA barrels and have been very satisfied with all of them. It doesn’t change my opinion on them as mistakes happen.
I have an 5.56 Centurion CHF CrMOV barrel that has a slightly pitched gas block, didn't even realize it till I dimpled it, maybe a playing cards worth of clearance between the handguard and gas block, cycled great though once it was all built
This is a great comprehensive inspection. As an ME, i do have a Q. The barrel straightness gauge, what is the diametric clearance and length of the gauge? What is the acceptable straightness upper limit per lin ft?
as a home diy ar builder, these videos are fascinating, i wish i had the money for all these guages!
That Makes 2 of us
Three of us!
Gauges aren't that expensive. At minimum, I would recommend a headspace gauge. My problem is I can't find all of them.
Gauges can be add up quickly and be expensive and as he has stated in previous videos not all of his gauges are available. @@pale_2111
That's a first for me, never saw an otherwise processed rifle barrel with no rifling. Thanks for sharing!!
Just purchased a Ballistic Advantage 13.9.....Gonna go inspect it right now before I proceed with the build.....Very interesting.....
That’s unbelievable! I guess I’ll be checking all my barrels for rifling from now on! Shout out to ballistic advantage I know they would fix this 100%. I’ll still support them in fact I plan on picking up a 18” fluted spr barrel this week from them.
I have a number of BA barrels and all have performed perfectly. Very good, US made equipment.
Definitely true. I have three smith and Wessons, ez 380, 9mm, also a 648 revolver. Both the ez's had recalls because of parts harding, luckily, we didn't have to send them back. The revolver I did sent back because of a defective ejector rod. In comparison, I have a 4595ts and never had an issue out of 2k rounds.
An excellent video . . . with the big surprise at the end. I've got a number of BA barrels in several lengths and calibers, all excellent. Was sold on them after receiving the first one and examining it. They and their sister company, Aero Precision, provide a huge bang for the buck. Very affordable with precision work for those that want affordable components, but not a Poverty Pony.
So if this is a 16" barrel, would the ATF consider an AR built with this barrel as a Short Barrel Shotgun?
I have a Stag Arms AR barrel that the chrome pealed out of if interested. I noticed it the 1st time to the range after firing 20 rounds or so. Stag Arms wouldn’t stand behind it.
i got all but one ballistics advantage barrels. and they are stellar barrels, that’s the first time ive seen something like that. this video was awesome and very informative. 😎👍
I had a BA barrel come in from Optics Planet that had some gnarly rust or corrosion on the inside. I contacted their support and they replaced it rather quickly. The one that came as a replacement was absolutely perfect.
Thanks for showing this to us Chad. It was very informative!
Very well explained and shown. New sun👊🏻✊🏻👍🏻
Wonderful video. Expect the unexpected. I have several ballistic advantage barrels and will buy more. However, this is just hilarious. IMO this is not a reflection on the company but a reflection on the machinist and the tech who produced this specific barrel. As stated, all manufacturers make mistakes.
This the new M15 (M stands for Musket)😂.
Yeah rifled muskets were never a thing.
@@johnqpublic2718 no shit
@@johnqpublic2718 joke went right over your dense head
@@derek3154 rifled muskets are a thing
Either way, probably illegal in NY 😂
Did you see a higher failure rate in parts manufactured in and after 2020?
The elusive AR “garden Gun”. 👍🏻
About a month ago sent a FN CHF 16'' mid gas back to FN . After 480 rounds of 556 PMC Ex-Tac I noticed chrome flakes on a cleaning patch.After bore scope inspecting found all lands right after the throat for app.1/4 in. chrome flaking off the lands. They said ''normal wear . Quite upset..
Thanks for this video I'm on my first build and I got this barrel on sale didn't know much about it
Good job Ballistic Advantage. That is a very advantageous barrel. As soon as you said so far everything is good by brain was like "well he said autopsy so there must be a rifling problem" i didn't expect that though. There can't be a problem with the rifling if you don't have any i suppose. Im sure ballistic advantage would replace that barrel no question asked. If they wouldn't then i would never buy a barrel from them again. I usually get Faxon barrels for fighting rifles and white oak armament for SPRs and such, but i have installed a few BA barrels for people who request them.
Excellent Video. Looking forward to the next.
That's pretty interesting. Obviously the barrel missed a step during the manufacturing process but of more concern is that error was not detected during the quality control process or final inspection. One failure or one mistake happens but that is actually two mistakes.
"Concerning" is misused above, though I'd forgive it because many mis-use the word "concern" in the same fashion.
Your fantasy of every item given 100% QA/QC is not the sort of thing that results in mass-produced, lower-priced barrels. You're talking about small batch or individual custom maker territory with that fantasy.
Bet you've never done a lick of mechanical work in your life.
@@seanoneil277 Your self-importance fantasy is of no concern.
@@seaswirl79 Projecting your issue onto me. How clever.
Remind us all of your business that makes barrels in bulk, inspecting each one at each step with 100% QA/QC checking, and sells them at a price comparable to BA.
Even LMT and HK have hiccups. Noticed from some videos they didn’t shoot without a malfunction and HK can’t shoot full auto suppressed with the piston gas system.
I looked on Ballistic Advantage’s website, I am guessing they button rifle the barrel and the whole step was missed. I was trying to think if they have Polygonal rifling.
I would love to experiment with this unique barrel.
We need more good gunsmiths than we have. Thx for the work you do. I would still buy another BA barrel. Nobody is perfect and for the most part I think they are a good choice. Jmho
Always get new information from these! 👍
Excellent video yet again.
Been using ba barrels for a while, great product. Definitely wild they missed this but it does happen. Excellent video
You need to make a gauge to check the distance between the bolt face and the chamber face, when in battery. If that distance is excessive, the case will be dangling out the back of the chamber, be unsupported, and cause a case blow-out, even though it passes all the head space checks. Tony Rumore - Tromix
Color me impressed! I ain't never seen a 5.56 shotgun barrel before...🤣😂
wow, you dont think this could have been a barrel for the "smooth bore" AR's made by Franklin Armory to get around NFA do you?
I love BA Hanson profile barrels. I bet BA will address the issue when you send it back to them. They stand behind their work from what I can tell and every company can have an issue with a project. How they respond to the issue, is the question.
super tools to check the rifle. looks nice - thank for sharing what top end AR repair shop should have
Yeah, I say thats a fatal flaw...someone didn't do their QC. I got a BA Barrel on my AR to replace the shitty BCA one i had, Love it couldn't be happier. great video
Express any concerns or pertinent tests of the neat to ragged hole formed in the bore by penetration of the gas port. As a retired machine design engineer, spending good portion of life in a precision machine shop, I say scraping a portion of bullet jacket on its path down the barrel by a ragged port intersection can cause variation of flight accuracy.
If borescope view shows a marked deposition of brass on the downstream edges of the port, then clearly some of the jacket is being deformed and scraped and deposited.
Great video!! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise! Have you ever found anything wrong with a Shaw/Wilson Combat barrel? I just put put one on my 308 build....but havent shot it yet
Indeed every company occasionally messes up... Unless you go into the High-Rel lines of products in which case you spend like 200x more for a part or product knowing it's been tested again and again in every imaginable way.
Regardless, thanks for the video once again. Its always good to see a break down of all the areas of AR parts we should inspect!
I actually have a few Ballistic Advantage barrels. While they are not the best, they always seem to perform very well with most M193 and M855 5.56x45 ammo and they seem to hold that accuracy longer than most comparably priced barrels.
Fantastic learning experience for I too have a handful of BA barrels. Recently got a Bear Creek Arsenal one (2nd) that passed inspections & i went back to have a 3rd look after this video. Thanks Brother! Your channel is F**king Awesome! 🤘
I think you should run it and see what kind of groups you get. I’d have to, you know.. for science.
BA is solid company and I use the BA Hansen profile exclusively.
Another outstanding video. Thanks so much!
How do you get a very acceptable muzzle erosion measurement with no rifling?
Erosion gauges go off the lands, not the grooves.
Wow...that's one serious flaw! Can only imagine the key-holing this barrel produced.
Silly People...the barrel was made to fire 5.56 shotshells! Did you check the choke on the muzzle? Was it IC?
Never ran into or seen that before and I've owned ARs since 1981. Where can I purchase the gauges you used in this video? Thank you for your time.
A single package containing all the gauges would be convenient.
What bullet weight do you recommend for a 0/7 twist?
That’s usually the first thing that I look at when I get a barrel! I point it at the sky and look at the groove pattern to see if there’s chips in any of the grooves.
More nuggets for the collection. It's a good idea to mention the manufacturer. That way one knows what to check first and there is no 100%. low single digit failure % is all that's achievable and often it's out of one's hand. Let's all works as usual of the production but the base material has a slight variation in a batch and there was a short delay in the heat treatment process or with a coating and already tolerances are stacking. More of that!
You don't see that very often. Wonder if there are any more out there like that?
That's a Friday whoops! Skipped a step in manufacturing.
I have two of these barrels. Both are excellent shooters. I'm glad I didn't get the shotgun variation.
You'd think you could see there was no rifling if you looked down the bore with the MK1 Eyeball
They are very responsive when you point out the mistake on social media. I bore scope a new stainless fluted match barrel when it came out of the package. It showed tears in the bore some spots with 1-2" of rifling gone. I called and sent pictures in. The didn't want to replace it and wanted me to install and shoot it. This went on for 3 weeks. The 4th week I said I was going to post on you tube pics of the bore and my receipt and packaging. I got a full refund in less than 2 days.
That's awesome! So for our Maryland viewers, this would be a compliant AR :). It's not a "rifle!"
Question here??? If there's no rifling in the barrel is it still a rifle in the eyes of the ATF? If not what would it be considered?
I bought a criterion CORE series barrel and found a chip in the feed ramp. Everyone I talked to said it wasn’t a big deal, even the manufacturer, I still however sent it back and got a full refund. Manufacturer let me keep the BCM BCG for free. One of the other reasons I sent it back was how over gassed the barrel was but that is a manufacturer decision on what port size to use so I don’t hold that against them. More of preference with me.
Never heard it mentioned in the video what the twist rate was on the barrel. Depending on the order of the manufacturing process, this barrel could have been complete up to a point where they only required the twist rate and finish for the customer. If that is the case it could have been a packaging oversight and sure that is pretty common.