Do Hot Barrels or YOU Affect Accuracy? We Use a Real Time Target Camera out to 300 Yds to Prove...?!

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Pencil barrels are definitely way more capable than the internet forums would make you believe. It's 98% shooter capability. Love the lightweight, simple setup.

I believe Reid is the only Man who could fill Paul Harrell's boots, I only wish Reid had the time.

Folks say “what about heat?” I tell them it has the greatest shootout scene in movie history

A Garrison 1911 .45 IWB, a pencil-barreled Colt with 20 round aluminum magazine, and no optic? Glorious! 😊

Combat accuracy with an AR-15 and benchrest accuracy with a bolt action is definitely two different worlds.

People tend to forget most mamals have a 10-12 inch kill zone. It's not nessasary to shoot sub MOA groups to put dinner on the table or eliminate a threat.

I can hear the high end tactical cool dude crying right now lmao.

His eye balls are better than mine..

I'm basically a pistol caliber levergun guy in my 70s. I do have one simple 16" AR15 consisting of a PSA Freedom upper and a standard Anderson lower. Carry handle sights. A $425 carbine. In the woods where I live, all my neighbors are shooters, and we all have our own ranges, and we gather for informal shooting at times. Everyone has high dollar scoped AR's with tons of stuff on them. Yet I consistently outshoot them all with my plain Jane carbine with iron sights. I've seen a few start fiddling with their scopes, pulling parts off, and doing stuff with their phones with shooting programs. I just smile and watch them and their "technology" and keep on shooting my "cheap" simple carbine. Or I'll use one of my open sight leverguns and do the same thing. I tell them its not the bow or arrow, it's the Indian. I'm not bragging, but rather I'm pointing out the fact that all the bells and whistles in the world will not make up for poor shooting skills.

From the perspective of someone who manufacturers your barrels (your welcome, btw❤️) I can tell you this: Reid mentioned your rifle (your barrel) not liking a particular load. This is the most critical element other than your skill. The harmonics need to be consistent and well... harmonious! It's a mathematic equation that involves: twist rate, length of barrel, weight of bullet and propellant consistency and bullet consistency. There is an ideal load for each barrel (or almost ideal.) Buy three or four loads of different weights/mfgrs and group them. Find which is tightest. Use that one. It helps a lot too to purchase 1,000 or more of that ammo from the same lot. A little reading before testing helps. If you had say a 20" 1/12 twist barrel, you'd never get any better accuracy than with a 55gr bullet. The twist won't stabilize heavy bullets. Just as a general rule. Anyways, shoot a lot, barrels need to be sold.

A good friend of mine wanted a new barrel on his home defense rifle and showed me an HBar one he found. I told him to go with a Faxon 14.5" pencil with a pinned and welded flash hider. He said exactly your talking points at the beginning. So a few days later I took him out to my property, and we set up some targets at 100 yards. I had a rifle with the pencil barrel I recommended installed. I put a 3-9x scope on the rifle, put it in my lead sled to remove as much human error as possible, sighted it, let it cool, and fired some 3 round groups. 1.25-1.5" with one right at 1". I then mag dumped a mag, reloaded with good ammo, and shot 1.5"-2"- it opened up but not even 2x. I made him do the same thing and he got similar results (actually better- he's a good shot). Sold him. I installed the barrel for him, and he has a light, quick rifle that will actually do what he needed. I pretty much run pencil barrels on all my carbines now- wife and daughter love theirs as well since the whole rifle is lighter and easier for them to hold and carry. Good stuff!

Good shooting, Reid! Love that CAR (at least that's what I call all the old Colt carbines like that). As a PFC at Ft. Carson, my company was running the battalion rifle qualification popup range. Since I'd been "volunteered" to help out on it, I was in the final string to go through the qualification - popup targets from 25m to 300m. Now, I'm not one to toot my own horn, but if I don't, nobody else will - I shot it clean with zero misses using my issued M16A1. Since there was still ammo left, the CO didn't want to have to turn any in so he ordered everyone off the line except me and my spotter. He then had me shoot until I missed - the entire range, which made the 300m targets cross range a little further out. I went to 124 rounds before I missed one. That barrel was pretty warm, not to mention probably pretty worn out, too - being as it was 1985 and the A1's were already being phased out. There was a bunch of talk about sending me to sniper school, but there was no sniper school back then.

A dinner plate at 100 that's all it takes to defend your homestead. I use 8" paper plates as targets, and I put inch markers or a center dot on them when I'm zeroing.

Excellent video. I think there is some kind of myth that people buying their first AR have to buy a 2000 dollar rifle or it's crap. Even people who have been shooting awhile think that the more money they spend on what the operators on you tube have is what they need to have too. A basic M4 or an A2 style rifle is going to suit 99% of the people looking to buy a rifle. Learning Fundamentals to shooting is more important than anything else.

I have a 14" CZ-bren 2 MS....my point is not about the rifle, it is the fact it has a very thin barrel. With a can, running drills after 3-4 mags fast paced shooting in a short time frame it still hits 2" plates on my 80 yd range. My property has 80yds to the 2" plates and I can back up to 100 by stepping into the woods and I have a 4" wide 12" tall long plate and I never miss it offhand. I have ran the gun with a red dot and as of now it has a 1-6 vortex because I found it to be SO ACCURATE. It hangs with my heavy SPR 18" barrel......does better with most loads. It is still light with a light, a shorty can and 1-6 power scope.......Yes Sir. The lightweight rifle is a serious tool. Maybe people just need to learn to shoot.

Happiness is a warm barrel and bullet-riddled targets.

I try telling guys this kind of stuff all the time, Bottom line people don’t shoot enough, I own a range myself , this is a regular conversation.

I've been running a pencil bbl for years now. People on the interweb always ask "what about heat?" Not sure where that came from; if others weren't always worrying about it, I doubt it would have ever crossed my mind.

Mini 14 Bros are excited