[t42beal13t]

Hey guys,
I'm debating a more accurate upper for my RRA NM lower. I'm pretty sure I'll get a White Oak upper but my only concern is barrel life. I'm just a poor college student and can't afford both a competition AR and a plinking AR, but I would like to do both.

How long until the Match barrel found on any competition will burn out if I plink and compete?

Is there a barrel/upper that has great accuracy but still has a high round count before it needs to be replaced?

 

[TCAF]

Sir, the standard barrel from WOA is a Wilson 1x7. They are great barrels and most folks replace them around the 3000 round count, sometimes less. They may still even hammer from the short lines with high round counts, but do lose their accuracy at 600. The beauty of Wilson barrels is that they cost half of what a Kreiger does. When it comes time to re-barrel just buy another Wilson and you'll be good to go. John Holliger uses Wilson's IIRC. Kreigers should last 4-5000 rounds, but you'll definitely pay extra for it. HTH

 

[82nd ABN]

An example for your comparison shopping. I ordered a kriegers hbar and sent that along with a woa bcg to woa. I am haveing them build an 1/4x1/4 nm A2 upper for me with the free float tube they offer. The barrel was right around 400, the bcg was if I remember correctly 130 or so and the cost to build it with there parts to include a complete lower kit is 650. It should be done in a couple of weeks. Hope this helps with your decision.

 

[jameslawson71]

Hey guys,
I'm debating a more accurate upper for my RRA NM lower. I'm pretty sure I'll get a White Oak upper but my only concern is barrel life. I'm just a poor college student and can't afford both a competition AR and a plinking AR, but I would like to do both.

How long until the Match barrel found on any competition will burn out if I plink and compete?

Is there a barrel/upper that has great accuracy but still has a high round count before it needs to be replaced?

If you want to "compete" (meaning do well), you will never "plink". You must always train if you want to shoot and be competitive....

Depends on the barrel to answer your question. Hollinger puts together some of the best uppers around. I own 2, but unless you specifically ask for a specific make in barrel, you will get what John is working with. That could be a Pac-Nor, Wilson, Krieger (if you ask and pay more for it), etc. The barrel will ultimately determine how many rounds will accurately come out of it (and your loads). I change mine every season in my comp guns and go through @ 3000+ per season, training and competing (not plinking). Ive used Wilsons and Kriegers, but after about 3000 and change, they get changed out. That doesnt mean they wont keep shooting, its just that I dont want to find out in the middle of the match season or during a match. SS barrels tend to just "stop" shooting all of a sudden. Really, they just quit and you will know. CM barrels tend to "wind down"... I prefer CM, but also use SS.

 

[TCAF]

If you want to "compete" (meaning do well), you will never "plink". You must always train if you want to shoot and be competitive....

Depends on the barrel to answer your question. Hollinger puts together some of the best uppers around. I own 2, but unless you specifically ask for a specific make in barrel, you will get what John is working with. That could be a Pac-Nor, Wilson, Krieger (if you ask and pay more for it), etc.

True, unless you buy a complete upper from White Oak Armament, then you'll get a Wison 1x7. There's 2 sides to John's shop. The other is White Oak Precision where you can order whatever you'd like.

www.whiteoakarmament.com

http://www.whiteoakprecision.com/

 

[jameslawson71]

True, unless you buy a complete upper from White Oak Armament, then you'll get a Wison 1x7. There's 2 sides to John's shop. The other is White Oak Precision where you can order whatever you'd like.

www.whiteoakarmament.com

http://www.whiteoakprecision.com/

Thats what I said...You can specify or get what they give, but yes, thank you for pointing out the 2 sides to the business...

 

[t42beal13t]

If you want to "compete" (meaning do well), you will never "plink". You must always train if you want to shoot and be competitive....

Yeah, I guess what I do isn't actually "plinking." When I shoot its normally rifleman's cadence at 25 yds. But sometimes it is fun to fly through a mag in a AK. But then again, it's an AK...

 

[t42beal13t]

What bout the RRA NM A2 complete upper? They are roughly the same price as a White Oak, but their website doesn't list what type of barrel they use.

 

[TCAF]

What bout the RRA NM A2 complete upper? They are roughly the same price as a White Oak, but their website doesn't list what type of barrel they use.

RRA are very good uppers. They use a Wilson in 1x8 instead of the 1x7 which will still stabilize the heavier .223 match bullets just fine. WOA offers a couple of things the RRA upper doesn't however. One is a windage adjustable front sight. This is important when you're no wind zero and mech. zero don't match. I've heard of a few RRA uppers where one has to move the rear sight left or right quite a bit to get a no wind zero. The other is pinned rear sights which I would recommend, however, they cost a few dollars more and aren't absolutely necessary. But if you get the pinned rear sights you'll know that they will never be an issue. For the same money, I'd definitely go with White Oak Armament. HTH

 

[t42beal13t]

The other is pinned rear sights which I would recommend, however, they cost a few dollars more and aren't absolutely necessary. But if you get the pinned rear sights you'll know that they will never be an issue. For the same money, I'd definitely go with White Oak Armament. HTH

What exactly does the pinned sight accomplish?

 

[TCAF]

The pins basically keep your sights from moving around. But from the *** website:

The White Oak Precision rear sight eliminates unwanted movement on all axes by combination of quality parts and meticulous assembly. Two hardened steel tracking pins are fitted down through the sight base and into the receiver, preventing rotational play of the rear sight. The tracking pins also allow the elimination of the detent ball and spring on the left side of the base, greatly improving repeatability. The elevation thread fit to the receiver is held to close tolerances; this, along with a second elevation wheel ball detent, will prevent lateral movement of the rear sight base. The sight base screw and the windage screw are precision machined to our specifications.

http://www.whiteoakprecision.com/uppers-service.htm

In HP shooting it's all about the repeatability of- everything. HTH

 

[82nd ABN]

One more thing woa does is not pin the front sight base rather they machine flats on the barrel and use three set screws to secure the front sight base. Theory behind it is no hole in the barrel and or pin through the barrel which is said to distort the bore. I am not sure it is totaly nessasary but it seems to be the trend on nm uppers

 

[t42beal13t]

In HP shooting it's all about the repeatability of- everything. HTH

Are there any negatives to pinning the rear sight?

 

[TCAF]

Are there any negatives to pinning the rear sight?

Other than the extra $55.00 WOA charges, absolutely not. My WOA upper is pinned and I have used it about 4 full years now. Round count is around 2000 on the Wilson barrel, but it still shoots very well, and the rear sights haven't moved a bit. My next WOA upper will have pinned sights as well.

 

[jameslawson71]

Are there any negatives to pinning the rear sight?

No negatives for me either, though I haven't really experienced any "major" benefit (on target) other than a comfort in knowing it ain't moving. Meaning, my other rifles with non-pinned match sights (Northern Competition) have never given me problems and don't shoot "any less" than the pinned ones....

There's people out there with stock Bushmaster DCMs (no pins) that will still "smoke" [some] people with the all the pins they can install in their sights, on any given day.. Its really a "nice to have", when all is said and done.

Ive decided, having used both, that as long as its a good sight, that tracks right, it really comes down to the shooter... Good sights without pins will have some play with appropriate pressure but they end up in the same place after pressure is removed. Its the possible "wearing" of the sight offset spring/detent (and the receiver carry handle inside between it and the rear sight) that the "pinning" helps get rid of (and that's the real, if only "supposed", benefit)... Otherwise, good sights, in good order, will always track well and go back to the same place...