Faxon Firearms is announcing a trio of new big-bore .308 Winchester/7.62 NATO barrels with for DPMS LR-308-compatible AR-style rifles. These barrels feature 5R rifling, an Obermeyer Rifled Barrels hallmark, a type of rifling popular with target shooters and hunters especially for shooting at longer ranges.
Designed to improve accuracy and reduce bullet drag by causing less projectile deformation, the 5R rifling process is only used by select barrel manufacturers and it’s a real feather in the Faxon Firearms cap. Many amateur and professional shooters have praised the performance of Faxon’s barrels but this is a serious stamp of approval from a company whose reputation is built on quality barrel manufacturing.
Faxon has two new medium-weight tapered 5R barrels optimized for hard use machined from 4150 chrome alloy steel and a new heavy-profile 416-R stainless steel 5R barrel for an edge with precision shooting. The medium-weight barrels are offered in 16- and 18-inch lengths while the heavy profile is 18 inches long with straight fluting. All have mid-length gas systems and high-polish QPQ salt bath nitride finishes in addition to 11-degree target crowns.
Like all Faxon barrels they’re priced more than competitively, starting at $269 for the 16-inch medium barrel and $289 18-inch medium barrel. The heavy fluted barrel is the most expensive but at $329 it’s easily still one of the most affordable barrels with its features on the .308 market today. The medium barrels weigh 2.1 and 2.28 pounds depending on length where the heavy profile, thanks to the fluting, is still fairly light at just 2.31 pounds.
See Also: Introducing the Ruger Precision Rifle with 5R Rifling
With these three new additions Faxon’s got 12 .308 Win. options to choose from in lengths varying from 16 to 20 inches. All are 4150 alloy or 416-R stainless steel, with Faxon’s slick QPQ treatment, and pricing starting at $239. All of the 16- and 18-inch barrels have mid-length gas systems while the 20-inch barrels have full rifle-length gas systems.
Faxon’s .308 barrels all have 1-in-10 twists for shooting a wide range of bullet weights and have standard 5/8-24 threading for muzzle accessories. All have .750 shoulders at the gas block and are available with optional low-profile gas blocks and gas tubes as extras for just a few bucks more.
Now that Faxon has 5R rifling it’s going to be harder for some shooters to write them off as a budget barrel builder. Faxon’s barrels are affordable across the board but that doesn’t mean they cut corners. They achieve these low prices by building 100 percent of these barrels in-house in Ohio from start to finish.
In addition to these .308 Winchester barrels Faxon offers a full spread of AR-15 barrels, too, with popular chamberings including .223 Wylde, 5.56 NATO, 7.62x39mm and 300 AAC Blackout, for pistols, short-barreled rifles, carbines and full-size rifles, all at very approachable prices.
For more information about these and other Faxon products visit https://faxonfirearms.com/