U.S. Made Barrels?

Hey guys,

How are U.S. made barrels? I see them offered alongside some kits. How do they compare in quality to the originals, chrome lining (where applicable) aside? Yay? Nay? What's the consensus?

Thanks!

I have only used or inspected 1 US made barrel on an IO rifle kit from a STG 2000 front end that I converted to a AIMR style. Shoots and looks fine.
The Centruy built Yugo, Tantal and VZ58 clones use US barrels. Have not heard negative feedback. The only exception were the early Tantal US barrels., but that was more about caliber than quality.
The major difference AFAIK is that with a US barrel you have a semi-virgin build to complete. You must align the barrel components and drill the pin locations and barrel pin. Also must refinish the in the white barrel. This takes a good bit more time, patience and skill compared to a already headspaced, and complete barrel assembly with a finish on it. But if you have the tools and skills it appears they build up fine.

Thanks AKBLUE. I hadn't taken into account the extra gunsmithing to do the hole and headspace, not to mention, finish, and so on.

Some are also "true" virgin barrels without the gas ports drilled. The pins not too hard to drill, but the gas port is a bear. You really have to have a competent machinist do it. So if you're not a machinist, plan on adding that cost to your build if you have to make the gas ports. A good question to ask before you buy a kit. I've seen several kits for sale online that guys have bought with a virgin barrel and they realize it's too much work for them so they're dumping them.

Ed

I have an ace builder who can take care of that for me, though it is of course an extra expense.

Thanks Ed. :)

Anyone know of a gunsmith who can drill the gas ports and do the other necessary modifications on these barrels?

I bought one of these kits, with the US-made barrel, and if I had known what a hassle the barrel would be, I would have probably just paid a couple hundred more for a finished rifle.

Any info would be appreciated!

The US made barrel I got with my kit appears to have a rough finish. I have no idea if the bit used was worn or if the barrel was turned at high speed or both. This may affect accuracy. Head spacing the virgin barrel maybe the easiest chore to do.
Drilling the gas port can be a problem if there is nothing to support the bore of the barrel, especially if the port is drilled in one pass. A burr can be left in the bore side of the gas port hole. According to Pookie's web site, the ak74 port diameter is .076" (#48 bit), and is 11.9063" from the breech end.
By scribing a center line on the top of the barrel, it will be easier to align the rear sight, gas port and block and front sight. The extractor and lower hand guard cuts will have to be used to index the centerline. If you have access to a used stripped barrel, it can be used to help verify your measurements. I used this method to install a new barrel on my barrel less amd63 kit. I hate to rain on anyone's parade, but I was unable to use the gas block that came with my kit. For some unknown reason the ID of the GB was much larger than the barrel OD. I had to purchase another gas block. This solved the problem, but this problem could also occur with the rear and front sights.