BSF Carbon Fiber Barrel [Review]

Looking for bull barrel accuracy in a lightweight package? Check out the new generation of barrels…carbon fiber, baby!

We cover the most popular ones in Best Carbon Fiber Barrels…but today we focus on BSF which brings us perforated carbon fiber instead of a wrap. Plus…compared to the others out there…the BSF is the most affordable (I use that term loosely).

Who Is It For?

• Competition shooters who want a stiff bull barrel profile but not all the weight
• Shooters who don’t want their barrel heating up and all the accuracy problems that come with it
• Someone who needs your barrel to look really really cool

About BSF

I only heard about BSF in the last year but they are making a splash in the carbon fiber (CF) arena with their perforated barrels instead of standard wraps. My understanding is that there’s a 416R stainless steel match barrel underneath there that is covered with CF.  However…95% of the CF doesn’t even touch the steel (only 4 contact points: chamber, before/after the gas block, and near the muzzle). This creates air gaps that cool the barrel through the perforations.

I was lucky enough to try this out in a new build thanks to Rainier Arms who sent me a barrel for testing.

Fit & Feel

The barrel was a sight to behold.  Even the wife said it was cool…and by now all the barrels and uppers around the house look the same to her. I tried out the 16.5″ .223 Wylde in 1:8 twist which clocks in at 26.9 oz.  Compare that to a standard M4 profile 16″ barrel at 28 oz.  If you want to go bull barrel stainless…it can reach 3 lbs (48 oz).  I couldn’t find exact numbers since I could only find 18″ bull barrels that are over 3.5 lbs.

My full build which contains all my favorites:

• F1 Firearms UDR-155-3G Upper Receiver (Best AR-15 Uppers)
• Brigand Arms Carbon Fiber Handguard (Best AR-15 Handguards)
• Superlative Arms .936 Adjustable Gas Block (Best Gas Blocks)
• Strike Industries J-Comp V2
• RCA Titanium BCG (Best AR-15 BCGs)
• BCM Gunfighter Charging Handle (Best Charging Handles)
• Vortex Viper PST II 1-6x (Best 1-6x Scopes)

Install

It is a little more difficult to install since there’s no barrel shoulder to gauge where to put the gas block.  But if you have an electronic caliper…you should be good. My go-to Superlative Arms block (this time in .936 for the bull barrel) went on easily after I made a small etch marking on the stainless section of the barrel.

Otherwise with my combo of the Brigand Arms CF handguard…I found that it rubbed the top of the gas block.  Which technically makes it no longer free-floating…but I wanted to see how it would shoot still. My second build was with a Midwest ML G3 handguard which made it true free-floating plus a stiffer Aero upper receiver instead of the F1.

Testing

What you’ve been waiting for…does it actually work? I conducted two rounds of tests…one with the touching CF handguard and one with the free-floating.

200 round break-in, targets at 100 yards, and shooting at a fast pace (as soon as sights were back on target) with no cooling down period.

• Lead Sled DFT ($200)
• Schmidt & Bender PMII 5-25x Scope with Larue Mount ($3500)
• Hiperfire Eclipse Trigger ($230)

And an assortment of my Best AR-15 Ammo.

If these were my regular groups with some cool-down and a slow steady shooting pace…I’d be a little disappointed.  But I wanted to test how the heat dissipation worked and how it would perform in a little more competitive arena. In that regard…I’m pretty impressed.  It was pretty happy with Wolf Gold (the cheapest ammo) and very happy with Gold Match ($$$). I also shot 30 rounds as fast as I could at the range and held the barrel.  Only warm!

In my second round of tests on another range day, I used the Midwest Handguard and Aero upper.  And a new Triggertech trigger which I actually like the most now.

And the results were on par…

All in all…pretty happy about the groups when I was shooting as fast as I could get on target with no cool down. I’m sure if I started hand-loading I could really close up the groups.  But it’s a pain to prep .223/5.56 brass so I stopped doing that.  But even with this I was ringing steel at 300-400 pretty easily on a 1-6x scope.

Specifications:

• Lightest .936 bull barrel
• Chambered in .223 Wylde
• Twist Rate 1:8
• Drilled to vent heat-fastest cooling carbon fiber barrel
• Carbon sleeved space between the carbon and stainless barrel- there are air gaps in between the stainless and the carbon
• Can be held without burning hand after 60 consecutive shots
• Match grade double stress relieved
• Roll wrapped carbon is 3 times stronger than stainless steel

By the Numbers

Reliability: 5/5

No failures of any kind in the ~400 rounds I shot through.

Accuracy: 4.5/5

Great groups when you consider shooting with no cool down and as fast as I could get back on target.  A 5 would be consisten sub-moa even at high speed.

Looks: 5/5

I’d make it a 10 if I could.  But it really stands out…especially with the sweet carbon fiber drilled holes.

Bang for the Buck: 3.5/5

It’s $500…would I count it as double a really high quality 16″ Wylde barrel?  Probably not.  But if you’re at the top of your game or want an unfair advantage in relation to your groups opening up due to heat…this could be it.  However…the most affordable out of other CF options.

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

Conclusion

I believe the hype of carbon fiber barrels now. Take a lightweight bull barrel profile with great groups at speed…and you have a winner.  If you have the coin for a sweet new build…check out BSF.  It’s definitely my new competition rifle. Ringing steel at 100 was easy standing up and with a 1x.  The rifle was well balanced and once I got the Superlative Arms gas block tuned in…it felt like a pea shooter.

I’ll be reporting back as I get more rounds and comps through it. Otherwise…check out our other Best AR-15 Barrels for something more bang-for-the-buck for the everyday shooter.