User experiences with hi-desertdog's FS2000 match barrel?

[dchang0]

Hi, all--

I'm considering getting the hi-desertdog 17.4" (preferably 19", if they'll make one for me) match grade barrel. I like running my FS2000 in the local 3-gun matches, and the current barrel's 3MOA just doesn't cut it on the 400 yd, 10" steel flashers. If I run my AR with an MSTN match barrel, it's easy to hit those steels, but that's a sub-MOA barrel.

Before I drop $379 on the hi-desertdog, does anyone have any real-world experience with their FS2000 match barrels? How accurate have you gotten yours to shoot, and with what loads?

Thanks in advance!

[Mercury0_0]

Hi dchang0,
I've just purchased an FS2000 with an 18.7" High Desert Dog barrel already installed. I live in Canada and the FS2000 as it comes from the factory is classed as Restricted and you are only allowed to shoot them at an approved range. BUT... if you install a barrel that's longer than 18.5" then it can be reclassified as NON-restricted and then you can take it into the bush and shoot it. My FS2000 should be here in a week to ten days. As soon as I get it I'll take it out and see how it shoots. I'll put a decent scope on it and see how accurate it is. I wish I could give you a definitive answer right away, but I'll get back to you as soon as possible.
John

[dchang0]

No worries, John--thanks for helping me out!

I'll wait patiently for your results. Currently, I'm running 62gr PRVI Partisan .223. Already, that's one reason for the lower accuracy, running .223 in a 5.56 NATO chamber...

I'm hoping the hi-desertdog barrel has a Wylde chamber... You'll find out soon enough!

BTW, congrats on getting the FS2000--you will love it!

[ninthinning]

I have not fired a FS2000 and only handled one once at a gun shop. It seems to me the gun as it comes from FN is an accurate tack driver buried under a poor trigger. If a two stage target trigger could be installed the stock gun would likely be much more accurate. It will be interesting to see if replacing the barrel helps the accuracy. My experience with Hi Desertdog is positive.
9th

[lloydkristmas]

Look in the FN Herstal section of the "Armory" section of AR15.com, there is a guy selling a trigger piece that apparently lightens the pull.

Im not buying one, just saw it there, passing on the info

[dchang0]

Yeah, the trigger pull is awful, BUT, I've managed to improve mine quite a bit from the out-of-the-box experience.

Aside from having fired about 500 rounds through it in the past three months, which smoothed it out immensely, I also did what some guys advocate and took out the coathanger trigger bar and polished it a bit. I did not polish the channels in the stock that the trigger bar goes into.

When putting it back together, I used bicycle chain grease ("Mike's Tenacious Oil") to lube up the trigger bar.

I did see that guy's "Neu trigger," which is a simple piece of sheet metal cut and wrapped around one half of the sear in the trigger pack. I figured that a good polish job of the sear surfaces is just as good, so I broke out the Dremel and polished the sear on the hammer until it turned shiny. Results have been good so far--I can pull the trigger without visibly moving the front sight. It no longer "stacks," just as the maker of the "Neu trigger" notes that his trigger mod does.

I guess all that's left is to address the high trigger pull weight, and that can really only be done by swapping springs, etc. Not sure I want to do that, though it is probably safe to do so up to a limit. The trigger in my FS2000 is only bad on the very first pull, when taking up the slack. After that, the resets are delicious, just like on a Glock, so follow-up shots are very clean and easy.


At this point, I'm pretty sure it's the barrel, since when I was shooting at the 400yd targets, I was heavily braced against a wooden post fence. The front end of the FS2000 (w/ Tri-Rail) was stuffed into the fence, sticking between some slats, and I was still unable to hit the 10" steels in one or two shots, as I am with my match-barreled AR. The AR used to have a chrome-lined barrel and was also as difficult to hit rapidly at 400yds, and it has always had a 4lb trigger in it. When the barrel was replaced with a 17" MSTN/Noveske match stainless barrel, suddenly, it got so much easier to hit. I doubt that hi-desertdog's barrels are quite as good as the famous Noveske barrels, but they are probably quite a bit better than any chrome-lined 5.56 NATO barrel.

[dchang0]

Hi dchang0,
I've just purchased an FS2000 with an 18.7" High Desert Dog barrel already installed. I live in Canada and the FS2000 as it comes from the factory is classed as Restricted and you are only allowed to shoot them at an approved range. BUT... if you install a barrel that's longer than 18.5" then it can be reclassified as NON-restricted and then you can take it into the bush and shoot it. My FS2000 should be here in a week to ten days. As soon as I get it I'll take it out and see how it shoots. I'll put a decent scope on it and see how accurate it is. I wish I could give you a definitive answer right away, but I'll get back to you as soon as possible.
John

How goes it with your new FS2000, John?

[Mercury0_0]

It should arrive today. Hopefully I'll have time to shoot it this weekend.

[dchang0]

That is absolutely awesome. You will LOVE your FS2000.

BTW, it occurred to me that there are muzzle brakes out there that can extend the length of the barrel quite a bit. The SJC Titan adds 3" to the barrel length from the crown, so if that helps you in any way (or anyone else trying to meet some arbitrary legally-required minimum length), keep that in mind. It happens to be one of the best brakes out there, though it is also the loudest I have ever come across.

[dchang0]

Hey, hope you had a great Labor Day weekend. How'd it go with your new FS2000?

I have spoken with hi-desertdog, and though their website doesn't mention the 18.4" barrel as an option, they assure me that they can make any lenght I need. I think I'll ask for 18.5" so that I can use any AR15-style muzzle device and still meet California's minimum length requirements.