The elusive 20inch AR15 BBL

Longer barrels in a standard AR recevier are generally bad juju.

SOCOM via Crane (but out to a lot of the SFG's) tested a variety of barrel lengths when they descided on the 18".

Longer Heavier Barrels can flex the AR uppers - which can lead to several issues, reduced reliability being a minor part of that.

Frankly if you want a longer barrel than 16" in 5.56mm I think you need to re-think your caliber.

Questions (for the sake of information):

1) What is the maximum barrel length do you reccommend for an AR15?

2) If shooting 5.56 out of 16" AR barrel requires a person to rethink caliber- what caliber would you point said person in the direction? .223 Wylde? .300 Blackout/Whisper? 6.8SPC?
 
Questions (for the sake of information):

1) What is the maximum barrel length do you reccommend for an AR15?

2) If shooting 5.56 out of 16" AR barrel requires a person to rethink caliber- what caliber would you point said person in the direction? .223 Wylde? .300 Blackout/Whisper? 6.8SPC?

I'm guessing he'll say .308.
 
Damn, I guess I had better trim down my 26 inch bolt action barrel then.

Wait a minute, I used to have a 24 inch barrel on my AR. I had it cut to 20 inches and lost about 100 fps. An my 14.5 inch barrel shoots the same load slower still . I guess my barrels must must be some weird freak of nature that obey the laws of physics.

If your barrel is longer, gas pressure acts on the bullet longer, accelerating it to higher velocity. Why do you think long barrels are are used for long range rifles. Talk to an F class or TR shooter. None of them are using shorties.

I happen to find my 20 inch to be a handy length, not too long or awkward. Other use 24 inchers well too. I don't agree that a 20 inch barrel is a fail in anyway.

One of the reasons the CF stuck with the 20" barrel on the C7A2.
 
Longer barrels mean more velocity, I believe 55gr needs to be at least at 2,700FPS to fragment. The shorter your barrel, the shorter your killing range. That's why the Marines stuck with their full sized M16's.



Also, the shorter the barrel the harder it is erosion wise on the gas block. Many of the M4's shortcomings can be attributed to the extra wear caused by the shorter barrel when using a DI system.

You get 2,700 FPS with a 10" barrel... Your point is invalid.

Listen to Kevin B. He knows a thing or two............
 
You get 2,700 FPS with a 10" barrel... Your point is invalid.

Listen to Kevin B. He knows a thing or two............

I'm not trying to hijack the thread but that statement itself is incorrect. Yes you can achieve 2,700 fps at the muzzle from a 10" but it won't be over that 150 yrds away.


Now it may seem like a moot point to have "killing power" as a paper punching civilian using a range queen but to discredit the 20" as being useless is a blanket statement. It may be useless for YOUR applications but not to everyone.

Now there isn't a golden fragmentation threshold, it varies by bullet grain, however. When you start having 10" barrels you don't leave yourself a lot of room to play.

If an AR firing NATO Ball ammunition out of a 14 1/2" barrel leaves the threshold after 65yrds, what do you think the "effective range" of a 10" barrel firing that same ammunition would be? Probably around 40yrds.

223-ballistics-2.jpg


Source
 
Totally agree mini15 and your chart backs up what the Surefire Combat Tactics article/experiment showed too. I really like 10" barrels but the longer ones are gonna work a whole lot better in a SHTF scenario.
 
FSB installed? This suggests that it would be an excellent barrel for assembling an issue configured rifle. i.e. with barrel nut, weld spring, delta ring and a pair of handguards & related hardware. Great for an A2 project.
For a DMR, maybe not so much.
 
Sorry I got cut off at work when I was posting.

Crane also had longer than 20" uppers - 22" and 24" barrels where tried as well. For the 5.56mm effective range zone - Crane decided that the 18" barrel was optimal from a precision standpoint to 800m

The original user group had wanted a 16" precision upper - but you see what happens when a comittee assists ;)



Terminally - its not like a bullet just stops being effective below its fragmenting velocity. BoatTail bullets tend to yaw regardless when they run into human tissue.
Bullet placement is more important than anything.

Also keep in mind Military decision are based on several factors.



To the OP who mistakenly beleive I was saying the original Gene Stoner 20" was 'wrong' - no, he built the system based on downsizing from the 20" 7.62mm AR-10
the 20" M16 barrel profile was fine -- however a heavy longer barrel is not fine.
 
.....the 20" M16 barrel profile was fine -- however a heavy longer barrel is not fine.

Apart from stresses applied to the upper receiver by a long heavy barrel and ballistic issues, these long heavy barrels have a negative affect on the handling of the rifle. This is significant if the rifle is going to be used for anything more than bench/rested/bipoded shooting
 
Kevin

I think by 'OP' you mean me. I wasn't trying to imply you were saying anything negative. (I have enough trouble with words in my own mouth, no point putting then in others) Just asking for clarification regaring 20 inch barrels being bad juju. You have clarifed this for me. Thanks.
 
Interesting seeing people suggest that 20" rifles should be pitched. Personally, I like the extra velocity. If only pencil barrels were more common...

Honestly, for what I do, a pencil barrel would work fine but I will live contently with my somewhat heavier profile.

I have a reliable rifle, a reliable load and a good enough optic. Now I have to work on that jerk behind the trigger :D
 
Honestly, for what I do, a pencil barrel would work fine but I will live contently with my somewhat heavier profile.

I have a reliable rifle, a reliable load and a good enough optic. Now I have to work on that jerk behind the trigger :D

That jerk has given me pleanty of sound advice the last while!!! :)
 
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