AR 16" barrel question

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I've been looking at a lot of AR15's with 16" barrels, and most of them look to me like the barrel is sticking out too far. There's a little ring where the barrel gets thinner just past the front sight, and then it gets thick again.

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Can anyone tell me what that's for?
 
It's an M203 (grenade launcher) cutout.

It allows the M203 to attach directly to the barrel. It's normally seen on 14.5" barrels (a la US M4A1), but they make them on some 16" too for some reason.

Personally, I agree that it looks like the barrel is sticking out too far. A carbine length gas system looks stupid with a 16" barrel.
 
I like the 16" carbine. The extra 1.5" increases accuracy over the M4 14.5" barrel. I did not believe it until I tried it for myself. The little extra barrel weight also helps the rifle's stability. I noticed that Colt Canada is now making a 16" barrel version of the carbine as a military request no doubt.
 
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I don't really mind the 16" barrel, but I just always think it looks goofy sticking so far out of the handguards. I guess it's not made to look good, it's made to work, but still... ;)

Well, I guess I'll have to hit up either Wolverine for an Armalite, or I see Questar has a 16" with mid-length handguards from RRA on their site as well.

Thanks for the info guys!
 
Depends who you listen to.

US mil testing showed that the 16" bbl with the carbine gas system typically "over gassed" the system and has less reliability than the M4 or midlength systems. However Diemaco's SFW is a 16" that meets or exceeds the avg M4 relibility.
 
KevinB said:
Depends who you listen to.

US mil testing showed that the 16" bbl with the carbine gas system typically "over gassed" the system and has less reliability than the M4 or midlength systems. However Diemaco's SFW is a 16" that meets or exceeds the avg M4 relibility.
Click to expand...

How about for us monkeys who dont have access to Diemaco? Stick with midlength?
 
My next upper will be a stainless mid-length, when I save up some $$$.

Why? Because I havn't had one yet! And I need that front sight a little farther away so I can see it.:eek:

Right now RRA seems to be the only option.
 
There are a number of good (exceptional) builders in the US that you could have Questar import one built to your specs.

MSTN
ADCO
Denny - Global Tactical

etc.

BigRed has a sweet middy Recce
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and I am a huge fan of custom middy's
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There is nothing wrong with a 16". It reduces the overall lenght to make it more handy and still have a long enough barrel to provide some extra punch. While it does look a little long next to a M4 I still prefer the former.
 
That's definately NOT a midlength gas system. That's rifle length.

UNLESS, the FSB is just pinned there, and the gas block is actually a low-pro one under the handguards.
 
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