Best ar-15 shorty type and why?

mag627

mag627

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looking at 10.5 to 14.5 variant of an ar15, and need to know the following:
- I read that .223 works/runs best at 14.5 or longer and anything shorter is not good, is this true or will any barrel length be ok?
- Not that I anticipate CQC in my future, besides cool factor and lighter weight, is there any advantage to the shorter barrels?
- Can they be decked out with all the 'cool' add ons (lights, bipods, eotechs etc)?
- Is there a better category (eg stag vs lewis tool etc)?
- Who has the heavy barrels?
- will the Lar-15 mags fit in any/all of them?
Thanks for any replies
Cheers
 
mag627 said:
looking at 10.5 to 14.5 variant of an ar15, and need to know the following:
- I read that .223 works/runs best at 14.5 or longer and anything shorter is not good, is this true or will any barrel length be ok?
Click to expand...

There is a slight loss in muzzle velocity and the bullet effectiveness (with 55 and 62 gr. ammo) on anything shorter than 14.5". But unless you're shooting bad guys you won't really notice. Reliability has been an issue with short barrel carbines below 14.5", issues with gas port size, action timing, buffer weight etc. come into play. LMT's 10.5" is optimised for reliability.

mag627 said:
Not that I anticipate CQC in my future, besides cool factor and lighter weight, is there any advantage to the shorter barrels?
Click to expand...

Carbines are better balanced, more maneuverable in tight quarters...

mag627 said:
Can they be decked out with all the 'cool' add ons (lights, bipods, eotechs etc)?
Click to expand...

Sure can, but you need a flat-top receiver, pretty much standard these days. You can also get a forward quad-rail that will replace the stock plastic handguards over the barrel and allow you to mount tacti-cool gadgets.

mag627 said:
Is there a better category (eg stag vs lewis tool etc)?
Click to expand...

LMT (Lewis Machine & Tool) and Stag Arms both make solid rifles using parts designed to meet military specifications. Both supply the US military with parts. I prefer LMT. Colt is considered the holy grail of the AR-15 world, they carry a hefty price tag because they aren't officially sold to civilians in Canada. Rock River Arms also makes a quality AR at a reasonable price.

mag627 said:
Who has the heavy barrels?
Click to expand...

Wouldn't recommend a heavy barrel unless you're competing or doing fully-automatic mag dumps.

mag627 said:
will the Lar-15 mags fit in any/all of them?
Click to expand...

Ja.
 
10.5" is fine - in the last 5 years manufacturers seem to be able to get it down after the CQBR is out.

Even 7.5" works - I sold mine because they do get much dirtier than even the10.5". It was too much to clean.

It is really manufacturer depending. In general, if I want to go under 14.5, I will buy one that is made in the last few years. In the old days people do not understand the AR, their solution is to drill a bigger gas port for any problem.
 
The gas port size of the 10.3 CQBR is supposedly smaller than the the Colt 11.5. Someone finally sat down and did the proper thermodynamics analysis ( probably Crane) instead of just drilling bigger hole blindly as the barrel get shorter based on assumption.
 
not sure but...doest twist have something to do with it also? like a 1:7 is "better" then say a 1:9 for a shorty? Am I way off?
 
greentips said:
The gas port size of the 10.3 CQBR is supposedly smaller than the the Colt 11.5. Someone finally sat down and did the proper thermodynamics analysis ( probably Crane) instead of just drilling bigger hole blindly as the barrel get shorter based on assumption.
Click to expand...

It's actually way smaller that the 11.5" size...science....weird:confused:
 
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