What AR15 barrel length is the most relevant.

Selected a barrel length based on the question in the OP.

  • 10.5" - 11.5"

    Votes: 36 9.3%

  • 14.5"

    Votes: 123 31.8%

  • 16"

    Votes: 164 42.4%

  • 20"

    Votes: 64 16.5%
  • Total voters
    387
C

cancer

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Lately I've been noticing that the shorty AR fad seems to be dying down, and 14.5" Norincos are flooding the market, meanwhile 16" and 20" ARs are perpetually popping up in WTS ads in the EE. So I pose this question to my peers (armchair commandos, professionals and competitive users alike):

What barrel length is the most relevant (for now and the future) in Military/LEO and Competition situations for the AR15 based platform?
 
Most police seem to be going with 16" over 14.5", as are the CF with the newer 16" C8 vs the older 14.5". The 1.5" difference offers better ballistics, while being basically just as handy around vehicles, etc.

For service rifle shooting, the 20" remains king.
 
dangertree said:
Most police seem to be going with 16" over 14.5", as are the CF with the newer 16" C8 vs the older 14.5". The 1.5" difference offers better ballistics, while being basically just as handy around vehicles, etc.

For service rifle shooting, the 20" remains king.
Click to expand...
Reading your post makes me wish there was an edit function for the poll. I should've made it so you can select multiple lengths. Oh well, whichever one's the best overall will have to suffice.
 
"Most relevant" fails to address the real question. Most relevant for WHAT?

As posted, 16" gives the best combination of length and ballistic performance. Most 16" rifles are either carbine length gas systems or mid length gas systems. Of the two, the mid length offers smoother, less violent, more reliable functioning over the carbine gas. Rifle length gas systems being the most reliable as that is the original design spec. Again, depending on what you're doing with the rifle, the "most relevant" barrel length varies.

TDC
 
simpleton said:
I think my next upper build will be a 18", possibly even 16", in a rifle length gas system.


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From what I've heard and read, a 16" barrel with rifle length gas is not reliable without gas port work. Don't quote me but the word on the street says such a setup has issues. I'd love the same thing but I'm too chicken sh*t to experiment.

TDC
 
I'm still partial to the original 20", but then again I'm still using the old straight 20 rounders. :redface: Call me old fashioned but I like that extra punch and accuracy the 20" gives.
 
cancer said:
What barrel length is the most relevant (for now and the future) in Military/LEO and Competition situations for the AR15 based platform?
Click to expand...

Again, most relevent for NOW and the FUTURE leaves the interpretation wide open. Toss in MIL/LE and competition to really increase the variables.

Opinions are worthless without facts to support them.

TDC
 
for sure,me i would like to go with a longer barrel,like 22-24 .

ar-15 are great mid-distance shooters if stiff enough,i just dont understand why poeples would use a short barreled ar's, making them more suited for short distance accuracy.

i fell on a test with MRP-LMT involved against high-end bolt action riffles,in a competition where police snippers and ex-army snippers where competing,and the sole guy with a 24 barreled ar's was among the top long distance(600 meters) shooters,not THE most accurate at long distance shooting, but AMONG the top ones.

a stiff barrel-chamber-piston assembly IS mandatory with any AR's seeking mid-long distance accuracy.

on top of that,a well built ar might be lighter than heavy snipper bolt action guns.imo.
 
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Very little interest in mid-length gas systems in military/police usage. All things equal, the lower pressure longer gas tube system (9" vs 7") will crap out before the carbine length system will as things carbon/grit/foul up and max pressure is required for reliable cycling. I've spoken to three different military manufacturer engineers on the topic, all three said things to the effect of 'starting with lower available operating pressure is a non-starter', none saw it as anything other than a civilian-only/marketing based concept. I've fired 9" gas tube 16" carbines, but I don't see any 'softer' cycling than a 7" carbine length gas system with a H buffer, which I run in all my carbines as a matter of course (or H2 with higher pressure ammo).
 
24" ARs ARE excellent, but have not been as available through the years vs the 20". This is changing now, with rifles like the Stag Arms Model 6 becoming available. Mark Malkowski, the CEO of Stag Arms told me that he initially thought the 24" would be a smaller niche seller but was a rifle he wanted to make, but since it's introduction last they have been unable to keep up with the strong demand for it, and that it has surprised him. So, there is definitely a market for the long range AR.
 
TDC said:
From what I've heard and read, a 16" barrel with rifle length gas is not reliable without gas port work. Don't quote me but the word on the street says such a setup has issues. I'd love the same thing but I'm too chicken sh*t to experiment.

TDC
Click to expand...

I here the same thing. 18' on a rifle length system functions fine, but the 16" requires tweaking. I hear a gas port drilled for 0.111" (basically 7/64 drill bit), solves the reliability problem. I might try the 18" first.


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I have owned a few different ARs with 16" barrels and ALL of them functioned 100%.
They were accurate and dependable.

If I ever venture back into ARs I will get myself an 11.5" SBR :cool:
 
dangertree said:
24" ARs ARE excellent, but have not been as available through the years vs the 20". This is changing now, with rifles like the Stag Arms Model 6 becoming available. Mark Malkowski, the CEO of Stag Arms told me that he initially thought the 24" would be a smaller niche seller but was a rifle he wanted to make, but since it's introduction last they have been unable to keep up with the strong demand for it, and that it has surprised him. So, there is definitely a market for the long range AR.
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It probably has to do with the hunting market being much more open to AR these days. The traditional mindset in the hunting crowd and the target crowd is still - longer the better. :D
 
dangertree said:
Very little interest in mid-length gas systems in military/police usage. All things equal, the lower pressure longer gas tube system (9" vs 7") will crap out before the carbine length system will as things carbon/grit/foul up and max pressure is required for reliable cycling. I've spoken to three different military manufacturer engineers on the topic, all three said things to the effect of 'starting with lower available operating pressure is a non-starter', none saw it as anything other than a civilian-only/marketing based concept. I've fired 9" gas tube 16" carbines, but I don't see any 'softer' cycling than a 7" carbine length gas system with a H buffer, which I run in all my carbines as a matter of course (or H2 with higher pressure ammo).
Click to expand...

That's funny, a rifle length gas system has even less initial operating pressure, yet they run like a clock. I wouldn't say the midlength is civilian only in marketing as KAC, Armalite, CMMG, RRA, Sabre Defense, and Noveske to name a few offer midlength options. As for operation, I can feel a noticeable difference in felt recoil between my midlength and a carbine of identical setup. Aside from the felt recoil and lower pressures, you gain ballistic performance with any 16" barrel that is comparable to a 20".

http://ar15barrels.com/gfx/223plot.gif
TDC
 
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