How much does barrel length actually matter for civilian purposes?
Been looking at getting an AR-15 and really wondering if it would be worth it to go with a long barrel or just get a 14.5 with pinned muzzle break?
How much does it affect the gun performance? Would it make a difference to a normal civilian shooter just popping targets in the back yard?
Seems like a 14.5 would be easier to handle than a 16 or a 20.
>>29713111
Carbine go 11.5-14.5
Midlength go 16.1"
Rifle go 20"
This is if you want absolute reliability with a stoner gas system
When you start going 14.5 middies or 16 carbines you run into issues
your 14.5 ends up being 16 anyways cause the flashider adds like an inch and a half anyways
it makes no difference
hell even 20 is perfectly manageable indoors unless you are in a car or closet
a pinned flashhider will fuck with performance in the long term since crap will build up under it leading to a loss in accuracy(dont worry about it this is like thousands of rounds later)
since its fixed its a real pain in the ass to clean
>>29713111
>Been looking at getting an AR-15
20" or bust.
>>29713111
get a 14.5 only if you want some sopmod or military m4 clone. 16 inch midlength is what you should get if you just want an ar15.
>>29713172
>your 14.5 ends up being 16 anyways cause the flashider adds like an inch and a half anyways
>it makes no difference
Wouldn't that actually mean that the 16 would be a 17.5 after you add a muzzle break?
>>29713197
>not offering any reasons
16" damage control, everyone
>>29713111
>16" below AR
Either make it NFA or remove the stock and add a sling to classify it as a "pistol", otherwise, you're not getting anyything out of a "14.5" in. AR
I like my shorty. 16" and 20" are fine though. You don't get much better ballistics past 16", and you don't sacrifice all that much until you get under 10".
>>29713111
If in the US, I would go 16" before I went 14.5" just to avoid having to get a tax stamp for it and because 1.5" isn't going to matter for a recreational firearm. Pinning the break on will make it 16" anyway. If a half inch matters that much, run a 16" barrel with a target crown.
Beyond that, you probably aren't going to need to worry about precision all that much, so twist rate isn't going to matter all that much. It isn't like you are going to rip the jacket off a 55gr bullet with a 1 in 7 twist and it will shoot anything you are going to plink with well enough.
While a 16" barreled rifle will be fine, I have found that I much more enjoy 20" barreled A2 style rifles. Just personal preference.
>>29713209
yeah but if you really were about the omg barrel length you could just put a plain thread protector on a 16 and have something shorter than the pinned gun
>>29713226
>16" damage control, everyone
what...
>>29713111
>break
>>29713283
No, you'd have a 16" barrel without a muzzle break or a you could have a pinned barrel with an effective length of 16" with a muzzle break.
>>29713306
most of the pinned barrels arent exactly 16
they end up being 16.1 or more depending on what gets pinned
The vast, vast majority of AR owners in the US would be best served with an 18" barrel.
Get a rifle length gas system on an 18" and you'll have a wonderfully shooting rifle with great velocity.
20 inch or 5.56 is nothing more then .22 magnum.
>>29713353
The law reads it must be >16"
16.1" is standard. Some companies do 16.5"
muzzle velocity/energy
20-21 inch barrel gives you the most.
longer barrels also mean more twist applied to the bullet.
>>29713306
>break
>>29713353
Literal autism.
>>29713360
This desu senpai
I think the best GP rifle is an 18" Rifle with collapsible stock and 1-4x optic like an Accupower or Leupold
the main reason for going 16 over anything less than 16 is that you don't need to SBR it and can change the muzzle device
>>29713364
But that's wrong you fucking retard.
>>29713360
Any particular reasons as to why?
>>29713434
See>>29713420
18" is an excellent middle ground between 16" and 20"
You add on a ton of velocity with the addition of 2 inches to a 16", get a rifle length has system(therefore a softer shooting rifle)
Stepping another 2 inches up leads to an slight increase in velocity; and a noticeable increase in weight and barrel length.
>>29713232
If I knew then what I know now, I'd have gotten a 20" barrel. The majority of quality bullets in an inexpensive, accurate round that I most often find are nearly all .223.
That additional ~25fps per inch of barrel would have been nice considering the milder loads for .223.
14.5 is really handy. It's nice and short, perfectly handy indoors. But imho, the best sbr length is 12.5. It looks good and still has decent velocity. Below 10.5 is retarded. My next rifle will be 18 inches
>>29713473
>>29713487
So what do you think of 18 vs 20 inch?
>>29713111
I'd go 16". Delta and other Special Forces guys actually go 16" on their weapons. 14.5" or shorter, like the 10' "CAR15"/Colt Commando. are really only good for shoving as many dudes as possible with a rifle into a helicopter or some other vehicle. You change the cyclic rate, chamber pressures, etc. going that small and it makes the gun less reliable, louder, and your lead your sending downrange is much slower.
As an aside, independent verification from Warsaw Pact countries support this. In 1988-89, East Germany was working on making a line of AK-derived weapons (called Wieger) to rival HK and get some money into the East German Economy. They redesigned the AK-74u/AK-carbine from an 8" barrel to something like a 12.6" barrel. The modern AK-102, 104 and 105 carbines also follow suit, for the same reason. The short gas system on the AK is by far the least reliable, and again, you give up a lot in velocity.
>>29713694
I think that if you are willing to put an extra 2 inches of rifle on, 20" is better.
I don't think the extra 2 inches justifies the lesser mobility indoors though.
>>29713226
I prefer 16 as it lets you use Armalite's midlength gas or based Knight's SR-25 length gas system. Both offering exceptional durability and reliability upgrades.
I have other NFA items so if I wanted and SBR it would be no problem. I just don't see any point in a 14.5", pinned or otherwise. 10.3" is what I'd want for a carbine gas gun.
>>29713750
Does two inches actually impact mobility that much?
>>29713699
>AK-74u
>unreliable
Nigger what, i've seen this thing shooting reliably even without the booster.
>>29713869
He didn't say unreliable, he said least reliable.
>>29713869
I said it was less reliable than the standard AK system.
Reading comprehension is your friend, dog.
>>29713859
Do girls value an extra 2 inches on a dick?
Yes
It makes a difference
There's literally no reason to get 14.5's unless you plan on pretending to operate from vehicles or some shit or you're a uber manlet/ woman. Everyone who memes about 'muh mobility' is brain dead stupid. Life isn't a videogame, a shorter barrel has no effect on the handling characteristics. Soldiers prefer carbines because they have to operate in tight quarters, or dismount and fight from vehicles or tight APC's, or spend 95 percent of the time NOT using their weapon and want something easier to carry. That is when a 20 inch might be a bit clunky.
Just get a 20" lightweight, Best AR.
>>29713889
If you're dick is already 18 inches an extra two inches is barely a 10% increase.
Is 18 the shortest you should go on a rifle gas?
What about something like pic related, rifle gas on 16 inch barrel
>>29713930
Dissipator builds used to be a big thing in the boutique AR crowd, (rifle length gas system on a 16" barrel) but more modern free float rails kinda killed them off.
"Real Dissapator" ARs were 20" rifles which had the barrel cut down to 16". Using the rifle length gas system made it an art more than a science.
>>29713930
Any shorter than 18" and you will not have a rifle reliable enough for combat.
>>29713930
Just put a mid length gas block hidden under the handguard like regular mock disipators.
Get a bit more than mid and a bit shorter than gas obv
>>29713922
>stop liking what I don't like
>spend your money how I tell you to
![WP_20160128_003[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/Zyf0bml.jpg "WP_20160128_003[1].jpg")
>>29713922
>a shorter barrel has no effect on the handling characteristics
You're an idiot.
