AR 15-16in accuracy vs. 20in accuracy vs. 24in accuracy

faxmachine

faxmachine

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Are the differences in accuracy between a 16in barrel and a 24in barrel very noticable just for plinking/hunting. i will not be doing long range shooting but i still want my bullet to go where i point. i have heard alo about the extra four inches from 20-24 does not help enough to have that length and weight added. my dad may let me make a build and i wanted to know about the upper before i bought one. thanks- Fax
 
I have both 16" and 18" AR's and they shoot identical. I found the 24" to shoot real nice but unwieldy in a pickup. I don't have any problems with the short barrels out to 250 yds.
 
I have only done groups and chrono work on a 24" barrel AR, but from everything I read about the subject says that there isn't any difference in accuracy, the only difference you should see would be lower velocity with a shorter barrel. When my 24" barrel gets worn out I plan on replacing it with a 20" to get the weight down.

This is with a 24" barrel at 100 yards.
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I am shooting 3/4" 5 shot 100 yd groups with my RRA 16" using my handloads. I am sure I can find a load that will shoot even better.
 
I would not go any longer than a 20" for no other reason than they handle so much better as far as a hunting rig. I have had alot of AR's and I have cut off several 24" barrels for that reason. You wont notice any difference in accuracy in a hunting rig if you go with a good upper.
 
A shorter barrel is going to be more accurate because it cannot flex as much as a longer barrel. The trade off is velocity, there is not enough "burn time" in the barrel as compared to a 20"/24". The 16" will be quite a bit louder as well. All depends on what your planning on doing with it. The good news is that you can pick one and build the upper. Save a few more pennies and then build the other one and use the same lower for both. As said above, I wouldn't go any longer than 20" for a .223, a .204 would like the extra length.
 
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Accurate reloading did a test on a new Sako .223, cutting the barrel down in one inch steps from 22" to 10"

Testing 52gr custom moly bullets in 14 different loads, The 16" barrel had a .012" smaller group size on average than the 22", and the 22" barrel had a 225 fps faster average muzzle velocity than the 16" barrel.

Shorter barrels are generally more accurate inherently because they are stiffer.

The advantage from a longer barrel is that you can burn slower powders to get more velocity. In a .223 it might make more of difference at 600 + YDs shooting VLD bullets out of a fast twist barrel, but it doesn't make much difference using normal weight bullets.

Having said all that, I would never own a 16" barrel again. It is just way too loud. Seriously loud, as in actually painful, even for an old guy who already has "dim" hearing.

I'd get a 20" or 22" barrel.
 
I agree with everyone but would point out there are 18" AR's out there and I feel it is a nice mix. A little less noise than a 16", little and a few more FPS over the 16's. A bit lighter than a 20", quicker handleing, and just plain balanced in an off hand position. Give them all a try and see which you like best! Good luck
 
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Having said all that, I would never own a 16" barrel again. It is just way too loud. Seriously loud, as in actually painful, even for an old guy who already has "dim" hearing.




My exact experience. I finally settled on a 20 incher, and deal with the extra heft.

After my AR "learning curve", I think a heavily fluted 20 incher like Dtech offers would be an ideal callin' gun.

Accuracy wise my current 20 incher has roughly the same accuracy as my 16's had. Keep in mind mine were all production guns.

Oh ya, an 8 twist would be nifty if you can find one.
 
A few years ago I cut and recrowned a Ruger mini 14 trying to get a little more accuracy out of the thing. Went from 18.5 inches to 16.5. WOW, what a blast, the thing got really loud, annoyingly so. Needless to say, no one around was too happy about it either. The gun was sent off and rebarreled. No more 16's for me unless its a dedicated blue dot gun.
 
First off, don't be shooting any rifles without hearing protection! You will go deaf sooner than you think. 16" is really loud!

Now, I have them all and a 22" barrel is my favorite as it feels great. I have no doubt that a short barrel will shoot with a long barrel for accuracy. My 14" contender will shoot with most rifles at 100. However, vel loss is the problem. At close range, your target is not going to notice the difference. There is no degree of dead!

For long range or target work, the heavy bbls rule. All my AR's have heavy fluted barrels as I don't mind the weight. Am used to carrying a heavy rifle at work. I love my 20" and 24" rifles. You would probably be best served with a 20" and I would get a heavy fluted one. Also, for an AR 1 in 8 twist barrels rule.
 
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