enlighten me . why a 14.5 barrel and a 16.0 barrel . if you use the 14.5 then you use a longer brake. i don`t understand the reasons.
Are you asking why get a 14.5" and permanently attach a longer flash suppressor like the phantom or vortex to get to 16"? Itās to use the real M4 barrel length and
Some people donāt mind 16" so they can remove their FS and replace on a whim- options.
Then thereās the others who (for some reason unknown to me) go with a 16" M4 barrel without permanently attaching anything and end up with a funny looking barrel.
16" barrel + A2 FS = 17.25"
14.5" barrel + FS = 16"
A standard bayonet will work on a 14.5" carbine, but not a 16" carbine.
It wonāt fit correctly on a 16" carbine gas M4 barrel but will fit very well on a 16" midlength gas AR barrel.
Iāve got one of eachā¦
16" M4 profile with no FS. Used during the āBanā era. Now a back-up upper.
14.5 with perm attached Phantom 5C1 Comp/Flash Suppressor.
A longer FS has to be permanently attached to make the bbl length 16" to comply with the law. Otherwise you have to go the SBR route.
Hope this helps.
Why 14.5 over 16.0???
Manās Law!!!
Drink up.
Carbean
enlighten me . why a 14.5 barrel and a 16.0 barrel . if you use the 14.5 then you use a longer brake. i don`t understand the reasons.
your question is a bit vague, but here goes
14.5" used for the Military so a Bayonet can be employed
16" for the Civilian world to comply with the NFA laws that govern the legal length.
Pretty simple
Can you make a 14.5" legal.??? yes with a permanently attached Flash Suppressor which will bring the total legal length back to 16" or longer.
I think he was asking more along the lines of why you would use a 14.5" if it causes you to have to use a longer brake.
Hell, I am confused as much as beforeā¦
Go 14.7 
unless his question was āwhy would you want to permanently affix a FS?ā
hopefully heāll show back up soonā¦
The most accurate answer is probablyā¦ vanity and unwilling or unable to SBR
Though the 14.7 lt wt middie I have seems better balanced then the same
in 16ā¦but that too might just be wishfull thinking or cognitive dissonance trying
to justify having paid to have this chopped down and reprofiledā¦
One of these days I am gonna have Randall shave an old Bushmaster super light wt. down to 14.7 and see how that feelsā¦
yeah, itās the latter.
thatās why so many guys say their bushmaster is the best- they wonāt acknowledge that maybe they made a mistake.
you didnāt make a mistake though.
i do like the 14.7" carbines- look almost like a true M4 barrelā¦
Just break down and SBR if it comes to it- youāll be glad you did.
What does vanity have to do with it? Lets say you want the shortest barrel possible without getting an SBR, and you wanted a flash hider. So, you get a 14.5 and a slightly longer FS and put it on, you are at 16" exactly. If you bought a 16" barrel and put a FS on it, you would be over 17". To some people it is worth permanently attaching a FS to save that inch and change. If that doesnt answer the original question, nothing will.
I find it strange that some people cant wrap their head around the fact that a 16" barrel + A2 FS is longer than 16".
thank all of you for the replys. the basis for my length question came on the tail of my post āneed help to i d my latest buyā. as i was going over this piece i found that it had a 14.5 barrel. a few months ago i bought a r r a entry tach. it has a 16. barrel. i am pretty green re all the variations of these rifles. also you will notice that i have posted a few questions re trying to i d what i have. at this point my visual of this piece looks good. of course the true test will be in its function. any help that you all can provide will surely help. thanks again. p s , there is no ego here or mines bigger than yours here. i`m wanting to learn and <again> figure what i got myself into.
Hey- post a picture of the darn thing and itās markings on the barrel if you want to know who made it!
if you see CB MP 1/7 you are good to go.
sorry can`t do picture, but here is barrel info : B MP 5.56nato 1/9 . thats it.
Thatās a Bushmaster chrome lined 1/9 twist barrel, 5.56mm NATO chamber. But their chambers are actually a tad smaller most of the time in the neck and throat.
smaller as in .223 and not NATO, right?
Sort of an in between, not .223 Rem, not .223 Wylde, but pretty close to 5.56mm NATO. My reamer even removes a very tiny amount from Colt and LMT chambers.