Is the benefit of 14.5" over 16" barrel length so much to make it worth it to SBR a lower or deal with the pain that comes along with pinned/welded muzzle device? What real benefit does the slightly shorter length give you? I don’t have experience actually fighting inside structures, but my gut feeling is that if I were going to be fighting in a predominantly urban area, I’d grab my 11.5 on either an SBR, a pistol lower, or a machine gun lower, depending what I had on-hand.
The “hassle” is up to you. This question has been asked a lot on here.
It’s all about mission and what you want. There is little velocity gain for practical distance from 14.5-16.
If there was no NFA, what length would you make it?
I find pinning a 14.5 worth it because I pin it with the suppressor mount. I find an SBR lower is worth it for a 12.5 and under. A 16” with a suppressor Mount muzzle device could push it out to 18”. Now you have an SPR. :). Add a can and you are ready for a pole vault. So take whatever “hassle” you are willing to have and enjoy.
One thing for certain, I would not SBR a lower for a 14.5 upper for multiple reasons.
I’ve got all 16s (or pistol lowers for the 2 11.5s). I may form 1 all of them just so I can do whatever I want later. At least if I form 1’d something that was 14.5, I could avoid the pin/weld if I had to rebarrel it or wanted to change the rail. All of my 5.56 rifles are going to get swapped to Warcomps once I get a SOCOM-RC2 sitting in ATF jail.
If tou like to have the latest/grestest new crap, dont do it.
I pinned welded years ago and dont regret it. I would not sbr for 14.5”. 11.5”, yes. You could sbr a lower and have an 11.5 and 14.5” upper for it.
Since you will have a supressor, that takes changing muzzle devices out of the question, so pin/weld might be good for you.
This question gets asked all the time. Some people tell you to go ahead and pin it. Some are adamantly opposed to the idea. My most shot AR is a 14.5 carbine gas Daniel Defense lightweight with a pinned a2x flash hider. I tend to stick to A2 type muzzle devices and don’t change them. Pin/ weld for me is not a big deal. Obviously if you want to be able to switch handguards, FH don’t do it
You get almost nothing when pinning a 14.5" compared to a 16" carbine. It doesn’t convey magical ninja skills or make you more agile. There is an additional cost for the muzzle device compared to a standard A2 for example, the cost of the pin and weld and then you are essentially married to the rail and muzzle device. Should you decide to change rails, muzzle devices, etc… you then bear the additional cost of removing the pin and weld and re-doing it.
A lot of people seem to think that the difference between a 14.5" pinned with a muzzle device and a 16" rifle with an A2 birdcage is about 1.5".
It’s not; it’s more like .7", depending on the muzzle device you run.
Not worth it, IMHO.
Slightly lighter, slightly shorter. Whether it’s worth it or not is up to you. Decide what type of rail you want first, and you’ll also obviously be stuck with whatever muzzle device you choose to pin on. Not necessarily a bad thing.
14.5" pin and weld is worth it, without question. But, its worth mentioning, I know exactly what hand guards I’m going to be using and i use A2X muzzle devices and love the hell out of em. If you don’t know what you want, go 16". If you know exactly what you want, go 14.5" P/W. I don’t do anything NFA. Cant abide it.
I’ve done it both ways and do not think it’s worth it. Over all length difference and weight is so negligible. You might think you will never want to change anything, and then something comes along and changes your mind.
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As others have said, your choice of muzzle device is part of the equation. Because I use dead air devices, I can put the flash hider on a 14” Ballistic Advantage barrel to make up the difference (I have a 556 and 308 version). While a 16” with an A2 birdcage, as justin_247 mentioned, is .7” longer, my sandman K won’t work with that. But with the shorter barrel, I save 2” in length with the shorter barrel making it one of the shortest suppressed AR rifles I can take across state lines without paperwork (19” barrel length total with can). That is, with a can that is removable.
But you have to figure out what you want.
There’s a third way: Pistol tube or brace, no pin. Kinda stretching the limits of “pistol,” but…
If you run an a2 thats true, but if the OP is using a surefire silencer mount, it will be 1.5" shorter.
As said, there’s not much difference, but if you know you wont change anything, its a little nicer for a small amount of $ more.
This is a good point.
Weigh the options, know the limitations, and then decide for yourself if it’s worth it one way or the other.
I have both and would be happy with either way.
But then again I don’t change my $hit with every ‘oh the cool kids have this’ thread that pops up. Changes themselves have cost to bear, so I only do it when it really give a benefit. Otherwise I use that money on ammo to actually shoot.
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Lies :ph34r:
My pinned 14.5 is an MRP so I don’t think i’ll be changing rails anytime soon. You really just need to have a strong sense of yourself and your preferences. If you are the type of person that likes changing things up, I would go with the 16 for sure but 14.5 does seem a lot shorter when you are just looking at it. I’m not too proud to admit that I like 14.5 for purely aesthetic reasons. There isn’t really a functional difference between the two.
I bought a Colt complete upper (6921 CK) for a song off of Armslist about Two years ago. It was listed as a 6920 upper. I bought it anyway. Then I learned I’d have to pin and weld it.
I have to say I really like it. It does feel lighter and quicker. It might be a placebo effect, but it’s become my favorite AR. It’s just as accurate if not more so than my 16”ers. Mine (with BCM Mod1 comp)is 1 and 1/5” shorter than a 6920 with an A2.
I chopped the gas block and put an ALG rail on it.
Do you already have a 16” upper? Both my non-shorty uppers are pinned 14.5, and now that I’m trying to mess around with things like muzzle devices, and AGB, I’m stuck building a new upper. If I already had a 16” that I’d found a setup I know I’d love, then maybe I would get a second upper that’s pinned 14.5, but not as my first rifle.
Also, the length/weight is really negligible… 14.5 sucks working in cars, and sucks working in houses when compared to an 11.5. It’s slightly less suck compared to a 16, but not enough that I’d do it again. If you need that, get a 11.5 upper. If you don’t, just get a 16. The hassle of un-pinning and re-welding is not worth it. I’ve done it.
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If you already have a SBR, go with the 14.5 and don’t bother pinning it. If not, a pinned 14.5 isn’t going to offer you much over a 16 unless you are clearing buildings on a daily basis.
That being said, I have pinned 14.5s that I have no intention of altering. They work well, and since I have slightly more than one AR15, I am able to grab what I need when I need it out of the vault.