Please forgive the noobie question but I am curious about barrel length and accuracy. In summery my current understanding is that barrel length Does NOT affect accuracy, it only affects velocity. Velocity in turn affects bullet drop and trajectory, thus longer barrels shoot flatter over distance having less bullet drop than their shorter counter parts. Accuracy, however, in the true sense of the word, being repeatable and predictable is not affected by barrel length.
Is all the above correct?
Given the above is correct, how far would one generally be comfortable shooting a 14.5 inch barrel before feeling that a longer barrel would be notably beneficial (to your average shooter, not a competitor or military sniper kinda guy). Out to 300yrds?
I am aware that other factors come into play, ammo, range conditions and so on… but generally speaking?
Your understanding is pretty much correct. Accuracy (or, more correctly, precision) is independent of barrel length and has more to do with how the bore and rifling were constructed and finished.
Also, there is nothing that a longer barrel can do lethality wise that a 14.5" cannot do. By going from a 14.5" to something like a 20", you gain another 50-75 yards of “fragmentation range” from ammunition that relies on fragmentation for terminal effect (such as M193). With the right ammunition, this differential is moot and the real difference between longer and shorter barrels comes down to bullet drop, balance, and gas system smoothness.
If you have a 14.5, then rock it. There’s a reason the Army and Marines are transitioning to the 14.5 as a standard. I do still love me some 20", though.
The features combined with the barrel make more of a difference than its length. Chamber, overall quality, profile, material, muzzle device etc.
This conversation is also moot if your just shooting ball ammo. You can have an absolute mechanical masterpiece of a rifle, and if you feed it crap ammo you’re still going to get crap groups.
What are you shooting at 300 yards? Steel? Paper for groups?
To the average shooter, 300 yards should be no problem with a 14.5. I focus on long range shooting, almost to a the point of impracticality and neglect of pistol practice. We’ve taken the 14.5 to just beyond a thousand yards with hot 77 gr ammo.
If you have access to 500 yards, and a good spotter/shooting partner. 500 can get very doable.
Thanks for your reply. Defiantly helpful. So what I have done is recently built a 20" 6.5 Grendel upper, which is of course designed for long range. I have two 223 uppers an 18" and a 16" 223 uppers. I am thinking of selling both of them and building a high quality- match grade 14.5 upper as a replacement for both of them. Why 14.5? Because I want something lightweight I can comfortably carry around. I ask this question because I am worried about loosing out on versatility, specially the mid range shooting I often do with my 18 inch. In a perfect world I would keep the two uppers I have and build a third but unfortunately that not viable financially at the moment. The principle question I am dealing with is 14.5" vs 16" for a one gun do it all in 223.
Uh yeah, 1000 even 500 is a little impractical for most conditions, IMHO.
OP, I’m no expert, but based on my shooting 300 yards is a reasonable distance to expect some consistency without resorting to very fancy ammo and a ballistic calculator of the type that usually requires LAUNCH CODES to employ. OF course, there are a few who can hunker down with an 18 or 20" barrel with a BAS (big ass scope) and drop lead at twice that, but is it really practical? Do you want to employ a spotter? Maybe. But frankly, if the target gets out past 300 I’m digging out my .308.
Get a longer higher quality barrel, the velocity will help. It is true that barrel length does not determine precision, but the higher velocity makes it easier by reducing the arc and keeping the projectile stabilized.
ScottsBad, Do you reckon a 16" is a better choice? Keep in mind what I am looking for is an all-arounder, most of the time I will shoot it at 100yrds but now and then I will likely be using it for the occasional prarrie dog hunt and other targets maxing out around 300 yards. Any further distance I have a 20 inch 6.5 Grendel with a 6-24 vortex PST that performs awesome at ranges well beyond 300 yards. The build we are discussing is more oriented towards being light weight and easy to handle. Something I can walk around the ranch with. So will all that being said, my principle question is really will a 14.5 provide the versatility and capability of shooting to ranges out to around 300yrds or am I better off going with a 16 inch. Seems to me that the consensus is that a high quality 14.5 should fit the bill nicely. I’m happy to hear any arguments for a 16"er… Thanks all for your contributions.
That’s a good point. Anyone tried the battle arms development barrels? Or know where I might find a useful review i.e. somewhat someone who is shot it. All I found online is basically marketing material and specs, which are about as useful as a YouTube unboxing video… No reviews from someone who has actually used the barrel
I have both a 14.5" LW with pinned flash hider and a 16" M4 profile carbine. I would rate both equally effective out to 300M. I have a red dot mounted on each rifle. I personally would recommend that you stick with a 16" because it is an easier configuration to modify than a 14.5.
I’m with everyone else: I’d stay with a 16" midlength. You won’t have to worry about NFA games when it comes to modifying configurations. You get the longer gas system and its benefits.
You can still make a very lightweight 16" gun. I’ve been very intrigued by Criterion’s hybrid profile barrels for building a lightweight recce type upper.
Monty, of Centurion Arms, once made an argument that the best combination to own would be a 12", 16", and a 20".
I am with the others… the 1 1/2 to 2 ounces you save with the 14 ain’t worth the hassle of a pinned MD. While barrel shopping look at v7’s lightweight poly riffled offering.
In my experience, 14.5 and 16" work fine at 300yds. What sight are you using? Iirc, 60gr 223 tap will impact the btm of dot at 300 if zeroed to impact top of dot at 100.
I like the 14.5" but know the consequences and be sure or go 16.
I’ve shot to 4 50yds and never wished my barrel was longer.
There are way more qualified folks than me to tell you specifically what barrel to buy. But I can tell you my thinking and what I have. I like 16" mid-length gas system barrels for all the reasons suggested. If you want extra accuracy…well that is a complicated discussion. Ammunition quality is primary followed by barrel quality. My requirements do not include superb accuracy. However, I do have two rifles which I consider to be more accurate than the others. One of them uses a BCM 16" stainless barrel. With this I get very nice 1 MOA groups at 100 yds with 77gr factory ammo.
The other rifle has a Rainier Arms Select Medcon barrel in 16". It shoots as well and has a nice contour that feels a bit lighter. (Check around on the web to get opinions on this barrel.)
Now, if I were to do it over again, I might get an 18" barrel to wring out a tiny bit more velocity. Check weight differences in barrels, many times you can simply go with a super light rail like a KMR to keep the front of the rifle light. The heaviest add on is the scope…watch your weight there too. Use a light weight stock like a BCM might be helpful too.
My go to upper is a BCM midd lightweight 16 in. barrel. No stamps or pin and welding ect. ect. A little easier on rifle parts, it will probably be around after me and it will out shoot me. Now if there is a suppressor possibly I do like the short barrel option… stamp (s) waiting and $$.
A thought on this I recently had a bolt action bull barrel 308 “chopped off” and threaded. POI went up over 6 inches at 100 yards.
I just finished a class last week where I shot my 14.5 at 5-700 yard targets, and did not feel that my barrel length was a hindrance. Yes, my 75 grains needed a little more elevation than the other guns in the class that had longer barrels. Getting the wind call right was the hard part, regardless of barrel length.
300 , you would be fine with a 12.5 and a 3.5 ACOG
300 yards 14.5 or 16. I have both in Mid length barrels and do fine. If I was buying one gun and didn’t want to mess with NFA , a 16 would be great. The thin barrels are all the rage these days. I like the Noveske 14.5 Afghan and like the BCM LW 14.5 with KMR rail is nice.
Many folks are digging the Colt 6720 16 pencil barrel. Many nice guns to enjoy and a lot promos to shoot. Enjoy.