Conclusion after reading about carbine vs. mid length gas system...

[markm]

Tag so I can figure out WTF Bravo is trying to convey.

[BravoCompanyUSA]

@markm

Tag so I can figure out WTF Bravo is trying to convey.

It was a bit wordy.

14.5" middy: shoots soft + flat = fast shooting.

[Robb_Jensen]

Good to here Paul.

I being a tinkerer started screwing with my Rolling Thunder brake making mods to it and and made it too damn efficient. It started muzzle diving when shooting more than 1 round.

Today I installed a Surefire MB, the long one, the one for the full size 556 Surefire suppressor. So I’ll sight it in tomorrow and shoot it as speed and see where ‘it’s at’.
I’m using a non-standard M16 carrier and a heavier than H buffer currently. I’ll adjust as needed. I got a 3man 3gun match coming up not this weekend but next. One of my teammates just got one of these 16" midlength SS410 uppers and a BCM lower. Our rifles are almost setup thesame except he’s using a Leupold 1.5-5x Vari-X III scope in a ADM mount and a Surefire 556K MB with a BCM Ionbonded M16 BCG. Where I have a Burris 1-4x XTR scope in a Bobro mount. We won this same match last year in York, PA.
We’ll be kicking some ass this year too for sure.

[Adam0331]

@BravoCompanyUSA

That is probably the best summary right there.
Many decisions are made based on compatibility with current inventory and other admin reasons. - Not because all other options were tested and were lesser in comparison.

We have been T&Eing a 14.5" Middy for about 1 year (with help from a lot of great shooters and great folks). We built almost 2 dozen different configs before we decided on what our current production would be. About half way through T&E process we were fine tuning the final set up.

Regarding standard production uppers/rifles, we check cycle rates on all samples from all batches to confirm they are within the mil-spec. (Most commercial guns are way way too fast). Checking the cycle rate involves a number a mags filled with 28 rounds, and full auto lower, and a timer set up for the AR carbines. We run a couple mags full auto into a snail drum. I do the cycle tests personally. (benefits of ownership :D)lol

I had a number of M4 Carbine 14.5" and 16" uppers to test (and the one T&E 14.5" Middy on the end). They were lined up on the bench without regard to any specific order. I run some mags on the M4 Carbine 14.5", grabbed more mags and then ran the next set of M4 Carbine 16", then robotically grabbed the 14.5" Mid, ran a full auto mag through it (little over 2 seconds). At about round number 10 my eyes perked up, I was careful not to move in from of the snail drum and kept the trigger pinned until bolt lock. I turned to our production manager and said; “Holy Sxxx, that was awesome. Are you sure those were our normal function ammo”. (yes it was Black Hills 55 blue box). I grabbed a couple more full mags and repeated the mag dump. I finished, and said to the production manager; “Wait until people shoot this gun!” The difference between a milspec carbine is dramatic, especially when you desire to run a NSR (volume of rounds) into small pie plate. Time on target gets much quicker and you get much faster - with the same level of accuracy.

I have since retired all my hot rod, super cool, supercalifragilistic, SBRs that I love so much. My personal set up it a 14.5" middy with a PWS or SF MB.

(As a note; we applied what we learned to our 16 mid as well)

I had my mind set on an 11.5" from you guys but your statement is swaying me to say the least. The 14.5" middy seems very appealing.

[Robb_Jensen]

@Adam0331

I had my mind set on an 11.5" from you guys but your statement is swaying me to say the least. The 14.5" middy seems very appealing.

I have one. It’s very soft shooting using a KAC Triple Tap, PWS FSC556 or AAC Brakeout combined with a BCM M16 BCG and a H buffer.

[BravoCompanyUSA]

@gotm4

Good to here Paul.

I being a tinkerer started screwing with my Rolling Thunder brake making mods to it and and made it too damn efficient. It started muzzle diving when shooting more than 1 round.

Today I installed a Surefire MB, the long one, the one for the full size 556 Surefire suppressor. So I’ll sight it in tomorrow and shoot it as speed and see where ‘it’s at’.
I’m using a non-standard M16 carrier and a heavier than H buffer currently. I’ll adjust as needed. I got a 3man 3gun match coming up not this weekend but next. One of my teammates just got one of these 16" midlength SS410 uppers and a BCM lower. Our rifles are almost setup thesame except he’s using a Leupold 1.5-5x Vari-X III scope in a ADM mount and a Surefire 556K MB with a BCM Ionbonded M16 BCG. Where I have a Burris 1-4x XTR scope in a Bobro mount. We won this same match last year in York, PA.
We’ll be kicking some ass this year too for sure.

Proud to have you shootin’ our stuff bro.

[BravoCompanyUSA]

@Adam0331

I had my mind set on an 11.5" from you guys but your statement is swaying me to say the least. The 14.5" middy seems very appealing.

I still have my SBRs as a home def set up and would use them for variety of other missions, and would never want to give them up. But in the wide open fields of the one way range, it has won me over.

[Adam0331]

@gotm4

I have one. It’s very soft shooting using a KAC Triple Tap, PWS FSC556 or AAC Brakeout combined with a BCM M16 BCG and a H buffer.

Thanks for the feedback.

@BravoCompanyUSA

I still have my SBRs as a home def set up and would use them for variety of other missions, and would never want to give them up. But in the wide open fields of the one way range, it has won me over.

I’m torn. I have some thinking to do. Ultimately, either way I go, I will be happy.

[DTHN2LGS]

@BravoCompanyUSA

… I have since retired all my hot rod, super cool, supercalifragilistic, SBRs that I love so much. My personal set up it a 14.5" middy with a PWS or SF MB.

(As a note; we applied what we learned to our 16 mid as well)

I am wondering if my BCM 16" Middy could benefit from any improvements? Is there anything you learned and applied to the 16" Mids from this 14.5" testing that you would recommend be done to a BCM 16" Middy I bought on 4/13/2009? Or is it something that can’t be done retroactively to one?

[Iraqgunz]

Paul,

14.5" middy sounds like a good ticket. In your opinion what is the shortest you could take it and still get all the benefits? Would something like a 13.7" work? The 11.5" I built using your stuff has been rock solid and I doubt I’ll give it up anytime soon.

I am interested to see how the 14.5 middy feels compared to other AR’s in my arsenal.

[ForTehNguyen]

i prefer to stick with 16" to get away from the perm FH, and it gains 50m of fragmentation range for an extra 1.5" of barrel. You can gain another 50m going from 16" to 20" but thats a lot more barrel to add for the same gain.