With regard to full-length heavy barrels (HBAR’s), they seem to be pretty common in the AR world. I’ve heard that they’re actually cheaper than the thinner profile barrels because less machining is necessary to turn out the final product.
What, if any, advantages do they offer over, say, a Government profile barrel? From talking to different folks, apparently accuracy is similar between the two types.
Supposedly they remain more accurate as the barrel heats up.
Honestly I have never seen much difference.
One will not get a barrel hot enough on SA fire to be concerned about warping.
HBAR’s are a 100% waste as they are WAAAY too heavy for what you get IMHO.
C4
the only reason I’m happy with my HBAR is that it helps me keeping my rifle KISS 
I agree completely.
I’ve had one person tell me that an HBAR on a rifle-length weapon helps accuracy at extreme ranges. Sounds reasonable, I guess. Any truth to that?
I would say you probably want to look at a Match grade barrel if you are looking for accuracy at extreme ranges. The Colt HBAR is a military barrel I am unsure if Colt treats it any more then such.
I don’t know of one NRA or CMP Service Rifle competitor who has had a gun built who has not specified a heavy barrel. (Of course, a new shooter will use whatever he has until he can get a dedicated service rifle built.) The rules do not specify barrel weight, so if a lighter barrel was perceived to be better, then presumably that is what people would be using.
There are two reasons for the heavy barrel: one is that a heavy gun moves less during the rapid-fire stages and holds steadier in the offhand position. That also explains why Service Rifle competitors add buttstock and forearm weights to increase the weight of their rifles. A typical service rifle will weigh 14-16 pounds. But then, nobody is humping those rifles all day, either. Most everyone uses a cart of some sort to schlep the gun, mat, jacket, spotting scope and stand, and all the other stuff around the range.
The other reason is accuracy. Short (within reason), fat barrels are perceived to be more accurate, due to barrel harmonics, slower to heat up, etc. The barrel can’t be shortened, but it can be “fattened” by making it heavy.
Bear in mind that Service rifle competition involves shooting at 200, 300, and 600 yards with iron sights, and that some competitors also use their service rifle for long range (800, 900, and 1,000-yard) competition.
Agree with all the above.
If you’re not competing in High Power/Service Rifle matches, then an HBAR is simply dead weight with no real benefit. Plus, I doubt 90% of shooters have the marksmanship skills to consistently take advantage of the accuracy differences between a match barrel and a service grade barrel anyway.
I wouldn’t want any other taper than an HBAR for service rifle competition. If you could stuff a heavier contour under the handguards, and still have it CMP legal though, I would do that.
For 3-gun, and close range situations, the HBAR is way to much weight, IMO.
Mark15
HBAR in 20" is a bit front-heavy.
HBAR in 16" balances groovy.
Necro post. Didn’t want to start a new thread.
Getting into long range shooting and considering a complete hbar upper for a med range semi auto
Been looking at WOA and trying to decide on which length to get. leaning to 20" threaded barrel and if I don’t like it, can have it shortened.
(I kind of always did want a 20" ar but never did after I started learning here…also sold my Dpms and PSA…thank you Obama…I didn’t take much of a loss)
Will be used primarily from prone at the range. Don’t hunt…yet.
No plans to compete. Just want to outshoot my buddies
Plan to eventually shoot out to 600 - 700 yards but may shoot further for fun…say 1000.
Will probably be shooting paper unless I make friends with someone who owns a large parcel and allows gongs
Plan to later get something in 6 or 6.5, either semi or bolt (maybe both)
Have two lw BCM uppers, 14.5 and 16. Also have a ruger predator 223 with a medium 22" barrel
My question: What length hbar do you use/recommend?
I know…don’t worry about it…I’ll probably end up with all the lengths 
Thanks in advance
Honestly, the best thing to do is start shooting good ammo in what you currently have and let things evolve from there. We can tell you “get an 18 inch” or “get a 24 inch” or my favorite, a 20 inch. But, even if you follow our advice, you won’t know what best serves your purposes and your style until you actually shot it. Instead of starting off spending money, start off with what you’ve already got and shoot good ammo out of it. The experience will show you what barrel you should get
Tnx Mistwolf! I’ll try it
In addition to this, many High Power competitors back in 1983 when I was shooting High Power (and High Power did NOT include 5.56) swore up and down that a tight sling has more leverage than one might think and that non-heavy barrels have more flex than one might think and they insisted that a standard barrel would flex enough to make a difference.
For all I know, that might be utter BS. Although I shot better than the average Marine (mid-230’s annual qual), I was never in the same stratosphere as the real match shooters. They were short a score keeper, so in exchange for keeping score during the team stages, they issued me a match grade M14 and gave me everything I needed to compete in the individual match stages. Now THAT was a rifle! 
One of the older points in favor of the HBAR (which may have already been mentioned) is that they mitigate “barrel whip” compared to the standard government profile barrels. I don’t know - is that even a factor with current production barrels?
Weird posting in a necro but, whip isn’t always that big a deal. As long as the the barrel is free floated and frequency is consistent, once the sights / optics are adjusted, it shouldn’t matter. If the frequency changes as the barrel heats up, then that could be an issue - but as Grant pointed out in post #3, it’s probably not going to be a factor.
What is a “necro post?” I’ve heard of how the Democrats rely heavily on the Necro-American vote, but I’ve never heard of a necro post… 
“Necro post” refers to an older post (usually many months or years) that has been brought back from the dead.
LOL… Like some dem voters, it’s only been dead for about eight years.