Seems i build a short ar every few years now (braced as i live in the state of chiraq) and upon shooting them im just underwhelmed by them the only bonus to me is that its a nice small package but short of that id rather a 16in rifle setup any day of the week
Anyone else feel the same? Or am i just nuts
What is it that leaves you underwhelmed? Was there something you tried to do with a short setup that it couldnt do? Was it something that having more barrel would have fixed? If so, maybe you grabbed the wrong tool for the job or you picked the wrong ammo.
This is essentially a barrel length vs velocity argument and as with all things, it's a trade off. If you value or need more velocity, then go with a longer barrel. You also have to consider that not all are living under your constraints. Many run suppressors.
These days, I've been running a 12.5 with a suppressor that brings the length to just over 16". Running Black Arc 53gr V-Max I'm getting around 2900 fps at the muzzle. Its pretty danged compact without the suppressor and still manageable with.
If I find myself needing to wring more out of my rig, I'm not going to do it by turning my handy rig into something more unwieldy. I'm gonna grab something compact in a bigger caliber. Probably a .308.
I value ease of handling. Pulling a long barreled anything out of a scabbard on a 4 wheeler, or trying to negotiate it from inside of a side by side is a PITA. Not to mention just having it slung trying to get through the woods.
I can see humping around a 16" if you don't run suppressed. I have a 16" and all I really use it for is trips where I know I'll be stationary most of the time. That one rarely makes it out of the safe.
Maybe I've just gotten old and lazy, but I'm not limited to what I can grab by uncle Sam and don't feel the need to tote an uncomfortable setup to get all I can out of the little 5.56 when there may be better options.
Of course, if shooting fron a stationary location is your thing, or you don't run into situations that I do, your needs will differ. Me, I'm 5'2" tall and my 12.5 with the suppressor feels like a full size rifle to me. My shooting buddy is over 6' tall and a 20" looks like a toy in his hands. He doesn't have any problems pulling from a scabbard and he ain't doing anything from inside of a side by side anyway. For him a longer rig makes sense.
It's a matter of what YOU need. To say that shorter rigs don't serve a purpose is an over reach.
