What's everyone one running as far as barrel length on their AR predator rigs ?

16

I run 16” on my hog thermal .450 bushmaster and 16” on my .300 blackout polaris ranger carry gun. I run a 20” on my 6.5 grendel - a cartridge with a little more range

I’m running a White Oak Armament Predator 20”

18" on the one I'll be trying out this winter.

I don't see any point in dragging around a 20 inch barrel for 100 to 120 fps that is gained with 223/5.56
if you change cartridges to something with more case capacity then it may make sense
not when you are shooting sub 300 yard shots primarily
I own a 20 inch barrel AR it is the only upper I have considered selling , it is very accurate but it is ever a heavy beast it is a heavy barrel profile it would be heavy in any length.
you hear people say ah but they shoot flatter , sure on a 250 yard zero a 55gr bullet is about a half inch less drop at 300 yards when it starts 105 fps faster.

an argument for the longer barrel is a threshold velocity to penetrate Armor that 14.5 and other short barrels won't reach

but 4 legged predators don't wear body armor

armor is only a valid argument when your talking first world army's going up against each other.

and your not really looking at sub 16" I wouldn't think

if you are making 200 yards shots with a 10.5 isn't hard they don't get any less accurate actually you get less barrel whip in a short barrel but you do start giving up more velocity like 400fps below 10.5" it really drops off fast and you have to SBR or brace it and build on a new "other" or buy a pistol lower.

so 16 is the shortest you can go easily as a rifle and is a really good place to be , giving up very little to the 20 in performance for the weight and maneuverability advantage of being 4 inches shorter especially if your in an out of tight stuff often or in an out of a truck.

16 on 5 56/ 8.5 on 300 black out.

I'm the odd man out, 18 inch on my .223 Wylde truck gun and 22 on my 20 practical night gun.

Why? Why not lol.

My AR is a fun gun. Even though one of my grandsons killed his first deer with it. Has a 20" wylde chambered barrel. Dont seem heavy to me. When I trap/call I have a 22 250 in my pick up or in my hands.

Interesting. See I'm wanting to build a target/varmint upper and I've been looking hard at some 20-24" bull barrels like really wanna be able to zap critters if they wanna hang out at a good clip and also give my buddy something to talk about. Let him beat me in one shooting comp and I haven't heard the end up it yet , wanna change that lol

Wolf , my 20 inch heavy barrel AR is a good target gun

it comes in just under 11 pounds and most of that weight if forward of the chamber , behind the chamber it weights the same as almost any other AR

it has a 3-9x50mm scope on it so that is some weight but not that much



I guess this would be the time to define predator/varmint hunting VS target shooting while they may be the same for some people I don't see them as the same

It may depend on the game also with target shooting where the heavy weight forward gun does you well is in a high power match / Appleseed situation you have a single target at distance that is your target and the only one your going to shoot standing at 100 yards , kneeling/seated at 200 , transition to prone 300 and slow fire prone at 400.
I built this rifle to go Appleseed KD and I did that very well
in target shooting you bring your gear out to the range you may even have a cart you may move up to 100 and then back between each stage your carrying your stuff or even using your cart on a nice mowed grass range maybe even walking on a gravel path
the weight helps stabilize your natural wiggle



How I see Varmint/predator hunting and this may not be the case for everyone.
park and walk in to the spot it may be a ways off the road setup caller and get your self in position , start calling work that stand for 45 minutes then head to the next one moving your self and gear possibly ducking through fences or going through thick stuff. when you get a target it will be moving and you will be tracking it , when it stops on a yelp or just because, you break the shot.
most shots inside 250 yards although 300 is a possibility

I see knowing the range and your d.o.p.e for those longer shots as being more important than a heavy rifle , you may well have your tripod any way

when you say Varmint that could mean park in a pasture , pull out the shooting table and wait for a P-dog to stick it's head up if that is the case all the velocity you can , flattest shooting you can , smallest groups you can and a heavy barrel to take the heat of shooting all day.

I would more clearly define the goals I guess.

what does target and Varmint mean to you

I’ll agree with Green Country Pete. Can’t remember what my rig weighs, but she’s hefty enough.. My 20” isn’t a full bull barrel but it’s a heavier rig. It’s a better target gun than an all around hunter. I wanted a target/prairie dog rig and something I could set in front of a little deer hunter, and haul out to call yotes. I think if I wanted something just for calling yotes I’d go with a quality 16” or splurge on a Proof research 18”.

GC Pete said it perfect. I have . . . . "several" AR's. One with a 20" heavy barrel and several with the standard 16" barrel. Unless you are handloading and matching specific ammo to a specific rifle, the difference in accuracy between my 16" barrels and the 20" beast is negligible. When I go calling I always take my 20" gun but I hate to pack it so I find myself usually reaching for a 16" gun.

18” and no complaints.

4" of extra barrel weighs that much???

if it was just 4 inches of barrel at the same contour probably not , but the longer you go the thicker you must go to keep whip down.

you can get similar performance from a 16 medium contour as you can a 20 heavy

flutes help reduce the weight some

about as close of an example as I could find was

2.08 pounds for a 20 inch heavy fluted https://faxonfirearms.com/match-ser...itride-5r-nickel-teflon-extension-ar-15/

1.33 pounds for a 16 inch "gunner" profile https://faxonfirearms.com/match-ser...itride-5r-nickel-teflon-extension-ar-15/

my 20 is not fluted and it is about 3.3 pounds

so a fairly light 16 to a heavy 20 more than doubles the weight adding 2 pounds

the difference between a fairly light 16" to a lightened with flutes 20" is 3/4 of a pound or 12 ounces . does a can of beer taped near the end of your 16 inch barrel rifle change the balance ?
it does and it puts is away from your body giving it more leverage.

so if you go with a 20 get the flutes they lighten with more retained rigidity.

it is about finding the right trade/balance of weight to performance

is 105 fps or 1/2 inch flatter at 300 yards worth 12 ounces at the end of your barrel? if it is plop down your cash in and go fluted 20

think about it this way a M1 Garand is a 10 pound 6 ounce 43 1/2 inch rifle
a Marlin model 336 with 20 inch barrel is a 7 pound 7 ounce 38 1/2 inch rifle

anyone who has ever carried an M1 all day in the deer woods knows it is a heavy long gun

but a 336 is easy to carry in the woods all day

your talking similar differences and if your only shooting deer at 50 yards because that is all the further you can see in a thick deer woods and both are using Iron sights and you have 1 tag for the season basically everything is equal.
most people find themselves grabbing the shorter lighter handier gun when basically everything else is equal

when you walk miles ounces matter
when your in brush inches matter

but does a 1/2 inch matter at 300 yards , I guess if you missed by a half inch it does

Thanks Pete!!

I did some more looking as there are very few not heavy 20 inch barrels, I did find a gunner profile 5.56 20 inch so it is possible to get lighter https://faxonfirearms.com/faxon-20-gunner-profile-ar15-barrel-5-56-nato-nitrided/

in that case it is a 1/3 of a pound or about 5.3 ounces

If you were trying to clover-leaf a group at 1000 yards then by all means go crazy with the barrels, optics, reloads, etc... but hunting and needing to shoot minute of coyote at 300yards or under, waste of time and money IMO. A stock AR with stock ammo is all you need, again IMO.

Pete, do you think they get a bit heavy with 22 inches of medium heavy barrel and a seven-inch suppressor on the end lol.

Actually, I haven't weighed it but it's less than my day gun. Heavy barrel, nonfluted .243 bolt action.

Wolf, if you are looking to build an accurate gun what you put in for a trigger is as important as the barrel. Don't skimp, IMHO a good trigger is going to run you somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 bucks up. I have a Timney Competition in the above rifle, I believe i got in on sale for 190. I have a Timney Impact in another AR that ran me 125. I wouldn't trade the Competiton for 3 of the Impacts. I have a Giesselle SSE two-stage trigger that is a thing of beauty in another lower, waiting for a permanent upper.

Hyperfire makes one fine trigger as well, I haven't tried one as I'm partial to drop-ins.

What Caliber are you looking to build Wolfie? .223/556?

Personally, I don't think the average AR 15 is a great coyote gun. I've talked to too many people who are shooting a lot of coyotes with thermals that are having too many runners. I'm still in load development on the 20 and already second-guessing. Oh well, if it doesn't do what I want it will make a fun pdog gun. I'm already thinking about a AR 10 in a .243 or similar. Problem with the AR 10s is now we are talking some weight.

Anyhow have fun and be wary of the rabbit hole lol.