AR-15 question.... 16" vs. 20"???

They are both loud. I have never quite understood these loud, louder, loudest discussions. If noise is that important, as it relates to barrel length, see if you can get a smith to hook you up with a 30". That oughta take the edge off. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Seriously, when it comes to these taste test discussions, I always like to hear from the guys who have both. Which one do they pick up more often? Usually it's the lighter, handier rigs.

I went thorugh a heavy phase (40X, 5R, VSSF, even my .22LR was a hefty 10/22T). Some fine rifles. I tried to convince myself and others that I was more accurate with the heavy barrel set-up. They looked cool, felt solid and shot great from a bench. They also sat in the safe more than their lighter, smaller counterparts. While great for punching paper, I found that in the field I was more accurate on running shots, tight cover shots and all shots in general with a lighter, quicker rifle (with 95% under 100 yards).

When you need a walking rig that you can swing on a sprinting jackrabbit faster than you can say "McCain's a RINO", the lighter and handier the better. Get the 16" and never look back . . . until you are ready to add a 20" to the collection. Then, get that too. Next, a 24" for PD's. Finally, to bridge the gap between the 16" and 20", you might think about adding an 18", possibly a 14.5" with a suppressor. Like McDonald's Happy Meal toys - collect them all.
 
I have a 16". I figure when Im hunting I dont notice it. When Im shooting for joy I always where muffs. No more shooting than what goes on in the field (their both gonna do ear damage) get which ever one feels better swinging.
 
I prefer my 20" over the 16", not as loud. As far as weight savings and better swing and maneuverability on 16", I think that remains to be seen. If you can't hit a coyote standing still with one shot, the chance of making a good running shot get slimmer with every trigger pull. When you stuff that 30 round magazine full of death and destruction, that pretty much negates the weight savings you got with the 16" barrel. Of course it does give you 29 more chances to hit your intended target, that just took a double dose of haul a_s, after being missed by the first shot, LOL!

Those guys still having to use those 20" + bolt guns... you just have to feel sorry for them when their hunting partner pulls out his 16" AR, they have to be thinking to themselves, I DON'T HAVE A CHANCE OF GETTING A DOG TODAY! HaHaHa!

When it comes to the bottom line, you will be happy with which ever one you choose, good luck.
 
I think it depends on what feels better. I've handled both, have more experience with the 20", from the military. I think the 20" fits me better - but I'm a big guy and like a little more meat on my rifles. The nice thing is that you can always get one, and then add a second upper later - AR's are "plug and play," if you do them with quality parts!
 
I struggled with this question for a while also. Loud vs handy, comparable accuracy and all that.

I went with a 20" SUM D-tech. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Just came on the brown truck today. Once I get a scope and get it mounted, I will show it off.
 
Quote:
I prefer my 20" over the 16", not as loud. As far as weight savings and better swing and maneuverability on 16", I think that remains to be seen. If you can't hit a coyote standing still with one shot, the chance of making a good running shot get slimmer with every trigger pull. When you stuff that 30 round magazine full of death and destruction, that pretty much negates the weight savings you got with the 16" barrel. Of course it does give you 29 more chances to hit your intended target, that just took a double dose of haul a_s, after being missed by the first shot, LOL!

Those guys still having to use those 20" + bolt guns... you just have to feel sorry for them when their hunting partner pulls out his 16" AR, they have to be thinking to themselves, I DON'T HAVE A CHANCE OF GETTING A DOG TODAY! HaHaHa!

When it comes to the bottom line, you will be happy with which ever one you choose, good luck.



A lot of folks who worry about quickly getting on the dog in heavy cover so they can accurately place the one shot they'll likely get will, more often than not, tell you that a 16" barrel is handier in those situations. And very few, if they've had any real experience, will be loaded up with a 30 round mag, either.... In actuality, they're not near as handy either as a shorter magazine is...

But the actual loaded 30 round magazine weighs the same no matter which barrel length rifle you put it in......if you really use a 30 rounder, anyway...........

Who's really gonna' consider or expect to get 30 shots off at a coyote in close cover? Probably only someone who's never really hunted in heavy cover. And likely they're the same folks who think you have to hunt with a 30 round magazine just because you're using an AR.

And if you wear hearing protection, even when hunting, so you can still hear after age 50, the "increased noise" of the 16" barrel won't be a factory anyway.

But, if you've never hunted in close cover much, you'll likely not know from experience that a shorter barrel won't get hung up as often on close hanging tree imbs, etc., and a short magazine won't get hung up on clothing near as much either.....so you can more quickly and accurately place the one shot you'll likely get.

-BCB
 
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif Just thought I would pull out the paddle and lighten things up here, over this 16" vs 20" debate. I guess to some 16" might be be handier, but I don't buy it.

I've got a pretty good idea what tight cover is, I believe southeast Asia during the late 60s early 70s, would fit in that category, as would the swamps of central and south Florida, and South Carolina, been there, done that, got the T-shirts to prove it. I don't recall an extra 4" of barrel length ever being much of a hindrance. I don't think any of the hogs or deer or turkeys that met their maker in those southern swamplands and forest realized what handicaps I had to deal with using my factory barreled bolt action or 870.

If I made a habit of going into buildings and structures where bad guys hang out and they were intent on my destruction, I definitely would see where shorter is better, and even a 16" barrel would probably be too long. Personally I prefer a 10 or 20 round mag in my EBR, just a little handier and less obtrusive.

As far as noise levels go, 16" barrels are louder than 20" barrels and 20" barrels are louder than 24" barrels and that is a fact. I don't wear hearing protection when hunting, but will not shoot at the range or be in close proximity without hearing protection. I hear fine so far, according to the audiologist, when I took my retirement physical, in 2001. Fifty has come and gone and when it comes down to it the noise from a 16" barrel pales in comparison to some of the noises experienced during 27 years of working with the military.
 
I didn't serve in Vietnam and never shot at Charlie in the Jungle (thank you by the way for doing that for our country, you are a hero in my eyes /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif) but my service record shows I did serve in Desert Storm from the beginning of Desert Shield on 1 Aug 1990 until Jun 14, 1991 when I finally got to come back home. My point is I have experience with both versions and more importantly I trusted my life with it on a daily basis. I carried the 20" Boomsplat refers to and I will tell you it never felt as good to me as my 16" does. I said it before and I will say it again if you are shooting an AR weather it is a 16" barrel, 20" barrel or 24" barrel, and it doesn't matter if it is a hunting situation or at the range you are a goob if you do not wear hearing protection. If your worried about missing something get some electronic ears with amplifiers that shut down upon a muzzle blast. I was an idiot in my younger days and shot w/o hearing protection and now I am near deaf in my left ear. I am no where near as old as Boomsplat (just kiddin /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif) is and my hearing sucks but I did learn a lesson and what little hearing I have left I will protect. Heck I don't shoot at all w/o hearing protection. Like my black hat said during exercise in 1985 (god that was a long time ago) if you are so worried about them hearing you fire your weapon you better learn to hunt the enemy with a knife.
My point is use what feels best to you and do not let some noise (that can be controled efficiently) take you out of your comfort zone when it comes to a firearm.

Rus
 
Something to consider is that the shorter barrel won't hold as steady on target as the longer heavier barrel. The shorter and lighter, the bigger your wobble area is. Target rifles used for offhand shooting weigh close to the maximum allowed by the rules for a reason.

Jack
 
Boomsplat:

No need to lighten the atmosphere. I just don't think everyone using an AR for coyotes goes afield with a full 30 round mag if they've done it much.

I can relate to your 1960-70 experiences. I've never hunted the swamps of Florida or SC. And I definitely can't relate to your desert experience RADD4 where I think the extra 4" of barrel might have been good at times if you were in the country and not in towns.

But for the thick cover I hunt in occasonally, I'll always take one of my shorter AR's most likely with a reflex or holosight and a short 10 round clip. That's all I'll ever need for close quarters and quick first shots. If I'm hunting coyotes in more open areas, I'll probalby have one of those dreaded extra long bolt acion rifles with a scope on it that will keep me from getting any dogs at all.

MY 20" AR's are both shot the old style military way...with the open sights, and are used mostly just for plinking.

And I will definitely have hearing protection on all the time in either type of terrain. I wasn't as lucky as you Boomsplat and didn't enter my 50's with all my hearing intact. But for the past @35-40 years I've done everything I can to keep what I have left, so both a 16" and a 20" AR both go "sproing" when my electronic muffs shut off the sound of the rifle going off. The rest of the time I hear a lot of what's happening around me through them, both at the range and in the field.

And, I can even hear my wife holler at me occasionally without any hearing protection when I want to hear her. Maybe that might be a good application for the electronic muffs, too. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-006.gif

-Happy Holidays to both of you..and everyone else...

-BCB
 
BCB,

Didn't mean to offend anyone, maybe just took the the quote you used as reference a little personal. I was just trying in my own bumbling way to provide a little innocent sarcasm to some posts I have read here. It was not meant to point fingers. I'm sure anyone that uses their ARs much doesn't stuff a full 30 rounder in it, but there are a lot of pictures here on the site with one stuffed in the gun. For all I know it could just be for artistic expression. It just makes me giggle.

Again, I apologize if I stepped on any toes or ruffled some feathers!

Where I hunt here in Idaho, the terrain is wide open and mostly covered in sagebrush, so I tend to like my barrels longer, higher velocity and a little more energy. With that being said, my Bushy Varminter hasn't seen that much use this season since I built my new this summer AR in 17 Remington. It has a 20" barrel, but I would have preferred a 24" tube, but at the time the 20" tube was all I could find. My Colt, CAR LE is just a plinker, take it out every once in a while, or blue moon, which ever comes first, shoot it, clean it, put it back in the safe.

By the way, I didn't say my hearing was perfect, just said it was fine. The doc said I do have some hearing loss at the high end in both ears. The wife says I'm deaf as a post, but like you, when she is yelling at me, I hear what I want to hear.

Best of wishes to you during the holidays...and all the days to follow!

BoomSplat
 
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