Barrel Lenght for Predator Hunting with AR in 5.56

I like the 20" for all around hunting. 16" is too short to be stable and way too loud. 24" seems monstrous but 20" is just right. I read a test in a gun mag awhile ago where they started with a 26" barrel in 223rem and shot a group then cut it down an inch and retested and on and on down to 16". 20" was the optimum length. Much shorter and you lose velocity and longer doesn't gain much.
 
The only valid reason to have a flash suppressor on a Coyote rifle is to protect the muzzel crown from being damaged by whacking it on a rock or something while hunting. I put my RRA away and picked up a Rem VTR in 18" with colapsible stock for hunting. I don't mind laying it down or whacking through the brush so much as I did My RRA.
 
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