Best barrel length for AR (plan on adding suppressor) SBR

[RWBlue]

I think the title says it all, but I have to ask. What is the best or prefered barrel length for a SBR AR-15, that will then have a suppressor added.

Part of me thinks 14.5, because it is easily avaliable and 14.5 will give standard 62gr a little more terminal performance.

Part of me thinks 11, because it will make the overall project shorter.

Then there is the 7" or 16" or even 20" thinking.

My problem is that all I can do is speculate. I don't have one to put in my hands and shoot, so I know how it feels.

[Andy Holzrichte]

If were doing a 5.56 SBR w/ suppressor, I'd probably use a 11.5 barrel. It's long enough to be semi useful, short enough to still be short w/ a can on it, and long enough that it should stabilize the bullets & minimize baffle strikes. I'm not in a state where suppressors are legal for civilians, so it's an academic discussion for me.

[r2kba]

Mine is 11.5" With a can, this is the shortest you want to go with the .223.

[jfettig]

If you get a can that slides over the barrel(the first chamber inside is huge and goes around the barrel) it will add much less length than one that attaches to the end directly.

Jon

[target17]

Mind is 11.5 & never had any trouble, with the can it is about 17". I would like to try a shorter, but I'm chicken to do it. I also add reality to it's use, & 17" w/can is good!

[gunz213]

I'm putting together a 10.5" white oak barrel to go with my YHM suppressor and I'll post how it works once my form 4 is approved. I have a 7.3" on my SBR right now but YHM's warranty only covers barrels 10 inches or longer.
Erick
ETA the only company I know of that will cover 7" barrels is ops inc.

[HotGuns]

Unless you want to do another 200 bucks for the short barrelled rifle, 16 is the best practical length.

I have a 16 ".300 Whisper upper with a suppressor that use a collet attachment. The can itself is 10" long, but uses a spider to thread onto the threads,so 5 inches of the length is behind the threads. A collet tightens on the barrel to bring the can into perfect alignment.

As a result, with the can mounted on the gun it is not much longer than a standard 20 inch barrel.

Heres a crappy picture of it...


http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b130/HotGuns/Img_2321.jpg

[RWBlue]

Hotguns, If you didn't have to pay the extra $200, and the barrels were the same price, what would be your answer?

[HotGuns]

How are you getting around the SBR fee?

In that case though, I'd go with the 10.5 or the 11.5 upper.

The shorter the length the better. The performance difference will be several hundred FPS, but at the ranges that SBRs are typically used, it really shouldnt be an issue.

Thats my thoughts on it anyway. The 16.5 upper that Im using is about as long as I would go. I edited to picture to show more scale.

[TxGlock]

14.5 is a waste of SBR hassles IMO. I was looking for an 11.5 when I bought my 10.25 I love it and with suppressor it is about 16.5" long. Long range performance hoses past 100yds but I built it for entry and close quarters competition.

[TimP]

Originally posted by r2kba
Mine is 11.5" With a can, this is the shortest you want to go with the .223.

My 10.5 LMT shoots just fine with my AAC M42K