But seriously, what is the ideal length for 5.56? If a 20” barrel can’t even push through plates, is there even a real point?
>>6561639120" with a 1:7 twist. You will never square off against anyone, let alone anyone with body armor. Your body armor will never be shot at either. Stop overthinking it.
>>6561639120in barrel with the right ammo can push through some lvl3s, but its more useful if you are reaching out 400+yards, bullet will get there faster with less dropif you pan to do all your shooting inside 200y, 11in is fine
>>65616391just use 7.62X51
>>65616397I really hope you’re right, and you probably are. It’s a hypothetical apocalyptic scenario though, anon. Like what if the clankers are wearing body armor? They already have chainsaws.>>65616406>7.62x51I have a bolty in .308From what I understand, .308 isn’t even that great for level IV.
>>65616391>24-26" if you're a velocity/ballistics autist. >20" if you want to be able to use any ammo to its max effectiveness.>18" for people who want a 20" but claim its too heavy for them and that their precision build is just fine with a shorter barrel (they are coping).>16" for people who couldn't afford an SBR before AR pistols became common and now they want to pretend that their rifle is still relevant (they are also coping).>14.5" if you want the perfect balance between performance and size.13.7" ideal for Vietnam-era larping.>11.5-12.5" general purpose rifle that doesn't get too long when suppressed.>10.3" for CQB only, also great suppressed.>shorter builds for fun gimmicky guns.>>65616391>If a 20” barrel can’t even push through plates, is there even a real point?M193, when shot out of a 20" barrel or longer, will go through NIJ level III plates.>>65616413>It’s a hypothetical apocalyptic scenario thoughOh okay, I'll help you consider things that'll never be a real concern.>From what I understand, .308 isn’t even that great for level IV.None of the full-power/standard-action cartridges do well against NIJ level IV when using steel-core AP. However, now there is a tungsten-core AP, which definitely can defeat NIJ level IV, plus we'll soon get commonly available overpressure rifle ammo to pair with that tungsten ammo. If you really that worried about level IV then you'd consider a magnum cartridge like .300 WinMag, .7mmRemUltraMag, .338 Lapua, and get some tungsten ammo for those.
>>65616391Fuck dude in the thumbnail I thought this was and kind of MAS gun.Neat.
>>65616745>plus we'll soon get commonly available overpressure rifle ammo to pair with that tungsten ammoElaborate?Out of all those cartridges, which is the cheapest to reload?What if you just go for the legs? Then there’s no point in AP rounds, right?
>>65616745The problem with this retard's statement, is that he doesnt consider suppressors (something else that's been fortunately deregulated) and tuning. if you're doing serious shit, get a suppressor, even if 5.56 is a velocity based round, and as such a round you shouldn't go subsonic24-26 inch barrels are memes. no one uses them except for varminting. do not use these.20" is nice and what the cartridge was originally designed for, but it's pretty much for unsuppressed use. not bad, mind. also, it's easiest to tune, and feels nice if you're using it in a ar, which you probably should be if you're normal. it can probably take a bayonet, if you're in a normal state or nation18" guns are your first suppressor viable length. not preferred, but its got the benefit of being still able to use rifle length gas systems, and is still comfy. are they perfect? no. 16" is the standard. it's the perfect length that the 2nd best gas system for tuning (Midlength) is at it's ideal dwell time, and has the second highest amount of ballistic data. also can mount a bayonet, and with a 4" can is only 20" long out front. not bad, and importantly, is still a rifle, for if things unfortunately backtrack. cope all you want, it's got a spot still, and importantly has plenty of data and barrel profiles for it, if you want a light and handy or frt favorable gun, and with a Lpvo. 14.5" is nice. it's got everything you want from 16" and is still suppressable. tuning's ok. last stop of a general purpose rifle, but that's not a complaint, just a observation. it's fine, just would rather a 16"11.5-12.5 is ok, it's mostly the last stop of the still sane and tunable. at this point, your sacrificing all velocity to be handy. this isn't a bad thing, but it's too much too far. great for suppressing.anything shorter then 11.5 is going to require significant tuning, and velocity sacrifices that you're better off going to 7.62x39, or .300 blackout instead. don't use these.
>>65616927I saw that too. Needs a spike though
>>65616982>Elaborate?Those Federal steel shell cases being loaded to 70k PSI rather than 60k PSI, the NAS3 cases being loaded to 80k PSI, and SIGs blatant rip-off of the NAS3 patent and their new SIG Hybrid ammunition also being loaded to 77k PSI. This tech might be useless for magnum cartridges, but it's proving to be pretty nice for improving the external ballistics of standard action cartridges.
>>65617020>The problem with this retard's statement, is that he doesnt consider suppressorsHello, illiterate retard. I specifically mentioned suppressors in the comment you were unable to read but decided to respond to anyway.>18" guns are your first suppressor viable length... and is still comfy.LOL LMAO, if you use a suppressor on anything longer than a 14.5", you are a masochist.>16" is the standard. it's the perfect lengthLMAO x2, the only reason anyone ever bothered with 16" ARs is because of NFA laws. Now that anyone can SBR their guns, it's a completely worthless length, and anyone with half a brain cell will get a 14.5" over a 16".>cope all you wantI'm not sure you know what "cope" is. If you're fanboying over a length that never should have existed in the first place, it's not others that are coping. Your dogshit length only exists because laws restricted people from getting a superior 14.5".
>>65617020>24-26 inch barrels are memes. no one uses them except for varminting. do not use these.It's the real zero-compromise peak velocity that 20" proponents regularly wrongly claim to be associated with, as pointless as that is.
>>65616391The point is that you get NATO's cheapest mass-produced offering.
>>6561639120" - Just as it was intended14,5" - Second acceptable lengthThe rest is marketing or a LARP. A small percentage of users need special lengths and are able to justify it technically and make use of it. The vast majority, just simply want something special.
>>65616397>20" with a 1:14 twist.ftfy. no need to thank me.
If it's over 10 it does the job just fine with appropriate loads, rest is angels on pinheads.
>>6561639114.5 has the most military development and has tons of optics tuned around it, but it's at the edge of shooting like complete shit. 16 mid shoots nicely and has quite a lot of bullet development for it as well, though it's not as fleshed out as 14.5 or 20. 20 is optimal for range and of course velocity as well as being the softest shooting mainstream option. If you want the best AR shooting experience and aren't too concerned about anything else, look no further. On top of that, it's well supported by the optics and ammunition markets. 5.56 will never really be AP without black tips unless you're fighting some retard that bought steel armor. Furthermore 5.56 is a terrible suppressor round as the only subsonic load available has a muzzle energy comparable to 380 ACP. Also the AR in general is a bad suppressor host due to a myriad of reasons, main ones being a lack of an adjustable gas system and the fact a lot of gas leaks out from the gap between the upper and lower. For those two reasons anything shorter than 14.5 is retarded as their main selling point is to have a reasonable OAL with a suppressor. The only exception being the Kitty Kat or similar ultra stubby ARs that have a form factor akin to an MP5, mainly because they're cool and funny
>>6561640211" is perfection. Leaves a lot of room for a can should you be so inclined.
>>65616745>13.7" ideal for Vietnam-era larping.No Vietnam era AR15 pattern rifle had a 13.7" barrel though. That length literally didnt exist prior to 2010
>>65616391There literally exist plates rated for taking a Barrett M82 at point blank, you can't fret over that shit too much.
>>65617547No kidding? I didn’t know such a thing existed.
>>65617639They're very heavy and bulky, and that's their limit, an M2HB or GAU-19 would have more barrel length and get a lot more velocity, so it wouldn't hold for them.I don't think they're even widely available just because they are of dubious practicality, I think they were called Goliath plates or something.Point is, someone will always make a stronger chest plate.
>>6561639120.5">>656164067.63x52Checkmated.
>>65617692>he doesn't use a 21" barreled 7.92x57mm rifleFucking larper.
wow
