Barrel length suggestions

[sprdpr]

I have an aero upper and 9" Atlas-S handgaurd. What length barrel would you suggest to pair to this?

[BlogSarge]

Welcome to the forum.

It kinda depends on what you want to do and what aesthetics you like.

Unless you have a muzzle device that will extend the barrel length, you’ll want to look at 9” or more. If a can is in the future and will fit under the handguard you can do a shorter barrel and recess the can under the handguard.

Beyond that, you can run the barrel as long as you want.

Don’t let the handguard dictate the barrel length though. Handguards can be had for not a lot of money so build it the you want it.

[sprdpr]

I had planned on a 10" barrel. However now I am rethinking that. I'm thinking I should go with 9 or 9.5" with a flash forwarding device or linear comp.

[dellet]

Most of the time guard length is measured from the front of the rail on the receiver and the barrel starts about 1/2"back at the bolt face.

Generally a 9" handgaurd will be flush with the end of a 9.5" barrel. Then the shoulder where the threads end will be 1/2" under the guard. Keep that in mind if you need access.

If you ever want to use a suppressor and tuck it inside, that guard will not work, unless the diameter is about 1 1/8 ".

[sprdpr]

Yeah I guess that's the question. Is there ever a reason I would need to access the threaded end without taking the barrel off? As far a a suppressor goes I think it would fit as the ID is 1.3". A couple of muzzle devices I was considering were the KAW Valley Linear comp and the Simple Threaded Device. I guess I could also just go with a thread protector too, but I feel the muzzle device protects the crown a bit better.

[GunFunZS]

10 or 10.5 seems to be the just about right length for these in general, IMO. Long enough to get most of the velocity you could, and long enough to be very quiet with the subs. Short enough to be handy. 7" is okay, IF you have a hand stop or something.

I do like the linear comps. I also like those cheap brakes they sell on ebay that have threaded on flash can tubes over the brake. Kinda best of both there. They have a weird thread pitch, that I think is matched to oil filters, so If that ever gets deregulated, or whatever...

[plant.one]

depending on where you live you might have to go minimal on your barrel length.

here in Michigan, if you want to carry a handgun under our CPL rules there is a 26" OAL limit to those regulations.

a 9" barrel with standard flash hider doesnt leave much wiggle room, and a 10" barrel would leave you seriously searching for a shorty muzzle device to stay under our laws here.



i have a 9" barrel on my ar-pistol and when i added on the LAW folding adapter - not only did i have to hunt down a super short muzzle device, but i had to take a file to it and shave a little over 1/16th off the front to get myself under the limit.


as mentioned - dont let your handguard dictact your barrel choice. handguards are relatively cheap, especially 7" or so sized ones.

just things to consider.

[alamo5000]

There is no real right or wrong answer here. That said I have been very careful to have good suppressor/hand guard fitment without much gap in between. The difference is .7 or .8 inches.

In other words if you have a 10.3" barrel a 9.5" hand guard would be a pretty tight fit. That is a .8 inch difference.

A 9 inch barrel would need an 8.3" hand guard so there is no interference with mounting a can.

Keep in mind those numbers are 1) approximations (albeit very close ones) and 2) assuming you will be mounting a suppressor.

A 10.5 inch barrel with a 9 inch hand guard will leave you approximately .7 inches of 'gap' between the shoulder of the barrel and the end of your hand guard. This is all assuming your components are the exact length they are advertised as.

[Enfoto]

A 9.5" handguard with 10.5" barrel is pretty darn close. UWone77 should have a few examples with his AAC cans.