Lordgunner

I'm pretty set on getting an AR15.

One simple question. Is a 16" barrel going to be accurate enough? Or is a 20" one a better decision?

I've read articles saying that their 16" barrel is very accurate. The smallest thing that I'll probably be shooting are prarie dogs

survival shop

Its not just the barrel length , it is also the barrel manufacturer. The 16 " bbl's I have installed were all heavy match bbl's. ( Oly. Arms )and they performed very well , of course when you want to get all you can from the .223 ( long range ), a longer bbl. is going to do the job. I have a 24" ,S/S, heavy match ( OLY. Arms) 1 in 10 , crowned , bbl . that justlovesthe heaver bullets @ longer ranges . You will find a lot of opinions here, of course as to this subject, because like every thing else , each barrel and weapon combo will shoot different , but for longer range accuracy , the longer barrels will win out over the shorter ones . It all depends on what your use is.Of course , open sight type ,scope & mount and how its monted on the rifle will have an effect.

bigtim6656

i had a 16 inch factory bushmaster and it was dead on at 100yards no proplem

Bullet Hole Bailey

My colt Ar-15 has a 20" barrel and its deadly accurate!

Lordgunner

Well... I think I got it figured out.

http://www.pkfirearms.com/store/get_item.aspx?id=682&action=display
^^That's the upper, I'd get the flatop so I can mount a scope.

http://www.lonestarwholesale.com/2.html
There's the lower. Scroll to the middle of the page and look at the "AR15 Lower Complete with M4 Stock". I'd probably get the Bushmaster lower.

Any thoughts?

I figured that I couldn't go wrong with Bushmaster

CalNewbie

My experiences with the 16" Bushmaster differ from bigtim6656's. 16" barrel (actually a little shorter given the flash suppressor), best you can hope for is 2" - 2 1/2" groups. A friend has a similar rig and has experienced the same results.

If you want better accuracy go with a 20" barrel. 24" is overkill.

kelbro

I have a 16" DPMS bull barrel that regularly prints .25-.50 5-shot groups.

I also have a 16" pencil barrel that will routinely shoot 1-1.5" groups at 100 yds with open sights.

It's the quality of the barrel along with a good trigger that makes a rifle shoot well, not the length. And the shooter has a little to do with it too . There's no telling what these guns will do with a better pilot steering.

skin290

Quoted for truth...some make the case that a shorter barrel is actually MORE accurate (stiffer) thana longer one, but of course, you have to take into account a larger drop from loss of velocity, so figure out how far you want to shoot it...and buy accordingly