accuracy difference

[mikey176293]

currently have 16" chrome lined barrel on my ar.

can anyone with experience tell me what the difference in groups would be in the barrel was 20" instead of 16"....what about non chrome lined vs chrome lined?

at 100 yards?

at 300-500ish yards?

 

[mmchambers06]

All things equal, no difference in accuracy between barrel lengths.

 

[Glocktogo]

Most people will tell you that a properly broken in chrome moly or stainless barrel will be more accurate than chrome lined. It has to do with how evenly the chrome lining can be applied and the fact that the chrome lined barrel will not wear in the same way a non-lined barrel will.

Truth of the matter is that 80% of the AR's on the market are more accurate than 80% of the shooters shooting them.

 

[Perplexed]

I'd think the 20" barrel, all else being equal, would be a tad more accurate - higher muzzle velocity and longer sight radius?

 

[aeropb]

Should be the same.

 

[mmchambers06]

I'd think the 20" barrel, all else being equal, would be a tad more accurate - higher muzzle velocity and longer sight radius?

How the rifle is aimed is a characteristic of the shooter, not the barrel.

Unless you're shooting pretty far out (for .223 rem), the difference in velocity is not really a factor.

 

[mr ed]

If your not going to be going to combat tomorrow or doing Gestapo door to door house clearing. and you want to regularly shoot 3-5oo yards. why not get a 20-24 inch heavy barrel?

 

[ez bake]

If your not going to be going to combat tomorrow or doing Gestapo door to door house clearing. and you want to regularly shoot 3-5oo yards. why not get a 20-24 inch heavy barrel?

I can't see shooting 3-500 yards with .223 or 5.56 as being any fun at all - even if you're setup for target bench-rest shooting, the wind would be a real bear.

If you're looking at a 1/7 twist - then you can do a shorter barrel with heavier ammo and reach out there a ways (maybe not to the distances you're talking, but if I were going to even attempt to go that far with a .223, I'd be shooting 68-75gr bullets at a minimum). If you've got a 1/9 twist - it affects the shorter barrels a little more and depending on what barrel (and the alignment of the moons), it may not jive with larger ammo anyways.

As GTG said, chrome-lining and barrel material come into play as well as quality of barrel (if you're shooting at that distance with a .223).

Most ARs that I've seen that require a longer barrel have a super light twist like a 1/10 or 1/12 and are specifically set up for set-distance bench-rest shooting.

 

[KurtM]

"I can't see shooting 3-500 yards with .223 or 5.56 as being any fun at all"

3-400 is a very common range for 3-gun matches to have a few targets at. The most common target in those ranges are the MGM flash target (10" circle with a 5" square head on it) or the LaRue self resetting target. As for the use of "heavy bullets" it is not really needed unless it makes you feel good about the deal as 55gr stuff will knock down LaRue easily at those ranges. There are a few good shooters that can shoot these types of distances with IRON SIGHTS!

As for barrels, each and everyone will be different but in general chrome lined barrels won't be as accurate usually around 1.5-1 M.O.A. as compared to a good Stainless or Chrome Moly that will usually run around .5-.75 M.O.A. FROM GOOD BARREL MAKERS. I have not seen an appreciable difference between barrel lengths in the accuracy department, a good barrel will be a good barrel at almost any length. KurtM

 

[Glocktogo]

I can't see shooting 3-500 yards with .223 or 5.56 as being any fun at all - even if you're setup for target bench-rest shooting, the wind would be a real bear.

When I was in the service, 20% of our qual score with the M-16A1 was at 500 meters with iron sights. I routinely got 8 out of 10 shots in the scoring rings at that distance. I can tell you from being in the target pits that I wouldn't want to get hit with a 55gr 5.56 at that distance.