Which direction for an ar

[Perplexed]

What's the availability of that ammo, is it something I can swing into academy and get?

I shied away from 6.5 Grendel some ten years ago because of ammo availability - and cost! I checked again on this caliber a month ago, and though I haven't looked into local vendors, I was astonished at how cheap the ammo has gotten online. Wolf steel cased ammo for 23 cents a round? That caliber is going to be my next build.

 

[NikatKimber]

On the 18" I guess having a mid length gas system causes them to under gas and a rifle length to over gas, I could be wrong but it's what I read.

Flip that around. The longer the barrel length AFTER the gas block the more the likelihood to be over-gassed.

 

[Glocktogo]

What's the availability of that ammo, is it something I can swing into academy and get?

No, but you can 6.8 SPCII. It's optimized for 16-18" barrels. However, it's still not as good for volume shooting as .223/5.56 due to cost, even if you reload.

.300 BLK is best for building an SBR. I personally like a pinned 14.5" for 5.56, but I'm odd that way.

 

[Perplexed]

I personally like a pinned 14.5" for 5.56, but I'm odd that way.

I'm the same way, having just finished a 14.5" build with pinned VG6 Epsilon comp. Haven't tried it out yet, though.

 

[Swine]

6.8 spc I can't say enough about the versatility of this round from hunting to match shooting.

 

[tomthebaker]

If you don't already have a 223 Wylde in 1:7 or 1:8 I would go that route. You can shoot cheap 55 grain ammo, 62 grain penetrating, or 77 grain match.

I have one in 16" and one in 18". No problems with either, although the are POF piston guns.

After you have a 223 or 556, then look for other calibers.

 

[beastep]

Still do the blackout. 16" hurts nothing. I run two barrels over a chrono and both of them were mine with my handloads. Everything exactly the same 16" vs 10.5". The 10.5 lost right at 100fps. You're not hurting anything by stepping up to a 16"