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Posted: 6/22/2006 6:51:25 PM EDT
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I have heard only good things about mid-length, and have decided that my first AR will be just that(RRA Elite CAR A4). Are there any downsides to mid-lengths?(looks don't count, and BTW,I like the way they look) Here are some advantages written by Steve at RRA. They all make sense to me. "The entire mid-length system offers certain advantages over a CAR length system. You already mentioned the longer sight radius, but you also have a lower pressure curve on the gas, which results in slightly less recoil and significantly less wear and tear on yur carrier key, gas rings, etc...The longer handguards give you more support hand contact area, which also corresponds to less exposed hot barrel surface area." |
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Ive only about 500 rounds through mine but i love it so far and i guess ill add to the teasing http://image46.webshots.com/47/0/6/14/2360006140092018191eKDraN_ph.jpg Kevin |
| I hate mine. The barrel profile isn't retarded because there isn't excessive barrel past the FS. A Bayonet will mount correctly. The longer sight radius helps to fine tune shot placement better than the carbine. They're entirely impractical and a waste of money. |
I'm currently working on the exact same thing. SDI barrel for me too. I just need to get my gas tube and my Vortex. It'll be my second Middy. My first used a chromoly RRA HBAR in 1/9-not at all my preference, but it was the only thing availible at the time other than an Armalite with a ghey break back in those days. People were like "WTF is that?!"...I told those bastards the middy would catch on. 
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I've not heard of a downside to them, except that you may have to look around to find certain parts if you wanted to go with a rail system. Not every supplier carries midlength rails (yet). I'm sure as the popularity if this style increases the suppliers will match inventories to the demand. I just put my first middie together a couple of weeks ago. It's an RRA chrome upper mated to a Bushmaster lower with all internal RRA parts. I shot it last week and it functioned 100% flawlessly with the 240 rounds that I ran through it. It definitely feels smoother than the M4gery. I really love the rifle. My rifle is definitely heavier than the M4 though because of the heavy bbl profile. As of now I'm still comfortable with the weight, but I can always reprofile or rebarrel for a lighter weight if it becomes a problem. But that is an issue specific to my rifle. Not all midlengths will have a heavy profile, and with a gov't profile the weight should be nearly identical to an M4 cut barrel. One thing that is kinda cool is you can snap a bayonet on them. Useless, but cool. Don't forget that every time you affix your bayonet Sarah Brady gets another gray hair.  
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I have a RRA Elite, LEO model. Can't think of a downside...other than a bayonet does mount a tad too far forward to be perfect. I guess on the up side it puts about 3/8" more blade out in front. Maybe not a downside. My police department went with carbine models with mid-length hand guards for several reasons. First, you can mount accessories on it and still have room for your hand. Also, as stated above, there is less wear and tear on the weapon, and finally and most importantly, the TAC team officers shot it more accurately than a M4 configuration. 
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Compared to the prices folks are paying for optics, rails, iron sights, etc., shelling out a few bucks to have a barrel turned down to a lighter weight profile is nothing. Like any other AR variation out there, if you don't like the HBAR then shave it down so that it's light under the handguards. The fact is that we are still talking about a 16" barrel here. It's not going to weigh any more than any other 16" carbine barrel. The length of the gas tube has virtually nothing to do with the overall weight. The extra length on the handguards will add... maybe a couple of ounces. Nothing significant. I believe that the midlength is perceived to be heavier because of the longer handguard, even though the weight is comparable to a CAR gas system, all other things being equal (barrel profile, accessories, etc.). Weight is not a disadvantage of the midlength gas system. The only real disadvantage I can think of is that pretty soon everyone is going to have one, much like the popularity of the M4 style, and if you bought one because it was different then soon that won't be the case. 
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I ordered my RRA middie chrome upper from Pete at Legal Transfers here on AR15.com. I mailed him a PMO on a Monday and received the upper exactly 7 days later. It can't get any faster than that unless it's overnighted. Great customer service. 
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I absolutly love mine, it's been a great rifle! I can't really think of any downsides that would concern me. I've been kind of thinking that the middy would make the Carbine length system obsolete - or at least alot less popular. -K ETA - All your page two are belong to me! |
You can always have any barrel reprofiled, there are not that many real lightweight barrels available with any length of gas system and there's more than one place that sells govt. profile middies that are lighter than the HBAR you're bitching about. Your complaint is a non-issue. |
Yes... The sabre defense barrel DOES rock. The only downside... the rail will be a little heavier than a carbines rail? |
Yes, maybe 2-3 ounces if you look on the manufacturer's websites and compare the weights. HOWEVER - because the midlength has more barrel under the handguard there is more metal that can be removed when it is made "light under the handguards". I am sure that, because of this characteristic, a midlength barrel will actually be slightly lighter in weight than a CAR barrel if you leave the metal in front of the FSB intact during reprofiling. That is, if both the CAR barrel and the Middie barrel retain a heavy profile in front of the FSB. In addition, a true lightweight profile should be identical in weight before adding in the weight of the handguards since all we are doing is moving the gas port a couple inches toward the muzzle when we make a midlength gas system barrel. What all this crap boils down to is that weight is not a factor to consider when speaking of midlength gas systems. They just LOOK heavier because of the longer handguards. If I were to build two truly lightweight ARs, one CAR and one middie, all accessories and features being equal, they would weigh within a couple ounces of each other. But IMHO the middie would look better and shoot a little nicer. But that's just my opinion. 
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