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Posted: 5/23/2006 12:31:32 PM EDT
| What are the advantages of a midlength? |
Plus more forearm space for accessories. The middy gas system is less harsh on the internals, so the rifle should, in theory, survive longer. My 14.5" middy is the most balanced and pointable gun I own, and the recoil is noticeably less than a CAR. |
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There are mutliple reasons for the 16" midlength over a traditional 16" carbine. Some reasons are more important to some people than to others. They include: - longer sight radius, which may make accurate shooting with iron sights slightly easier than the carbine - longer gas system, which may make felt recoil slightly less harsh than the carbine - possible less wear/erosion in the gas system - the ability to properly attach a bayonet (if you care) - a more "balanced" look (if you care) Personally, I don't think any of those advantages are HUGE and the individual differences are not enormous in themselves. However, every one of them is a slight advantage, and you lose nothing by choosing the midlength over the traditional carbine - so I'm not planning on ever buying a 16" carbine again. All of my 16" ARs will be midlengths from now on. |
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Strictly my opinion, and worth every penny you paid for it... This after buying one, assembling a few other AR's, and continually learning here... For me, having the one 16" carbine is more than enough. The sight radius is the biggest downfall. Personal preference I am sure. In fact, I feel that a 16" carbine with a FH is dumb strictly from a practical standpoint. Even the one I own  . A SBR, sure. However, unless it is intended to be a dedicated tactical entry weapon, or the ultimate superlight non-NFA/ NFA rifle build, a carbine seems silly to me. The only reason to purchase or assemble a carbine would be for its looks, weight considerations, or SBR project. I personally prefer the mid-lengths if less than a 20" barrel. IMO opinion a 14.5" mid. superlight barrel, perm. attached Phantom FH, and A2 upper is the shitz, as far as mid-lengths go. It is my current build and should be a great desert plinker or SHTF choice. |
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I'm pretty new to AR15s, so my viewpoint may be naive, but the way I see it, the real M4 has a 14.5" barrel and the civilian version, the "M4gery", has a 16" barrel. So even aside from the lack of burst mode, the M4gery is indeed a forgery. So why not just skip the whole M4 fakery and grenade launcher possibilities which will never happen for most of us anyway and go with a non-stepped 16" barrel with a gas system designed for it? It doesn't pretend to be anything that it isn't. The barrel is the same length, the forearm is longer, the gas system is - apparently, from what I've read here - more efficient. I don't see anything to argue against it except that it doesn't look like Pinocchio's M4. That said, it just turned out that at the time I joined here there was a wave of midlength enthusiasm underway and so when I ordered my first (and so far only) upper I got a midlength. I didn't have any particular opinions one way or the other on the M4 style barrel. I'm now speaking "after the fact" and my opinion is only a point of view, not a transcendental truth. GL |
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After some research and taking in all your input I decided to go with a 18" midlength. I don't see any reason to get a M4gery since the barrel is pretty close to the same length anyway so it doesn't really make it more compact, and my first priority is always reliability/functionality. Plus I like the "rifle" look. |
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