Quote:
Originally Posted by Chee-Hu
I seem to be hearing this a lot. I may just go towards that direction as I don't feel the need to have 20" barrel. Thank you, sir.
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Think of it like this, the longer the barrel is AFTER the gas port, the longer the bullet remains in the barrel, and the more gas is pushed to the firing chamber. An 18" barrel only has a small bit of distance between a rifle gas position and the end of the barrel and its only gassing the action during the time between the bullet passing the gas port and exiting the barrel. It's the same reasoning that explains why carbine gas systems on 16" barrels are so harsh.
That said, you would get more velocity out of a longer barrel, but given the relatively limited range of the 223/556 round, it's not that big of a deal, IMO.