16 inch AR-10, too short??

[patriotusa17]

I am in the process of having an AR-10 customized for me and I would like to go with a 16 incher. Why? Mostly because it is more meant for a high power CQB rifle, rather than a distance rifle. The furthest I can see ever needing to shoot would be 500 yards. I am looking to see how much more it would be to have the barrel with polyagonal rifling and will also have a good flash suppressor on as well. I realize the longer the barrel, the more accurate the round will be, however, I'm hoping the polyagonal rifling will help to make up for that on top of never shooting beyond 500 yards. This is really more than a protect the house from burglars rifle and more as an insurance were the government to end up coming after our weapons with force and I need to shoot through body armor. Comments and suggestions, feel free...

[Matt.Cross]

I am in the process of having an AR-10 customized for me and I would like to go with a 16 incher. Why? Mostly because it is more meant for a high power CQB rifle, rather than a distance rifle. The furthest I can see ever needing to shoot would be 500 yards. I am looking to see how much more it would be to have the barrel with polyagonal rifling and will also have a good flash suppressor on as well. I realize the longer the barrel, the more accurate the round will be, however, I'm hoping the polyagonal rifling will help to make up for that on top of never shooting beyond 500 yards. This is really more than a protect the house from burglars rifle and more as an insurance were the government to end up coming after our weapons with force and I need to shoot through body armor. Comments and suggestions, feel free...

 

 

Sounds like you are pretty well on track brother, I'd have to say your only contentious point is on barrel length. After a certain barrel length, you aren't making any substantial gains in accuracy, you're just adding weight and barrel whip. In your case, 16" is plenty for what you're wanting to achieve, and the only thing that is going to hurt you with regard to accuracy is having too thin a profile. That shouldn't be a problem if you're ordering a custom barrel anyways.

 

 

 

EDIT: Oh, BTW, welcome to the forums!  <thumbsup>

Edited June 22, 2013 by Matt.Cross

[unforgiven]

Welcome from Indiana brother.Let's hope it never comes to shooting fellow Americans sons and daughters,as they are not the ones that make policy in this country.

[EasyEJL]

Welcome from Florida. If you want a home defense AR, I have to think the 308 would be pretty far down the list. An AR 15 in 45 acp would be optimal for that. Honestly I would never seriously consider firing the 308 AR in a dwelling

[gnatshooter]

PatriotUSA17,

 

Welcome to the forum. For a handy rifle that's up for shooting distances you have in mind, you might want to consider the DPMS LR-308T. I have to agree with EasyEJL about home defense, though. You'd want the right tool for the right job, and home defense is a different job. For around the house, or even the back yard, you may want to look at the Mossberg 590 12-gauge shotgun. It carries 8 rounds in the tube +1 in the chamber, it's cheap to feed, and you can put anything in there from birdshot, to buckshot, to slugs. Heck, you can even buy shells that have little bundles of darts, or short lengths of chain. And in your spare time you can pay some attention to pheasants and quail, too.

 

When it comes  to body armor, you should look at the companies that sell armor and what rounds they guarantee against penetration. I don't believe .308 will do what you think. Shot placement is important, and that means practice, practice!

 

Happy hunting!

[patriotusa17]

@ EasyEJL: I have no intention of answering the burglar with this AR-10, thats what my Glock 23 is for. This is my backup plan so to speak, if and when we have government officials coming to take our weapons and we are forced to defend ourselves. So yes, I would be firing it probably from within my home outwards, but at that point what choice do I have? It would either be that or out in a field somewhere, who knows what the 21st century civil war will look like?

 

And I'll also probably use it for some sport or fun shooting up targets at the range.

[survivalshop]

16 " barrel is fine for any thing from close to far as you need it . 

[planeflyer21]

I did an impulse buy on my 16" RRA Elite Operator (it was in stock, I had money).

 

It, Liberty, has become my go-to rifle.  I'd been stuck on the idea that 18" or 20" barrels were the way to go for self-loading .308s.

 

Couldn't be more wrong.

 

Jon

[Rsquared]

Hey patriot. Welcome to the board. I've got a couple of AR-10 carbines (16"), and they're more than fine for the "urban (around the home)" type of environment when it comes to accuracy. With that being said, I hope that I never have to pull the trigger in that scenario. Everybody would be deaf and all the windows would be blown out.

 

Now for CQB.....I've just finished building my 12" AR-10 SBR..................just in case.

[moopey]

Hey patriot. Welcome to the board. I've got a couple of AR-10 carbines (16"), and they're more than fine for the "urban (around the home)" type of environment when it comes to accuracy. With that being said, I hope that I never have to pull the trigger in that scenario. Everybody would be deaf and all the windows would be blown out.

 

Now for CQB.....I've just finished building my 12" AR-10 SBR..................just in case.

I just built my first .308 rifle in 16". While I haven't fired it yet I do like the over length of it and the weight. However after reading this.....I think I want to get a tax stamp and build a SBR upper. Point me to some pics of that if you have some.

[Rsquared]

Here you go my man. You can skip towards the end to check out the final pics after she was finally put together.