20" lightweight/pencil barrel experiences (with or without suppressor)?

There are some lightweight cans out there, minimizing POI shift due to weight. If there is a POI shift, with a quality barrel and suppressor, it should be repeatable. If there is dispersion due to heat, take steps to control the heat by slowing down your rate of fire or giving the rifle a chance to cool off between sets. Going with an HBar or heavier profile will handle heat better, but the shooter will still have to watch it.

Criterion makes a good barrel and the one in question has some real good features for the listed price. Looks like you'll have to contact Fulton or Criterion to find out what steel it's made from. I'd also take them up on their offer of getting a headspaced bolt

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Originally Posted by VIP3R 237

Ive heard from a pretty good source that the extra weight of the 'Government' profile actually preloads the barrel and helps with the accuracy and consistency of suppressor POI.

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Hmm. I could see that. Might be concerned with "whip" a bit more but as long as that's kept pretty consistent--a good suppressor mount would be huge here--even that wouldn't be much of an issue.

Which was why my original remark was "I have to wonder if," rather than something more....assume-y. Because I don't know, and that was more than a little spitballing on my part.

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Originally Posted by MistWolf

There are some lightweight cans out there, minimizing POI shift due to weight. If there is a POI shift, with a quality barrel and suppressor, it should be repeatable. If there is dispersion due to heat, take steps to control the heat by slowing down your rate of fire or giving the rifle a chance to cool off between sets. Going with an HBar or heavier profile will handle heat better, but the shooter will still have to watch it.

Criterion makes a good barrel and the one in question has some real good features for the listed price. Looks like you'll have to contact Fulton or Criterion to find out what steel it's made from. I'd also take them up on their offer of getting a headspaced bolt

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That seems like a lot of time and $$$ to wager on "if" and "should," if the shooter doesn't have a plethora or time and $$$ to roll the dice on.

The OP stated that 50% will be spent with the can, and 50% without. Maybe the OP would be better suited to build two uppers specific for "A" and "Z" applications, and find more enjoyment without chasing his tail trying to find a compromise? I say "A" and "Z" (rather than "X" and "Y") because the applied applications are not in the same ballpark.

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Originally Posted by SeaDonkey

That seems like a lot of time and $$$ to wager on "if" and "should," if the shooter doesn't have a plethora or time and $$$ to roll the dice on.

The OP stated that 50% will be spent with the can, and 50% without. Maybe the OP would be better suited to build two uppers specific for "A" and "Z" applications, and find more enjoyment without chasing his tail trying to find a compromise? I say "A" and "Z" (rather than "X" and "Y") because the applied applications are not in the same ballpark.

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Shooting is all about the "if". If you put a thicker, heavier barrel on your AR, it should have less poi shift with a suppressor and it should have less poi shift as it heats up compared to a lighter barrel and it might be enough of a difference to be worth carrying around a heavier rifle. But it might not. You never know until you actually try it and that takes money & time as well. Either way, you pays your money, you takes your chances

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Originally Posted by MistWolf

Shooting is all about the "if". If you put a thicker, heavier barrel on your AR, it should have less poi shift with a suppressor and it should have less poi shift as it heats up compared to a lighter barrel and it might be enough of a difference to be worth carrying around a heavier rifle. But it might not. You never know until you actually try it and that takes money & time as well. Either way, you pays your money, you takes your chances

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And then there's physics...

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Originally Posted by Brahmzy

And then there's physics...

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No shirt, Shetlock. But There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. The thicker profile barrel is stiffer but it's heavier. The thicker profile barrel handles heat better but it's heavier. Will the shooter see enough difference in stiffness and heat control to make carrying around the extra weight worth it?

A lighter barrel is easier to carry. But it's not as stiff and doesn't control heat as well. Will the difference in weight be enough to make giving up some stiffness and heat control worth it? Only the shooter can decide. Only the shower can decide if the choice made was the right one and the only way to know is to go shoot what you picked.

Weight does matter. If it didn't, we'd all be shooting FN-FALs in 7.62x51 or, if history had been kind to us, the US would have adopted Stoner's AR10 and we'd be shooting its modern version today. Instead, the modern rifle today is something lighter and more compact.

Heat control matters. Otherwise there would be no need for the heavier barrel of the M4A1. Or heavier barrels with a quick change feature on automatic weapons designed for sustained rates of fire. Yes, it's about physics, but physics doesn't give us absolute choice. Physics only defines what compromises we choose and only through experience can we decide if that choice performs to our satisfaction

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Originally Posted by MistWolf

No shirt, Shetlock. But There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. The thicker profile barrel is stiffer but it's heavier. The thicker profile barrel handles heat better but it's heavier. Will the shooter see enough difference in stiffness and heat control to make carrying around the extra weight worth it?

A lighter barrel is easier to carry. But it's not as stiff and doesn't control heat as well. Will the difference in weight be enough to make giving up some stiffness and heat control worth it? Only the shooter can decide. Only the shower can decide if the choice made was the right one and the only way to know is to go shoot what you picked.

Weight does matter. If it didn't, we'd all be shooting FN-FALs in 7.62x51 or, if history had been kind to us, the US would have adopted Stoner's AR10 and we'd be shooting its modern version today. Instead, the modern rifle today is something lighter and more compact.

Heat control matters. Otherwise there would be no need for the heavier barrel of the M4A1. Or heavier barrels with a quick change feature on automatic weapons designed for sustained rates of fire. Yes, it's about physics, but physics doesn't give us absolute choice. Physics only defines what compromises we choose and only through experience can we decide if that choice performs to our satisfaction

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Your point? Nothing you stated is new news to anybody. In fact I think the question has already been answered.
You're pushing the OP to make compromises. The facts and physics speak for themselves. There's no gray area here.

What's the mission? Build the right tool for the mission. A one-gun do it all thing will force compromise. Jack of all, master of none. It's up to the OP. I vote 2 rifles as mentioned above.