long range ar. 20" or 24"

[outdoorsmen]

I looking at getting a RRA varmint A4. what would be better for longer ranges the 20" or the 24"? it's a 1-8" twist.

[Failure2Stop]

Ammo and barrel quality will have more of a difference in result than a couple of inches of barrel.
Regardless of muzzle velocity, at long range you will have to know and apply drop. The minimal difference in drop attained by a slightly longer barrel will be essentially insignificant.
I have no idea how "good" a RRA barrel will be for presicion long range marksmanship.

[Battl3fr0nt]

well For long range I would say 24" it is pretty much making your Ar into a Sniper but I have seen a 24" SS barrel shoot within about 5-6" at 860 yards. It was a DPMS.. a 20" SS Barrel can do about the same thing maby 100-200 less yards.. But yeah a 24" SS barrel will be good to 1000yards.. a 14.5 is goo to about 400-600 depending on the barrel and ammo and 16" should get you out to 800.. But it must be a match grade barrel with I would say 69gr to 75gr ammo.. The 24" SS Barrel was shooting the 860yards with Prvi 75gr Match BTHP ammo.. but with 5.56/223. wind can mess things up.. I never shoot past 600 yards and I use a Armalite, 16" 4140 crome lined and it gets me to 600 with 62gr ammo but the shot groups are about 7-9" I do use an ACOG (TA31F) so it has a BDC chart on it going out to 800yards.. Im sure I can hit within 12" at 800 but I dont have the area to do it and my local shooting range is only 600yards, But yeah it depends on what you want to do if you have alot of space and you already own a Carbine then hell go with a 20 or 24" SS Barrel, the life if the SS barrels are not even half as good as crome lined but they have good moa.. If it were me I would go with a 20" SS barrel with a 1/8 twist prolly a DPMS since I would only be using it at the range .. But if you want to get into really long range shooting then check out the new 6.5 It will put you within the size of a baseball at 600 yards.. It shoots much flater then the 308. and it is half the recoil.. but that is if you are going to be shooting past 1000yards 70% of the time.. if not then a 5.56 with a nice 20" - 24" SS barrel will get the job done and you can get a pretty cheap full rilfe from DPMS and it will give you them groups stock as long as you have a good scope.. I was thinking about getting one for myself but since I cant shoot past 600yards my Armalite 16" non match barrel with my TA31F ACOG does the job just fine..

Just adding a note I have never shot the 24" SS DPMS rilfe but I have seen it done but I know these will be just as good as DPMS in case you dont wanna buy DPMS

they are both Armalite one is a 20" and one is a 24" both with 1/8 twist if you wanna shoot 600-800yards the 20" will do and the 24" will get you out to about 1000yards on a good day with the right ammo I would have to say try out Prvi 75gr Match BTHP

http://www.armalite.com/ItemForm.asp...b-822e58014822

http://www.armalite.com/ItemForm.asp...b-822e58014822

[The Archangel]

I have found that the definition of "long-range" is drastically different for Military, LEO & civilians. What do you consider long range and what do you plan on shooting at that range (effective terminal ballistics)?

[Ron S.]

To me?

Close range: 0-300 yds.

Medium range: 300-800 yds.

Long range: 800+ yds.



Now...I'm sure it's been done a million times, but if I saw someone hit a target with accuracy with an AR at 800+ yds., I'd be very impressed.

[The Archangel]

To me?

Close range: 0-300 yds.

Medium range: 300-800 yds.

Long range: 800+ yds.


Now...I'm sure it's been done a million times, but if I saw someone hit a target with accuracy with an AR at 800+ yds., I'd be very impressed.

+0.99
Great minds think alike.

Mine:

Close range: 0-250 yds.

Medium range: 251-600 yds.

Long range: 601+ yds.

Hearing about it is one thing, but seeing it first hand is an entire different experience and gives you a whole new sense of appreciation for the difficulty and skill it takes to make a long-range shot against something/one that doesn't want to be shot. The best long range shot that I have seen was a 510M head shot and it took three shots to do it. My comment to the guy who made the shot was "HOLY F%^#!!!" The weapon that he used was a M-14 with 10X scope.

[outdoorsmen]

i ordered the 24" SS RRA. i figured that if it's good enough for 1000yds then it should be good for 500yds. I"m not saying that i will ever shoot that far but at some point i don't want to wishing that i would have got a longer barrel.
i know a few guys that want to shoot 1000yds with .308 and when they bought their guns they only got 20-24" barrels, they now wish they had 26-30"

[Battl3fr0nt]

Close range: 0-50-100 yds.

Medium range: 100-600 yds.

Long range: 600-1000+ yds.

if you are talking sniper rifle's then it is a different thing but as for AR's then that is about the chart.. I find the ACOG is the best for it all maby not so much (Long range) but Close range to Medium range it will have you covered and the are light and will not brake on you in a firefight.. My TA31F is good from 0-600 yds I can do 800 but I find I never use it that far as it is a mid range Battle Optic.. but they do have the ECOS that will do out to 1000 yards and make good hit's.. and ACOG's are 4 power.. so it all depends on how you look at it and if you are a sniper or assult imo..

[Failure2Stop]

I am going to step out on a limb here and assume that outdoorsman is not trying to be a "sniper" or buy a "sniper rifle".

This thread has bandied the word "sniper" around a bit much. Having an accurate rifle makes you a sniper about as much as owning a car makes you a professional racer.

[bullitt5172]

I am going to step out on a limb here and assume that outdoorsman is not trying to be a "sniper" or buy a "sniper rifle".

This thread has bandied the word "sniper" around a bit much. Having an accurate rifle makes you a sniper about as much as owning a car makes you a professional racer.

True, I hate it when someone asks me about my "sniper rifle" at the range. It's a precision rig

A friend of mine here at work had MSTN build him an upper. It was a high dollar precision rig for shooting 200yds to 1000yds. Paul at MSTN suggested the 20" barrel over the 24".