CAR or mid length ?

[Shifty]

I'm looking to buy another AR now and with the new AWB scare goin on right now i'm having trouble finding what i want in stock.

I really like the Del-ton kits and i'll be goin with them. But the problem is they are out of stock on the 16" midlength kits with the 1/7 twist 5.56 upper.

They said they have the 16" carbine length with the 1/7 5.56 uppers but i'm not sure i would want the carbine length gas system.

So the question to you more experienced AR owners out there is what gas system should i go with.

The new AR will be specced out as my SHTF/lots of fun to play with rifle.

my other AR is just the Remington R-15 just for hunting purposes.



So wait for the mid length to become available in 1/7 twist?
Or go ahead with the car length system?

thanks
Oh and just joined the site a few days ago when i first heard abou it. I'm liking this place alot more already then AR15.com :D

[Parabellum9x19mm]

Del-Ton only offers a HBAR midlength, so i wouldnt worry about it being out of stock

their CARs can be had in HBAR, M4 or Lightweight profiles.

i'd rather have a lighter barrel (M4 or LW) with a CAR gas system than a HBAR with a mid system.

good luck!

[RogerinTPA]

Mid-length is a better all around, all purpose rifle. If I can only have one, it would be the middy. I own both.:)

[Parabellum9x19mm]

If I can only have one, it would be the middy.

in general, i would agree that the midlength is all around better for a general purpose rifle....but not if the middy is a HBAR and the CAR is M4 or lightweight.


the OP said he wants a recreational fun-gun/SHTF carbine. a 16" HBAR would not be very well suited for this purpose, regardless of the gas system

lighter ARs are more fun and more importantly, lighter ARs are much easier to carry for extended periods and distances should SHTF.

[gishooter]

well here is what I have heard and read from this sight and others

Mid length is the way to go, mid length gas is easier on the bolt and the speed in which the bolt travels to the rear is reduced which can increace reliability. That being said well uh yeah whatever. The thing to remember here is that you are going to use your rifle for fun 99.9 percent of the time so all the mid length/carbine length info is great and all but the true reliability factor comes into play more for the soldier that is dumping magazines killing terrorists and will have the weapon smoking hot in sand/mud/dirt/sh!t/whatever. Oh yeah he is shooting a colt which is carbine length. Even in the SHTF scenario, you may dump 1 -3 mags and then either A) your dead or B) the oppistion is dead, weapons cools repeat in an hour. So get what you want or at this point. get waht they have. I have found that out trying to find a Sig 556 pistol. Folks are sold of alot of stuff everwhere (my shop had NO more black rifles at all) Nnow I am sure someone will chime in and say that this is BS and you should get a Colt/LMT/(insert favorite rifle from the chart here) with blah blah blah but really 90 percent of the people on the net posting away (myself included) aren't using these rifles in a manner with which they are prone to failure. That being said though don't buy a POS. JM2C

[RogerinTPA]

Granted. I was talking about an all around, all purpose rifle. Agree about not having a HBAR.


in general, i would agree that the midlength is all around better for a general purpose rifle....but not if the middy is a HBAR and the CAR is M4 or lightweight.


the OP said he wants a recreational fun-gun/SHTF carbine. a 16" HBAR would not be very well suited for this purpose, regardless of the gas system

lighter ARs are more fun and more importantly, lighter ARs are much easier to carry for extended periods and distances should SHTF.

[apd268]

go with the carbine length

[spamsammich]

My cousin got a Del-ton middy and while we were generally happy with their service and the overall fit and finish of the upper, it is heavy and I didn't like the staking so I staked it myself. It is quite a bit heavier than my Sabre middy with an omega 9.

I'm not sold on it, he thinks heavier barrels are going to help him with his accuracy. I've put a couple hundred rounds down range in the short time I've been able to use my gun, he hasn't shot his yet. I don't think the hbar is doing a damned think for his accuracy ;) But it sure looks nice.

well, it did look nice until he had me put a UTG non FF rail with the rail covers on it, then it gain like another pound of ugly.

[Shifty]

Ok, me being a newb here for black rifles.


Looks like for my purpose of 99.9% fun rifle/.00000001% SHTF rifle. A carbine length system will be just dandy and having the light M4 barrel, it will be lighter to tote around at the range and out in the fields hunting coytes and such.

Correct? so far?

AS for reliability i shouldn't have to worry about that since i'm not firing full auto dumping multiple mags with the thing clogged with sand/dirt/mud/ ect. And it will be cleaned after every outting.

seem about right ?

[csun_00]

I have a mid-length go with a middy, less stress on the gas system, less wear and tear, lees money on parts more on ammo.

[Shifty]

To be honest, i'm not really really concerned about parts breaking too soon.
I dont see me shooting any more then 1000 rounds a year unless i run into alot more money any time soon :D

[spamsammich]

In this case it seems the benefits of the Del-ton middy are outweighed by the OPs projected use for the rifle. If he were doing lots of 3 gun or carbine classes and hard use training, yes the middy gas system would be desirable, BUT a lighter middy would be best for that. IMO the Del-ton is too heavy.

For a very light use fun gun, I doubt one would fully realize the benefits of the middy over a carbine gas system. The ONLY benefit of it in this case, IMO, is the lighter recoil. If i shot less than 1000 rounds a year, I'd bet on never turning theoretical savings from the mid gas system into ammo money.

[Parabellum9x19mm]

I have a mid-length go with a middy, less stress on the gas system, less wear and tear, lees money on parts more on ammo.

people always want to recommend what they have.

i have three CARs and three mid-lengths. i haven't had any parts break on any of them yet.

i have owned a 16" HBAR. it was my first AR. i wound up selling that upper, because a 16" HBAR makes very little sense.

spamsammich is totally right. 16" HBARs are not any more accurate. sure, theoretically the barrel is more rigid and has less whip....but we're not talking about a match grade stainless barrel with a target crown. we're talking about chrome lined, military type barrels. they're not hyper accurate to start with and probably wont ever shoot match grade ammo. the heavier profile barrel wont make much difference in accuracy, unless you're talking about a pencil barrel, which would show some stringing as it heats.

the type of shooting you do with a barrel like that doesn't always lend itself to accuracy either....its not always going to be at a bench with sandbags. if you're shooting on your feet, the HBAR will fatiuge your arms a lot faster than you'd get from a lighter rifle.

the only benefit you'd see from the middy would be less recoil. i have not noticed a reliability difference between CAR and middy. it might be there, statistically...but i've never witnessed it. then again, none of the ARs i currently own have ever malfed on me (yah i know, just means i need to shoot more).

if you really think you'd save money on spare parts to be able to shoot more...that's just silly. how much is a new extractor....or even a spare bolt for that matter, compared with the price of ammo nowadays?

[markm]

I have a mid-length go with a middy, less stress on the gas system, less wear and tear, lees money on parts more on ammo.

I run the carbean gas system 14.5" barrel 90% of the time I shoot. And I shoot almost EVERY weekend.

I have yet to need to replace any part on the gun other than a tired recoil spring.