16 inch Full Length Gas System? [Archive]

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minsane

03-20-09, 00:18

DRich

03-20-09, 00:26

Hi guys:

This might be a crazy question but I will ask anyway. Will a full length gas system work on a 16 inch barrel? I am having a barrel made and with the talk of a mid length gas system being better than a carbine length I am wondering if this might be better. think it might look cool too.

Has anyone tried this on a carbine lower?

Yes, it can work. I ran one for quite a few years (before mid-length systems were available), including a few carbine classes. However, you'll find this combination may be finicky with regards to ammo selection. Mine was 100% reliable with M193/M855, but standard .223 loads would not run reliably. YMMV, of course.

Given the choice today, I'd take the mid-length and enjoy the increased reliability. There is no good reason to use a rifle length gas system on a 16" barrel.

Here is a picture of my old carbine.
http://hudsdad.com/pics/dis1.jpg

bkb0000

03-20-09, 00:47

if you like the look, you can always do a low-profile gas block at a midlength gas port and run rifle length guards out to a non-gas block FSB. might have to scratch your head for a minute developing your barrel profile/FSB size needs.

HansTheHobbit

04-05-15, 02:31

I want the same thing. I want to put a krink style brake on it, which should make up for the lack of dwell time, meaning no need to open up the gas port. The advantage would be a 16'' barrel with 20'' reliability, meaning no early extraction. It would also run cooler and shoot softer. My plan is as follows:

16'' rifle length barrel with rifle size gas port and krink style muzzle brake installed.
6oz carbine buffer and enhanced power recoil spring in the lower.

I might have to open up the gas port a little, or maybe just chamfer it a bit. Then again, maybe not.

In any case, I don't have much to lose. I can pick up a cheap rifle barrel for about 150 bucks, plus another 50 or so to have a smith cut it down to 16''.

tostado22

04-05-15, 02:50

I don't see how a 16"/rifle gas would or could give you 20" reliability. With the "proper" port size, barrel length, and gas length combo there shouldn't be a difference in reliability. But again, I dont see the reason for even finding the proper combination for a 16"/rifle gas upper. Chamfering your gas port wouldn't do anything except possibly help it erode faster. I could be way off base on that, though. Who knows, experiments like this are what got us where we are today.

I'll go now as its 2am and my tired mind is going weird places. Yay staff duty!

mig1nc

04-05-15, 05:55

Put a suppressor on it. That should help :)

But seriously, MicroMOA has some rifle length gas 16" barrels for sale. There's a thread on this forum from a guy who used the Voodoo melonite 16.5" ultralight barrel. Also, DPMS (if anybody cares) makes a 16.5" factory rifle gas gun.

Lancer makes a 17.X" rifle gas gamer gun.

It seems to me that it might make a really nice gamer gun once you dial in the gas system for your particular load. But other than that, I'd rather go mid-length due to reasons stated.

Iraqgunz

04-05-15, 06:10

1. Thread is like 6 years old.

2. They don't run very well and make no sense. If you want one that works, you get a faux Dissipator.

3. Do you know the gas port size of a 20" rifle?

4. The reliability is lost when you chop the barrel and remove several inches of dwell time.

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/iraqgunz/IMG_20150315_161326139.jpg (http://s152.photobucket.com/user/iraqgunz/media/IMG_20150315_161326139.jpg.html)

I want the same thing. I want to put a krink style brake on it, which should make up for the lack of dwell time, meaning no need to open up the gas port. The advantage would be a 16'' barrel with 20'' reliability, meaning no early extraction. It would also run cooler and shoot softer. My plan is as follows:

16'' rifle length barrel with rifle size gas port and krink style muzzle brake installed.
6oz carbine buffer and enhanced power recoil spring in the lower.

I might have to open up the gas port a little, or maybe just chamfer it a bit. Then again, maybe not.

In any case, I don't have much to lose. I can pick up a cheap rifle barrel for about 150 bucks, plus another 50 or so to have a smith cut it down to 16''.