In my house we have four rifles, two 16", and two pinned 14.5" with BattleComps. I am a firm believer in the general, all around utility of the 16" barrel for 99.9 percent of uses and shooters. One can change and reconfigure a 16" barrel and its muzzle devices at will without legal repercussion in most states. Now, I happen to live with that .01 Percent shooter, all 99lbs and 5' of her and having carbines as short as we can legally have them without going SBR is important to us, for her primary and back-up use. unless you really need a shorter rifle I highly recommend that you stick with 16", it is only 1.5 inches of difference and if you fall between 5'7" and 6'6" the difference between the 1.5" of 14.5" and 16" is insignificant.

