16" vs. 18" AR10 at reasonable hunting distances?

[BHY25]

Anyone have real-world knowledge if the difference between a 16" vs 18" barrel on an AR10 will matter at reasonable hunting distances ( say: 100yds, 200yds, 300yds, or so) for deer, hogs, etc?
I already have a Bushnell Elite Tacticle 1-8x scope to put on it. So I'm not planning on shooting 1000yds at paper and steel. Basically, a general purpose rifle that could be used for hunting sometimes.
I understand the 18" has more velocity, which yields better performance at distance. But, are the effects(lethality) of the round going to be the same out to a certain distance? And what distance?
-Thanks for any help.

[elephantrider]

Anyone have real-world knowledge if the difference between a 16" vs 18" barrel on an AR10 will matter at reasonable hunting distances ( say: 100yds, 200yds, 300yds, or so) for deer, hogs, etc?
I already have a Bushnell Elite Tacticle 1-8x scope to put on it. So I'm not planning on shooting 1000yds at paper and steel. Basically, a general purpose rifle that could be used for hunting sometimes.
I understand the 18" has more velocity, which yields better performance at distance. But, are the effects(lethality) of the round going to be the same out to a certain distance? And what distance?
-Thanks for any help.

I would say that you will see essentially NO practical difference between the two at the ranges you listed, and even beyond, in terms of hit probability, or terminal performance. IMO, the difference between the two is more mechanical than performance. If you go with an 18" you can have the rifle length gas tube instead of the carbine length gas in the 16" barrel. The longer gas system should translate to a softer recoil impulse, better reliability, and better bolt life. The only 16" barrel with a rifle gas that I know of are the KAC SR-25 carbines, which are good, but pricey. Not sure if you are looking for a DIY build-it-yourself solution, or a factory built complete gun? I am working on an AERO Precision receiver build and I went with the Faxon Firearms 18" rifle length gas barrel for the reasons stated above. The Faxon 18" is an nice medium weight, so it just adds a couple inches in length, and little to nothing in terms of added weight or balance.

[sinister]

The differences are minimal with 25 fps difference per inch. A 16-incher will launch a 175 projo around 2450-ish fps.

The 16-incher swings a little better (finished length on mine is around 18-inches with a Griffin 308 flash comp). An 18-incher will be around 20-inches long.

Armalite with a Criterion rifle-length gas 16-incher:

[lengthofpull]

The differences are minimal with 25 fps difference per inch. A 16-incher will launch a 175 projo around 2450-ish fps.

The 16-incher swings a little better (finished length on mine is around 18-inches with a Griffin 308 flash comp). An 18-incher will be around 20-inches long.

Armalite with a Criterion rifle-length gas 16-incher:

What bolt are you running with that barrel? If armalite, how'd you get a criterion barrel with an Armalite barrel extension? Armalite's been out of stock on barrels for a long time and I'd love to get a drop in criterion if I could.

Thanks!
-LOP

[archad]

The differences are minimal with 25 fps difference per inch. A 16-incher will launch a 175 projo around 2450-ish fps.

The 16-incher swings a little better (finished length on mine is around 18-inches with a Griffin 308 flash comp). An 18-incher will be around 20-inches long.

Armalite with a Criterion rifle-length gas 16-incher:

How good does that barrel shoot?

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

[sinister]

ADM carries the barrels (Criterion stainless 1-10, nitrided).

This rifle has an Armalite bolt taken from another rifle. The original closed on a NO-GO gage but not a field.

I replaced the bolt from the donor rifle with an LMT.

I haven't shot this rifle enough from a solid bench or the ground to say how well this particular barrel shoots. It holds X-ring on police B-27 targets at 100 from a wobbly bench.

[gaijin]

I have the same Criterion barrel in a DPMS pattern build.
From the bench, with 1-8 PA scope it shoots 1.25" @ 100 yds. with 150 gr Fusion.
I'd like to shoot it with more glass, to see how much better it might shoot- but for my purpose 1.25" is entirely adequate.

[FaxonNathan]

I would say that you will see essentially NO practical difference between the two at the ranges you listed, and even beyond, in terms of hit probability, or terminal performance. IMO, the difference between the two is more mechanical than performance. If you go with an 18" you can have the rifle length gas tube instead of the carbine length gas in the 16" barrel. The longer gas system should translate to a softer recoil impulse, better reliability, and better bolt life. The only 16" barrel with a rifle gas that I know of are the KAC SR-25 carbines, which are good, but pricey. Not sure if you are looking for a DIY build-it-yourself solution, or a factory built complete gun? I am working on an AERO Precision receiver build and I went with the Faxon Firearms 18" rifle length gas barrel for the reasons stated above. The Faxon 18" is an nice medium weight, so it just adds a couple inches in length, and little to nothing in terms of added weight or balance.

A pleasure to be selected and mentioned. Let us know if we can help!

[gaijin]

The Criterion 16", ADM barrel has a rifle length system.

[Failure2Stop]

I would have no reason to own or recommend an 18" barrel over a 16 or 20, and really, there are only a few (professional) users that I would recommend a 20 over a 16 for.