Talk me out of a 11.5" pistol

[thei3ug]

As I stated in another thread, i put the sf brake on, and with double ear pro, it didnt hurt my ears, but concussion rattled my brain- a 30rd mag would cause a headache.

Same, I usually use double ears on with a pronged flash hider on rifles with 10, 11, 12" barrels, but at the end of the day, particularly in an enclosed range, the concussion starts to irritate my sinuses. Outside it's not so bad. I still try to use cans as a rule, my ears ring enough. Even though it doesn't physically hurt, long days add up damage-wise.

[wtm75]

Talking you out of it....

For indoor defensive use, the flash, noise, and concussion is too much unless you plan on dawning double hearing protection for you and the family when you utilize it when things go bump in the night.

For outdoor use...

Go for it!

Which scenario are you using it for?

[The Mig]

I cannot in good conscience talk you out of it, I have a BCM 11.5 ELW fluted upper and it's awesome.

It feels perfectly balanced to me. I don't feel like I'm giving up too much in velocity. Yeah, it's louder than a 16 inch but not "teeth-rattling" or any of the other colorful descriptions here. I regularly shoot mine in an indoor range with Sordins and don't have any issue with it being uncomfortable. It gets the attention of others on the line. Mine has an A2 on it and it's no challenge to keep follow-up shots close. I don't criticize others for using comps/brakes but it wasn't necessary for me.

[Vegas]

Build/buy the pistol and run for a few hundred rounds for function. Then buy a can and SBR lower at the same time. That's what I did and the stamps came back very close to each other.

[.45fmjoe]

I cannot in good conscience talk you out of it, I have a BCM 11.5 ELW fluted upper and it's awesome.

It feels perfectly balanced to me. I don't feel like I'm giving up too much in velocity. Yeah, it's louder than a 16 inch but not "teeth-rattling" or any of the other colorful descriptions here. I regularly shoot mine in an indoor range with Sordins and don't have any issue with it being uncomfortable. It gets the attention of others on the line. Mine has an A2 on it and it's no challenge to keep follow-up shots close. I don't criticize others for using comps/brakes but it wasn't necessary for me.

I went through my agency's firearms instructor school with an 11.5" Colt M4A1. I didn't notice anything "extra" as far as concussion, blast, etc. over the guys next to me shooting 14.5" Colts. I didn't notice any difference in controllability during full auto fire with the 11.5" barrel over the 14.5" barrel either. I did notice the difference in handling, though and I LOVED the 11.5".

[thegreyman]

Is .076" gas port GTG for 11.5 inch barrel?

[Clint]

It depends on who you ask, but that may be a little strong.

Is .076" gas port GTG for 11.5 inch barrel?

[thegreyman]

Curious. Like barrel length but totally clueless about port diameter,

[Jeepman1320]

I went with a midlength gas 12.5" with a Sandman K; it is a good shooter and in the open it is not too bad to shoot without earpro. But take into consideration I already have some pretty serious hearing damage from my early years so that may be a tad skewed. Unsupressed it is much less brain rattling that my 10.5" and is a much softer shooter. I am using an adjustable gas block with the gas turned down which helps a lot. The 12.5" with Sandman K is the same length as a 16" with a bare muzzle, so it is still pretty handy

[turnburglar]

It's funny to me that peolple act like an 11.5" will destroy your world but a 14.5" is like a paintball gun indoors?

Being a young kid from a liberal city I had very minor firearms experience before the military. The M16a2 in basic was my first time with a rifle and I thought it was very pleasant to shoot. In fact on that day in basic I shot a 47/50 and I attribute much of that too the 20" RLGS letting a new shooter focus more on fundi's than flinching. Fast forward a month and I am in tech school training on my main blaster: the M4. I shot typically much worse with an M68/M4 than I did with irons/M16, and noticed the much increase blast not only from my own rifle, but from 25 other, LOUDER carbines. 556 was really designed to be shot through a longer barrel, and when you chop it down the tiny .22 calibre still has alot of unburnt powder left. Even 308 seems softer on the ears to me than 556 carbines. I dont have any experience with it, but I would bet that 300blk unsupressed would be A LOT softer than 556 unsupressed.

To contribute to the OP; Im building a 11.5 SBA3 as soon as I move back to America. Right now I am in the heart of resistance going to school.