Budget .223/5.56 "Precision" Upper?

[Bimmer]

SS isn't necessarily more accurate. Chromolly barrels tend to see accuracy degrade over the life of the barrel whereas a SS barrel will maintain its accuracy until all of a sudden it degrades rapidly.

Right, this is my understanding...

So, for my purposes, SS is "nice to have," and a lot of match/precision barrels are coincidentally SS, but SS is not a "must have."

If I wasn't shooting past 400, I'd probably do a 16".

Really, I ran the numbers, and the extra 50fps of an 18" vs. 16" means <3" less drop at 500yds, so ≈57.6" vs ≈60.2" drop. Negligible.

I would only go for 18" if I found a great deal on one... As a benefit, having the muzzle 2" further away and burning more powder might mean less flash/blast, which would be nice, because I usually shoot from inside a covered range house.

When it comes to precision, I'd go with the best option you can afford. When my Sionics 18" barrel is shot out, I'll probably go higher end and get a Krieger.

Well, "afford" is always an abstract term. If I really needed to do it, then I could come up with the $1,000+ for a CLE/Bartlein upper.

Really, I'm looking for a cost/benefit compromise (hence the title of the thread), and I don't think I have the skills to take advantage of a top-tier match upper, anyway...