I've found that the A5 has been a useful addition to all of my rifles. I've run it on a 10.5" for a few mags and I noticed quite an improvement. I have a LMT mk18 type upper coming this week and am glad that I can use a flah hider but still have a little muzzle flip control by using the A5 though I'll need to determine which buffer is correct to make it the most reliable.
Now, hearing people say their 16" middy is rough and everyone stating the 14.5" middy is the softest shooting, etc., has me wondering a few things. Looking at the pressure differences alone, it would appear the 16" mid length would be one of the softest shooting and the 14.5" being a little rough in comparison. But, we hear the exact opposite.
So, how much does gas port size play into this? Is it the speed of the carrier that makes one harsher than another? Looking at the 10.5" port sizes recently, it varies widely even within the same company. A while back there was a thread about Colt port sizes on 10.5" barrels. Colt had once told me personally when I talked to a "tech" that it was something like .093, but I believe this is their commercial offering, but we know their contracted 10.5" barrel is closer to .068, or similar. I could be off, but you guys get the point.
So, if we have a 14.5" and 16" that are both mid length from the same company, should we then expect the 16" to be softer due to pressure or the 14.5" due to dwell time?
I'm just thinking out loud here and it seems every time one thing finally makes sense, more questions pop up... Anyway, I just want reliable guns that shoot my choice of ammo regardless of gas system. All else is just curiosity and means little in the big picture... But still interesting.


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