How much velocity loss in a 16" AR-15?

[Got_Lead?]

Hello all:

May I pick at your collective knowledge?

How much velocity will I loose using a 16" barrel, compared to a 20" tube on an AR-15?

Are light bullets affected more than heavy, or vise-versa?

Does it really make any difference on terminal effect?

 

[Cosmoline]

Here is the raw data:

http://counterstrikefox.freeservers.com/mv.htm

they also state:

The threshold for this fragmentation effect is 2700fps.

But I've seen gel tests showing a gradation of fragmentation, with better results from the old light ball out of the full size 20" bbls than the new heavier ball out of the 16" bbls. Personally I think people get too hung up on this since what we're really talking about is the *failure* of the bullet. For folks not operating under Hague there's no reason not to use high quality expanders for defense or hunting, which make the issues about what will fragment moot.

 

[HorseSoldier]

+1. Fragmentation velocity is a navel gazing obsession on the internet regarding AR performance. The real issue is being able to reliably put rounds center of mass -- and (people being hard to kill) having the mindset and ability to repeat as necessary to finish the fight.

 

[Got_Lead?]

Nice link, looks like you loose a little over a hundred fps.