Short Barrel with Super Long Flash Hider?

[David4516]

Ok so as I'm browsing THR I keep seeing this add pop up. My curiosity gets the better of me and I click on it:

http://www.brownells.com/rifle-part...artners-_-Second Media-_-banner-_-DPMS_barrel

My question is, what on earth would anyone want this for?

This barrel features an 11.5” length, with a 5.5” flash hider pinned and welded in place. Barrel features M4 feedramps. Includes barrel nut and handguard cap.

I get that it needs to be 16 total inches to be legal. Why wouldn't you just get a regular 16 inch barrel? I don't see any advantage to this thing... am I just missing something?

 

[Art Eatman]

All it says to me is, "Look at me! I'm KEWL!" It's more about looking bad than actually being bad.

 

[HOOfan_1]

I've been contemplating asking why anyone would buy them myself.

 

[JeffDG]

To keep it legal length until SBR paperwork gets approved.

 

[taliv]

i never understood it either, but wasn't it a configuration used by the military in the 70s?

 

[1KPerDay]

I like the look. Reminiscent of the CAR-15 or XM-177. IMO it needs to have a light-profile barrel, though.

 

[skywalkrNCSU]

To keep it legal length until SBR paperwork gets approved.

Except you would have to get it pinned to be legal and that wouldn't be something I would want to do just to wait for paperwork.

 

[LocoGringo]

Come on guys...it's for those exceptional shooters who want to purposely degrade the performance of standard ammo so that they can practice long range precision more accurately at shorter distances...ie, replicating the long distance arc at relatively short distances. Isn't it obvious?!?

I'm kidding. No clue why someone would want that barrel.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

I can see no practical reason for such a configuration outside of some highly specialized considerations. I don't even see it as particularly cool as it doesn't look all that different. I don't usually suggest unique gun variations are dumb ideas, but I gotta think this is a dumb idea.

LG, I did like your scenario. I got a chuckle out of it.

 

[dogmush]

If one were trying to build a non sbr XM177/Colt Commando replica, that would be the barrel you need. The flash hider is about 1.25" too long, but the barrel is right for the later variants.

 

[Tirod]

I've seen a big increase for those since the ATF put out it's latest Brace opinion. Most of the threads have just a post or two with link.

I see it as some pistol owners overreacting and trying to fix the barrel length in order to keep a stock on it. What it says is they weren't committed to owning a pistol in the first place and to keep from being "caught" are changing it.

Others are requesting SBR stamp info and bailing out, too.

It all goes to the intent in buying the Brace - and the ATF hit the nail on the head. Now they are getting people to comply and it's all good from their perspective. How they do it is of no concern to them.

The answer that does come up on other forums is just take off the brace, if you want a carbine build it, and enjoy having both. Under the eyes of the law the AR pistol has some exceptional freedom of use under CCW provisions, where an SBR is taxed, restricted, and treated as a rifle with all the detriments of anti poaching ordinances stacked against it. That tends to be ignored if the owner has a narrow focus of only using it at a range to show off to his buddies.

Big long flash hider? Yep, it's kewl.

 

[Art Eatman]

Other than a real suppressor, I don't see the point of some gizmo stuck onto the end of a short barrel. The .223 needs all the help it can get, so IMO the barrel should go on out to the same length as the stuck-on thingummy.

 

[jmorris]

IIRC when Colt first started making "blue box" AR's they had a flash hider that telescoped back over a 16" barrel giving a similar look.

I thought that didn't make much sense but it is smarter than an 11" barrel with a pinned and welded flash hider on it.

 

[AK103K]

Other than a real suppressor, I don't see the point of some gizmo stuck onto the end of a short barrel. The .223 needs all the help it can get, so IMO the barrel should go on out to the same length as the stuck-on thingummy.

I dont either. I guess its just people trying to get a look that they cant get without getting into the NFA. Ill bet a lot of them dont consider the ballistics of it.

If youre looking for that "look" and didnt want to go the short barrel route, they used to make (dont know if they still do) a similar muzzle device, that threaded onto a 16" barrel and gave pretty much the same result, look wise.

The "tube" portion slid back over the barrel, giving the appearance it was a short barrel.

 

[paracordkydexcummins]

Ok here is my though lots of pistol calibers like the 45 cap are looked as not gaining performance in a 16in barrel some say that the extra length hurts performance others look at the extra length as a way to make the gun quieter/ reduce muzzle flash. So if you think an 11in barrel is the best this allows you to make that goal possible. The other idea with the same caliber is use the long flash hider till you get a suppressor or a sbr tax stamp or both

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

Paradoxical product.

One may want to emulate the CAR-15 (not to mention the above the 177) but then you have the problem of the barrel and necessarily the front sight post being the wrong dimensions for a replica.

I get it for replicating (though inexact) or having a proven platform awaiting SBR paperwork as noted above.

Todd.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

My practical thought for an AR sporter was a medium or even heavy weight 16" plain barrel. But I have since then decided a bird cage flash suppressor/recoil brake has field value as a muzzle protector. One of those dream projects I guess (can'r practically justify it yet.)

The only "cool" factor I see with the 11.5" barrel and 5.5" flash hider/fake suppressor is having a replica of a historical variation of the AR (maybe even testing ballistics). Many guns are owned more as collectibles than as practical weapons.

I have seen a 16" barrel with a fake solid suppressor bringing the barrel to nearly 18" overall for the intended purpose of having a heavy short stiff bull barrel for accuracy.

 

[barnbwt]

"What it says is they weren't committed to owning a pistol in the first place and to keep from being "caught" are changing it."

Technically, the ATF clearly said that what they were doing was perfectly fine for over a year, so many began buying/building guns for that perfectly legal purpose. Now that it's been taken away, the addition of a muzzle break allows them the closest configuration to what they had before, for the least amount of money. Barrels are expensive, and most people aren't willing to go to the trouble of changing them out on their upper, so a brake is the easy solution.

The real question is whether they're savvy enough to pin & weld or silver solder the things on as required by law

How long are those FAL flash hiders, btw? Also my BM59 tri-comp is about 6", though the barrel sticks in about 3 of those. I think the long comps may be more relics of rifle-grenade launching than flash/recoil management.

TCB

 

[12Bravo20]

According to Brownells sight, the flash hider is pinned and welded

DPMS AR-15/M16 5.56x45mm Barrel Assemblies are ready for your next build. These barrels are machined from 4140 chrome moly steel, and feature a matte black phosphate finish. Barrels include front sight base installed (does not include front sight parts and sling swivel). This barrel features an 11.5” length, with a 5.5” flash hider pinned and welded in place. Barrel features M4 feedramps. Includes barrel nut and handguard cap.