AR barrel choice 18" or 20"

[mrfjones]

Will a 20" barrel really have any more accuracy over an 18" barrel for shots out to 500 or 600 yards?

I am thinking I might save a little weight with the 18 inch barrel without a big sacrifice in accuracy.

 

[bigcraig]

Barrel length has nothing to do with accurracy.

The 2" longer barrel WILL give a very small gain in velocity, thus a slightly flatter trajectory, but will not make a barrel more accurate. That attribute solely relies on your load to barrel match up.

 

[42769vette]

Barrel length has nothing to do with accurracy.

The 2" longer barrel WILL give a very small gain in velocity, thus a slightly flatter trajectory, but will not make a barrel more accurate. That attribute solely relies on your load to barrel match up.

exactly

 

[jwfuhrman]

there is nothing a 20in barrel can do that a 18in won't do just as well

How far are you wanting to shoot? 600 yards? A 16in barrel will get your round there just as well as a 18in/20in barrel when using heavy OTM bullets. I know this for a fact, my 16in BCM SS410 gets me 20/20 hits on a 2/3rd IPSC AR500 steel target at 600 yards with my 77gr SMK handload.