I was having a coverstation with some coworkers today about this. Trying to explain that barrel length has nothing to do with accuracy seemed like a lost cause. Tplease me statistically I would think shorter barrels from quality manufacturers would have a greater chance of being more accurate. I feel like the shorter the barrel, the less time the bullet has contact the less chance of something on the barrel being off and degrading accuracy. Less whip, less harmonics less overall influence on the bullet.

you are correct.  bottom line if you are going to carry it get govt profile.  precision work HBAR freefloated

Not much use in arguing with fudds who only own hunting rifles with 28" barrels

The only place this would come into play is with iron sights. Longer distance between front and rear sights improves on the ability to hold true on the target. This becomes a diminishing return with mil spec type sights beyond what you would see on a rifle length set up. But that really has nothing to do with barrel length.  One other point though; the shorter the barrel, the lower the velocity, so this "could" affect accuracy if wind was an issue, but I don't think that is what your long-barrel-love'n friends hand in mind.

Many long range precision shooters (not fudd hunters) will quickly argue that 28" and longer barrels are needed to shoot at 1,000 yards to keep muzzle velocity up.  Bullets stay above the transonic region longer and are less affected by wind.  They shoot tighter groups at long distance than shorter barrels.

That said, shorter barrels otherwise identical are inherently no less accurate, and may have better accuracy because they are stiffer.

Avoiding the extremes, length plays almost no role in accuracy at normal shooting distances.  The emphasis should be on the degree of accuracy you need and the skill of the barrel maker.

Focus more on barrel profile (thickness and shape), twist rate, chamber design, barrel material, rifling method and finishing. Barrel length is way down the list as far as accuracy is concerned.  If choosing between 14.5, 16, 18, or 20" AR barrels and accuracy were the most important factor, I would pay no attention to barrel length unless shooting beyond 600 yards.  I'd be assessing a lot of other factors that were actually important.

Yea,,,,,,,no.
As mentioned the longer barrel adds velocity and a longer sight picture if you are using irons.
It seems I remember some old Armorers talking about barrel twist rates and the bullet needed to turn two full revolutions in the barrel to stabilize completely or best or something. Now I don't know how true this is or how much difference it really makes, but given that legend/fact, barrel length would also depend somewhat on twist rate.
I don't shoot that well so it probably won't effect me one way or the other.

YMMV

Agreed.....

"Get the bullet out of the barrel as fast as possible"
Yup, that's why handguns are so damn accurate.

Send a 75gr AMAX through a 1:9 20" barrel, then a 1:7 14.5" barrel. The results will be quite different.

I would be willing to bet that round would group the same if you compared a a 20" and a 16" barrel with the same twist.

Certain twist rates do stabilize certain rounds better.

Eeeyup.

I'm saying the two revolution thing is fudd.