Just to clarify: is a 14.5" 5.56 long enough to effectively utilize a 1-6x24 optic? What about 12" or 10.5"? At what point am I wasting my money? Thanks.

In my opinion it would depend on the barrel and what you're doing with it.

Small game and other moving targets. Barrel would have precision (as opposed to high round count) in mind.

I take it  your interest is in a walk all day but still surgically precise varmint rifle.

We used to whack rock chucks at 250 with a 4x scoped Savage in .223.  I think a 1-6x would make hitting rock chucks at 300 yards do-able while still allowing you to pop ground squirrels at 25 feet if you do your part.

To keep your velocities up and your trajectory flatter I would go with the longest barrel practical that fits withing your rifle size and weight goal.
You probably already know that when done right fluting the barrel saves weight without giving up much stiffness.

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