The DEA doesnt bayonets, so why would they want a lug?

This isnt a rifle they will be carrying through the jungle all day, so weight isnt an issue

I'm pretty sure the barrel is 16"?
- corrected the DEA version is a 14.5 - the civilian offering is a 16" Barrel


I've had a few of those barrels, and sometimes I can get more.....

Its just a standard CAR barrel.

Quoted: Do you know if it is 4140 or 4150 Steel?

Dunno? What difference would that possibly make?

Quoted: Ah, 4150 is better, that is the difference.

Its that much better that you can notice a difference?  Call a tool and die/machine shop and ask them what the difference is - almost nothing.

The "need" 4150, and the "need" for 1:7 is entertaining

Quoted: Quoted: This isnt a rifle they will be carrying through the jungle all day, so weight isnt an issue He He They will change there minds when they have to carry the rifle all day on a bust, or while attending training.  Not all their officers are 6'4" and pump iron on the beach...

As  Marine once told me - The man adapts to the weapon, you don’t adapt the weapon to the man.

Quoted: As  Marine once told me - The man adapts to the weapon, you don’t adapt the weapon to the man.

That's because Marines rarely have the option to adapt their weapons.  Hence the horrible "bazooka" hold of the M16A4, due to the use of the too-long A2 stock in conjunction with body armor making a normal, stable rifle hold impossible.

Anyone who doesn't adapt their weapon to themselves when they can is not smart.  Poor configurations become roadblocks to success, and when we are talking about guns, that could mean injury or death.  That's SERIOUS.

I doubt anyone at the DEA knows the difference between barrel steels, but with an HBAR, the difference matters very little, especially with the type of shooting they're likely to do.  With a lightweight barrel, the difference is much more important and much more noticable.  4150 retains its structural strenght to much higher temperatures, meaning less barrel whip as the barrel heats up, compared to 4140.  Again, much less an issue with HBARs.

I would NEVER choose an HBAR for a field rifle that wasn't a full-auto, but that's me.

-Troy

I do think its ridiculous, just like a big ass spoiler on the back of a honda civic.  IMO its extra money spent that would be better spent on practice ammo for most. To each his own. This is why I carry LMT - some people want it, and I'll sell it to them. Its not a bad thing, but I really think its silly when people replace their perfectly good 4140, 1:9 barrel and rifle barrel extension, with a 4150, 1:7, with M4 barrel extension.  I also get a good chuckle every time they feel the need to justify the upgrade....
I get a few emails a week from people asking about upgrading, and want my opinion. I would love to sell them a new LMT upper, but I wouldn't recommend it.
Do you really have a false sense of security that you feel you are stacking the odds in your favor? There are a million other things you can do to "stack the odds in your favor".
When ElQueda to comes parachuting in, and I propel a .55gr projectile from a 1:9, 4140 steel barrel, fed through a rifle barrel extension, into a vital organ - they will be just as dead as if they were hit with a 77gr from 1:7 4150.

Too many variables to argue the twist/bullet weight IMO. I have a customer who comes in with a walker. 6’ 4” 250lbs. His daughter was getting beat up by her boyfriend. He threw him off to receive a FMJ 9mm, into his armpit, which bounced off his spine and lodged between a couple ribs. That was the end of him being any threat to the boyfriend, and he spent the next 12 weeks in the hospital.
Would I ever carry FMJ 9mm in my carry pistol? No.
But my point is, add all the variables of shot placement into the mix and when talking barrel steel/twisy it’s a moot point with an AR.
If it weights more, fragments or not  the point of impact is what is the deciding factor.

I'm generalizing here - 1:9 VS 1:7 16-20" barrels

If you have a 1:9 10.5", a 77gr. it would be a bad idea, a 1:7 10.5" 77gr. would be the way to go - but 99.9% of AR owners here are'nt running escort duty in Iraq

As I said, to each his own

In short - when  a customer asks me which to buy for shooting paper plates and if the need be - defense, I'll tell them I think their money is better spent on say a RRA VS a LMT.  I would much rather sell the more expensive option, but thats not my style. My opinion, when asked for in my store has cost me $ numerous times, but people remember that and will come back knowing I'm not just out to make a buck.

Quoted: Are the RRA DEA Carbines full auto??

When speaking with RRA at the shot show this year (the DEA rifle was on display), I asked a similar question.
RRA is not currently making a select fire rifle - (the DEA is semi)
but - they were looking to get a ClassIII for the future.

That's why Steve has me on staff, I balance out his views.

Quoted: The people who have done their research aren't going to be asking him what they should buy....

Exactly, and the others will be perfectly happy with a 1:9 RRA upper and extra practice ammo.
I'm not trashing a point of view, I'm just giving an opinion. Yes, a 77gr. from a 1:7 will perform the "best".  Those who "have done their research" and want the 1:7 will buy it.  Most people dont care, and are perfectly happy with "good enough". Its those customers who see threads about 1:7 and 77gr. and ask me my opinion.  

Quoted: thats pretty stupid on the DEA's part because all the drug dealers dont use semi guns.  There gonna be outgunned

I, for one, am very happy that the DEA (which is an illegitimate agency, but that's another story) isn't getting automatic rifles.

They have to account for every projectile fired, and FA is just asking for trouble.

Aimed fire is better anyway.