Trying to decide On an M4 Barrel Need some input on barrel profiles.  Opinions, experience ect. on the difference between gov't and hbar profiles.  The upper will be used for Home defence and plinking.  The barrels I'm looking at are pretty much the same price either way.

For both home defense and plinking purposes, you will not see the difference between the two in accuracy. The only way you might see increased accuracy from the heavy barrel is during long range match shooting. So the real question is, do you want a heavy M4 or a light M4?

I would go for the Govt. Profile myself. If you're going to be holding this rifle for a long period of time, or plan on putting any fancy gadgets on it later, then you will be thankful you saved a pound or two of weight.

If you're not carrying it on a daily basis for extended periods of time, it really doesn't matter.  For your application, you will not see a noticable difference in function or accuracy.

It really does not matter which barrel you choose as both will work well for your intended application. However if you plan to add alot of toys I would choose the lighter profile barrel.

I WENT FROM HBAR TO A SUPERLIGHT...now when i'm carrying by the handle, the weapon is level, not digging into the dirt...i can almost fire it one handed, and i'm sure a young strong guy could fire one in each hand...i rarely  shot or played with the hbar...now i can't put the superlight down...

Quoted: For both home defense and plinking purposes, you will not see the difference between the two in accuracy. The only way you might see increased accuracy from the heavy barrel is during long range match shooting. So the real question is, do you want a heavy M4 or a light M4? I would go for the Govt. Profile myself. If you're going to be holding this rifle for a long period of time, or plan on putting any fancy gadgets on it later, then you will be thankful you saved a pound or two of weight.

I'm kinda in the same boat as you SSW.  I had my heart set on an m4 profile till I really got thinking about weight and humping that thing around a lot...

I'd like to ask.  What kind of differences would you see in accuracy from a "match" shooting scenario?  What about the effects of heat?  Would either be more resistant to heat damage?  And IIRC, I remember something about barrel "whip" with these pencil barrels.. Any comment.

Don't mean to hijack, just thought I'd add a few questions.

Gundraw

I now have a M4 Gov't. profile 16-inch barrel on my LMT. I used to have a Colt Sporter Lightweight for a long time and I like carrying it around and also plinking with it.

The Lightweight was the carbine I used to protect my property during the '92 Los Angeles riots when I was living there at that time. I had my carbine with me at all times, even when I was half asleep, for a total of 3 days. After the third day the National Guard arrived and secured the business areas and streets.

My current M4 carbine is only slightly heavier than my former Lightweight but it's fine with me. My Galil AR and a couple of AK-47 are heavier than my M4 and I don't care to carry them around, I prefer my M4.

I also used to have a 20-inch HBAR and I only like to use it for target and CMP matches. It just too heavy to carry around for a long time.

The M4 HBAR should be better for the full auto guys IMHO. In your case, I would recommend the Gov't. profile M4.

Not a problem GUNDRAW the more info that can be shared with everyone the better.