I am on the verge of purchasing or building my first AR.  I understand that the 14.5 barrel is legal with the permanently attached a2 flash suppressor.  I really like the look of the sloghtly shorter overall rifle.  Are there any pro/con to this?

Am i sacrificing any accuracy with 1.5 in less barrel?  I would assume that i want a 1:7 twist anyway for better accuracy.

Any help would be appreciated, and if you have a pic of a rifle in this config that would be awesome.  Thanks from a noob.

Welcome to AR15.com!

You are losing no accuracy when going with a shorter barrel - just range.  See the following chart from Bushmaster for muzzle velocities and energy for an idea of how much range is lost:




The twist depends on what ammo you want to shoot with it.  1/9 could be great for you or 1/7 (or even other twists): www.ammo-oracle.com

As far as I know, permanently attaching an A2 only makes the 14.7" barrels legal, not the 14.5" barrels.  I am having a YHM Phantom permanently attached to my 14.5" M4 barrel to make it legal.  With the 14.5" barrel, you get the "real deal" M4 look and the ability to use an M7, M9 or similar bayonet on it (the bayo lug to flash hider length is wrong on a 16" barrel).

www.bushmaster.com/faqnew/content_by_cat.asp?contentid=205&catid=103

14.5 w/Izzy:


16" w/A2:


Good luck with your build.  I HAD a 16" M4 barrel, but I sold it to get my 14.5" M4 barrel.  It just looks better to me.  

14.5" with a permenantly attached vortex G6

Thanks!  I really like the slightly shorter look and changing out flash hiders is not an interest for me.  I will probably go with the Phantom.

I just got a 14.5 with a Phantom from Bushmaster last week.  I love the way it looks, but haven't been able to shoot it yet.  I got the heavy barrel instead of the M4 cut though.  I just liked the look of the heavy barrel.

Make sure you like the "fixed" flash suppressor on it. I've seen a couple buddies buy them only to change their minds. I've seen the flash device destroyed along with the barrel threading. Only for them to throw another $80-$100 dollars to fix the problem, that originally would have cost them an extra $35-$50 to get what they wanted in the first place.

I am looking to have a finished carbine that looks VERY similar to what mjpj posted.  So far, it looks like I am going to get a CMMG upper and a RRA lower.   Any known issues with compatability?

I think i can put the two halves together, ad a RRA quad handguard, tac handle, rail shields and tactical sling for around $1200.

As long as it's not a .308 or other "different" non-pistol AR caliber, any upper will fit on any lower.  You can do much better than $1200 if you shop around.  Check out the Equipment Exchange here and Gunbroker.com - lots of deals.

Colt 14.5HB with Phantom

Quoted: I am on the verge of purchasing or building my first AR.  I understand that the 14.5 barrel is legal with the permanently attached a2 flash suppressor.  I really like the look of the sloghtly shorter overall rifle.  Are there any pro/con to this? Am i sacrificing any accuracy with 1.5 in less barrel?  I would assume that i want a 1:7 twist anyway for better accuracy. Any help would be appreciated, and if you have a pic of a rifle in this config that would be awesome.  Thanks from a noob.

welcome to the site!

1st, you are correct-- a perm attached muzzle device on your bbl, as long as its 16in(+) OAL is fine
std A2 FHs will not make the length cut--get an extended A2, which are a little longer--like this: A2 extended
of course, for that price, i'd get the Phantom

shorter bbl=less vel. which usually, if not always, leads to less frag range (pertaining to the 5.56 bullet), which is pretty essential for most 5.56/.223 loads

accuracy, for all practical, intents and purposes is not affected by bbl length--only velocity is affected

there are other cons to a perm attached muzzle device, including: since its perm attached, you cant just switch out the muzzle device (say you wanted a vortex instead of teh A2 down the road) as easily, of if you wanted a std FF tube, or replace your FSB--most require that you remove your perm attached muzzle device

twist, not necessarily; it all depends on the loads you will use and ammo type...in general, for 5.56/.223, 1-9, 1-7, and 1-8 are the most used in the civi area
read this: www.ammo-oracle.com

there are some colt pins which are not compatable w/ the std ARs, but for the most part, they are all the same size w/ the pins in the lower/upper (your RRA and CMMG will work fine)

since everyone is posting pics of 14.5+perm FHs, my CAR-15 like AR: