04-26-2011, 05:45 PM
I think one of the most over-looked factors in choosing barrel length for rifles and carbines is your own physical height/build. There are plenty of guys I know who look like they're holding a pistol when a 16" or shorter carbine is in their hands, and you have a hard time finding a long enough stock for them. Then there are guys/gals who can barely hold up an 18" or 20" rifle without looking ridiculous. I personally wanted as compact a Grendel as possible, with decent velocities as well. I'm 6ft, so I wanted an 18" but settled for a 16" based on availability at the time, and have been happy with it now that I'm more familiar with the cartridge's capabilities and limitations. For me, the 16" mid-length shooting out to 600 with lighter bullets is what I have nestled into, and I have a very portable stick-even with a rifle-length handguard and rifle optic.
My thinking is if I'm going to have a heavy, longer AR, it will be an AR10 in .260 Rem, which is what I have for shooting out to 1100+. The Grendel lets me push a ballistically-similar projectile to .308 out of a much smaller/lighter package, with significantly less recoil, and I like that.
My thinking is if I'm going to have a heavy, longer AR, it will be an AR10 in .260 Rem, which is what I have for shooting out to 1100+. The Grendel lets me push a ballistically-similar projectile to .308 out of a much smaller/lighter package, with significantly less recoil, and I like that.