Hondo,
One thing I absolutely must have, and you'll notice one all three of the rifles above is a rifle length forend. Not sure why you would want one shorter? I like them to come all the way up to the brake/flash hider with just enough room to clear a suppressor. That does a couple of things- mainly it lets you grip out further on the handguard to "drive" the gun with more control, it gives you room for an optic, BUIS, flashlight, and laser, and it ensures that when shooting on/around barricades and different rests that it is the forend touching and not the barrel.
I'll re-evaluate my choice of hand guard lengths. Up to this point, it was purely aesthetics. Thanks for the info. Can't bring myself to go with a 14" barrel, and won't be running a suppressor, so will probably stick with a 16" or 18" barrel.
Thanks for the intel.
John
