Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles AR15 223 14.5 Inch Pros and Cons

I'm considering putting together another AR15 with a 14.5 inch barrel and having the suppressor adapter pinned and welded?

Anyone have one or put one together?
What are your opinions about it?
What would you do different?

The intended use would be general purpose suppressed for hunting and range use.
It would be equipped with a low power variable and a good quality flashlight mounted on a free floating hand guard.

Thanks in advance

For dedicated suppressed use they can be a little long. But a 13" rail gives you plenty of room to mount lights without feeling cramped. For a good, general purpose rig an unsuppressed 14.5" gun is an ideal size, IMO.

For dedicated suppressed use that will spend a lot of time in a truck or some kind of Ranger kind've rig, think about a 12.5". A 12.5" with a mini can is the same length as a 14.5 without a suppressor. But 11-11.5" rails can be harder to find. A 10.5" rail starts getting cramped IMO.

I put this together a few years ago, 11.5" barrel with a 10.5" rail. Functions flawlessly and it's very easy to carry/handle, but I still have yet to find a thing that is is better at than my 14.5" M4 clone. The 11.5" is seriously loud and even with the biggest can I have (pictured) it's still a beast. The 14.5 with a can is a great setup.

I carry an 11.5” every day and if I ran a can I’d still run an 11.5”.

No flies on a 14.5 but with a can I would want it more shorter.

I have a factory complete BCM 14.5 Recce and really like it as an all-around general use rifle. I don't have plans for a suppressor on that rifle. For suppressor use, I'd go 12.5".

Not earth shattering, but pertinent:

I’ve got an 11.5” Colt SBR and am waiting on a can that’s in jail now. The 11.5” is pretty sweet even without the can.

If I wanted longer, I’d stick with 16” gun cause I hate being trapped with a pinned and welded barrel they suck.

In case it helps, here are the three ARs I have with cans. The 11.5" barrel has the can sitting right above the barrel since I use that Sandman Ti can for other rifles now. The middle is the M4 clone with a YHM Turbo T2 and the top rifle is an 18" barrel with a Harvester EVO can. The M4 clone is the oldest and I assumed it has a 14.5" barrel with the muzzle device pinned and welded, but it may in fact be a 16". I didn't bother measuring and don't remember the specs, but I remember that it was a real pain to get that muzzle device removed when I put the can on.

Only downside is you have to pin and weld to avoid SBR but you're doing that anyway. Go for it.

Lot of good input
Lot of options

I already have a 30 cal can that I use on an AR10 in 308 and on AR15 in 300 Hammer
I also use it on AR15 in 223

Shortest I have now is a 16" or 17.5 with the suppressor muzzle device
Thanks

The 10.3” uppers and sure fire setup from our team kits are not obnoxious at all. The standard 14.5 with sure fire is a bit less trash in your face, but not much more quiet. 12.5” is where I intend my SBR 5.56 upper to be…splitting the middle. If you want truly ‘hearing safe’, you probably need to go longer than 14.5”. If you want truly compact and easier in/out of vehicles, etc with a can, you really need shorter than 14.5”. If you don’t want to fight gas/tuning and other issues, 11.5” is as short as id go with 5.56. With larger bore stuff, length can go shorter in some cases….6.8, 300, 7.62x39, etc. JMO