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AR pistol barrel lengths?

so going along with the 11.5" gang- what's a good reasonably priced barrel that comes in a 11.5". And if you go with a 11.5" what gas tube length options are there? just carbine? looks like if you move to 12/12.5 you can get mid length gas.

BCM looks like they are around $240
Ranier makes a 12" mid length gas @ $240
SOLGW is about $180
AR15 Performance has a 12.5" mid length gas @ $180
Daniel Defense CHF is $289.

I see Faxon and Ballistic Advantage all over the place, what's the consensus on them? I would prefer to get a better quality barrel (and trigger) as IMHO those are the keys to a good shooting rifle.

Ballistic Advantage makes good barrels. Been happy with mine. I don't have the 11.5 though so not sure how their gas ports are on shorter barrels.
 
I'm gonna buck the trend... I love my 7.5" pistol. Put a krink type muzzle break on it, and it's not as bad as you might think. It took a little effort to get it to time properly. I have an H3 buffer in it to slow cycling. It is loud, but you cant tell the difference between it, and a 10.5". Ran several loads through a chronograph, and it does loose some oomph when compared to 16" barrels. It didn't loose much over a 10.5" as everyone would lead you to think. Rule of thumb is 50-100fps per 1" of barrel when you use shorter barrels... Xm193 averaged 2300fps, compared to 3100ish fps from 16", and around 2700 from 10.5". Probably wont do much at 500 yards, but it'll hit a B27 target at 300, as I tried it. 7.5" works for me, your results may vary!
SBR-7.5-inch-barrel.jpg
 
I love my 11.5. With the flaming pig on it, it's very fun to shoot and not terrible on the noise. I got lucky when I ordered mine, it was what bcm built and I ran with it on the name.
 
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