AR

[shooter115]

While a 20"+ barrel is nice, those long bull barrels are not very versatile (too much extra weight for carrying around or offhand shooting). I have made consistent hits on dogs with handloaded ammo in a match 16" 223 barreled AR out to 400-450yds.

For us, i've found a 20" barrel is about perfect for most shooters, and an equitable trade off between weight and velocity. For someone doing their best to play the one size fits all game, an 18" HBAR upper is tough to beat.

I agree with JJ on this one. I had a 24" bull upper and hated it for anything other than bench shooting. The first time I had to cross a section on shoes while coyote hunting, I knew I'd chosen poorly. Heavy, awkward and they don't sling well at all. Then I tried a 20" bull and it was better, but still a pig. Replaced that barrel and found my sweet spot for a target/varmint rig in a Lothar Walther Varmint Tactical barrel which is basically a 20" HBAR profile.

[Ghost]

I've not had any issues lugging my 24" while deer or coyote hunting. For the purpose of prairie dogs I assume short walk, bipod or bench and I like the extra bullet speed. I'd be all for a quality shorter barrel but not sure who puts one in for the price range. All my LaRues are more accurate but not in the price range.

[UnaStamus]

For someone doing their best to play the one size fits all game, an 18" HBAR upper is tough to beat.

^this.

With .223/5.56, the barrel length has a lot of correlation with the bullet weight. I've found that the 16-20" range is the most versatile among the widest array of bullet weights. 18" is a sufficient barrel length that gets just about everything done. I have an 18" SPR build that runs sub-0.5 MOA and can ring steel beyond 500.

[2in2out]

APF Armory (Alexandria Pro Fab) makes an AR chambered in 22-250.