There are a ton of different build styles to choose from. You have barrel length, upper receiver type (A1, A2, A3), fixed or collapsible stocks, free float or standard for ends, the list goes on and on and on.
There are short compact styles with 14.5 inch barrels (my personal favorite). Then you have what is pretty much the commercial standard length of 16" barrels. Then you get into longer barrels for more back pressure which causes faster bullet speed in the 18",20" and 22" inch barrels that the bench, long range and varmint hunters like. Then you have a array of choices in stocks from standard "A2" stock to collapsable stocks. Then you have a fixed A2 style iron front sight, or flip up iron front sight or no sight at all. The most popular configuration is the "M4" then the custom varmint styles and then the old school "A2"
We can make it easy. Let us know what you would like to do with your rifle. We can let you know what style of rifle would be the best fit for your purposes.
Hmm not looking for long range shots so 14.5 may be an option, does it look more like a bulldog because of the shorter barrel? I was looking to do coyote hunting with it, not groundhogs or anything. I carry an M9 around here not M4/M16 so its been a while on which one I want, last time I tried both, they felt the same. I also dont see the need for a collapsable stock? I don't plan on doing CQB. I believe ill want a optional flip up sight, what are the pros and cons of not havnig one? It shouldn't obstruct any sights should it?
You need to also factor in what state you live in. We can't have anything under a 16" barrel in Illinois
You can long range hunt and shoot with a 14.5 inch barrel, it just doesn't achieve the same bullet speed as the longer barrels. A good 14.5 barrel will stack them. Here is a 14.5 inch barrel of mine for reference.
Pretty sweet set up buckeye, how you like the battle comp. Been thinking bout switching to one for awhile. Chopayne its not as daunting as it seems. There are a lot of options out there but once you get goin it's not too bad. Mines a 16" barrel and I've been using it for coyotes and messing around on range. If you decide to go with 14.5 barrel its really not much different than 16, from what I noticed shooting both anyway.
Yea California has that magazine release rule too. Next stop is Missouri and Maryland for now so I should be fine. Im thinking 14.5" or 16" as I dont plan on shooting anything too far anyways. Going to do this in conjunction with outfitting a Springfield XD9. Ill have to do more research into this.
