CHF or Not?

[CRTguns]

tomatos vs. razor blades, GO...

Draft Beer vs Pocket Watch

Condoms vs tampons

ahh yeah. These are fun. And worthwile to ponder.

[ScottsBad]

If you plan on shooting thousands of rounds in the next few years get CHF CL. If you only shoot maybe 1000 rounds or less every two years, get a standard CL barrel.

[Click Boom]

Straight to the source:

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2013/08/foghorn/a-look-inside-fnms-south-carolina-barrel-shop/

[Nismo]

The benefits of FN chf midlength barrel is that you get a lighter weight barrel that is just as strong as the heavier standard profile barrel. Also the weight is taken off where it can be felt most, near the muzzle end of the barrel. These are considered mid weight barrels...heavier than a pencil barrel but do not suffer any of the downsides that a pencil barrel has under rapid fire. They are made from stronger machine gun steel, have double thick chrome lining, and a service life at least 3 times longer than your standard barrel.

they are totally worth it IMO. The convincing factor for me was the lighter weight, optimum profile, without compromising accuracy or high heat under rapid fire. Everything else like longer service and outstanding accuracy was just a bonus.

Mind you, only the FN CHF "midlength barrel" has the lighter weight optimum profile. The FN carbine CHF does not. FN makes this barrel for a number of companies.... Noveske, Spikes, Centurion, Rainier mountain series, PSA and probably a few more. The spikes is the cheapest I have found. I believe DSG has the 16" Spikes for about $239 iirc. Leo pricing is cheaper.

I hear DD also makes a great CHF but i dont know as much about it so you might want to look into theirs as well. I do think the FN is 1oz lighter than the dd for similar sizes.

Due to the optimum profile of this barrel, you only save 2oz of weight by going from a 16 inch to a 14.5 inch version, and some of that weight savings would be given back due to the extended muzzle device required to make the 14.5 legal length. I decided on the 16" Spikes CHF for myself as the weight difference was minimal and I liked the idea of being able to switch muzzle devices (without being pinned) incase I want to try featureless.

Midlength is refering to the gas system, not barrel profile.

[Nathan Krynn]

tomatos vs. razor blades, GO...

Well if its like rock paper scissors then I will go with the razor.

I have watched my girlfriend use a razor sharp kitchen knife to "crush" not slice a tomato, its when I realized I will not be getting home cooked meals.

So thanks for that "ahh-huh" moment memory.

OP seriously there are different uses for different tools. For instance there are a hundred different types of hammers and they may look the same but have many different uses to those that are in the know.

So figure out what you want the rifle to do for you and then build to suit. If you cant answer that question then buy a basic AR and you will eventually learn what you want without wasting a TON of money on things you thought you wanted but realized in use you didn't need.

[jpx0123]

all of mine are PSA, and only one is not made by FN for the barrel. I prefer the FN barrel uppers because of the quality I've heard they have overall.

I think you'll be fine either way if you go with a quality manufacturer. but I personally like the CHF for the durability.

[ar15barrels]

Well if its like rock paper scissors then I will go with the razor.

Tomato covers razor blade just like paper covers rock...