difference between Lightweight and Normal AR15 barrels

[kotaron]

[dieselpower]

its a weight saving ability with slight draw backs. less heat resistance, more barrel whip, more heat transfer.

Less heat resistance means you cannot dump 6 magazines in a row without screwing the barrel up. If its a mil-spec barrel (mil-b-11595e 4150 chromoly vanadium alloy) there is also a greater chance of microfracturing...which can lead to a barrel explosion. So its not wise to put a LW barrel on a Machine Gun.

More barrel whip means when shooting extrame distance, your overall spread is going to be greater then that of a heavier profile barrel.

More heat transfer means the thin barrel will not hold in heat like a heat sink, the heat has to go somewhere so that gets transferred to your upper, or your handguards. Again its has to do with rapid firing.

Normal range and hunting applications are not effected by a LW barrel. They are just as good as any for 99% of the shooting a civilian does.

[jchen76@gmail.com]

If you have time, Randall gives detail info on different barrel profiles.

http://www.ar15barrels.com/profiles.shtml

[Packy14]

on a typical 16" upper, it saves you ~4 oz... if 4oz is making a big difference in weight someone needs to lift weights.

[TheThousands]

on a typical 16" upper, it saves you ~4 oz... if 4oz is making a big difference in weight someone needs to lift weights.

Any weight savings you can make with minimal detrimental effect is good. 4oz may not be a ton of weight but if you carry the rifle for any significant amount of time it can't hurt for the rifle to be lighter.

Other than that it's like diesel said. Unless you are making multiple-magazine engagements in a short period of time it's not going to matter.

[Packy14]

Any weight savings you can make with minimal detrimental effect is good. 4oz may not be a ton of weight but if you carry the rifle for any significant amount of time you will notice it.

Other than that it's like diesel said. Unless you are making multiple-magazine engagements in a short period of time it's not going to matter.

Personally I've debated on LW vs. medium but I decided that the slight loss of accuracy and increased chance of barrel warping didn't make the 4oz worthwhile, better to drop other things off the rifle (like instead of a vertical grip I went with afg's, instead of full rails going MFR rail)... I can tell the 12oz difference between a 4 sided rail and an MFR rail much more than the 4oz on the barrel. But, this is an individual choice.