Suppressed 5.56 Short Barrelled Rifle Velocity Test Data: 41 Factory Loads from 10.5", 11.5", 12.5" & 14.5"

There is much confusion about the effects of these short barrels on velocity. It makes sense that a shorter barrel will produce lower velocity, but how much less? Since the Army rolled out the 14.5 inch barrelled M-4 in 1992, there have been a lot of people shooting shorter barrels. The SEALs developed the Mk18 with a 10.3 inch barrel and many military and law enforcement units have gone short. AR pistols have brought shorter barrels to the common man.

Over the last year or so, Eagle_19er posting on AR15.com has gathered forty-one different factory loads and tested 10 rounds of each in a 10.5″, 11.5″, 12.5″ and 14.5″ barreles to establish a baseline velocities. They run the gamut from 55gr Wolf Polyformance steel case to a few flavors of heavy OTM loads.

It’s by no means an exhaustive list of everything available in 5.56, but these loads cover many of the popular “off the shelf” (and a few more obscure) loads that many of us shoot at the range and/or depend on for self defense, hunting or duty.

You can see all of Eagle_19er’s work on AR15.com: Suppressed 5.56 SBR Velocity Tests–41 Factory Loads from 10.5″, 11.5″, 12.5″ & 14.5″ ALL DONE

Guns used:

10.5″ Noveske SwitchBlock with SilencerCo Omega suppressor
11.5″ Faxon “Big Gunner” (Mid Gas) with SilencerCo Omega suppressor.
12.5″ BCM Standard (Carbine gas) with SilencerCo Omega suppressor.
14.5″ BCH BFH “Barrel – Hammer Forged” (Mid Gas) with SilencerCo Omega suppressor.