Is carbine gas outdated?

[Alan]

With all the components we have today, is there still a real benefit to using carbine gas on a 16" rifle?

 

[carrerra1hz]

It's becoming tougher to defend the use of carbine gas systems on a 16" barrel. Mid-length setups offer better dwell time, smoother cycling, less wear on parts and reduced recoil. The reliability argument for carbines used to be solid but nowadays, mid-length systems are just as dependable. Unless you really need to share parts with shorter firearms, going with mid-length is definitely the smarter option these days.

 

[oncewas]

I've built four AR's two 16in two 14.5 and .7in used mid-length. See no reason to go carbine length unless you have to.