Thinking of building another upper...

[alamo5000]

I am considering building another upper...

Here is what I am thinking...but I would like input as needed particularly on the performance differences and maybe a few components. There are a few comments/questions thrown in here below.

As you all know I am a CMT fanboy but more than that I like the upper/lower to match. No reason why, just OCD I guess.

I have a 10.5 upper with and SLR solo lite m lok handguard on it. I am getting pretty familiar with it for the most part. I have an aimpoint T2 on that one.

On my other rifle I have a 16" Rainier barrel and again a solo lite m lok handguard and that one runs a Vortex 1-4x Viper PST.

I am thinking of getting a 12.5 AR performance barrel and another CMT upper reciever (not sure which one) and building a 12.5 upper that I can swap out from time to time.

In the process of this I am thinking I could put my 1-4x on the 12.5" upper and get a longer optic for my 16" gun, particularly since it's used more for target shooting and trying to be a precision rig. Nothing is decided yet and I have a lot going on so it might have to be on hold for a bit but the plan is the plan.

I am not sure what are my other options for a handguard that would look good. Don't get me wrong, I love SLR, and CMT but I am totally open to trying other things, especially ones that are proven. The only criteria is that it looks good matched with a CMT upper (since that is what my SBR'ed lower is), that it is M Lok, and that it be more quality/top end.

A note on 'quality/top end'... I do not give a single rat's ass about and will not pay more for something because some internet hero put his autograph on it... what I am talking about is good bang for good buck. The balance in between those two matters to me. I am not really looking to make a fashion statement per se or to be the cool kid at the gun range (if I ever went to a gun range) but I do want quality that will pair well together with a CMT upper receiver.

I would also think 10 or 11'' would be about right because I do want to have the suppressor fit. I understand those ARP 12.5 are cut slightly longer to accommodate a slightly longer rail.

My other real question would be the performance difference between a 10.5 vs a 12.5. With my 10.5 and the T2 I can tag my small steel easily at 100 yards and that is what I intended when I built it. I wanted a 100y and in gun. The handling on it seems to be pretty awesome too. The only downside is with no suppressor on it that sucker is LOUD.

The 12.5 vs the 10.5 though, what kind of performance difference could I expect? I am specifically talking about effective terminal ballistics here. Obviously it will generate more velocity and won't be nearly as picky for terminal ballistics at greater ranges... but what say you?

The idea here is to have 3 entirely different set ups that are specific tools for their specific set up. The 12.5 upper would split the difference between the 10.5 and the 16"...