The FIRST thing I want to ask is HOW accurate is YOUR SASS?
I have been on the internet for well over 30 years. At first it was us engineers talking to other engineers and research scientists and all was good with DARPA NET. But alas, times have changed and today we have more experts on more subjects than at anytime in history.
I have met MORE: Snipers, SEALs, Rangers, SF, SOCOM folks in the past 2 years than I ever knew on Active duty.
So for someone, ANYone to post that AR SASS is an inaccurate weapon and apply that to ALL SASS, then clearly they must be a Sniper, SEALs, Ranger, SF, SOCOM
IF I were to buy a barrel it would be a krieger
www.kriegerbarrels.com
I have talked with them several times and met with their engineers, I was impressed and I don't impress easy!
As for length, well that becomes a difficult question. What is your end game. Where do you want to live? The 7.62 is a 800 yd rd with the right bbl and cartridge configuration. Optimally you are in the 20-24" range if that is your home on the range and you do not want to compromise...
There are a lot of excellent bbl manuf out there. I would go with a manuf that sells a complete finished bbl. I do not believe that Noveske manuf their bbls but rather obtains partial completed bbls and then finishes them. Does that mean that Noveske (or any other company that does same) applies anti-seize to the bbl if threaded, or just wipes it off with a rag??? I know of companies that in fact don't do much more than that and still claim they produce the end product.
I would go with an older company with a history of success and that makes the bbl complete. I do not like passing off engineering duties from one company to another, but maybe that is just me...