Need informed opinions on rifle vs. mid length gas system

[59Bassman]

Built my own 18" rifle length to replace my 16" HBAR midlength for local matches. It's been reliable since the first round, and was my first "full" build. Switching between the two, I can't believe how much smoother the 18" shoots. I wouldn't hesitate to go rifle again on my next one.

[openclassterror]

As I recall in Sweeny's first AR gunsmithing book, he cut off a bunch of surplus M-16 20 inch rifles to 16 inches for the State Police and they worked FLAWLESS even in the frigid weather of Minnesota or Wisconsin or wherever he lives. An 18 should never be an issue. Miculek uses a rifle gassed 18" in his video series for Brownell's and raves about how soft it shoots. I'm thinkin your gunsmith has no familiarity with the last 10 yrs of AR developments. Noveske uses mid-lengths down to 14-1/2 and even some shorter than that. You don't need very much dwell time if your rifle is gassed correctly. We use mid length for 14-1/2 and 16s, occasionally 18s. Rifle length for 18s and up. You can read my thoughts on it here. http://www.moaprecisionllc.com/moa4_011.htm

Tom