PSA 16" Mid-Length 5.56 Nitride Barrel

PSA's 16" mid-length nitride barrel is the price floor for a standard-spec 5.56 build that still hits the marks that matter. It is cut from 4150V chrome-moly-vanadium steel, salt-bath nitrided inside and out for corrosion resistance, and chambered 5.56 NATO with a 1:7 twist that stabilizes the full common bullet weight range. The mid-length gas system at 16" is the configuration most builders want: longer dwell, softer recoil, and forgiving bolt timing.

The A2 profile is heavier under the handguard than a pencil or Hanson taper, but it resists heat and barrel whip during strings of fire. The .750" gas journal accepts any standard low-profile gas block, and the muzzle is threaded 1/2x28. Some PSA SKUs ship the barrel with a low-profile gas block already included, which is worth checking at purchase.

What you give up at this price is chrome lining; PSA uses nitride only, which is more corrosion resistant than phosphate but does not match the round-count longevity of a chrome-lined CHF bore under sustained suppressed fire. For a range carbine, duty backup, or first build, the value is hard to beat. As a 16" barrel it needs no NFA paperwork.