I'm currently splitting the duties of firearms instructor between several other officers, and the one who spear heads equipment procurement is pushing for converting our 40 AR-15s from 16" barrels to 10.5" barrels. I have generally been happy with running 14.5-16 barrels. From the large pool of knowledge in this forum, I was hoping to hear some opinions on this matter. My primary concerns are ensuring good terminal effects of the ammunition out to 200yrds(we are running Speer 62gr Gold Dots). I also have concerns about reliability and muzzle blast(trying to push for suppressors). Any insight into this equipment decision would be most helpful.