I love the 18" Bush/Scout/MK14. My first 3 M14 pattern rifles all had 18" barrels, and they were very accurate. Other than the look, the long iron sight radius advantage, and slight muzzle velocity boost, I see no reason to go with the traditional 22" length barrel if you will never shoot beyond 750 yards or so.
Also, US military forces have had excellent results from their 18" MK14 Mod 0, and MK14 Mod 1 EBRs over the past decade. The 18" is all that and a bag of chips, and it is battle proven.
My personal collection includes a 22" EBR with excellent iron sights, and a 16.25" EBR with optics and AR style flip up battle sights.
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