Educate me on AR pistols

[MGW]

I’m in the market for a new rifle. I own one AR and one day it’ll go to my now teenage son. My experience is mostly with 14.5” and longer carbines and rifles. I don’t have a practical need for a rifle. I won’t hunt with it and it won’t be a house gun. A 11” lightweight pistol sounds really versatile on paper. Something that is a jack of all trades but master of none. Easy to travel with. Easy to use in and around vehicles and buildings. I guess I see it as the Glock 19 of the AR world. But honestly I don’t know what I don’t know.

As an example this is a set up that’s interesting to me.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B2q9QlJl...d=1bj6xofed8av

So educate me. What do I need to know about an AR pistol before I plunk the money down on one?

[Grey]

I’m in the market for a new rifle. I own one AR and one day it’ll go to my now teenage son. My experience is mostly with 14.5” and longer carbines and rifles. I don’t have a practical need for a rifle. I won’t hunt with it and it won’t be a house gun. A 11” lightweight pistol sounds really versatile on paper. Something that is a jack of all trades but master of none. Easy to travel with. Easy to use in and around vehicles and buildings. I guess I see it as the Glock 19 of the AR world. But honestly I don’t know what I don’t know.

As an example this is a set up that’s interesting to me.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B2q9QlJl...d=1bj6xofed8av

So educate me. What do I need to know about an AR pistol before I plunk the money down on one?

What do you want this rifle to do? Is this just for fun or are you actually planning on driving around with it in a vehicle?

[Bigghoss]

A 10.5" barrel is generally considered the bare minimum for .223/5.56. any less and the guns tend to to be less reliable and the bullet doesn't have the velocity to do what it's supposed to do. Most will say 12.5" is better for both aspects. If you want to go shorter you want to look towards a .300blk.

[SecondsCount]

A 10.5" barrel is generally considered the bare minimum for .223/5.56. any less and the guns tend to to be less reliable and the bullet doesn't have the velocity to do what it's supposed to do. Most will say 12.5" is better for both aspects. If you want to go shorter you want to look towards a .300blk.

I agree, having shot both a 10.5 and a 12", the latter is preferred. Suppressed may be a different story.

[MGW]

A 10.5" barrel is generally considered the bare minimum for .223/5.56. any less and the guns tend to to be less reliable and the bullet doesn't have the velocity to do what it's supposed to do. Most will say 12.5" is better for both aspects. If you want to go shorter you want to look towards a .300blk.

This is the kind of stuff I need to know. I’m mildly curious about 300BO but sticking with 556 for now seems like a smarter move.

I agree, having shot both a 10.5 and a 12", the latter is preferred. Suppressed may be a different story.

I don’t think I’ll suppress it. But if I did would the extra 1.5” make that big of a difference?

[MGW]

What do you want this rifle to do? Is this just for fun or are you actually planning on driving around with it in a vehicle?

Yes and yes. I plan on shooting it a lot and roaming around with it.

[Grey]

This is the kind of stuff I need to know. I’m mildly curious about 300BO but sticking with 556 for now seems like a smarter move.



I don’t think I’ll suppress it. But if I did would the extra 1.5” make that big of a difference?

300 BO really makes sense if you're going to shoot subs and/or you want the shortest barrel possible. I think you can get down to a 8" and it runs.

If you aren't going to suppress it then definitely go for a 12.5" barrel. If you were making it a dedicated suppressor host I'd still say go 11.5. Yes MK18 (10.5") guns run but there are better options these days.

[Casual Friday]

I'm a fan of 11.5" guns. My favorite is my BCM upper with the ELW profile barrel, MCMR rail, Colt lower, Aimpoint Pro, Magpul Pro BUIS, Larue MBT flat 2 stage trigger. I've since switched to a scout light with pressure switch since this photo was taken earlier in the summer but you get the idea. I personally won't go under 11.5", under that and things get finicky and the guns are either running good or beating themselves to death.

I consider an 11.5" pistol to be the perfect travel gun, especially with the Law folder which I have on another 11.5", it fits nicely in my Vertx bag. This one pictured is the gun I throw in the floorboard of the truck when we take our drives up into the mountains. With a proper gas port and the A5 buffer system, it shoots smooth as buttah.

Attachment 42963

[Bigghoss]

Garand Thumb did a video not too long ago about AR pistols. That dude shoots a lot and he said he likes 12.5" for unsurpressed and 11.5 for surpressed. The surpressors is going. To give more back pressure so that should help it but my 10.5 pistol runs good so far with an H2 buffer. Mine is a PSA kit though so they probably put a big gas port in the barrel knowing their customers are going to run the cheapest ammo they can find. (Which is part of the reason I bought it.)

I was thinking about it the other day. If you have a 12.5" barrel with, say, an A2 flash hider you're only about 2.25" shorter than a 14.5" with a permanently attached A2X flash hider. Having done a little (not a lot) of training and practice clearing buildings I think even a couple inches off the barrel is a good thing. But it still makes you pause and think it over. When I get around to building my 12.5" pistol I'm going to spring for a LAW folder.

I've also saw that a few companies are starting to offer 13.7" barrels for the longer muzzle devices designed for attaching surpressors so you can pin and weld and get the barrel up to 16.1".

For braces, the SBA4 is my current fav with the SBA3 being a close second. I found the SBA3 to be a little too short on a standard tube screwed directly into the reciever. The A4 is about an inch longer which is just about right for me. I've only tried those two and the Blade though. The Tailhook looks pretty good but as far as I know you can't use it on a standard carbine tube like the SBA3/4 braces. My only complaint about the SBA4 so far is where they put the sling attachment points.

[Sensei]

If having you AR rifles standardized on the same cartridge is important to you, I say go with an 11.5” barrel in 5.56.

I’d recommend this upper if you like M-Lok: https://www.bravocompanyusa.com/BCM-...fh-mcmr-10.htm

Or, this upper if you have a bunch of Keymod accessories: https://www.bravocompanyusa.com/BCM-...h-kmr-a-10.htm

On the other hand, if having a super-short barrel is of utmost concern, then 300blk is really the best way to go and still maintain a high degree of parts commonality. 6.8SPC is another ultrashort option with marginally better terminal performance over 300blk, but even less parts commonality with your 5.56. However, there are far fewer very high performing, barrier blind loads in 300blk compared to 5.56. The 110 grain Barnes TAC-TX (black tip) is the best out there in 300blk, and pushed from a 9” barrel at 2150 fps will absolutely ruin someone’s day. I’ve taken the 300blk down to 5.5” in the form of a Sig Rattler and it still pushes the TAC-TX to 1800+ fps on my chrono - that’s 100+ yards of expansion margin assuming a threshold of 1500 fps.