AR Pistols in 5.56

JohnRippert · Jun 7, 2020

I went the braced Glock pattern 9mm AR Pistol direction. 8inch barrel and the ability to use any doublestack 9mm Glock magazine were big factors. It was also on sale at AIM Surplus for $549 around the beginning of this year. I wanted something I could pair up with a Polymer80 style Glock and use the same magazines.

ladder13 · Jun 7, 2020

I put together a 300 BLK pistol on a PSA pistol lower. My deer gun. I didn’t want to wait a year for a tax stamp.

Then the BATFE went Efile, cutting the wait period to just over 30 days, so I took a spare rifle lower and SBR’d it.
I like having the forward grip also.

So now I have a pistol lower looking for a mate. I’ll probably pick up a 10 1/2 inch 556 upper from PSA when they run their next big sale.

gdogs · Jun 8, 2020

I've got AR pistols in 9mm, 6.8 SPC, and 350 Legend - all custom builds by me. The 6.8 is a 7.5" barrel with a MI blast can that sends most of the sound downrange. There is a fireball, and some concussion but it is nothing compared to shooting magnum rifles. My 9mm is also a 7.5" barrel, has a linear comp on it, doesn't have much blast and no felt recoil. Every woman that has ever shot it thought that it would be perfect for home defense as it is both easy to handle, and easy to shoot accurately. The 350 Legend is a recent build and is going to be my primary hunting weapon this fall. It has a 13" barrel.

TX-Dennis · Jun 8, 2020

I have two 5.56 AR pistols. I find them easy to shoot and accurate with a caveat - I shoot them from the shoulder like a rifle.

The bottom is a 7 inch ATI Omni Hybrid. The receivers are polymer reinforced with metal at stress points. It came with a blade brace for $450. I spent another 125 or so and added a different grip and an SBA3 brace.

The middle is a 10.5 inch kit I bought from PSA. I think the kit was just over $500 including the complete upper and "enhanced" lower parts kit with a polished trigger and SBA 3. The lower is a generic PSA stripped lower. My son and I did the build on our kitchen table in about 30 minutes.

Both weapons are easy to shoot, reliable, and accurate. The ATI has the best factory trigger pull I've ever seen on an AR despite its low price. The fire control group is composite rather than steel, though.

Edited to add - a funny story about the lower. We visited or called every local gun shop looking for a stripped lower. None were in stock, so I ordered the PSA. I asked for it to be shipped to a shop nearby where I've done transfers before. PSA supposedly had their license on file. I got an email a few days later that the shop's license was invalid so I needed to choose another. I went to the shop, and sure enough they had lost their license. A few days earlier they had display cases full of guns. Now they were gone. I chose another shop.

All this delayed shipment somewhat, and when I finally went to pick it up and do the transfer, guess what was in the case at the local shop? That's right a dozen or so stripped lowers ranging from 47.50 up to 125 or so. Yup, I could have saved money on the transfer if I'd been patient. Lesson learned I guess.

Borderboss · Jun 8, 2020

An AR pistol in .223 is extremely useful. They're easy to wield in close quarters, powerful in a defensive situation, very easy to control in recoil, and if built properly, very accurate. See mine below.

Are they loud? Sure thing! But no louder than a 12 gauge shotgun indoors, and the shotgun is recommended all the time for home defense. But the truth is that pretty much any gun of worthwhile defensive caliber is loud indoors. That's why I also keep electronic muffs right by mine, which I will hopefully have the time to put on. Same goes for my 12 gauge. Or my 9mm.

Is it right for the OP's wife? I don't know, because I don't know her. If she wants an easy-to-use gun for home defense, either the .223 AR or a similar platform in 9mm is a great idea.

typetwelve · Jun 8, 2020

I have a 7.5" AR pistol that I bought as a Rock River turnkey 6 or so years ago.

Stock, the thing was not fun to shoot in the slightest. Like others are saying, they are LOUD...and before I put a Smith Vortex on mine, it was a flamethrower as well.

I added some parts/pieces here and there over the years. I'll admit that it's been a massive money pit. Here it is a currently set up:

5.9lbs as shown.

It's easy to shoot, 25-50 yds are perfectly fine. I do need to chrono the thing though, I imagine that velocity out of the thing is darn near useless...maybe.

If could get out of it what I have into it...I'd sell it in a heartbeat....but that's not going to happen.

It's an ok firearm. I really need to swap it to 300 BLK to make it worth a darn.

Borderboss · Jun 8, 2020

typetwelve said:
I have a 7.5" AR pistol that I bought as a Rock River turnkey 6 or so years ago.

Stock, the thing was not fun to shoot in the slightest. Like others are saying, they are LOUD...and before I put a Smith Vortex on mine, it was a flamethrower as well.

I added some parts/pieces here and there over the years. I'll admit that it's been a massive money pit. Here it is a currently set up:

5.9lbs as shown.

It's easy to shoot, 25-50 yds are perfectly fine. I do need to chrono the thing though, I imagine that velocity out of the thing is darn near useless...maybe.

If could get out of it what I have into it...I'd sell it in a heartbeat....but that's not going to happen.

It's an ok firearm. I really need to swap it to 300 BLK to make it worth a darn.

This is the kind of gun that's fun to accessorize. It just is what it is.

There are plenty of YouTube videos about certain rounds fired out of short barrelled .223 ARs because there are a lot of these guns around. The velocity of the ammo is far from useless, and the bullet performance tends to be great. I'm using 55gr. Speer Gold Dot in mine, and the performance I've seen in other 7.5" barrel guns has been excellent.

HardToHandle · Jun 8, 2020

Crh - good post and well reasoned questions.

My experience-
1) Had a 7.5” barreled DPMS Kitty Kay upper but found it blasty. Also found it uncomfortably short to shoot, to the extent it felt a bit unsafe with so much weight forward. Needed to be run wet and I installed a DFender to fix extraction issues.
2) Have a 10.5” LMT upper that runs very well over the last 8 years. I made the choice to go with a higher tier manufacturer and have been satisfied with trouble free performance. It is still loud and has some blast, but much improved over the 7.5” barrel. 6lbs with a Troy forend. Purchased to be an occasional truck gun but that has been pretty rare. Don’t recall what I have in it, but likely $800 over time for the upper/lower/brace.
3) Personally, I like 9mm carbines a lot. My experience is 9mm ARs are compromises compared to purpose built platforms. Regardless, they are fun.
4) The Firearms News that arrived this week has a fair sounding assessment of the new Springfield Saint takedown AR. Normally I would be wary of Springfield quality and the 8.5” barrel, but there are some neat features that might be worth considering if you are willing to spend $1300.

Digger2 · Jun 8, 2020

i have a 7.5" upper that I bought complete from cdnn for $279. Another 100 for the bcg. I had a lower and a lower parts kit in the safe for ages, so all went together pretty cheaply. I found the brace on ar15 for $80. Fun toy, use-full for home defense as even if I miss then just look for the deaf guy in the emergency room.

CH4 · Jun 9, 2020

boykinlp said:
I have one that is just for fun at the range. For that reason, I made it .22LR. It is a PSA upper and lower. It has a 7.5" barrel and a red dot sight. BTW, it is a bear to find an upper in .22LR.
Larry

I built a dedicated 5.56 upper with a CMMG .22lr conversion kit. It loves Aguila HV ammo.

jeffrefrig · Jun 9, 2020

My son recently bought a Ruger 10.5" 5.56. He hasn't shot it yet, so I don't know about that part, but the cheapest ammo he could find was 240 rounds for $120. I told him to start putting together some reloading equipment if he plans on shooting it a lot. When he 1st asked me what to buy, I told him I have no idea, which I don't, but check the price of the ammo before you buy it. He didn't, now he's complaining about the ammo. I DID tell him to look at 9mm because of the more available/less expensive caliber ammo. He's a big boy now, and it's his money. Good luck, OP.

CB3 · Jun 9, 2020

My Diamondback 7.5” 5.56 AR pistol is now almost 10 years old. After 2 trips to the home office for severe QC issues, it has run fine since through a few thousand rounds. I have an in-line muzzle device and almost always shoot it outdoors because of the blast.

After warning new shooters about the blast and with good ear/eye pro, I have found it is a great intro to the AR platform for new and young shooters. It’s well balanced, not heavy and easy to handle. Everyone has enjoyed shooting it with the Leupold red dot. The occasional fireball is actually a plus I tell folks to look for. It’s just plain fun, but it could be a very serious weapon if needed.

It weighs 6#. I chose 7.5” because I didn’t know any better at the time.

Sistema1927 · Jun 9, 2020

Three AR pattern pistols here.

8.5" in 5.56
8.5" in 300 Blackout
6.0" in 9mm

All have braces. All have either a flash can or linear comp. All wear red dots and BUS. All are reasonably accurate.

I consider the 5.56 in that barrel length to be a range toy due to ballistic disadvantage. The other two are decent PDW's.

CustomChevyGuy · Jun 9, 2020

gdogs said:
I've got AR pistols in 9mm, 6.8 SPC, and 350 Legend - all custom builds by me. The 6.8 is a 7.5" barrel with a MI blast can that sends most of the sound downrange. There is a fireball, and some concussion but it is nothing compared to shooting magnum rifles. My 9mm is also a 7.5" barrel, has a linear comp on it, doesn't have much blast and no felt recoil. Every woman that has ever shot it thought that it would be perfect for home defense as it is both easy to handle, and easy to shoot accurately. The 350 Legend is a recent build and is going to be my primary hunting weapon this fall. It has a 13" barrel.

Please tell me what braces those are? I really like how they look. Do you have any complaints about them?

TX-Dennis · Jun 9, 2020

CustomChevyGuy said:
Please tell me what braces those are? I really like how they look. Do you have any complaints about them?

They look like G-Rex braces. They are at the high end of cost compared to other braces, but they are nice. I believe the manufacturer is called Dead Foot.

F224 · Jun 9, 2020

I have several. The primary is a 10.5" RRA 223 pistol that has a MI slim forearm, it's hell on coyotes out to 300 yards with it's 2x ACOG.

One of my others is a 9mm Glock magazine lower with an 8.5" barrel for the kids to shoot. Soft recoil and a hoot with it's Trijicon RMR.

The other is on loan to friend, it's has an 11.5" barrel and straight A2 iron sights.

My recommendation is to go with a 10.5-11.5" barrel, a suitable optic, and practice man practice. They are very effective out to 300+ yards.

gdogs · Jun 10, 2020

CustomChevyGuy said:
Please tell me what braces those are? I really like how they look. Do you have any complaints about them?

These are the 1st Gen Tailhook from Gear Head Works. They are on the pricey side, but they actually work well as a brace, and are considerably lighter than most of the other options out there - despite being solid aluminum. Other than the price I've got no complaints with them. And occasionally you can find them used or on sale - I bought two "blemished" ones a few years ago at the NRA convention in Dallas for I think $75/piece. The only other brace I use is the Trinity Force Breacher brace. They are cheap but attach solidly - I noticed that even Springfield Armory is putting them on the Saint pistols.

-Side note, The G-Rex is a combination of the Tailhook brace and an adjustable sleeve/buffer tube.

Murdock · Jun 10, 2020

Personnaly I think a 5.56 AR pistol is a waste of the ballistics of that caliber. The shorter the barrel gets, the more it behaves like a .22 rimfire magnum, at the cost of fierce muzzle blast and flash.

You can feed a pistol caliber carbine (PCC) cheaper and get better performance than from a conventional pistol.

oink · Jun 10, 2020

I did a PSA kit when they had their Betsy Ross lowers. (I'm thinking about doing one on their Rosie the Riveter lower too.) I did it mainly just for a fun project. I did a 10.5" barrel in 5.56 with a thin M-lock hand guard. It was a fun project. It has a red dot and flip up BU sights, a flash light with remote and a little red laser. My wife shoots it just fine. We haven't shot it indoors but I know short barreled 5.56 ARs are annoying at the indoor range. Of course my model 69 snubbie with full house magnums is pretty annoying to neighboring booths at the indoor range too. I'm sure either would be deafening in a home hallway. I might make another 10.5" or greater pistol to go under the truck rear seat, with a lock.

Crh1943 · Jun 10, 2020

Thanks for all of the input gentlemen.

I'm thinking about leaning towards a LW 16" AR at the moment for her after several people's inputs. The fun shop I go to had recommended the AR Pistol for her, and I honestly never thought about it until that moment. My current AR's are around 8lbs and it can be a little much for a petite wife to handle for more than a few shots!

The 9mm Stribog that we have is a good shooter, but because of the straight blowback recoil system, it is a bit stout out front with the beefy bolt. She likes that as well, albeit a bit heavy after a few shots for her. Even for me after about 2 mags of holding it out there, you can feel it. Weight is distributed differently than on a stock AR rifle.

That's why I ask the experts here!!!

AR Pistols in 5.56

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