Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles If you were building an AR pistol………

What rifle cartridge would you choose and what barrel length? I’m thinking 5.56 or Wylde in 12.5”carbine gas or 13.7” mid length. More like an urban carbine.

300 bo or 458 socom. 8.5 and 10.5.
sub and super abilities.
i have a 300 BO and it is my go to daily.
would have a 458 if i could find a barrel and BCG.

KISS 5.56 10.5 brl.

Just built a 12.5” rifle in 223. Really happy with it. Currently have a red dot on it, the scope was only for testing. Debating if I want to tax stamp it into a SBR. Definitely want to get a smaller suppressor for it.

16" Wylde MidLength Gas Rifle and quit fhuqking around,before it even started. Hint...............

Got a 20” rifle gasser already. Don’t need a sniffling 16 incher spoiling things.

Who doesn't? Hint.

What does the 16" MidLength Carbine "give up",that the 13.7" pistol "gains",in like chambering? Hint..................

If you're committed to it, a 12.5" chambered in 5.56 should be pretty nice.

Myself, I have 10.5" and 11.5" both in 5.56. I thought they were pretty neato at first, but that passed fairly fast.

Having scratched that itch, I've got two 16" mid-gas barrels on the way from PSA. Gonna turn them both into proper carbines with proper buttstocks.

It's all part of the journey.

I've got 11.5", pinned 13.7", pinned 14.5", and 16" right now.

I really like the 13.7 but it's definitely a niche length. The idea is to have the shortest possible non-NFA barrel. Mine is 16" and a hair. But only some muzzle devices are long enough. I added a SF brake and needed to shim it a little. If you're willing to go SBR / pistol there's no reason to mess with a 13.7.

I've got a couple 14.5" pinned/welded uppers. I like that length a lot.

In reality the difference in length/balance between 14.5" vs 16" is hardly enough to notice. I still like it a lot.

I'll never understand the Faux SBR thing,while being forced to suffer a fhuqking brace. Balance/handling are hurt. Performance is hurt. Innards(reciprocating components) are tossed no favors. Then on top of it,they are fhuqking slower than schit. Hint.

The LAST thing I want done to a barrel(ANY barrel),is to be welding or pinning same. Those are not accuracy "enhancers". And yesssss,I suffer schit with welded trunnions. Hint.(grin)

Pass the MidLength Gas and a REAL stock,on a well balanced 16" rifle. No bullschit,no loophole to get wrapped up in and a breeze to field good glass upon. With Today's glass and Illumination,there's no "trade off" in same,while the Faux SBR Brace Bullschit is a never ending series of fhuqking compromises. Hint.

I'll never understand,but WILL watch The Circus.Hint...............(grin)

In the center ring, I have 10.5, 11.5, and 12.5 such as this, with the KAK M2 which is tooless adjustable and uses a regular carbine tube... A couple few months ago when the big pistol scare hit, they were dumping these KAK Shockwave Blade M2s for like $15, right after I bought a few at $44. Can't imagine wanting to have one under 16" without a suppressor. 11.5" just fine. 5.56 all the way. If you want some niche then go with whatever. Mine are all carbine gas with AGBs on the keepers. All nitrided Ballistics Advantage barrels which seems to be very good for the money, especially on sale. I dimpled them. Seems I have all nitrided BCGs now too, Toolcraft and RCA. Love the stuff. To me, the only place pinning makes any sense is if equipping for a suppressor QD mount system. YRMV



12.5" with suppressor is getting too long maybe. SBA4s, uhh, feels like a butt. I ended up with 3 12.5" barrels, but I would go 11.5" anymore. This is not necessarily complete here. Might trim the tube back or something or not. A shorter suppressor would be good here but I will just use this.


11.5" Much love long time. Not sure where this one is. I better look around. Perfect. And SBA4 would be good here too, however, the blades are surprisingly adequate, uhh, braces...


My 10.5" is like this PSA kit, in nitride. Pretty damned cool for the $350 + lwr it took. My SilencerCo Omega is rated for it, so... It's a pistol buffer rig, and takes a tool to adjust. With a carry handle it's just a fun short range blaster. With the Omega, it seemed quieter than a 22lr pistol, IME.

This ^^^ The short silencer bug has yet to bite me. It's tough to beat a 16" AR for most things.

kwg

The pistol length thing with brace comes into play here in my state where one can have a loaded pistol in the cab of the vehicle, but a rifle needs to be unloaded.

Of course, that's best solved by inserting a mag and racking the charging handle, so maybe it isn't a differentiator.

I often forget about the crazy rules/laws,others must suffer. Were that the case,it'd still be a 16" Middy Rifle and a guy would have an excuse to buy a Truck Pistole. Hint.(grin)

Long story short,the Krunchenticker Pistol is nothing but compromise and that's never been a good blueprint foundation and never will be. I've never not been a sucker for a stock and playing Robo Cop ain't my gig. Hint.

Laughing!.................

What does the 16" MidLength Carbine "give up",that the 13.7" pistol "gains"



^^^^^^^ This. My whole reason. I can have a faux pistol concealed in my vehicle on my CCW. Rifle? Not so much. It gives me a carbine as a backup should a violent group of peaceful protesters have an issue with me. Not a big chance but there are many scenarios,unexpected, where a legally carried AR “pistol” might come in handy.

Short barrels make sense to folks with silencers.
If I can bother the old lady next door less (or shoot with her none the wiser) I certainly will.

But I live in a semi-urban environment- cattle farm situated by a neighborhood.

If I lived more remotely I'd rock earplugs and give the ATF one less person to keep track of.

Honestly dicking with the gas systems, excessively dirty chambers, poor balance- cans come with lots of tradeoffs, but I still own a half dozen or so.

Except rimfire- nothing beats a suppressed 22lr for teaching a kid to shoot.

Now regarding the 13.7 specifically- it's pretty dumb.
A 16" barrel with can direct threaded is nearly the exact same length as the 13.7 + insanely long and heavy deadair keymo.

That whole idea is Instagram sheep delusion at its finest.
Also- for those of us running "pistols”- there's a chance some folks out there might just keep a "brace" in the drawer in case of public appearances or if the ATF comes knocking- but run a stock the other 98% of the time.

Who knows? Some folks might do that IDK

If I wasn't running cans I'd start and end at 18" rifle gassers for 223.

.

Doesn’t matter what you do to to the 16”’ because you can do the same thing to the 13.7”. The shorter barrel is going to be over 2” shorter anyway.

Add me to the list of people who have tried the AR pistol for the sake of novelty, only to realize that it's as others above have described...a bad compromise for no real purpose.

In the pic below are two of my ARs...one is a typical M4 clone (right) with the adjustable stock and the other is a PSA AR pistol kit with the brace (left), with a Dead Air Sandman can on it. With the can, they're basically the same size. I learned what others already know, that the AR pistol is just ridiculously loud unless you have a can. Putting the can on the pistol made the pistol about as loud as an M4 clone without a can, yet it's not better than an M4 clone, and certainly not better than an M4 clone that has been outfitted with a can. I suppose a shorter can would make a difference, but it would also probably make the thing louder than the can I have (and louder than an M4). All things equal, I'd rather go with a carbine and add an AR can on it to get an AR that isn't a compromise.