I’m considering an AR pistol with an arm brace but wanted to hear some thoughts from dudes who know more than me.
[ul]
[li] General consensus on AR pistols?
[/li][li] Optimum barrel length & caliber? Is a 7" 300 blackout better than a 11.875" 223?
[/li][li] If the AR pistol is viable, who are some good companies to buy from? Or is it better to build one?
[/li][/ul]
Is there some other question I should be asking but don’t know enough to ask?
If you decide to assemble one make sure you get a quality upper like a colt, DD, Noveske an FN ect. You can get a solid pistol lower from PSA ready to go.
I have a Sionics AR 11.5” pistol in 223 and absolutely love it. My dad purchased a 7” complete pistol from PSA in 300 blackout and he likes his but it’s a little short for my personal taste.
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I have little experience with the 300 Blk, so I can’t tell you how well it will work in a 7" upper.
I can tell you that an 11.5" 5.56 works great! A Colt 6933 is the easiest way to get a shorty up and running right. My favorite brace is the SBA3 with the Split Fix. It can be used on any carbine or A5 RE. The Tailhook Mod 3 is solid and adjustable but uses a proprietary RE.
I like my AR pistols and find them quite useful and handy.
As I journeyed down the pistol road, My primary goal was a shorter, more maneuverable, yet reliable, AR. In 5.56 I have from 8.5" - 10.5". Never an issue with any. When I was considering my 8.5", I was a bit leery of it due to quiet a bit of chatter regarding the reliability / functionality of that short of a barrel. I found two, one of which I thought was very good, videos on the trials and tribulations of an 8.5". I pretty much mimicked that build and was pleasantly surprised it all went well.
I thought perhaps the recoil, etc would be a bit much but it’s not by any stretch. I went from a carbine to H to H2 and noticed very little difference to include only a marginal difference as to where the brass was tossed. Very little difference in noise between an A2 flash hider and Kaw Valley linear comp. Surprising but true. Not much difference at all between it and a 16" carbine.
Hope to fire my recently assembled .300blk very soon. I went with the 9" barrel due mainly to it being widely regarded as a good “compromise” length. Unless something happens in the future which is currently not in the plans, this 300 will not be suppressd which I guess is near-sacrilege but that’s fine. Reckon that’s about it.
All are zeroed (and the 300 will be) at 50 meters and more than accurate enough for their intended roles.
My experience is with a sample of 1. I have an 11.5" Sionics 5.56 build. I am using the SBA3 with a split fix. I love this thing. If I were to complain about something it would be that when using the brace on my cheek, the weld is not the best. I am used to wider stocks for this (think SOPMOD) so it could be just that.
I use my AR pistol just like I would a gun with a stamp, it also goes everywhere with me. Put quality in, get quality out. I cannot recommend anything in 5.56 under 10.3" in barrel length, and the sweet spot for 300blk seems to be about 9".
I personally have a BCM 11.5" upper on my Seekins lower, with a BCM lower parts kit, SBA3 brace, Aimpoint T1, Surefire scout light, and it runs like a champ. I feel no significant trade off using the SBA3 over a stock currently (Except like others have said, cheekweld) on my setup. I have about 1k rounds through it at this point and I really love it. As soon as I get my stamp for my SBR, my pistol will still roll with me most of the time, because I travel between states almost daily.
Good companies; BCM, Daniel Defense, Sionics, Colt, Noveske, Knights Armament, LMT. THere are others, but these are the main companies I personally use or have used. Just make sure whatever you buy is at the minimum Mil-spec and you should be good to go.
One of the first questions you should ask yourself is “what will I be using it for?” Not long range hunting. Home defense. Truck gun. Fun at the range.
I have built 4 AR pistols so I obviously enjoy their maneuverability. All of mine have been a blast, no pun.
9mm - Faxon 8.5 - inch barrel - cheapest ammo to shoot
5.56 - Ballistic Advantage - 7.5 inch barrel - ammo not too expensive, runs great. VERY loud and big fire ball. Great maneuverability. Short barrel, still effective FPS.
300 Blackout - Ballistic Advantage - 8.3 inch barrel - ammo a little more expensive. Perfect length for 300BO. Runs great. Not too loud.
6.5 Grendel - Alexander Arms - 11 inch barrel - much more expensive ammo. Runs great. Most accurate of my pistols at greater distances.
Build it yourself. There is a satisfaction when you compile your choice of components, assemble everything and when you squeeze the trigger. BANG!!
I prefer the SB Tactical SBA3 brace. All 9 of my builds have Aero Precision receivers except for my 9MM. It’s a QC10. Aero Precision, Ballistic Advantage, Seekins Precision, Strike Industries, Faxon, Fortis, and many other companies offer quality products. I have found that Optics Planet often has better prices than some companies.
There are a bunch of great guys on here who will be glad to help if you have trouble. Good luck
I run a 10” Anderson 5.56 upper and a PSA 8.5” .300 bo upper.
The 5.56 has more flash/concussion and needed something more than a birdcage so I put a 3” flash can on it. In hindsight I’d have gone with an 11-12” barrel.
In .300bo 8” is fine for me with subs & supersonic. Never had any complaints with the A2 birdcage it came with but I did swap it with a micro flash can just to lighten it up a bit and I liked the look.
When you’re looking a braces be certain to opt for something with more vertical axis support, such as a Blade or SBA3. The cheek-weld style braces offer very little stability as your third point of contact.
This is good(ymmv):
This is bad(ymmv):
Hola,
I have one AR pistol. It is a PSA PX-9 in 9mm. I purchased the the completed upper and lower separately. I added sights, optics, a brace and single poin sling (still looking for a light). It uses Glock mags. I am using a Kak brace, MBUIS and a red dot sight with a magnifier. It has the 10.5" barrel with M-lok handguard and a A2 style flash hider. My view on this?
I’m a Glock guy so having an AR style weapon system that: allows for interchangeable mags (it will even accept G26 mags); increases the effectiveness of the 9mm round; has common AR controls (and attachments), as well as giving me a shoulder able brace. I wish I would have done this in lieu of a Sub-2000 (nothing against the S2K, it just didn’t work for me).
Legally I prefer an AR pistol to an SBR for the following reasons:
-dont have to submit ANY paperwork or pay any additional taxes fees
-dont have to notify the feds and recieve approval to cross state lines
-can carry loaded in a vehicle and falls under “CCW”
It wasnt until recently that the braces made them a truly viable defensive tool though. With a bare buffer tube I wouldnt even consider one. The original SB brace made them alot more useful but unless you are getting the KAK or SBa3 you are really compromising alot compared to a real rifle stock. My pistol has the SBa3 and I think that is as close as I can get to stying within the law and not feeling like I am compromising the feature set of the firearm.
I prefer to keep my Ammo diversity low, so I chose a 10.5" 556 barrel. I really dont like buying special ammo just for one gun. Because 556/223 is already plentyful I get to shoot my shorty pistol as much as I shoot the longer carbines. My buddy has a 8" 556 pistol and it is noteably blastier than anything else. When NSW/Crane was trying to build a CQBR upper, they decided that 10.3" was the shortest you should go for 556.
I always like to build my rifles over buying them, but PSA had way too good of a deal on a kit, that only needed a lower reciever to become a fully functional firearm. I have 400+ rounds throuhg it so far all trouble free. hitting ipsc steel at 300M isnt too hard.
Have a friend who has killed many pigs with the 300 BO, it is a deadly round that shines in short barrels but is an expensive round. Another one has killed many with an 11.5 AR in 5.56.
You loose a lot of performance with a 5.56 shorter barrel but ammo cost is roughly half plus you can use a 22 conversion in it. For me that was the reason not to stock another caliber and just go with 5.56.
Palmetto had a 10.5 melonited I purchased a while back and have been happy so far. Just a few hundred rounds through it but no issues and very accurate. Use 55 gr Ballistic Tips in it. Just has an A2 flash hider and it is loud. Always keep Howard Leight Impact Sports with it.
my suppress my AR pistols: 11.5" 223 to make it slightly more tolerable with ear protection (and to make hits past 150 yds), and 7.5" 300 subsonic to be able to shoot close in without muffs.
I have very little knowledge of AR pistol parts. Does the “brace” or blade in your picture require a different buffer tube? I.e. can I use a conventional carbine buffer tube?
The SBA3 brace using a standard carbine receiver extension. Other pistol braces use the pistol RE and some braces use a proprietary RE. If you are in the market to buy a brace and haven’t bought one before I recommend the SBA3.
The KAK brace uses a proprietary tube that is dimpled so you can adjust LOP with an allen wrench
Thanks, I like that option. I already have standard carbine receiver extension in the parts box.
Heads up that the SBA3 comes with the RE so you will still have one extra after all is said and done 
LOL. oh well … Thanks.