I couldn’t help myself and dropped a chunk of my tax return on a 10.5 inch Troy pistol, completely with SB3 brace. One of my motivates for buying the complete gun is I’m too indecisive to be a good builder—I’d prefer to get a total package and swap out parts as I need too, rather than figure out what rail/muzzle device/brace etc. I will probably go with an Eotech for an optic, unless I find a Memorial Day deal on a T2 I can’t pass up.
So, otherwise than muzzle blast and being loud, what should I know? I’ve fired about a magazine through a friends MK18 “clone” and I remember it being noticeably louder than my 14.5 gun, but that was a few years back. I’m personally still a skeptic on the benefits of shorter barrels—but I figure I should have at least one, since everyone else in the AR community seems to love them. And of course I want a pistol now that I’m not sure they’ll be available in the future as easily as they are now. I’m not opposed to SBRing the gun, if I decide I like it and want to make it anything more than a range toy.
Just run with it. Enjoy it. I assume they knew what they were doing when the built it. If any issues arise, pop smoke. Though it’s based only on personal preference, I go with H3s in all my carbines and pistols. With proper hearing protection, noise is no concern; even with my little 8.5" (5.56).
Shoot it and enjoy. I also recommend an H2, I feel it’s the sweet spot, especially for shortys.
No reason to SBR. Ever. Don’t waste the money.
If you do alot with your guns, not just shooting, but patrolling and/or hiking, and training in general, you’ll truly see what’s to love…light and handy. Gotta use it to fully appreciate it!
If shipping goes as advertised I will pick it up this weekend. I’m interested to see what quirks the 10.5 system brings. How well I like shooting with the brace will probably determine if it’s worth doing the SBR thing. I will probably wait on the optic until I can handle it and get a feel for the handling—how it feels will probably drive my choice of sight and mount. I’m definitely leaning Aimpoint, just not sure if I will want a micro or a larger model.
There are no quirks. Sounds like you’re anticipating differences which simply aren’t there. Very little noise difference between it and a 16" carbine. For the average bear, no noticeable difference with the SB3 when shouldered as compared to a carbine collapsible stock.
An AR pistol, besides being fun to shoot is also a fairly practical weapon; lightweight, accurate to 100 yds, easy to transport, why not have one? Hell, if you can purchase another one, go for it !
I built a PSA 10.5 build kit a few years back. To date it has about 2k rounds on it and is one of my favorite AR’s. My current mod list is as follows:
BCM mod 1 comp
BRT gas tube (not really needed, but hey its crane spec now)
Expo Arms combat rail 9.5"
H2 buffer
Sprinco white buffer spring and sprinco 5 coil extractor spring
Larue MBT 2s trigger
P-Mags
Holosun
Streamlite
Even with ALL extra parts the gun is still sub $1k, and is my favorite for home defense and camping trips. I keep 64gr gold dots in it year round. I have used this little blaster in a match or two and it got hits at 300 yards no problem. The 400 yard target gave me issues but I think that was more of the weather and terrain messing with me than the raw distance.
I agree with just putting an optic on it and shooting it. My 11" 7.62x39 pistol is not too bad noise wise, but my 8.5" 5.56 pistol is a loud little sucker. Both very fun to shoot. I built the 7.62x39 upper using a Kak barrel and BCG, but bought (PSA) then modified the 8.5" upper by adding an adjustable GB and adding a Gamma 6 muzzle device.
Thanks for the info guys. To me a 14.5 inch gun is short, so a 10.5 seems really short. And perhaps I’ve read too much about short gas systems being temperamental. But I can definitely see the utility. Once I get some trigger time I’d like to build it out in to a serious use gun—I can see a lot of situations where an AR platform can do things the 9mm or .45 I typically have can’t.
Mod on another gun forum I visit, did a long thread on running his 10.5 at 500 yards. Of course he has glass on it. I own a number of them, & My 7.5" was a GREAT “take along for patrolling a mothballed power plant, I did security for”. I had to ride in a John Deere 4 wheeler, day & night, covering about 1,800 acres. Tested it out, while there, & even with “Iron’s”, no issues on 100 yard shot’s. Added a red dot, when I finished the job, & now it’s my “bedside PDW”. I “LOVE AR Pistol’s”!!
I know I’m late replying, but pistols are handy. I’d never sell it unless you need the cash.
Just build 1 AR & your gonna wanna build another. As far as buffers, I tried a H 3.7oz & a standard carbine 3oz, brass ejection was same & brass fell within 7 feet. A H2 may make more difference but it’s more about the gas port in your barrel. A heavier buffer is not necessary.
Hope you held onto you 10.5
Depends on how you define what a heavy buffer is. Although the H stands for “heavy”, H and H2 buffers are lighter than a standard rifle buffer. Maybe an H out H2 buffers isn’t needed for an AR to function, but when using 5.56 spec ammo, an AR (especially a shorty) runs smoother with an H2 buffer than it does with a carbine or H buffer. Even better is an A5H2 or a rifle buffer. [An H3 weighs about as much as an A5H2 or rifle buffer, but I think it’s better to switch to a buffer (and appropriate RE) that uses a rifle spring at that point.]
I know there’s a pie chart showing how an AR is under/over/just right gassed according to election angle, but the pie is a lie. Before common sense kicked in, a friend and I once tried tried tuning an AR with an adjustable gas block by using this pie chart. It was an exercise in futility. What the ejection angle will reveal is the condition of the extractor spring. If you start seeing a change in the ejection angle, the extractor spring is going bad.
He was asking or talking about his 10.5, I hope he keeps it. I was just telling him he didn’t need to focus to heavily on changing out his buffer. I assume it’s not a rifle lower so the rifle length buffer won’t come into play. My AR’s are set up primarily as SD, I do have H1/H buffers they are same weight, 3.7 - 3.8 oz. But, I don’t see the need for heavy H3 - H4, or heavier unless your over gassed because of gas port size. You make a great point on ejector springs, there often over looked. I check my ejector spring tension by slowly manually ejecting a live round & watching for the rotation of the ejected live round. It should have good horizontal rotation, if rotation is only a turn or 3 it’s getting weak. Should rotate multiple times when ejected slowly if ejector spring is good. As to buffer springs, I do run chrome silicone buffer springs even in my rifle length systems. Thanks for you information, and exchange of thoughts.
I appreciate the technical response. Troy built this gun with what appears to be a carbine buffer, and it seems to work fine in the limited shooting I have had a chance to do. I do appreciate that the 10.5 is a more violent than a 14.5, so I may try an H2 just to see how it handles. I pretty much only shoot NATO spec ammo, so I’m not concerned with being able to run commercial .223. My go to load in this gun will probably be 77 grain OTM, once I can find enough to feel well stocked.
Yeah, I’m aware we’re talking about a shorty. I like shorty ARs.
I know some try to make up for over gassing with a heavier buffer, but that won’t fix the problem.
Ejector condition is very important, but I’m talking about the extractor spring. I’ve found it’s more likely to go bad than the ejector, usually because the wrong spring is used.
I got a chance to day to finally give this gun a good work out. Reliability has been perfect running a mix of M193 and M855 Green Tip, probably got this gun up to about 800 rounds total today. I was able to shoot it at distance, and I was surprised how well it did. The brace is isn’t ideal, but I could still hit at 250 without too much effort, which is pretty good for my skill with an unmagnified optic. Inside a shoot house there is a noticeable flash from the Troy break, but blast wasn’t significantly worse than my 14.5. I need to do a few more tweaks on the setup, but I could see this becoming one of my go to guns for shooting up close. I still prefer the ballistic advantages from the longer barrel, but I can’t deny the handiness for practical use.
10.5" isn’t necessarily more violent. The carbine gas system was designed for “commando” ARs with 10.5" or 11.5" barrels. 14.5" barrels have the same gas system with excessive dwell which is why mid-length has become so popular on 16" barrels.
The only thing that would make it more violent is if the gas port was larger.
Adjustable gas is a good tuning tool if you can be consistent with the ammo you shoot, just tune it for enough gas that the BCG goes back far enough to latch open on the BHO on an empty mag and maybe one more click. If you switch to weak steel case or other slower than normal ammo, that setting might be under gassed and short stroke.
Buffer weight is better for fixing problems than tuning. Carrier bounce is the common problem a heavier buffer can fix but it’s only a problem with full auto (or maybe bump fire/FRT) so unless your AR is beating itself up, if it runs well leave it alone or try a heavier buffer to see how it changes the feel.
I don’t even come close to considering my 8.5" to be “violent”, much less anything longer, “altered”, etc. After having read through this thread, it’s obvious to me the OP should just leave well enough alone and work the weapon now and then.
