Need some help on deciding caliber for AR pistol

[JColumbus]

If you're gonna' shoot 400 yds., you probably don't want to consider subsonic loads.

Sorry, I mean I want that capability in accuracy and effectiveness, but at the range, I'd mostly be shooting out to 100. Hard to find a spot for 200.

 

[Charlie]

I'd suggest a 168 grain bullet to start with at that range. I'll be glad to load you a dozen and give them to you but I'm not in the business.

 

[grasshopperglock]

Your most accurate range will be below 50.

I use an AR pistol for the living room gun. 15' average distance to any door. For close range it rocks. Past 25-50 yards, build a rifle.

 

[HKShooter65]

You need an option to vote - “Make whatever the hell you want, and ignore half the shit you read on the internet”.

Half? You are generous.

I know half the shit I believe is to be ignored. My believable half is BS.

I believe maybe 10% of what's on the internet.


My suggestion, unsolicited:
A short 9mm AR is really nice.
With a forearm brace and silencer (Mr. Maxim's term) it it sublime.

A short 5.56 pistol will just loosen your fillings. It's a silly toy.....not that that is a bad thing.
I have an 8" 7.62x39 upper with a muzzle brake. It's good for singeing eyebrows off!

 

[JColumbus]

Your most accurate range will be below 50.

I use an AR pistol for the living room gun. 15' average distance to any door. For close range it rocks. Past 25-50 yards, build a rifle.

I appreciate the advice. I do have rifles. I didn't know ar pistols were so inaccurate or useless, as it sounds from your post. Some say it's just fine, others say it's a toy. I guess I'll find out soon.

 

[Charlie]

Your most accurate range will be below 50.

I use an AR pistol for the living room gun. 15' average distance to any door. For close range it rocks. Past 25-50 yards, build a rifle.

Home protection is OK but I also would not recommend an AR pistol in any caliber for anything of any distance.

 

[JColumbus]

Half? You are generous.

I know half the shit I believe is to be ignored. My believable half is BS.

I believe maybe 10% of what's on the internet.


My suggestion, unsolicited:
A short 9mm AR is really nice.
With a forearm brace and silencer (Mr. Maxim's term) it it sublime.

A short 5.56 pistol will just loosen your fillings. It's a silly toy.....not that that is a bad thing.
I have an 8" 7.62x39 upper with a muzzle brake. It's good for singeing eyebrows off!

Haha I'll shave mine. Yea I have the lower with the PDW. I wouldn't go lower than 8" but with the KAK flash can, the one I ended up with is about 10 inches, so hopefully that will keep the fire away from my face.

 

[Charlie]

Depending on the load (subsonic, sonic, etc.) one still has only an 8" barrel. You can load them up or down but they may only do a little bit better than a long barreled pistol. Which is exactly what you have.

 

[JColumbus]

Home protection is OK but I also would not recommend an AR piston in any caliber for anything of any distance.

Did not know that. A buddy had one. It sounded sweet when running the charging handle. "CLINK CLINK"

 

[grasshopperglock]

I appreciate the advice. I do have rifles. I didn't know ar pistols were so inaccurate or useless, as it sounds from your post. Some say it's just fine, others say it's a toy. I guess I'll find out soon.

Its the shooting position. Not the pistol. Snuggling down on it, choking up on the recoil tube with your cheek, recoil, recovery on target...

It has limitations. Past 50 build a rifle because the law won't let you put a stock on it. Unless you pay them for the privilege.

 

[JColumbus]

Depending on the load (subsonic, sonic, etc.) one still has only an 8" barrel. You can load them up or down but they may only do a little bit better than a long barreled pistol

So how long is a long barreled pistol? Would a 10.3" (2.3" longer) really be a dramatic improvement in accuracy, distance, and impact? If so, does that mean that it would be fine in 5.56 too?

 

[JColumbus]

Its the shooting position. Not the pistol. Snuggling down on it, choking up on the recoil tube with your cheek, recoil, recovery on target...

Has limitations. Past 50 build a rifle because the law won't let you put a stock on it. Unless you pay them for the privilege.

AHHH gotcha. Yea I haven't shot the PDW brace yet, but it extends outward pretty comfortably. Feels just like... You know...

 

[HKShooter65]

I didn't know ar pistols were so inaccurate or useless, as it sounds from your post. ......

This is such a pervasive misperception!!!


Shorter barrels are NOT inherently less accurate.

Shorter sight radiuses contribute to this erroneous belief.

I have a 5" suppressed AR15 upper in .22LR that will shoot 1.5" groups at 100 yards all day long. It's a quality barrel.
I had a P.O.S. AR15 5.56 upper that shot 6" groups.

Quality of the barrel innards is everything.
Length is a lesser contributor to accuracy.

 

[Charlie]

Were I you, I'd invest is a couple of factory loads, 168 gr., etc. and see how it shoots. Just to see what you like.

 

[CyberWolf]

Yes... Did I F UP REAL BAD?

Not necessarily, depends on what you got...

I think you got what you WANTED which is what you deserve at Xmas time.[/SIZE]

^This is a good perspective, just depends on what you're looking for.

 

[CyberWolf]

A short 5.56 pistol will just loosen your fillings. It's a silly toy.....not that that is a bad thing.
I have an 8" 7.62x39 upper with a muzzle brake. It's good for singeing eyebrows off!

A short 5.56 may not have the terminal ballistics of a 20" rifle pushing projectiles at >3k fps, but most definately not a toy, and can still poke holes in things from much farther than one might expect.

Also, if you use either a flash can or Linear Compensator (depending on needs with regard to backpressure management), nearly all of the concussive force is pushed forward and is not too bad at all, even for people standing next to or behind the shooter.

I appreciate the advice. I do have rifles. I didn't know ar pistols were so inaccurate or useless, as it sounds from your post. Some say it's just fine, others say it's a toy. I guess I'll find out soon.

They are not inaccurate, but you need to make sure you're using the right ammo.

 

[benenglish]

Shorter barrels are NOT inherently less accurate.

I know you know this but it bears repeating - All else being equal, shorter barrels are more accurate than longer barrels. Granted, all else is almost never equal but that doesn't change the correctness of that assertion.

Pistol silhouette shooters taught that lesson to the shooting world back in the 1970s. It continues to amaze me how many people have yet to get the word.

 

[CyberWolf]

It continues to amaze me how many people have yet to get the word.

 

[DD130]

Unless you have a specific need for a .300 BLK, I'd consider building a 7.62x39 AR instead. The 7.62 has the power of the .300 (a little bit more depending on who you believe), and it's MUCH cheaper to shoot than the .300 BLK, and ammo easier to generally acquire as well.

I've built versions of .233/5.56 & .300 BLK and 7.62x39, and frankly, the .300 BLK sees the least range time, because it's just more expensive to shoot, the 5.56 is not as intimidating for the younger in my family and the 7.62 give me the chuckles on the cheap. I built my .300 as a pistol because it only needs about 10" of barrel to get up to speed, but I might just toss a .556 upper on it and actually go shoot the thing.

I had 6.8 SPCII for a while as well. Stout round.. but.. I didn't really have a need it satisfied, that other calibers didn't.. so it exited the fleet.

 

[Charlie]

If you are a hand loader, there is not a significant difference in price of the rounds of any of the calibers you're talking about. I load 7.62 x 39 for accuracy in my CZ 7.62 carbine.