School me on 9mm ARs

[deemus]

I am interested in building or buying a 9mm AR. Not sure if I want a rilfe or pistol. I have some experience building ARs, but I know there are differences in 9mm AR, specifically in regards to the magwell.

Help me out as to what to order. I have several emails about 9mm uppers on sale right now, so it seems a good time to buy one. Would like to have it use Glock mags.

I know a few on here that have them. Help a brother out....

 

[BuzzinSATX]

I don’t own any but have shot several. I think the short barrel pistol rigs are the way to go. I really like the 9” barrel rig my buddy has that he put together.

very fun to shoot. He said the key was properly matching the upper and lower receivers. His were PSA I believe.

 

[TreyG-20]

I also don't have one,but have looked many times at different options. I'd aalso go with a pistol. Specifically a CMMG Banshee. They seems like nice builds and CMMG is good to go.

 

[toddnjoyce]

9mm AR must knows: there’s Endomags so any lower will work and there’s magwell adapters for colt or glock, glock only magwells, Colt magwells.

The big decision is whether you want last round bolt hold open functionality and whether you want that to be reliable or not. Within that question is also whether LRBHO is done in the upper or the lower.

Then, sidecharging or not is kind of the last big decision.

ETA: paging @EZ-E for 9mm upper info

 

[xdmikey]

I have a Just Right Carbine and am very happy. They now make a takedown and maybe a pistol.

 

[baboon]

I thought about a DOE upper for my M16. It was a passing thought.

 

[IXLR8]

I have a Colt 9mm AR-15. It uses a very inexpensive and common magazine. The most common complaint is that they get dirty quickly. I removed the flash suppressor and mounted a suppressor. It uses 1/2x36 threads to avoid mounting a .223 suppressor by mistake. It is reliable, and accurate. It shoots most accurately with the NATO 124mm 9mm ammo, which seems to be loaded hotter than most 9mm ammo.

Personally I am a sucker for pistol caliber carbines. I own a few. The best design is the HK94 or clone, followed by MPX, Tavor, and then the AR platform. The Tavor and Colt share the magazine and thread pitch.

IMHO there is no more effective suppressed firearm than a 9mm Carbine.

 

[xdmikey]

Wow, I have a 9mm Tavor but have never fired it suppressed. I guess that needs to change!

 

[IXLR8]

Have a look-see

 

[baboon]

Cool

Have a look-see

That’s a lot of gun for a 9mm. Then again a 9mm AR is a lot too. Hell weight wise a MP5K seems like a lot too.

 

[IXLR8]

Cool

That’s a lot of gun for a 9mm. Then again a 9mm AR is a lot too. Hell weight wise a MP5K seems like a lot too.

The length of a 10” barrel HK 94 clone is exactly the same as a 16” barrel Tavor. Bullpup is just a good design.

 

[gll]

I have an Extar EP-9 that uses glock mags, but it is technically not an AR-9. It has a proprietary polymer upper and lower, uses AR trigger and grip, though the stock trigger group is mostly polymer. The buffer tube is a proprietary pistol type. It has a very good last round hold open located in the AR position, as is the mag release.

I also have a PSA AR-V, which is also technically not an AR-9. It uses Scorpion pattern mags, including the very affordable PSA 35 round AK-V mag. While it uses an AR trigger, grip, and buffer tube, the upper and lower are proprietary, not AR or AR-9 types. The mag release and bolt release are not AR like.

Though the glock mag AR-9's mostly seem to function well (based on youtube reviews), as does my EP-9, my thought is that glock mags are pistol mags, and a better AR-9 would use a Colt mag (double feed), which is basically an Uzi mag with a different mag release cut.

I really like the PSA AK-V (Scorpion) mags, but I don't know of an AR-9 that uses those.

 

[Sam7sf]

Yup @EZ-E

 

[Big Green]

I bought a complete upper and complete lower from PSA at different times because what I wanted wasn’t in stock at the same time.

Some of the LRBHO can be finicky. Didn’t need it, haven’t missed it.

Glock mags are cheap and easy to come by, I went that route.

Hadn’t seen the Endomags until EZ’s, they’re nice and seem to work well. If you don’t have a lower to dedicate it seems like the cheapest, yet still very reliable, best path.

They’re are mag blocks, some are expensive and some work better than others.

While I originally bought mine as a plinker it has been very reliable and extremely accurate at 25yds. I like it so much it resides beside my bed now.

I like ARs because aim familiar with how they operate. I looked into other PCC and still would like some but I really like my AR-9.

 

[SQLGeek]

9mm ARs are fun. The CMMG radial delayed blowback bolt and barrel combos are pretty cool and help reduce recoil. They’re a bit pricey and hard to find right now as are all CMMG things.

As has been mentioned, you have primarily three magazine options. You can go with either an AR lower and Endo mags or a mag adapter like the Stern Defense or Hahn Precision adapters that fit into a standard AR mag well. I’ve heard great things about the Hahn adapters with Colt SMG magazines.

I’m thinking about building a 16” AR 9 on either a Hahn adapted lower or a dedicated Colt lower with the eye to possibly compete in USPSA PCC division.

One thing I’ve read is that if you’re building your own, you will need to do some testing with various spring and buffer weights to find what is reliable without being overly harsh on the recoil.

 

[zackmars]

I would skip endo mags. Crappy plastic ejector BUILT INTO THE MAGAZINE. The CMMG mags with a CMMG bolt work better, but having big bulky mags for just 9mm makes it that much more pointless.

Id go with either colt, glock or scorpion mag options

 

[SQLGeek]

I would skip endo mags. Crappy plastic ejector BUILT INTO THE MAGAZINE. The CMMG mags with a CMMG bolt work better, but having big bulky mags for just 9mm makes it that much more pointless.

Id go with either colt, glock or scorpion mag options

Yes, good point. I should have clarified that by Endomag, I meant the CMMG version.

Colt mags are my preference.

 

[benenglish]

I have a Just Right Carbine and am very happy.

I have one, too. It's not an AR but it's supposed to look pretty close. I'm glad you're happy with yours; I can't say the same.

 

[xdmikey]

Sorry to hear Ben. I also had a Beretta Storm rifle with no issues but others had plenty.

 

[benenglish]

Sorry to hear Ben. I also had a Beretta Storm rifle with no issues but others had plenty.

I've been told that if I take it apart and put it back together right, that should clear up most issues. However, I don't see where there's so much slop in the assembly that this would fix anything.

It was my Slide-Fire host and it was a weird experience. Sometimes I could rip off a complete 33-round mag dump, easy as pie. Then I could reload the same magazine and never get off two shots without some sort of stoppage.

Maybe I'll try to fix it. Maybe I'll sell it. Right now, my attitude toward it is that it's not worth my time to mess with.