223/556 pistol

[Dyerbill]

Thinking about a AR type pistol...I know little at all...something to carry like a handgun?....I want reliable and quite light weight....tell me

 

[Leadeye]

Bushmaster made something like this back in the 70s. Not very accurate and really ugly. It did fire reliably though.

 

[88E30M50]

I put a lightweight AR pistol together last fall using a 10.5” DD upper and pistol lower. You will definitely not carry this like a handgun though. You are not going to get much lighter and while this feels light compared to a regular AR with a rail, it weighs a ton compared to something like a Glock 19.

But, it sure is a nice shooter and is one of my favorite ARs to shoot.

 

[Amishman44]

I built an all-Anderson 10.5" .223 Wylde barrel with a KAK Shockwave Brace for the wife.
I installed a Daniel Defense fixed-sight set-up and then added a tritium front post.
It breaks down nicely and carrys in a backpack quite nicely...travels with us on our ventures!
She loves it...I love it...the kids love it... 'nough said!
It's not a 'pistol' like a handgun would be though...

 

[EricG]

Walk away from that idea.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

 

[DadSmith]

I put a lightweight AR pistol together last fall using a 10.5” DD upper and pistol lower. You will definitely not carry this like a handgun though. You are not going to get much lighter and while this feels light compared to a regular AR with a rail, it weighs a ton compared to something like a Glock 19.

But, it sure is a nice shooter and is one of my favorite ARs to shoot.

I really like the setup you have there. I think something like that is what I need to do for my next project.

 

[WebSnyper]

Do you definitely want 223/5.56? Lots of caliber options, including pistol calibers.

 

[DadSmith]

Do you definitely want 223/5.56? Lots of caliber options, including pistol calibers.

Thinking 1-7 or 1-8 twist 10.5" barrel shooting them 75gr Speer GD bullets.

 

[Dyerbill]

Do you definitely want 223/5.56? Lots of caliber options, including pistol calibers.

Can you show me?

 

[Areoflyer09]

Can you show me?

9/40/45 are probably the most common caliber options for a PCC, otherwise about any AR caliber can be done as a pistol as well.

What are you thinking you will use it for?
What do you consider lightweight?

 

[Dyerbill]

9/40/45 are probably the most common caliber options for a PCC, otherwise about any AR caliber can be done as a pistol as well.

What are you thinking you will use it for?
What do you consider lightweight?

hiking....lightweight...lots of fire power....maybe that new Ruger

 

[CampingJosh]

hiking....lightweight...lots of fire power....maybe that new Ruger

I really doubt you want an AR pistol for hiking. A very light AR pistol is going to be 5 lbs. or more. My hiking revolver (329PD) is about a third of that.

It's admittedly not as much firepower, but ounces count big time in hiking, and you've suggested a lot of them.

 

[Areoflyer09]

I really doubt you want an AR pistol for hiking. A very light AR pistol is going to be 5 lbs. or more. My hiking revolver (329PD) is about a third of that.

It's admittedly not as much firepower, but ounces count big time in hiking, and you've suggestions a lot of them.

+1

Weight is relative and even the lightweight ARs aren’t all that light. 5lbs is the lightest I’ve seen advertised and those were all skeletonized (tons of material cut away, a perfect way for debris to get in) and rather expensive.

If I wanted a firearm that was easy to hike with and “lots of firepower”, I’d get a 10mm Glock and carry spare mags.

 

[HKUSP]

Really, the whole appeal of an AR "pistol" is to cheaply and quickly get into something that can be transported like a pistol and have reciprocity with other states yet being deployed much like a PDW or rifle.

There's really no such thing as a free lunch when it comes to firearms. You're always giving up something to gain something else. An AR built small enough to be carried like a true handgun is going to lose a lot of it's rifle caliber advantages.
I built an AR pistol with a 10.5 inch barrel. Even with a decent flash can on it, it is BLASTY. I haven't chronographed it, bit I guarantee it's running at much lower velocities.

If you're dead set on the AR platform and you want it that small, you're going to be helping a pistol caliber out with what would be a longer barrel an opposed to cutting back the potential of a rifle caliber.

Also, unless you're willing to spend the extra money on a folding brace and buffer tube assembly, it's really not going to get that small.

 

[Nazgul]

This is what I have, Rock River Arms LAR-PDS, it is piston driven so there is no tube.

It runs well and is fun, but is not really practical. Much larger than a handgun of any sort.

My grandsons like it!! They can burn through 300-4-- rounds in no time.


Don

 

[DadSmith]

A 10.5" barrel on an AR shooting 75gr bullets still gets over 2300 fps. That is around 880 ft lbs of energy at 15 feet. Times that by how big the magazine you are carrying. Remember there are 10-100rd mags for AR. That can decide the weight factor as well.

If I build one it will be for Home Defense. Maybe carry it in my Truck to work in case I run into one of them mountain lions we have in my area or 2 lagged animals.

 

[HKUSP]

I went and found a couple of tests on short barrel AR pistols. One cited that 55gr 5.56 was clocking about 1400 fps out of a 4 inch barrel. It was also starting to keyhole at 10 yards.

I usually don't join in trying to talk people out of finding or building what they want but really going short enough to get it close to handgun size makes the whole proposition not worth it.

For the stated mission, I would feel a whole lot better going with a Ruger five seven. The only drawback is the current cost of the 5.7 ammo, but I'm betting it'll drop due to increased popularity. It's probably turning out better performance numbers than any 5.56 AR with a barrel less than 7 inches.

 

[HKUSP]

A 10.5" barrel on an AR shooting 75gr bullets still gets over 2300 fps. That is around 880 ft lbs of energy at 15 feet. Times that by how big the magazine you are carrying. Remember there are 10-100rd mags for AR. That can decide the weight factor as well.

If I build one it will be for Home Defense. Maybe carry it in my Truck to work in case I run into one of them mountain lions we have in my area or 2 lagged animals.

When I was considering a pistol build those were similar performance numbers I ran into. I decided that 10.5 was going to be the shortest I would go because it would still be an effective tool with any .223 or 5.56 ammunition I could find for it inside of 100 yards. Most of the time it gets used between 30 and 50 yards and it does just fine.

 

[Trigger Time]

Nope nevermind im not getting into this one with people who don't know crap. Another useless, pointless internet battle for fake ego

 

[Cameramonkey]

Then you want a pocket AR.

https://www.gunsamerica.com/digest/heizer-defense-pocket-ak-pocket-ar/