AR 15 Pistol

by James Corder jcorder@sgcgroup.com
(Brentwood, TN)

AR15 Pistols

There are many AR15 rifles available and have been for many years. Wanting something that offered the rifle round in a more compact and lighter package, I began to research building an AR 15 in a pistol configuration.



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Pros –

1. Smaller, lighter, more compact. Because it is a pistol it can have a barrel less than 16’ as required by the National Firearms Act. This makes it very suitable to cross a large mans chest and fit nicely in a chest rig configuration.

This also makes it far more suitable to carry in a high threat environment, such as doing hurricane security and being able to be in an car and having the ability to maneuver a weapon in it.

2. It’s a pistol - With the advent of the handgun carry movement most conservative, pro gun states will allow you to carry this type of gun with your permit.

While I would NEVER do this under normal circumstances, doing disaster security, or working in a high risk threat environment, it is nice to know what you have in your tool box should you need it.

3. Limited Range – AR15 Carbines with 16’’ barrels have a maximum affective range of somewhere around 650 yards, that’s a long way if you miss, and you must take this into consideration any time you pull a trigger, no matter what you are shooting.

Because in a pistol you can have a shorter barrel – 7 ½ ‘’ or 10 ½’’ your shots will not travel as far. If you are shooting a 5.56 mm round out of a 10 ½ in barrel your max range is going to be 300 yards.

This is because bullets don’t have the time to build up as much gas pressure in shorter barrels, which limits the speed of a bullet, and consequently its max effective range.

4. It’s a Rifle Round- While I have been harping on the advantages of being small, the AR15 “pistol” still packs a “rifle” round. In CQB situations in this case less than 50 yards the 5.56 mm round shot out of a 10 ½ in barrel can still get though most bad guys body armor.

I am not a scientist / physicist but if the LAPD had AR “pistols” they could have ended the North Hollywood Shootout far more quickly and effectively.

5. I am cheap / I want to have fun – I recently bought a 22 LR conversion for my AR. At the time I am writing this a 1000 rounds of 5.56 can cost about $300 or so. I got my conversion kit with two 30 round mags for $200. A 550 round box of 22 LR cost me $15 at my local Wal-Mart. SOLD!!

It installed in seconds requiring no modification to the gun, just take the 5.56 bolt out and put the 22 conversion in, simple as that. I was going through so much 22 my fingers felt like they were beginning to cramp.

The cool thing is this is PERFECT for plinking at your local range or on your own personal wide open space.

Cons –

1. LOUD – Whenever you go shooting you should always wear ear protection, well this little tidbit of shooting safety goes doubly so for AR pistols because they are deafingly loud if one goes off and your not wearing ear pro they will ring for quite a while.

2. Mistaken for an SBR – While the BATFE says an AR15 pistol is a pistol, if you were to put a collapsible stock where just the buffer tube would go, then you have just violated Federal Law, because now you have just made what is referred to as a SBR – Short barreled Rifle.

While legal to own if you go through a class III dealer, file the paperwork yourself, and pay the BATFE $200. It can be a bit of a headache, and presents a whole litany of legal issues when crossing state lines.

The con comes in when a local cop pulls you over and sees your AR Pistol and assumes it is an illegal SBR. This can be remedied though by carrying an BATFE approval letter whenever you are transporting your AR Pistol.

I built my pistol roughly a year and a half ago, just before I went to do disaster security for Hurricane Ike. Thankfully I did not need to use it, but as I was rolling into a working class neighborhood in rural Texas town at 02:30 hours, a city wide curfew was in effect.

I saw a 13-16 year old boy on a cell phone as we were driving through the public housing complex for this city looking for the sight that my team was assigned to secure.

It was reassuring to know if my car was seen as a moving target that I could easily maneuver my pistol in my car that shoots the 5.56 mm NATO round back.

If one had to choose between owning an AR15 Pistol or Rifle I believe I would go with the pistol. In just about every state that has a Handgun Carry Permit you can carry a handgun, but your license may not permit you to carry a rifle in following the letter of the law in the worst case scenario.

Also I enjoy carrying less gun than my AR15 M4 carbine, in just about every fathomable domestic security scenario there is no need for the range of the carbine, in fact as mentioned earlier, I see it as more of liability.

While I am a large man, most smaller people feel more comfortable shooting the AR Pistol rather than the Rifle, smaller females prefer a more “petite” gun, as said by a smaller female friend who I recently took shooting. Most importantly, I believe, the pistol looks cooler than the rifle.



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