AR pistol advice

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M-Quigley
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AR pistol advice

Post by M-Quigley »

I may be building an AR pistol in the near future. Was wondering from anyone who has built or owns or owned an AR pistol if a 300 blackout would be significantly better than a 5.56 in a short barrel (thinking in the 7.5 inch neighborhood)? I am not planning on attaching a suppressor, nor using it for long distance shooting. I'm concerned about issues like felt recoil, muzzle flash/blast. I like the fact that .223 or 5.56 is less expensive and more readily available than 300 blkout, but on the other hand I'm not planning on shooting hundreds of rounds a year either. As far as building, any recommendations on the companies that sell the upper receivers or upper receiver kits for pistols?
kSetuni
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Re: AR pistol advice

Post by kSetuni »

I actually have an ar pistol from Windham in 300 blackout. I got it because I wanted a more compact firearm for the car. When I went to the store and described what i was looking to do, the salesman took me to the very gun I was there to get that I had already researched. He confirmed what I had researched about the 300BO round.

A guy at work first clued me in to the 300 blackout. I had never heard of it so I did a TON of extensive research. Part of that research found articles where a guy compared the 300BO to the 5.56 round with a chrono. He discovered that the 300BO achieves full velocity in a 9-10 inch barrel, whereas the 5.56 needed at least 12 inches to 14 to achieve full velocity. This means that the 300BO is better suited for pistols. The more research I did, the more impressed I was with the round.

You can jump to 200+ grain ammo that drops it to subsonic. I also like that it uses the same magazines, BCG as the 5.56.

Ammoseek.com is a good place to get good prices on many things including ammo. I was able to get 300BO for about .41-.44 per round compared to .33 per round for 5.56.

Palmetto state armory also builds alot of kits and I have seen many in 300BO.

After my research, I also got an AR in 300BO and may get another upper to have on hand.

Not sure where you are located, but if you are in the area shoot me a PM.

Image



https://www.windhamweaponry.com/images/ ... 00%20L.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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FormerNavy
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Re: AR pistol advice

Post by FormerNavy »

+1 on the 300BLK... I don't have a pistol, but I did build an SBR in 300BLK. I was going to build an SBR in 5.56 until I was clued in on the 300BLK. Much like the previous poster, I did a whole bunch of looking into it and came to realize 5.56 just doesn't perform well out of short barrels. 300BLK was designed for short barrels... and would be my choice over 5.56 in a pistol as the performance characteristics are much better in a shorter barrel application.
kSetuni
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Re: AR pistol advice

Post by kSetuni »

I meant if you are in the Newark area (didn't realize I didn't have my location posted) shoot me a pm.
kSetuni wrote:I actually have an ar pistol from Windham in 300 blackout. I got it because I wanted a more compact firearm for the car. When I went to the store and described what i was looking to do, the salesman took me to the very gun I was there to get that I had already researched. He confirmed what I had researched about the 300BO round.

A guy at work first clued me in to the 300 blackout. I had never heard of it so I did a TON of extensive research. Part of that research found articles where a guy compared the 300BO to the 5.56 round with a chrono. He discovered that the 300BO achieves full velocity in a 9-10 inch barrel, whereas the 5.56 needed at least 12 inches to 14 to achieve full velocity. This means that the 300BO is better suited for pistols. The more research I did, the more impressed I was with the round.

You can jump to 200+ grain ammo that drops it to subsonic. I also like that it uses the same magazines, BCG as the 5.56.

Ammoseek.com is a good place to get good prices on many things including ammo. I was able to get 300BO for about .41-.44 per round compared to .33 per round for 5.56.

Palmetto state armory also builds alot of kits and I have seen many in 300BO.

After my research, I also got an AR in 300BO and may get another upper to have on hand.

Not sure where you are located, but if you are in the area shoot me a PM.

Image



https://www.windhamweaponry.com/images/ ... 00%20L.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
glocksmith
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Re: AR pistol advice

Post by glocksmith »

kSetuni wrote:A guy at work first clued me in to the 300 blackout. I had never heard of it so I did a TON of extensive research. Part of that research found articles where a guy compared the 300BO to the 5.56 round with a chrono. He discovered that the 300BO achieves full velocity in a 9-10 inch barrel, whereas the 5.56 needed at least 12 inches to 14 to achieve full velocity. This means that the 300BO is better suited for pistols.
Is there any option of using a different powder (slightly faster burning) in the 5.56 to lessen this loss of velocity?
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kSetuni
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Re: AR pistol advice

Post by kSetuni »

glocksmith wrote:
kSetuni wrote:A guy at work first clued me in to the 300 blackout. I had never heard of it so I did a TON of extensive research. Part of that research found articles where a guy compared the 300BO to the 5.56 round with a chrono. He discovered that the 300BO achieves full velocity in a 9-10 inch barrel, whereas the 5.56 needed at least 12 inches to 14 to achieve full velocity. This means that the 300BO is better suited for pistols.
Is there any option of using a different powder (slightly faster burning) in the 5.56 to lessen this loss of velocity?
Its possible (I'm not a reloader myself) However stock factory readily available rounds this is what many tests showed. The 300BO is also superior to most rounds in an SBR or SMG. Many tests have shown it to be superior to MP5 performing similar type of work, especially in subsonic applications.147 ish grain are normal for supersonic then jump up to 200 usually 220ish with the same load drops it subsonic.

From the research I did, special forces were looking for a round superior to the 5.56 as they found it lacking in many applications, yet had better ballistics than the 7.62x39. This we have the 300BO which is useful since it retains alot of commonality with standard us issued firearms.
M-Quigley
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Re: AR pistol advice

Post by M-Quigley »

I'm not in the Newark area. Thanks for the info, it sounds like 300 blkout is preferable in a short barrel. I've heard someone in the past say the 300 blkout pistol needs a different buffer & buffer spring than a regular AR rifle. Is that true or not?
kSetuni
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Re: AR pistol advice

Post by kSetuni »

M-Quigley wrote:I'm not in the Newark area. Thanks for the info, it sounds like 300 blkout is preferable in a short barrel. I've heard someone in the past say the 300 blkout pistol needs a different buffer & buffer spring than a regular AR rifle. Is that true or not?
Everything that I have read is that the only thing that isn't interchangeable is the barrel. My windham MDS is a simple barrel swap to change from 5.56 to 300BO. Doing a google search pretty much confirms this.

I know I'm looking forward to zeroing my MDS in 5.56 then seeing the differences when I drop the 300BO in.
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yogidave
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Re: AR pistol advice

Post by yogidave »

I have built a couple pistols in 300 blackout, if you reload you can cut your 5.56 cases into 300 AAC. In regards to parts, I typically stock up when they are on sale to make a Franken AR. :lol:
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Morne
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Re: AR pistol advice

Post by Morne »

The .300 AAC BLK is wonderful for short barrels (pistol or SBR). I have one and really enjoy it. Your research has already shown the key point - from a 7-10" barrel the blackout shines over .223 Rem.

The wide availability of .308" diameter projectiles and .223 brass make this an EASY cartridge to handload for. Indeed, this is the cartridge that got me into reloading.

It is a compromise, of course, as all rounds are. It's the best .30 caliber you can shoehorn into the AR-15 platform/magazine with just a barrel swap. If you want more oomph then the .308/.30-06/.300 Win Mag are better suited. If you don't care about proprietary components then 6.5 Grendel is better.

I don't care about the heavy subsonic projectiles. I only favor the supersonic loads in .300 AAC BLK.

Honestly, if I owned zero ARs today and wanted something like this I'd take a long look at .277 WLV, too. It has good ballistics and also just requires a barrel swap.
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Dave Shooter
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Re: AR pistol advice

Post by Dave Shooter »

I built an 8.5 inch BO pistol AR for a vehicle gun.
Supersonic allows use well past typical handgun range. Remington 120 grain is my choice with 147 FMJ reloads for fun.

Pistol length gas system and so far flawless function.
You're welcome to try it if you come up my way.
Dave Shooter
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Re: AR pistol advice

Post by Dave Shooter »

I built an 8.5 inch BO pistol AR for a vehicle gun.
Supersonic allows use well past typical handgun range. Remington 120 grain is my choice with 147 FMJ reloads for fun.

Pistol length gas system and so far flawless function.
You're welcome to try it if you come up my way.
M-Quigley
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Location: Western Ohio

Re: AR pistol advice

Post by M-Quigley »

Dave Shooter wrote:I built an 8.5 inch BO pistol AR for a vehicle gun.
Supersonic allows use well past typical handgun range. Remington 120 grain is my choice with 147 FMJ reloads for fun.

Pistol length gas system and so far flawless function.
You're welcome to try it if you come up my way.
Thanks for the offer, but it might be a while before I get in that area.
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Glock Rock
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Re: AR pistol advice

Post by Glock Rock »

I would lean 300 AAC Blackout for a short AR pistol. Long (11-12") 5.56x.45.

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IF YOU GO 300 BLACKOUT FOR THE PISTOL AND YOU ALREADY OWN ARMAMENTS THAT USE 5.56 MAGAZINES BUY DEDICATED MAGAZINES THAT LOOK VERY, VERY DIFFERENT FROM YOUR 5.56 MAGAZINES.

KEEP THE 300 and 5.56 AMMO FAR APART FORM EACH OTHER

I mean like night-and-day different not subtle tactical gray shades different.

Or paint them, tape them, write on them, etc.

http://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php ... -your-mags
http://mygunculture.com/r-i-p-one-ar-15 ... 23-kaboom/
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Morne
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Re: AR pistol advice

Post by Morne »

Glock Rock wrote:IF YOU GO 300 BLACKOUT FOR THE PISTOL AND YOU ALREADY OWN ARMAMENTS THAT USE 5.56 MAGAZINES BUY DEDICATED MAGAZINES THAT LOOK VERY, VERY DIFFERENT FROM YOUR 5.56 MAGAZINES.

KEEP THE 300 and 5.56 AMMO FAR APART FORM EACH OTHER

I mean like night-and-day different not subtle tactical gray shades different.

Or paint them, tape them, write on them, etc.

http://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php ... -your-mags
http://mygunculture.com/r-i-p-one-ar-15 ... 23-kaboom/
I agree. I use Lancer smoke translucent gray magazines for my .300 AAC BLK guns. I also write on them with silver sharpie ".300 BLK" on the baseplate, spine and side. :idea:
Thus spoke Zarathustra.

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Remember, only you can prevent big government!
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