School me on AR Pistol

[TCB]

Think I’m going to grab an AR pistol while they’re all on sale. Primarily thinking home defense and plinking but need to get up to speed on the do’s and don’t. I know there was a lot of back/forth on shouldering a brace, are the folding braces legal and any restrictions on optics? Probably go with a red dot but have a 1-6 that I could throw on it.

Thanks for the help!!

[Drycreek3189]

Braces have been on and off, currently ok, and I don’t expect the ATF to do any “legistlating” under the Trump administration but you never know. Trump is not a gun guy, but I think he knows who put him in office. Not much to know, they are just a short barreled AR with a short “brace” for a stock. They are fairly handy for a truck gun but mine is definitely not the one I grab when I go out the door.

[Chew]

I have a nice one and really dislike shooting it. Loud and dirty. They serve a purpose but not something I enjoy playing around with

[Drycreek3189]

I have a nice one and really dislike shooting it. Loud and dirty. They serve a purpose but not something I enjoy playing around with

I put a can on mine, had to add an adjustable gas block. It gasses me when I shoot it with the can and won’t reliably feed without it unless I readjust the gas. It was a bad idea on my part.

[bowhunterhelm]

Do get good hearing protection! Those shorties are super super loud.

[TacticalCowboy]

I put a can on mine, had to add an adjustable gas block. It gasses me when I shoot it with the can and won’t reliably feed without it unless I readjust the gas. It was a bad idea on my part.

that’s just the nature of AR’s and cans. I do the same with a 16” AR-10. Luckily for me, 1.5 turns out works well with the can and 2.5 turns out runs great without it.

OP, go for it. As of now, shouldering a brace is still legal AFAIK. Then again, who’s going to know if you shoulder it or fire it Somali style??

If you get a .223, it’s basically a glorified 22 mag. I’d probably stick with the 10.5” barrel. A 300BO could be a good option too. Either way, I’d slap a dot and magnifier on it or the 1-6 you mentioned and have fun.

Good news is, if you buy a budget AR, you really won’t loose much money if you decide to sell it down the road.

[justletmein]

All my ARs shoot great suppressed with adjustable gas blocks tuned properly, we have Superlative and Aero gas blocks. Don't really have any blowback to speak of but one sometimes The mag is a little more dirty than normal. The 10.5" SBR is terribly loud even suppressed, doubt it's even hearing safe. The 14.5" is so much better in comparison. I don't think 5.56 lends itself too well to short barrels, hence the popularity of the 300 BLK which I don't own.

[TCB]

Loving the feedback, keep it coming.

[fish4food]

I’ll add one thing, besides being loud as mentioned many times above, shooting freehand, they are no where near as easy to shoot.

If you’ve always got a brace, then won’t be an issue. Just my experience, but I’m no expert.

[Artos]

S
B
R

pistol ar's suck, unless you go dedicated pistol caliber & gun meant to shoot them like cmmg....think 10mm

[kcnatural]

The only thing I know of that you can't have on a pistol is a vertical foregrip. You will see a lot of AR pistols with them, but THE MAN says that's a no go

[tpepper70]

For the ones that I don't run suppressed, I put a forward facing blast can on and it directs all the muzzle pressure forward. Much, much better than a reg flash hider/brake. 300 BO is so much fun in a short barrel. I'm running 8.5" suppressed and it's a blast. 10.5" in 556 is fun as well. I just use a cheap Sig Romeo 5 and pistol braces on the end. As said above, buy or build a budget AR and you won't be out much money if you don't like it. Good luck and Merry Christmas.