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Bender's Big AR-15 & Semi Auto Shilling Thread

537,885 Views | 2919 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by robstrom
CharlieBrown17
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Whenever you get to it man, hope everything stayed dry for you


.204 Ruger is a pretty neat round for an AR build as well instead of only looking bigger
maverick2076
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We stayed dry. Had a friend who evacuated and her dogs staying with us for the last week. She just got to go home, so we are getting the house back to normal, and I am working 7 days a week out of the armory right now monitoring operations. We were very fortunate.
BenderRodriguez
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maverick2076 said:

So, I have 2 AR-15 lowers that I can't decide what to do with. One is a complete lower with a stock, and the other is stripped. I currently have the following AR's:

4.5" 9mm AR SBR (suppressed)
9" .300 BLK SBR (suppressed)
10.5" 5.56 AR
16" 5.56 AR (The wife's, its purple)
18" 5.56 AR

The 3 things that have come to mind to build are:

16" 5.56 AR for myself
A very short AR pistol with a folding "brace" adapter (probably Deadfoot Arms)
A non 5.56 AR, maybe for getting a longer range out of the platform than 5.56mm.

Thoughts?

I have or have owned everything between 7.5" and 20" ARs in 5.56.

Given what you own, I think you might really enjoy a lightweight build. It really is my favorite AR, and if I could only have one I would stick with my 14.5" lightweight.

Pencil barrel, no forward assist upper, lightweight bolt will get you most of the way, but you can really go crazy with lightweight takedown pins, gas block, barrel nut, rail, etc if you want. I really, really love lightweight ARs.

I want to get really stupid with it and build something like this:



That's a 4.5" 5.56 barrel under a 5.25" rail. I don't know about going that short, but a 6.25" 300 blk barrel under a 7" rail might be a fun little PDW.


maverick2076
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Yeah, something super short like that is definitely one of my considerations, although I think I want to keep it a pistol just for have one built as a pistol. Options are good, and I do already have the 3 SBR's.
BenderRodriguez
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They do make a pistol brace like that pdw stock
BenderRodriguez
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Speaking of small ARs, my evening project:

maverick2076
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Nice. I need to put together the lower for my last SBR that got approved and shape and drill some baffles for my Form 1 suppressor.
jabberwalkie09
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BenderRodriguez said:

They do make a pistol brace like that pdw stock

Maxim's brace?
maverick2076
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So, if you were going to build an extremely short barreled AR pistol (<6"), and keep it in a rifle caliber, what caliber would you go with?
MGS
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So has anybody tried to qualify for an LTC with an AR pistol?
CharlieBrown17
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BenderRodriguez
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CharlieBrown17 said:



haha

I'll get some pictures up tonight.

Install was easy, took 5 minutes.

Still need to get to the range to verify function but it should work great.

It adds length to the "totally not a stock", which is great because the sig brace was just slightly too short for my taste beforehand.

Very happy with it, I've been shopping around ammo choices for 50 grain loads to test out of my 7.5" barreled upper. If I really wind up liking the 7.5" setup I may very well sell off my MP5 clone.

CharlieBrown17
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The Wonderer
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maverick2076 said:

So, if you were going to build an extremely short barreled AR pistol (<6"), and keep it in a rifle caliber, what caliber would you go with?
.45 acp
maverick2076
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Rifle caliber. I already have a pistol caliber AR.
The Wonderer
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maverick2076 said:

Rifle caliber. I already have a pistol caliber AR.
Sorry, eyes got fuzzy on me.

.458 SOCOM
jabberwalkie09
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maverick2076 said:

Rifle caliber. I already have a pistol caliber AR.
You know, we do have a .50 Beowulf upper in store......
The Wonderer
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jabberwalkie09 said:

maverick2076 said:

Rifle caliber. I already have a pistol caliber AR.
You know, we do have a .50 Beowulf upper in store......
maverick2076
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How short is the barrel?
jabberwalkie09
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maverick2076 said:

How short is the barrel?

I don't remember off hand. I can check in the morning. It's got that break and bipod on there as well.
maverick2076
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I'm wanting a really short-barreled pistol build.
jabberwalkie09
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maverick2076 said:

I'm wanting a really short-barreled pistol build.

I mean, you could theoretically use it for a pistol build...

If you did, could I come to the range with you and watch you shoot it?
DatTallArchitect
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I've been curious.... What does a .50 Beowulf feel like to shoot? Does it require a special upper receiver like the .458 SOCOM?
txyaloo
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MGS said:

So has anybody tried to qualify for an LTC with an AR pistol?
That would be hard to do since you have to qualify with a .32 caliber or larger gun.
BenderRodriguez
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txyaloo said:

MGS said:

So has anybody tried to qualify for an LTC with an AR pistol?
That would be hard to do since you have to qualify with a .32 caliber or larger gun.

Not as of Sep 1st.

Senate Bill 263 repeals the minimum caliber requirement (.32) for demonstrating handgun proficiency during the range instruction portion of the License To Carry course.
jabberwalkie09
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DatTallArchitect said:

I've been curious.... What does a .50 Beowulf feel like to shoot? Does it require a special upper receiver like the .458 SOCOM?
I actually don't know if EyeGuy has shot it or not, and I certainly haven't, so I can't give an impression on what it is like to shoot. Depending on brand it's $25-30 for 50 rounds last I checked. It's made to work on an AR-15 lower, but I believe the port on the upper is enlarged. Other than it not having a dust cover (the one in store didn't come with one) I can't think of any other differences off hand.
TheEyeGuy
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I think it only needs a beowulf barrel and bolt... I think the rest are all interchangeable.
txyaloo
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BenderRodriguez said:

txyaloo said:

MGS said:

So has anybody tried to qualify for an LTC with an AR pistol?
That would be hard to do since you have to qualify with a .32 caliber or larger gun.

Not as of Sep 1st.

Senate Bill 263 repeals the minimum caliber requirement (.32) for demonstrating handgun proficiency during the range instruction portion of the License To Carry course.


I thought it had been repealed but couldn't find the reference last night
BenderRodriguez
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Alright, Law Folder. This is mostly an AR thread, but I didn't get into ARs first, I got into AKs because back in Ol Army AKs were actually cheaper than ARs and as a college kid that steered my decision making.

If I had to leave town and could only take one rifle, it would be my lightweight 14.5" AR build. I love that freaking gun and it is better than any of the AKs I owned in every way....except one. AK stocks can fold. Here is my 14.5" with my first rifle, a Saiga AK that was less than $300 back in the day.



That AK has a folding mechanism, so it can fit into a tennis bag. I could go with a more compact stock to save another inch or two on the AR, but even then the folded AK is smaller than the AR.



So, since I've mostly abandoned AKs and moved to ARs, what am I going to do for something small and portable? I tried other things like an MP5 clone or a Tavor. Small size, but didn't quite do it for me so I tried out the law folder on my 10.5" AR.



My 10.5" AR is the same size as the folder AK. Huge improvement, even before the folder. But it gets damn small folded:



Big fan of a 10.5" pistol (or sbr) with the law folder. All the things I like about an AR, in a package smaller than a folded AK.

Just for fun, decided to see how big my 7.5" 5.56 upper is in comparison to my MP5 clone with the law folder.





A 7.5" AR with a law folder is similar in size to my reverse stretch MP5 clone. That's...pretty damned impressive. 5.56 isn't ideal out of such a short barrel, but there are loads that still perform well out to ~100 yards in such a short barrel, which is about all I could really expect out of something PDW sized.

The Maxim pistol brace would make this thing even more compact than the law folder/brace combo. Might also consider changing over to a 300 blk barrel too, but I think the PDW AR concept might be getting a little more attention from me soon.

And just for fun, I call this the "giggle cannon" configuration.



Puryear Playboy
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You need a Krink...

I have a Law folder on 12.5" .308AR and it has held up perfectly. There are more in my future. Well worth the money.
BenderRodriguez
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Puryear Playboy said:

You need a Krink...

I have a Law folder on 12.5" .308AR and it has held up perfectly. There are more in my future. Well worth the money.

I've considered it.

I had quite a few AKs at one point, I've since sold/traded them all except the Saiga as I've shifted into ARs and pistols more.

The Saiga won't ever be sold though, first gun I bought.

Puryear Playboy
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A Krinkov, an RPK and a bag of 40 round mags are the solution to almost any problem involving firearms.

CharlieBrown17
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Primary arms has law folders for 199 instead of their usual 239 right now
dr_boogs
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Based on txyaloo's rec I was going to go with a Troy Tomahawk stock for my SBR build but Bender's new interest In the law folder had me rethinking my decision. Talking about a 300 BO SBR for discreet carry.
BenderRodriguez
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Got a little inspired by some spare parts and our neighbors to the north tonight.

In the 80s while we were adopted the M16A2, the Canadians adopted this rifle, the C7 to replace their FALs:



It looks a hell of a lot like an A2, because they worked with the team designing the A2. It has the same government profile 20" 1:7 barrel as an A2, same handguards, stock, grip. But, the C7 retained the original M16A1 style sights and full auto instead of 3 round burst.

Eventually they upgraded to the C7A1, which is the same rifle but with a rail to allow optics mounting. The Canadian preferred optic is an Elcan 3.4x optical.



They used this until the 2000s, then decided a rifle with an adjustable stock would be easier to transport in vehicles, use while wearing armor, etc. But instead of going the US route of the 14.5" barrel and the collapsible stock, the Canadians use an H2 buffer and CAR stock, but retained the 20" barrels from their A1s and created the C7A2:



There are some pic rails at the front to allow accessories. The rumors are that initially they tested the same M5 RAS railed handguard used on the M16A4, but Knights couldn't supply enough to both the US and Canadian military so this other rail set up was adopted.

But, some Canadians did field test C7A2s with a M5 RAS:



The thought intrigued me, and since I have a CAR stock and a 20" upper with the M5 RAS on my A4 clone, thought I'd slap a "sort of C7A2" together (minus the Elcan, green furniture and a few other ambidextrous goodies).



I kind of like it.

It's not as front heavy as I was expecting, and makes the rifle shoulder better in armor than the A2 stock does, and I'm never unhappy about ballistics out of a 20" barrel. I don't know if its because I've been messing around with the 10.5" and under compact ARs lately or what, but it was nice to get back to a 20" gun tonight. Might keep my 20" upper set up this way for a while and see if the Canadians were onto something with this combination.







 
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