Holy Fireballs!
Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2018 4:00 pm
I had an Anderson lower gathering dust, from the time when Obama seemed close to resurrecting the AWB. I was slowly and economically building my ideal & cost effective home defense / bug out / trunk / range toy / mall ninja uber tacticool evil black gun. It's not something I need, so I took my time and bought stuff only when I could find them on sale. This is what I end up with:
Not too bad for a cost-conscious AR pistol.
I intended it first and foremost to be a close quarters weapon, so I purposely picked an 8.5" barrel. Why? Because the consensus points to around 9" barrel length for a compact 5.56. SIG SG 552: 8.9" barrel. H&K G36C: 9" barrel. I haven't measured the length, but even with a flash can it's short enough to go through my narrow door sideways, fully horizontal. That's my criterion for a CQB gun.
For close up work a red dot and a light are must haves. I added a laser because it's nice to have, and it uses the same battery as the light, essentially serving as a spare battery container. The light and laser are mounted vertically so they are completely ambidextrous. We can't always get left turn hallways.
I want to keep this as a pistol because I can carry it loaded in the car without any issue, as my handgun carry license would cover it. SB tactical came out with their revolutionary SBA3 brace earlier this year, so it's the perfect choice. The brace uses mil-spec carbine buffer tube. If I want to turn it into an SBR, I can pop off the brace and put on a stock once the paperwork clears.
As a bonus it fits neatly into a Puma book bag. This particular bag has a separate externally-accessible laptop compartment, and that's where I keep the disassembled gun.
I took it to an indoor range a couple of days ago, and it spat FIREBALLS! My 16" AR is loud, just like any AR of the same barrel length with A2 birdcage flash hider. This 8.5" thing is another level of loud, even with the flash can directing the blast forward. I was wearing ear plugs under my electronic ear muffs, and the concussion still managed to rattle me a little. Shooting this indoors without ear protection would stun me and lead to a degree of permanent hearing damage, no doubt about it. So, now it's a bug out / get home gun. Still fun to shoot though.
Not too bad for a cost-conscious AR pistol.
I intended it first and foremost to be a close quarters weapon, so I purposely picked an 8.5" barrel. Why? Because the consensus points to around 9" barrel length for a compact 5.56. SIG SG 552: 8.9" barrel. H&K G36C: 9" barrel. I haven't measured the length, but even with a flash can it's short enough to go through my narrow door sideways, fully horizontal. That's my criterion for a CQB gun.
For close up work a red dot and a light are must haves. I added a laser because it's nice to have, and it uses the same battery as the light, essentially serving as a spare battery container. The light and laser are mounted vertically so they are completely ambidextrous. We can't always get left turn hallways.
I want to keep this as a pistol because I can carry it loaded in the car without any issue, as my handgun carry license would cover it. SB tactical came out with their revolutionary SBA3 brace earlier this year, so it's the perfect choice. The brace uses mil-spec carbine buffer tube. If I want to turn it into an SBR, I can pop off the brace and put on a stock once the paperwork clears.
As a bonus it fits neatly into a Puma book bag. This particular bag has a separate externally-accessible laptop compartment, and that's where I keep the disassembled gun.
I took it to an indoor range a couple of days ago, and it spat FIREBALLS! My 16" AR is loud, just like any AR of the same barrel length with A2 birdcage flash hider. This 8.5" thing is another level of loud, even with the flash can directing the blast forward. I was wearing ear plugs under my electronic ear muffs, and the concussion still managed to rattle me a little. Shooting this indoors without ear protection would stun me and lead to a degree of permanent hearing damage, no doubt about it. So, now it's a bug out / get home gun. Still fun to shoot though.