9mm AR question

[dante2]

I am looking at an AR for my wife that is a "soft" shooter. I have several 5.56 AR's but the muzzle blast and concussive effect is to much for her (medical issues). Is there a big difference between 5.56 16" barrel and 9mm with a 10-16" barrel? She can shoot a .22 all day long but rifle calibers are too much. Thank you for your help.

[zephyr]

Yes, a very big difference in my opinion. My father is almost 70 and much prefers to shoot my Colt 6951 9mm over my Colt 6920. My 9mm 10.5 inch upper is much more friendly than my 16 inch 5.56.

[HardToHandle]

Different recoil with a blowback 9mm, but not necessarily less felt recoil. My wife has never enjoyed the "springiness" of a 5.56 AR reciprocating against her cheek bone. A blowback 9mm has more mass between the bolt carrier group and the buffer generally. The recoil is generally less sharp, but still present in 9mm, and I perceive it as having a longer recoil in duration. That is my impression, supported by little to no actual engineering.

Muzzle blast? 9mm wins all day and all night. For me and many buddies, shooting a 9mm is pleasant on covered or indoor ranges compared to shorty 5.56 ARs. Due to rifle range availability, Glock magazine capability and a good supply of 9mm, I shoot at least twice as many rounds annually through my 16" 9mm than my several 5.56s. I also have sinus issues and I am sensitive to the relative difference in muzzle blast.

My experience, albeit limited, is that the 9mm barrels often seem heavier on the front end due to the normal barrel profiles. If your wife has less upper body strength at extension, there might be a minor issue there.

My working assumption is that you would not have a gas operated 9mm. I have two blowback 9mms.

[TheChunkNorris]

She'll enjoy the 9mm. Are you going to build one? I have several 9mm uppers and they're all SMG patterned set up. There's more of a "thud" and I'll attribute that to the blow back design as well as a bigger round down the pipe. Will you shoot suppressed?

[dante2]

Thank you for the reply guys. HardToHandle you have a pretty good idea of what she is dealing with having sinus issues yourself. I am planning on building a Colt mag blowback gun. It will be suppressed at some point just not immediately.

[TheChunkNorris]

Thank you for the reply guys. HardToHandle you have a pretty good idea of what she is dealing with having sinus issues yourself. I am planning on building a Colt mag blowback gun. It will be suppressed at some point just not immediately.

Here's mine:




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dante2]

Very nice. Is that a pistol? The more I look at it, looks like a rifle stock now.

[TheChunkNorris]

Very nice. Is that a pistol?

Thanks and it's a SBR... it's just a giant H&K E1 stock. Here are the specs:

Upper-
Spikes Billet upper
Spikes BCG
Hogan rail
TROSUSA 9" 3-lug barrel
B&T 3-lug Flash hider

Lower_
DDLES Colt SMG patterned lower
Spikes Battle Trigger
POF enhanced Bolt release
B.A.D ambi selector
Brownells buffer tube
Wolff SMG Heavy spring
Spikes Heavy buffer
H&K E1 Stock
H&K Battle grip

It runs really well suppressed and unsuppressed with various ammo(115gr, 124gr, 147gr, and 168gr). Magazines are all C-product with orange followers. I particularly like the Colt set up because it works as advertised and never do I need to adjust anything for the BHO to work properly. Think you'll enjoy it as a plinker.

[dante2]

TheChunkNorris is yours a 9mm upper?

[TheChunkNorris]

Yes, it's a hard to find billet upper that has a deflector machined into the upper. I do have other uppers that used Spikes forged uppers that have the Colt gas deflector on them.