Exploring the Limits of the AR Pistol

[Canonshooter]

Swapped the H1 out for a T2 on a Scalar Works absolute co-witness mount. The clarity of the T2 is immediately apparent and the Scalar Works mount is amazing. It's light, strong, easy to remove and reinstall with no shift on zero

Nice! My current plan is to keep running the irons to see what I can do with them, but I do have the Scalarworks site bookmarked (specifically the RM06 combo).

@JP, tough to shoulder with a buffer tube that is under 5 inches long. At this point I'm content with keeping it as short/compact as possible utilizing a sling and cheek weld (which works surprisingly well). If/when I change my mind I'll SBR it and install the MVB ARC-X PDW stock. :-)

[Canonshooter]

Canonshooter, have you ever looked at Indian Creek's BFD blast deflector?

I have not but thanks for the mention! I visited their website, got a look and have book marked it.

Yep, short-barreled 5.56s are pretty brutal.

[Diamondback]

I have not but thanks for the mention! I visited their website, got a look and have book marked it.

Yep, short-barreled 5.56s are pretty brutal.

You're gonna laugh... I stumbled onto those things because I'm really light-sensitive (like, "have to wear polarized lenses even indoors" sensitive) and figured putting that kind of shroud around a flash suppressor should give me 100% flash-blindness protection if I have to use my 16" AR for Home D in the middle of the night. Soon as I get the timing washers for my AFAB and the chance to fire the beast, I'll see about writing up a review.

[Canonshooter]

Gabe Suarez on the M4 Pistol PDW

[Beat Trash]

Yes, that's a 10.5" 5.56 barrel.

Those groups were fired while resting the weapon on a rolled up jacket

I see you using the MagPul MOE SL hand guard. But does your gun have a fixed front sight?

[MistWolf]

I see you using the MagPul MOE SL hand guard. But does your gun have a fixed front sight?

Nope

[VARIABLE9]

Gabe Suarez on the M4 Pistol PDW

That's a good read. Thanks

[Canonshooter]

I plan on getting back out to the range within the next few weeks, after the NH snow is gone and the mud has dried up a bit.

In the mean time I tried my Blueforce Gear Vickers sling and found I prefer it to the Magpul MS4 that I've been using - it's lighter, easier to adjust and doesn't have the large metal buckle/adapter that kept clanging against the buffer tube (which I found annoying). I do like the MS4 on my carbine so that is where it will remain.

For immediate feedback on hits/misses, I purchased an 8" round AR500 3/8" static target that I will use for working my field positions. I'm going to set it up at 200 yards and see what I can do from prone, sitting and kneeling and at 100 yards for standing. I built a stand out of 2X4s which seems like it should be adequate and cheap/easy to repair after it gets shot up due to my expert marksmanship skills. ;-/

Finally, I picked up a couple of OTG Eggroll 5.56 mag carriers to work with at the range and that should be suitable for general carry/PDW use.

[Canonshooter]

Update 4/16/2017

I spent a good part of the day yesterday on the 100 yard range with my AR “pistol” - it turned out be both enjoyable and revealing. I’m breaking this report down into sections as there are multiple topics I’d like to share.

Target

I used my new 8-inch round AR500 target and hanger from shootsteel.com. I selected the 8-inch round target as I felt it would be the best size/shape for wringing out the performance potential of this PDW AR. Before heading out to the range I grabbed a can of tan camo I had laying around and gave the bare steel a quick paint job. It turned out the color made the target blend perfectly with the sand berm at the range. Seeing it with iron sights was a bit of a challenge. :-/

I built a stand out of 2-by-4s that can be easily broken down for transportation.

Procedure

Target was placed at 100 yards.

Since my goal for this outing was to determine practical field accuracy, all of my firing was unsupported but slow and deliberate. All shots were fired with the use of the two-point Vickers sling, with the sling adjusted to position the short buffer tube on my cheek with forward tension on the sling.

Firing Results

My first five shots were from standing, which resulted in one hit out of the five. My “wobble zone” was pretty evident, so I loaded up five more and fired those from a sitting position, resulting in five hits. The small target makes a nice audible clang with each impact of .223 or 5.56 (not so much with 9mm). It quickly became obvious that hitting an 8-inch target at 100 yards from the sitting position is child’s play.

The sitting position is not the fastest for me to get in and out of, so I then focused on the quicker-to-acquire kneeling position. At first I was only getting hits about half the time but after some practice and tweaking of my support hand grip of the handguard, I was ringing the steel like I was from the sitting position. Considering its compact size, light weight and use of iron sights, being able to quickly kneel and effectively engage a target at 100 yards was enjoyable and gratifying!

Commentary

I started this project with the goal of filing the paperwork and ending up with a SBR. Based on these initial positive results, I’m now certain it will remain in pistol configuration.


Classified as a pistol enables the same legal carry as any other pistol in NH, such as loaded and readily accessible in a vehicle.


Google “AR pistol technique” and it becomes obvious that compared to good rifle technique, there are a dozen-ways-to-Sunday advocated to shoot an AR pistol. Assuming a handguard long enough to work with, it is clear to me that the best way to shoot one is like a rifle, using a sling and a repeatable cheek weld. The 10” KMR-A handguard on my BCM 11.5” ELW upper works well for me in this regard.


With the use of a two-point sling and the hold shown above, I find firing from a kneeling position quite effective: both hands push forward to maintain tension on sling,
strong hand holds buffer tube against cheek, support hand anchors weapon down to knee. EFAB helps stabilize the muzzle and provides good flash supression.

As Gabe Suarez advocates in this blog post, I have to agree that small, light and simple are desirable traits for an AR pistol, especially one intended for a PDW role.

Iron sights are the epitome of simple: a good set of irons can weigh less than three ounces, nothing to turn on, no batteries to replace, no glass to get dirty or fogged. While I can most certainly see the benefit of a micro RDS (T1/H1, MRO, etc.) on an AR pistol – especially when shooting from improvised positions - my current plan is to stick with the irons. Of course as an old NRA High Power guy, I’m quite sentimental of irons anyway. :-)

Finally, this AR has yet to miss a beat – it continues to function 100% - and my comfort level with it continues to grow.

Next step is a visit to the 200 yard range as soon as all of the snow is gone in NH north country – and I will need to paint the target in a more visible color before I attempt that!

To be continued…

[MistWolf]

As a long time AR pistol shooter, I can tell you from experience that an Aimpoint Micro is the way to go