AR Pistol

[Seabear]

I used to think they were dumb till I saw the Sig arm brace, still looked silly but hey....maybe they are on to something. Spent some time in my favorite shop fondling a 7.5" and a 10.5 " model. Last weekend I got to shoot the 10.5" I LIKE IT!

Now, instead of buying a whole new gun I am thinking of building. Have most of what I need but trying to decide on length. 7.5" felt small enough that I might worry about my fingers. 10.5" is pretty cool, but shooting it felt a tad long. Today I found a Palmetto upper that is 8.5" Hmmmmm. Maybe the best in between? Anybody have any experience with these or any other AR pistol setups? I hear some of the SWAT teams around here have ordered the 10" models.

I want it for whatever. Maybe even for an occasional 3 gun match. For 3-gun the 10.5 might be better just to keep from shooting props????

I don't plan on putting a can on it so I am not concerned about that.

[carlson1]

I have had two. My opinion is not to go with less than 10.5. I now have a 11.5 Spikes Tactical and I love it. I had to have a forum member's son work on it for me with weekend.

I had the Sig brace and I did not care for it. I have something I am using now that is more less a cheek riser. I am taking it off and going back to the padded buffer tube.

Maybe I can post pictures later. Please post pictures of yours when you get it.

[carlson1]

Here is mine with cheek riser. Again 11.5 Spikes.

[Seabear]

I like that. Very slick. So does the cheek riser still let it qualify as a pistol? I like the looks of that a lot better than the sig brace.

[DaveT]

I'm indebted to a good friend down in the Houston area that turned me on to the idea of an AR Pistol, some of the accessories and the Sig Brace.

I absolutely love mine (7.5 with Spikes Tactical lower) and have it equipped to where I consider it a very good home defense weapon.

What I liked the most about the Sig Brace is that is comes with a copy of the letter from ATF back to Sig explaining that the addition of a Sig Brace does not change the designation of an AR pistol, nor does shooting from the shoulder using the Sig Brace as a shoulder stock.

After making another copy of the ATF letter, I carry it in the AR-pistol's gun case in the event a LEO somewhere down the line is not well informed. Note: that is not a slam against LEO.... I was one and my son is one. When he first saw my AR-pistol, his first statement was "is that legal?" He is a highly educated LEO, so when I heard him ask that, I decided it might be a good idea to keep a copy of the ATF letter handy.

I keep mine loaded up with a 10 round Magpul mag for low profile, but also have several 30 round Magpuls in the AR-pistol's carry case.



The light is a very bright Streamlight TLR-1 HL and mounted on the top rail, it is just the right height to stay under the line of sight with either the Magpul front and rear sights or the Primary Arms Micro Dot. On the bottom rail, at the very front is a Crimson Trace Rail Master CMR-201 with red dot. It is so small, I forget it's even there, but it emits a very bright laser dot.

[Seabear]

That's a wild looking piece of equipment Dave. Very nice.

What upper is that?

[DaveT]

That's a wild looking piece of equipment Dave. Very nice.

What upper is that?

Seabear, I first posted that it had an Anderson upper, but I went back and looked at all the correspondence I had with the guy I traded with for the AR-pistol, it had a kg Paladin upper and an American Tactical poly lower, and looked like this:



The poly lower had issues with some mags. Standard metal mags worked fine, but I could hit it hard on the side and my Magpul mags would fall right out. That was not acceptable, so I replaced the poly lower with the Spikes Tactical as soon as I could.

[carlson1]

I like that. Very slick. So does the cheek riser still let it qualify as a pistol? I like the looks of that a lot better than the sig brace.

Yes is still qualified as a pistol. There is a letter from ATF for this as well.

[The Annoyed Man]

Here is mine with cheek riser. Again 11.5 Spikes.

Well gee..... that looks kind of familiar.

[C-dub]

Thanks DaveT! I'll have to add this to the list of cool guns I'd like to have.

[carlson1]

[ Image ]
Thanks DaveT! I'll have to add this to the list of cool guns I'd like to have.

Is the forearm legal?

[DaveT]

The forearm is totally legal, I also have a copy of the explanation from ATF to that effect. I can post it here if you need it.

The addition of a vertical foregrip is not legal and would change the weapon's designation from an AR pistol to a short barreled rifle.

[PBR]

Is the forearm legal?

yes i questioned atf on the magpul foregrip and was told it was fine because it was angled and not a straight 90 like a normal vertical foregrip is, crazy as it is its legal

[LAYGO]

Wicked cool. I really want to build an AR pistol . . . when I can stop spending upgrade money on my CTS-V.

[Tank]

The forearm is totally legal, I also have a copy of the explanation from ATF to that effect. I can post it here if you need it.

The addition of a vertical foregrip is not legal and would change the weapon's designation from an AR pistol to a short barreled rifle.

Incorrect. This is a common misconception.

Adding a VFG would change a AR pistol into a AOW, which is still under NFA controls... IF... This is the key here, the overall length (end of barrel to end of buffer tube) is UNDER 26". As long as your AR pistol is OVER 26" it is no longer a pistol but a "firearm" but not under NFA controls.

http://www.franklinarmory.com/XO-26_Letter__c_.pdf