AR15 Pistols

Okay, so let’s talk about one of the most fun, loud, and obnoxious things out there. I don’t care if your name is Paul, you wear your hat crooked, and you are the life of the party every Saturday night. You will still never be more fun, loud, or obnoxious than an AR-15 Pistol (aka MI Pistol or AR Pistol). For legal purposes, I will clarify that AR-15 Pistols are legal in the state of Michigan as long as they adhere to a few guidelines, the biggest being it cannot have a stock. So to say the least, we are reviewing a weapon that is legal in our state. Please review your state laws if you have interest in this type of weapon before making plans to build or purchase.

To start off, there are a great deal of benefits to having one of these little guys. One of them is the carry facet. I know it may sound ludicrous to carry one of these things, but since they are required to be registered as pistols in the state of MI they receive all of the same rights and privileges as a pistol. I, personally, every now and then carry my AR Pistol under my knee length trench coat with a BlackHawk single-point sling. With either my 7” or 7.5” barrel I can still carry this thing without it being noticed. With its legal versatility as a pistol you can also use it as a “truck gun” or in my case a “four-door sedan gun”. This also makes it easier to take it to the range since you can keep it loaded.

The next best thing about AR Pistols is shooting them. Getting the right sights for them is quite the pain, which we will discuss later, but target/scenario shooting is a blast, quite literally. If shooting one handed, which makes even the scroniest of a man feel like Gaston, you do have a liberal amount a muzzle lift, even with special muzzle brakes. Yet, the weight of the gun and AR-15 trigger pull does allow you enough time to fire somewhat rapidly and still be on target. You aren’t shooting a tournament 1911, but for one-handed shooting, with a weapon not originally designed for one-handed shooting, it does fairly decent. Now, two-handed shooting makes you feel a little like Tony Montana. I can’t tell you how many times I have introduced mine by saying, “Say hello to my little friend.” I know, I know, he used an A2 style M-16 with a M203, but I can’t help myself.

Recoil wise, they are basically like shooting a short AR-15, which ironically enough is what they are. Accuracy wise, I would say at twenty-five yards they are as accurate as any other handgun I have fired from a standing position. I do not know how these weapons perform at long distances. Mainly because I treat it as a pistol and I would not call upon my pistol to make one-hundred yard shots unless I was left without the option of using my rifle. One day I may see how it does with long range shots, but then again, what did I buy my LR-308 for? I my opinion, in a tactical scenario these things work best at providing short range suppressive fire, but one can’t forget about the long range capabilities of the 5.56.

With these weapons having all of their good sides, why don’t we take a stroll down to the bad and the ugly. First of all, price, price, and price. Without giving you the rundown of a parts list and prices, which don’t fret, I will waste your time with that later, I will just say that for a basic model using new parts you are going to spend about $850 to build an AR Pistol. For those of you who build AR-15s, myself included, that is clearly more than building a full size rifle. However, I must say that building an AR Pistol, like building an AR-15, will in most cases save you money, which leads me to my next point.

Getting the chance to build one of these is also a great experience, but frustrating at the same time. I have built ARs before, but AR Pistols have a little more complexity to them. The hand guard is somewhat of a concern for 7” barrels. The 10.5” barrel use carbine length gas tubes and hand guards so those are not a problem, but the shorter ones require slightly more expensive parts. On the AR Pistol upper I built I used a Yankee Hill Machine Pistol Length Quad Rail Free-float Handguard. This added enough weight to keep the pistol somewhat balanced and made my sight conundrum slightly easier to solve. The biggest issue with sights for an AR Pistol is that no manufacture has made AR sights that work as well as standard pistol sights. My choice, or rather choices, ended up being an EOTech EXPS3 on my Rock River Arms upper and MagPul flip sights for my Palmetto State Armory/DPMS upper. Both have worked out great so far as sights and serve their purpose for the pistol they are on.

Along with finding the right sights to fit your purposes, there are other issues to be addressed in the construction of an AR Pistol. These are functioning dilemmas. Now, that is not to say that AR Pistols are inherently problematic, so don’t get it twisted. However, there are problems that should be addressed. First and foremost is the buffer tube. If you take your collapsible AR stock, pull down on the adjustment lever, and remove it you will have a well functioning AR pistol buffer tube (although one must consider the possible legal pitfall of having a buffer tube that could so readily accept a stock). Ace makes a full length buffer tube that has worked flawlessly with my AR pistol. The problem comes with the shorter tubes that some manufactures have created. These look better and make the AR Pistol much shorter, but have been reported to have many feeding issues due to the short amount of travel that the bolt carrier has in between shots. The easiest way to put it is that the more your buffer tube meets the standard length, the more reliable it will be.

The next issue is that of business end of the barrel: the muzzle brake. Many people will swear that the 7” barrels have feeding issues due to the lack of backpressure created from the short length of the barrel. Although I have used a standard “birdcage” A2 style flash hider with no feeding issues, I had looked into a flash hider that would work to solve three problems: low backpressure, high decibels, and muzzle flash. The device I used was the DPMS Levang Compensator. I won’t give this item the same be-all end-all rating that others have because every now and then you do get some muzzle flash and it didn’t seem to “send the sound downrange” to the high extent that others have reported, but with it I haven’t had any feeding problems and the muzzle flash is not as extreme as with other flash hiders. For $30, I won’t down-talk the item as it performed adequately. So far, nothing short of a silencer will tame the excessive roar of these weapons, but with hearing protection, from my perspective as the shooter, it didn’t sound any louder than your standard AR-15 while wearing proper hearing protection.

In short, considering the good, the bad, and the ugly, AR Pistols are in my opinion great additions to any gun collection. With their legal flexibility they make great vehicle weapons as well as intimidating carry pieces whether you decide to CC or OC. Keep in mind, some states have odd laws about these weapons, MI’s is odd, but benefiting to gun owners like me, but if one’s state does not frown on them they will make their owner quite happy. They have always been of interest to other shooters at the gun range and have made a few of my buddies quite jealous. Below you will find the list of parts that went into build each AR Pistol and feel free to email us with any question you may have about your AR Pistol build. We may not know everything, but if you are just starting out with your build we can most likely get your questions answered and get you to the range.

• Ace Pistol Buffer Tube
• DPMS Bolt Carrier Assembly
• DPMS Crush Washer
• DPMS Levang Compensator
• DPMS Pistol Length Gas Tube
•  DPMS Railed Gas Block
• DPMS Trigger Kit
• DPMS 7” Barrel
• Palmetto State Armory Assembled Upper Receiver and Charging handle
• Rock River Arms Stripped Lower Receiver
• Rock River Arms Upper Receiver Assembly (2^nd AR Pistol upper)
• Yankee Hill Machine Pistol Length Quad Rail Free-float Handguard

Review: Glock 21SF

This is my fourth .45 caliber handgun. Some would say I downgraded as I progressed. My first was a 1911, then onto an M&P45, from there a Sig P220, and now the Glock 21SF. As the owner of these weapons I can see their point. I loved my 1911, but the hammer follow it developed, uncured by the local gunsmith, broke my trust in it. My M&P45 was an awesome carry piece and was the first of my semi-automatics that I trusted to carry with a round in the chamber, but for some reason it still didn’t fit the bill. The magazines were pricy, which I think may be my only complaint. My Sig P220 was something I thought I could settle on. The all-metal construction, ease of maintenance, and internal safety of the weapon had me hooked. However, I ended up selling it so I could fund a new LR-308. So I continued on and had the chance to obtain my first Glock, which was a G32 chambered for .357 Sig. Now this was a very nice carry gun, very simplistic, and a pleasure to shoot. At this point I did not have a .45 and decided that it was time to get one. More importantly, it was time to get a full-sized Glock chambered for .45 ACP: The Glock 21.

This firearm was bought for about $560 at the local gun store and after putting a few rounds downrange with it, I realized something; To me, .45s are mostly created equal. Its recoil felt similar to that of my 1911, M&P45, and Sig P220, with just a slightly different trigger pull, but very comparable to the Sig. Immediately, I was right on target. I had to get used to the longer trigger pull, especially for rapid firing, but I felt like I was holding the same gun I learned to shoot with.

For those of you who have never owned a Glock and like to fully disassemble your weapons for full cleanings, you should look into Glocks. They required a small punch, a hammer, and wooden block and they can be completely disassembled (excluding the sights). This is one of the things I like about Glocks. I can fully take down my weapon, clean it, and not have to worry about getting it “out of tune” when reassembling it. So far, it looks like the only way to get a Glock “out of tune” is to completely break it. 

Breaking a gun reminds me of my next point. I work hard for my income, and treat my possessions, especially weapons, with respect. Therefore, I am content to report that I do not have a destructive “torture test” to show you. The fact that it is a carry piece and is virtually flawless is a testament to its ability to endure responsible gun handling.

As of late, the G21 has been my primary carry piece and has grown on me. I have been looking into several types of holsters for it, which is actually proven to be somewhat of a task. Not only are holsters a pain to find at local gun stores, but so are many other Glock upgrades. G21 accessories are more plentiful than others, which demonstrates Glock’s claim that this item was made specifically for the American market. You can get what you need for your G21, but you will have to look a little harder for some accessories than others, like the G17 or G22. The Serpa holster I use with it was not at all hard to find, but other holsters are not so common. Magazines are plentiful and around the same price as other Glock mags, but other accessories may be slightly more difficult to come by.

Overall, transitioning to my G21, after the thousands of rounds I put through my 1911, and the hundreds of rounds put through my M&P45 and Sig P220, was quick and easy. However, that could be due to the legendary .45 caliber. On Glock’s website, it refers to the Glock 21 as an American Icon, but it is safe to say that it earned this title by pairing up with the .45 ACP: A True American Icon.