Are AR15 SBRs or Pistols worth it?

locke1117

Newbie
Just wanted to get some of your guy's opinions on if SBRs or Ar pistols are worth it compared to a 14.5" or 16" rifle. This wouldn't be something I would run suppressed at all (at least in the near future). I'm just thinking a slightly shorter gun might make life easier. I currently run a 16" gun with an LPVO on it and would keep the same optic I have now. In your experience is the loss of a couple inches on a barrel that much more maneuverable and is it a lot louder? I am leaning more towards a 12.5" upper but if it's just as violent as a 11.5" I'm flexible and would rather have a shorter gun.
For those of you that have SBRs or Pistols (since there are so many awesome braces out now), do you think the pros out way the cons, or am I better off saving my money and training around the longer gun?
 
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Wake27

Regular Member
What do you do with it? Mostly flat range stuff, or are you in and out of houses or vehicles often?
 

locke1117

Newbie
Mostly flat range. |I am a civilian so this is more for training/home defense/SHTF. I'm trying to get the best out of the weapon system that I can. In other words trying to set up the best all around AR. I like it as a 16" gun but feel like I could get more out of it.
 

Wake27

Regular Member
I want a few, but with all of the potential legal issues surrounding both, I want several good 14.5s first. If you’re debating selling your current 16.1 OAL for a pistol/SBR, I wouldn’t. And is your current gun a 14.5 or 16? If it’s the latter, I’d try a 14.5 first. Most argue that the difference is nothing, but inches are inches.


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A 12.5" ar is a good all around pew pew pew..it can still reach out to 400yds can put the heavier grains in it like 75gr 77gr for extra punch..pistol braces nowadays are good to go so can keep it as a pistol for now and SBR later
 
I’ve got a 16 inch bushmaster, a 14.5 URGI, and an 11.5 SOLGW. To me the guns serve different purposes. The bushy was my first AR is now just a beater/loaner rifle. It has an aimpoint. The URGI has 1-8 LVPO and the the 11.5 has an Aimpoint and magnifier.
in my opinion a 14.5 balances better than a 16 inch gun. The 14.5 was noticeably better in vehicles and structures, with the 11.5 being the clear winner in that category.
My 16 inch gun is a 2-3 MOA rifle. The 14.5 and the 11.5 are both capable of 1MOA groups out to 300, (maybe farther but I only have a 300 yard range).
To me the shorter barrel isn’t noticeably louder, but that might be because of my ear pro. I have shot both without ear pro, because I forgot to put it on. It sucked with either gun.
in my opinion. If I already had a 16 inch gun I was happy with, I’d just get an 11.5 to fill a different roll.
 

locke1117

Newbie
I want a few, but with all of the potential legal issues surrounding both, I want several good 14.5s first. If you’re debating selling your current 16.1 OAL for a pistol/SBR, I wouldn’t. And is your current gun a 14.5 or 16? If it’s the latter, I’d try a 14.5 first. Most argue that the difference is nothing, but inches are inches.


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I have thought of just switching out the 16" for a 14.5" just to make it a bit better balanced and a bit more manuvarable. I don't plan on changing out my hand guard or muzzle device on my 16" anyway to that's not a big deal.
 

MrMurphy

Regular Member
For general use a 16 is fine. I am in and out of cars and houses all day. I've cleared at least a thousand buildings in training or for real with a GI 14.5 M4. The 16 isn't too different. That said, if I had the money for my particular uses (LE) I'd have a suppressed 11" SBR, which our policy allows.

I worked a warrant last month where it ended up being me, Secret Squirrel with a Glock, and a Dep. Marshal with a 10.5" DD.

My 16" BCM wasn't bad clearing the house, but in 2 small rooms i transitioned to my 17 due to how tight it got. Old assed house with add on rooms etc.

I've fit in some small places, like training to recapture a C17 and clearing the cockpit w an M4... but in my particular instance that extra half foot of barrel does get in way.

For regular HD/range... I'd keep the 16.
 

rcbusmc

Newbie
Shoot the Barrel you already have until it wears out, then replace with a new 14.5 or 12.5 at that point If you still feel you are at any disadvantage with a 16 in barrel for your usage.... I've got 20 different AR's in 5.55 stuffed in the safes and other than the SBR's that have cans pretty much attached all the time, (ironically bringing the length back out to 16 inches) the ones I Use the most for general training, in and out of vehicles and buildings are all 16 in and Pinned 14.5's, My issue rifle in a 14.5.... I really do not notice any real difference between this and the pinned 14.5 rifles. We had cans on them for a while supporting the infantry suppressor experiments for MARCORSYSCOM and while those were attached the rifles did feel like muskets.
 

erwos

Amateur
A light-weight 11.5" AR-15 is my choice for 0-300. Balances great, doesn't suck as bad in structures, and isn't a musket when you put a can on it. You need to be careful with your ammo selection if you care about terminal effects, of course, since velocity is rather reduced.

If you have a mission profile that genuinely requires you to shoot past 300, velocity/drop starts being a real thing, and I'd probably opt for something ~18". If you are doing gamer stuff and need to run a brake, I'd also encourage using a 16"-18" barrel to keep blast reasonable.
 

locke1117

Newbie
This is about where I'm at right now on the whole form 1 thing. I am happy enough with my 16" gun and my funds aren't at a place where I can afford a tax stamp or to build a full pistol. I figure by the time I can shoot the barrel out of my BCM I can afford to get a different upper. I also have a stripped lower that has been sitting in my closet for about a year now that I might slowly build into an 11.5 pistol.
 

PM07

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Okay, so here are my thoughts. Keep in mind I use a SBR/Pistol for LE duty purposes so your needs may be different.

In your experience is the loss of a couple inches on a barrel that much more maneuverable and is it a lot louder?
Yes. The ability to maneuver it in and around my patrol vehicle more efficiently far outweigh any negatives to it.
Yes, its a wee bit louder, especially if you use a muzzle break vs. say a A2 flash hider. Given time, I'm throwing my ear pro on before going loud. IE: Building searches etc.

do you think the pros out way the cons, or am I better off saving my money and training around the longer gun?

For my purposes, pros outweigh the cons absolutely. I currently use a 12.5" barrel with a Steiner 1X4 until my Razor 1x6 gets here. With the 12.5 I can keep fist-ish size groups out to 300. Now mind you, the probability of taking a shot that far is very low due to a lot of factors but having the ability to do so is immeasurable. Yes, I can do the same with my 16" barrel patrol rifles but the maneuverability isn't as efficient as I like.

At my previous agency we issued 11.5 BCM uppered SBR's. At my part time Fed job, I used a VSBR 8 " barrel for special details but with the LAW Folder, I can use my 12.5 for the same mission.

The training for the 16" and the 12.5 is the same for me. I've done Pats class with 11.5 and 16" uppers with no noticeable differences range drills wise from what I remember.
 
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