Teflon
Member
The recent 'I want an AR Pistol' post got me thinking and since my requirements are a little different I didn't want to hijack his thread. I've got a 9mm Deadair Wolfman in government layaway and I'd like to pair it to something. I've got a pistol I'm going to pair it to, but I'm thinking of an AR variant after reading that it is approved for 300BO and 350 Legend. I plan to build something, starting with a standard lower, but I'm having a hard time coming up with which way to go. My basic requirements are that I want to minimize the number of uppers/lowers/builds I have to do, and do it on a budget (both the build and bullets to keep 'er fed). I'd like something that's low recoil, does well suppressed (although subsonic is not a must), and relatively cheap to shoot. I'd also like to be able to hunt with it (deer mostly, but would love to be able to go hog hunting). Long range accuracy/knock down power is not a real concern as I expect all shots to be within 100 yards (my preferred tree stand doesn't have a shot over 50yds).
The calibers I'm considering:
-300BO. I like the suppression, general ballistics, etc, but I'm worried the ammo will be too costly. I mostly reload my own and it seems making brass from .223 is kinda a pain and buying brass is steeper than the others I'm looking at. Not as good for hunting as the 350 Legend. Greater availability of parts since it's been around a while, but parts pricing seems similar.
-350 Legend. Brass is cheap and easy to reload, has good ballistics for hunting, and would allow me to hunt lots of places in MD and other states that require straight-wall cartridges (although I really only hunt in MD/PA). Subsonic bullets are harder to find, although that's not a deal breaker. I'm leaning towards this but wondering if it will be too much recoil in a pistol to be enjoyable/easy to shoot. Anyone have one and can recommend a barrel length?
-9mm. I've got lots of brass and components, so shooting would be pretty cheap. Low recoil so it'd be fun to shoot, great to run suppressed, shorter barrel lengths so maneuverability would be excellent, but wouldn't work for hunting. It seems the AR9 build parts are more expensive than the 300BO/350 Legend. I'm not opposed to having 2 uppers (say an AR9 for plinking and 350 Legend for hunting) for the same lower, but it seems like people recommend using dedicated AR9 lowers rather than trying to use mag blocks, etc.
-22LR. I have another 22LR suppressor and AR22 mags I can use, so this would be just for a cheap plinker. Like the 9mm, I could pair a 22LR upper for plinking with the 350 Legend for hunting. Not sure if I'd have to change buffer/spring if I tried to run these two, feedback would be appreciated.
Right now I'm leaning towards a 350 Legend/22LR (2 uppers) combo, with one lower. Looking for any suggestions (outside of the inevitable 'build one of each' ) or things I'm missing. I'm also not opposed to going the SBR route but would like the lower to start as a pistol and I can go from there later.
The calibers I'm considering:
-300BO. I like the suppression, general ballistics, etc, but I'm worried the ammo will be too costly. I mostly reload my own and it seems making brass from .223 is kinda a pain and buying brass is steeper than the others I'm looking at. Not as good for hunting as the 350 Legend. Greater availability of parts since it's been around a while, but parts pricing seems similar.
-350 Legend. Brass is cheap and easy to reload, has good ballistics for hunting, and would allow me to hunt lots of places in MD and other states that require straight-wall cartridges (although I really only hunt in MD/PA). Subsonic bullets are harder to find, although that's not a deal breaker. I'm leaning towards this but wondering if it will be too much recoil in a pistol to be enjoyable/easy to shoot. Anyone have one and can recommend a barrel length?
-9mm. I've got lots of brass and components, so shooting would be pretty cheap. Low recoil so it'd be fun to shoot, great to run suppressed, shorter barrel lengths so maneuverability would be excellent, but wouldn't work for hunting. It seems the AR9 build parts are more expensive than the 300BO/350 Legend. I'm not opposed to having 2 uppers (say an AR9 for plinking and 350 Legend for hunting) for the same lower, but it seems like people recommend using dedicated AR9 lowers rather than trying to use mag blocks, etc.
-22LR. I have another 22LR suppressor and AR22 mags I can use, so this would be just for a cheap plinker. Like the 9mm, I could pair a 22LR upper for plinking with the 350 Legend for hunting. Not sure if I'd have to change buffer/spring if I tried to run these two, feedback would be appreciated.
Right now I'm leaning towards a 350 Legend/22LR (2 uppers) combo, with one lower. Looking for any suggestions (outside of the inevitable 'build one of each' ) or things I'm missing. I'm also not opposed to going the SBR route but would like the lower to start as a pistol and I can go from there later.