First time getting an AR

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AD3PDX@reddit

12.5” or 11.5” minimum for 5.56

The linear comp / fake suppressor under the hand guard is stupid.

The SB brace is much better than the blade

Definately a free float handguard so you don’t get barrel deflection. It improves practical accuracy a lot.

A pencil barrel will make the gun balance better but it’s hard to find factory configured pencil barreled gun shorter than a 16” or 14.5” P&W.

Buy an upper and lower separately. You’ll be more likely to get what you want. PSA or Aero are careful with Aero’s proprietary handguard system.

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Chain_Runner@reddit

7” barrels are for 300 blackout, 556 needs a long barrel, I would say 10” minimum. 16” for standard

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sickmak90@reddit

I’ve never had any major issues with PSA ARs (their other stuff is a different story though). Just make sure you check EVERYTHING. Every bolt and nut needs to be properly torqued and loctite applied.

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I second the sentiment about checking everything beforehand. But I’ve learned the hard way, that applies to any/every gun/manufacturer. Sometimes you get the one picked for a random QC check and it’s perfect, sometimes it’s the one made at 4:55 on a Friday.

A saying I try to live by: Trust, but verify.

I do tend to be LocTite adverse for the most part, as not everything needs it, but if I feel like I should apply some form of weak thread locker, I go to clear nail polish. Works like a charm for small stuff and places you can’t really use heat to breakdown the thread locker. Small bolts, scope rings, etc.

If you are putting something on the muzzle device or a suppressor (not that I would recommend it on a suppressor) you may want to look into something like Rocksett. You can really only remove it with a hot water soak, and it’s good to over 2,000F.

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sickmak90@reddit

I usually use loctite on their rails. The rails are NEVER torqued evenly and never have any loctite.

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BlastTyrant2112@reddit

AR pistols are NOT more fun to shoot. They look cool, but I'd recommend getting an actual rifle first.

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Angelsxt6@reddit

Get a 16 inch barrel or longer 556 is designed for 20 inch barrels , short barrels are fun but for the first ever at I’d recommend a 16 inch , PSA or diamondback if you’re on a budget and a Aero precision or Daniel defense if you have a bit more budget

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AlphaTangoFoxtrt@reddit

Get a PSA for your first AR. Then figure out what you like, what you don't, and use that experience to get a better one for your 2nd.

Also don't go under 11 inches for 5.56, it's a waste unless you just want to make noise.

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Darksept@reddit

5.56 is a great cartridge because it's fast. That's where most of it power comes from. (Clearly not from weight, the bullet is small as hell) So getting a barrel that short is gonna hamper the potential of the round. I wouldn't go less than 11" for 5.56.

300 blk is good in a short barrel is your really must have the shortest set up.

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Creative-Yellow4779@reddit (OP)

Ahh okay i see now, do you know any good brands for someone on a budget for the 300 blk? Thank you for he info

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zombrian666@reddit

5.56 out of a short barrel will be fine. Especially for close and medium range. If you can get the length to like 10.5 people, say that's a sweet spot. But even at 7" velocity is around 2000 fps. 300 blk out is probably not much different. What is different is that 300 blk out is more expensive and hard to find. Many people would really recommend 300 blk out for suppression.

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Old_MI_Runner@reddit

Subsonic 300BK with 8 inch barrel and suppressor considered the best home defense firearm by some but the ammo costs much more than 5.56. You won't like the ammo bill.

8" barrel for 5.56 AR15 will have very low velocity and be incredible load. It also may not run reliable with anything much under 10.5" barrel.

Go to an indoor range when a short barreled 5.56 is being shot and see how much you enjoy it. Someone shot a 10.5 to 12.5 about 7 lanes from me at an outdoor range recently. It was annoying outside that far away. Huge fireballs came out the end.

If you want short and fun and reliable and durable get a Extar EP9 pistol. Spend extra to get the adjustable receiver extension and SBA3 brace with it. You can run subsonic ammo in it if you want for about 28 to 35 CPR or run supersonic ammo for about 22 CPR. You can put a suppressor on it.

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tgpussypants@reddit

OP I second what this guy said^

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Gzoe467@reddit

You have to spend alot of money if you want a reliable short one I definitely wouldn't go cheap!

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Night_Raptor_22@reddit

I would strongly disagree. You can get something good and not break the bank. I’ve spent less money on an upper from PSA and never had a single issue, while also spending more money on an upper from another company (that doesn’t exist anymore) and got a much inferior product. Quality control is a big factor to consider and a company that has a good reputation and warranty to back it up is always more important to me than price.

Example: I bought an MP5k clone and the first trip to the range, less than 100 rounds in, the gun started running like shit. I completed the break in, still had issues, and continued a second round of ‘break in’. I got about 3 mags deep when the gun experienced an out of battery detonation. I contacted the company that imported the gun about this, they wanted a lot of information and after telling me they would send a call tag for it, I was later informed that they would in fact not be warrantying the gun because I used ‘notoriously bad ammo’.

The ammo in question came from a plant that makes ammo for the GOVERNMENT of the country where the gun was made, and the guns are made on HK tools and machines, which are also used to make guns for that same government. But since the importer didn’t want to mess with it, I got told to pound sand.

Long story short, I had to spend almost $1,000 on shipping, diagnostics, and parts to get it fixed by an expert in HK stuff. And that was on top of the $2,600 I spent on the gun. And at the time, there wasn’t a whole lot of price difference with other clone manufacturers , but I bought the gun based on aesthetic alone.

Tl;dr: I spent more money than I had to because someone was pinching pennies on an inexpensive part.

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Gzoe467@reddit

You also just described building your own as to buying a complete big difference.

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Night_Raptor_22@reddit

You want to know what’s more annoying, even outside? 50 Beowulf AR PISTOL with a very effective muzzle brake. Source: everybody at the range that isn’t me.

But seriously, you’re on point there. Heard nothing but good about the Extar.

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Old_MI_Runner@reddit

My club has what is about the size of a metal shipping container with one side open that they use to reduce the noise to the residential house behind the shooters by about 100 or so yards. There were 7 others shooter there the day I want to qualify for the range. Someone had a muzzle brake with some caliber that was worse than all the other rifles. The concussion was incredible even though the barrel length was likely 20+ inches. Some company claimed their special spray foam treatment would reduce the noise to the shooters inside. It help little or none. I am not sure I ever heard a 50 Beowulf being fired.

The plywood dividers used at my club's outdoor pistol range also transmit a lot of sound too. I have to double up there with ear pro and prefer to go when no one else is there or at least at least one empty lane between me and the next shooter.

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Night_Raptor_22@reddit

Noise abatement is kind of a pain in the ass. The more stuff you put up, the more surface(s) the noise can bounce off of. (Gun shots don’t echo) Never been to nor seen/heard of an indoor range where everything isn’t loud as hell, even a little .22LR. I always wondered if acoustic foam like they use in a recording studio would help?

Outdoors is my preferred place to shoot. Never been to a range with a lot in the way of noise control. Usually just berms and trees. Your plywood and shipping container setup may actually be counter productive depending on how it’s setup. I’m not an acoustics engineer, so don’t ask me about anything much beyond a high school level of knowledge on that.

Now that I think about it, provided it’s weather proof/resistant, there are some spray on sound deadening products that do a pretty bang up job in the hotrod world, might be worth looking into if it would help.

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Field-brotha-no-mo@reddit

Go PSA! 7.5-8inch barrel. Pmags. Buy the complete upper and lower and slam em together. Use saves money on optic/light. You won’t outshoot the gun. I cant yet lol. good luck my friend’

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snippysniper@reddit

Don’t get a 300. Stick with 556

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JustLife299@reddit

Palmetto state is going to give you decent gun for a better price .300 blk

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Threather19@reddit

Please do not go below 11.5” for a 5.56 AR

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Cykel-Butik@reddit

I'm jealous because we can't buy that model here in Canada anymore.

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Character_Story9858@reddit

$900 for an M&P is nuts lol

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Flabbergasted_____@reddit

If you absolutely, positively have to go short with a 5.56, get a 10.5” or 11”.

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OT_Militia@reddit

My suggestion is to buy a rifle first (M&P Sport II, Ruger MPR, Springfield Armory Saint, or almost any PSA are all good starters), then once you have a thousand or so rounds through it, build a pistol from the ground up.

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msiley@reddit

Just get a 16”. It’s not more fun to shoot because it’s short. With a 16” you can get a real stock and not worry about the ATF changing their minds tomorrow about braces. You can get a police trade in Colt 6920 between $700-$800. IMHO it will out last anything you can get new in that price range. In the end you want something you can build skill with and be useful. Fun is short term, satisfaction is long term and comes from the accomplishment of building skill.

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moistenednougat@reddit

Smith and Wesson had considerably better quality control than PSA when I was in the firearms industry, but I’ve been out for over a year. Things may have changed but I would go M&P in a heartbeat.

Also like many folks have mentioned here, a barrel under 10.3 inches on a 5.56 gun is going to be suboptimal. If you really want a gun that compact, 300 Blackout is going to retain superior ballistics.

If you want a shorter barrel and don’t want to dick around with the stupid brace but don’t want to pay for registration, you can buy a rifle with a permanently affixed muzzle device that brings the overall barrel length to over 16”. Several companies make these, typically 13.9” to 14.5”. Shaves off a little weight and profile. But any 5.56 with a longer barrel is going to be more capable and versatile.

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Palehorse67@reddit

I like my little M&P 15. She throws fire lol.

https://imgur.com/a/YoIKx8U

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Night_Raptor_22@reddit

Is that the Magpul SL grip?

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Palehorse67@reddit

No, its the MOE+

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Night_Raptor_22@reddit

Yeah, that’s what I was thinking, but blanked on the name. I think it looks better than the one they put on from the factory that looks like the M&P pistols. Like, why did you try to fix what wasn’t broken? 🤷‍♂️

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Palehorse67@reddit

Yeah, I didn't like the stock grip. It didn't seem to fit the lower right, and it is super coarse. It's like a cheese grader on my hands.

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ThunderRaven006@reddit

I own a couple of smiths and a 300blk. One thing I wanna touch on I don’t think I seen was price of ammo. 300blk gets to be expensive. Everyone wants it. 556 is plentiful and you can find good deals. My advice is get the sport3. I own many, and I mean many AR’s and for the price they are well worth it. Psa is good and all but I yet to own one. They run pretty good. Smith has stepped their stuff up in the last couple of years.

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Night_Raptor_22@reddit

👍 for mentioning ammo cost, something overlooked by many. I just take the car enthusiasts mentality approach to guns: I either know the cost going in or I don’t get to bitch about the cost afterwards.

(I’m not a fiscally smart man)

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ThunderRaven006@reddit

Thank you sir. I got a 300 for the house, and 5 loaded mags. 556 I could always have more but most forgot this

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Night_Raptor_22@reddit

You can never have too many loaded mags.

Unless you’re swimming or on fire.

I need to invest in .300BLK, but I’m trying to consolidate/reduce calibers. I was at 17, but then I sold my Desert Eagle, so I went don’t to 16, but I just recently bought a SOCOM 16, however, I already had .308, so I guess that’s progress? 🤷‍♂️

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Night_Raptor_22@reddit

Just gonna throw my $0.02 in here…

Yes, short barrels are a nightmare for pretty much everyone at the range, even more so if it’s indoors. Are they fun? Yes. Is it a ‘vibe’? Maybe.

Based solely off of the 2 options provided, I’ve heard good things about the M&P, but do not own one. I do however have several PSA AR’s, both uppers and lowers, and their quality is outstanding for the money.

You can find cheaper uppers, lowers and occasionally complete guns, but I have gone down this road, and the quality really starts to come into question when you do so.

The SBA3 brace is far better (in my opinion) than the Shockwave blade brace. I do own both, but I only have one Shockwave, and quite a few SB’s.

If your sole intended purpose is a range toy, get whatever makes you happy. If it needs to meet a certain price point, go with the PSA and 5.56/.223. You’ll be hard pressed to find a more affordable way to get into a centerfire rifle cartridge in a semi auto platform.

If you want something for home defense, anything is better than nothing, but that is a whole discussion on its own.

Keep in mind, you aren’t stuck with the gun as it ships. If you want to change the brace, that’s fairly simple and straight forward. If you buy a 5.56/.223 gun but later want a suppressed .300 for home defense, it’s 2 pins and a tax stamp. For that matter, if you can fasten a seatbelt, you can potentially save a few bucks by buying a complete upper and a complete lower separately and just assembling them yourself, since complete guns come with a tax on them that is levied on the manufacturer and passed along to the consumer in the price.

Gun stuff in general is like my ‘tism. I went from not owning a single gun 20 years ago, to doing all my own gunsmithing (except HK roller lock stuff), including custom fabrication and even a custom one off home built piece.

So please don’t hesitate to ask me to geek out about anything gun related.

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Creative-Yellow4779@reddit (OP)

Thank you for your insight its helps a lot! After reading the replies in this post, i think i came to a conclusion of getting a 10.5 AR Pistol 5.56 from PSA instead of a 7.5. I plan on shooting outdoors at the desert since i live in TX. Do you think this would be a good purchase, or should i stick with a 16’ for 5.56 or 300BLK for shorter barrel

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Night_Raptor_22@reddit

No prob, Bob! Always happy to listen to myself talk. 😂

I think the difference between the 10.5 and 7.5 you won’t notice much for sound, it will still be loud, so I would recommend springing for a suppressor if practical/applicable. As far as ballistics, I don’t know specifics, and the numbers will change with changes in bullet weight, but you may (or may not) notice an appreciable difference in accuracy, but generally the longer the better.

If accuracy is the aim (no pun intended) go longer. If you want to suppress it, definitely.300BLK with subs. If you want to get into really niche territory, pickup something in 8.6BLK. It’s basically a drill bit launcher. You can sling projectiles through things that would be stopped by many calibers, and able to do so at great distances. That round is disgusting in a wonderful way.

The good thing about ARs is if you have the little bit of time and some mechanical aptitude along with a few tools, you can always change the barrel out if you need a different twist rate or length. Just make sure you know the do’s and dont’s if you plan on using one lower for different barrel lengths so you don’t run afoul of federal laws.

But yeah, I think it sounds like you have a solid plan there.

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GizmoTacT@reddit

If for inside home defense try a PCC. AR15 super loud indoors. I have a Extar EP45 for home defense. Is chambered in 45 ACP. Much quieter than an AR-15 or shotgun and it will get the job done

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rando_mness@reddit

Something is off with the grip in that first pic

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lambo13770@reddit

If your going for an ar pistol get a .300blk

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Nomore-Television72@reddit

Actually they’re less fun to shoot. A 7” would be downright unpleasant. I’ve got an 11.5” PSA and I actually like it a lot but that’s the shortest I’d go personally but for my first I’d definitely go 16”

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DirtyRoller@reddit

Shooting an AR that short fucking SUCKS bro, double ear pro barely helps and the flash bang will burn your retinas. Just get a 16", and if you wanna go shorter on your next one, go with something 10.5"-12.3" and get a can.

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Creative-Yellow4779@reddit (OP)

Should i go with S&W M&P 15 SPORT III? Or would PSA have better options?

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chunkylover___53@reddit

I look forward to being in the lane next to you in a cinder block indoor range this winter.