Ar 15 pistol longest legal barrel Length ? And 556 vs 223 wylde ?

[john31125]

I’m new to A.R. 15‘s recently purchased a Saint Victor 7.5 inch I find the noise in the blast to be not as practical as needed. Looking at a 10.5 11.5 and 12.5 inch upper. I want to confirm that any barrel length under 16 inches is still considered a pistol? I don’t wanna do anything illegal. ? Also between these three length which one is preferred. And do you guys think I should just go with 223 WYLDE instead of 556 ?? I don’t see the downside

[Fuel Fire Desire]

You can also try a linear compensator. It redirects blast and flash downrange. My 7.5” is actually tolerable to shoot at an indoor range. Other saints with flash hiders are outright abusive even from 8 lanes down. You can see how it projects blast forward in a cone rather than all around. Outdoors it’s no more loud than a 16” with an A2 from the shooters perspective. 7.5” is terrible for 5.56 ballistics though.

[balrog006]

Fuel Fire Desire is on track-you need to try out a few different barrel end devices to tame the blast of that 7.5”, especially as he suggests, ones that direct the blast forward not sideways or back at you.

As far as chambering goes, the most practical is 5.56-as it will be capable of use with any 5.55 or .223 ammo-the reverse is not true.

Your barrel question is less straightforward, I’d suggest looking in the legal beagle forum to find the measurement methods and limits on your ‘pistol’ to keep it as such and not unintentionally make a SBR (short barrel rifle) out of it.

[j-squared]

I also agree with the linear comp to direct blast forward.
Regarding 223 Wylde or 5.56 - They both shoot .223 Remington and 5.56 Nato. In theory, the 223 Wylde is slightly more accurate than 5.56 chamberings, however, that probably won't make any noticeable or significant difference from a 7.5" barrel.

[JDG]

A pistol can have any length bbl.
https://www.migunowners.org/forum/sh...e-of-Michigan)

[Scoop]

I’m new to A.R. 15‘s recently purchased a Saint Victor 7.5 inch I find the noise in the blast to be not as practical as needed. Looking at a 10.5 11.5 and 12.5 inch upper. I want to confirm that any barrel length under 16 inches is still considered a pistol? I don’t wanna do anything illegal. ? Also between these three length which one is preferred. And do you guys think I should just go with 223 WYLDE instead of 556 ?? I don’t see the downside

Your question seems to focus more on legality than performance.

From a legal standpoint in MI, if the barrel is less than 16" and the OAL is under 26", it's considered a pistol that you can carry concealed. This assumes no rifle stock, of course.

While JDG is technically correct relative to there not being a length limit for a pistol in Michigan, if it doesn't meet the previous criteria, you can't legally carry it concealed. So, if your goal is to remain legal to carry concealed (i.e., in a vehicle, such as a "truck gun"), then stay within those limits.

For the standard AR platform pistol, measure OAL from the end of the barrel threads (not the muzzle brake or flash hider - unless it's permanently attached - but the threads) to the end of the buffer tube (remove the brace or stabilizer). The OAL is measured as the "shortest operable length", and neither the muzzle brake/flash hider nor the brace/stabilizer are required in order to operate (fire) the pistol.

In most cases, you'll find that the 10.5" barrel and a standard carbine buffer tube is very common/popular and will measure in at just under 26". There are shorter buffer tubes that would allow a slightly longer barrel.

Do keep in mind that 10.5" isn't the optimal length for the 5.56 NATO cartridge in general. There simply isn't enough barrel length to allow *all* of the powder to burn BEFORE the projectile leaves the end of the barrel. This means you'll have some of the powder burn just outside of the muzzle, creating a flash. That could be an issue if firing at night and/or indoors.

As far as the Wylde barrel: The primary purpose of the Wylde barrel is to allow you to shoot both the 5.56 and the .223 out of the same rifle with better .223 accuracy that what you get from shooting .223 out of a 5.56 barrel. Personally speaking, if I'm building an AR pistol, it's for CQB/self-defense, which means long range accuracy isn't going to be a primary objective of mine.

[XDM 40 cal]

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