opinions wanted... (5.56 SBR)

[bimmer]

So... I just put this rifle together, and now I'm second guessing myself. Should I sell this barrel and go with a 300 blk?? I just bought a noveske 8.5" 1/7 5.56 barrel because I have exactly 0 .300 blk rnds. I know the .300 is awesome out of a 8" barrel, and the 5.56 isn't... the reason I went with 5.56 is obvious.. I have a shit ton of 5.56, and no .300 blk (or whatever you want to call it) and no reloading equipment or supplies.

My question is how horrible is a 5.56 out of an 8.5" barrel? I don't plan on ever shooting this thing past 100 yards, and .300 blackout is too expensive for me to be able to really stock up on without buying reloading equipment.



Here's the complete build list:
noveske upper receiver (MUR non chainsaw)
Noveske 8.5" "custom med contour barrel"
noveske BCG
noveske 9" NSR rail
noveske KX5 FH
noveske raptor charging handle
noveske marked troy sights
Noveske Gen 1 lower (waiting on efiled form 1)
Noveske QD end plate
Noveske TD and pivot pins
noveske 60○ safety
Geissele G2S trigger
BCM buffer tube assembly
vltor Imod stock

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v254/morningstar333/20141021_150855.jpg (http://smg..com/user/morningstar333/media/20141021_150855.jpg.html)

(Pictured with a different lower already a form 1)

[ray1970]

Not sure if any of this information helps, but just going to toss it out there.

I've had three different 300 Blackout rifles and just couldn't really get into them. That being said, I'm in the process of putting together a pistol in that caliber and I'm feeling pretty excited about it. I figure it should make a sweet little CQB firearm. Especially once it gets officially SBR'd and suppressed.
I'm set up to load for the 300 though so I don't have concerns with the ammo.

[Monky]

Your gun sucks. Give it to me and save yourself the embarrassment.

I have two SBR in the 300 flavor... I have two in 556.. When shit goes down... The zombies will die with either... Only one I'll probably run out of ammo for. Ps ammo isn't that bad if you're patient [emoji4]


Sent by a free-range electronic weasel, with no sense of personal space.

[Hound]

The article below might help with actual facts on barrel length. If you have a "shit ton" of 5.56 you might want to save the brass and get into reloading/300BLK at the same time. Reloading does not have to be expensive to start with and that brass can easily be turned into 300BLK.

http://www.dtic.mil/ndia/2010armament/WednesdayCumberlandPhilipDater.pdf

After researching it and from personal experience, I don't don't see the point of a 5.55/.223 barrel that short. Why have it that short over a standard pistol? Is it the lethality, concealability, accuracy, cool factor? This does not mean others are wrong because they like their AR that short. I am just not in that camp. Here is my thinking on it.

Usability/Lethality: It spikes pressures and beats the hell out of the barrel and you (or a supressor if used). It does not give the bullet enough force behind it (thus wasting a majority of the powder unlike a cartridge such as the 5.7x28) and renders the gun less effective than a 'real' pistol. The .223/5.56 cartidge was built for a 20" barrel. At 8.5" barrel length is less than half what the cartidge was intended to be. The round count? Maybe, but there are other 'real' pistols like the FiveSeven with standard 20/30rds or just a 30rd mag for say a Glock/92FS and much more accurate at 100yds.

CCW: AR pistols (defined here as having a barrel under 10.5". This is not the legal definition, just mine for this discussion on short barreled guns, pistol vs. rifle length. I think 10.5" and longer get into being more of a rifle) are too bulky to be easily concealed (yes this is debateable, I am thinking more along the line of walking through a mall like a normal person not CBQ) and more difficult to control (until your stamp comes back and you can put it in the SBR configuration above). If in CBQ mode, the military obviously likes a standard of 14.5". I would pick my 10.5" 300BLK easily for CBQ drills, as Ray1970 is moving towards.

Accuracy: I have a Sig Swat in 5.56 at 10.5" still with a pistol configuration, BCM AR upper at 14.5" in 5.56 and a custom 300BLK at 10.5" among others. I have two SBRed lowers, one in a pistol config and one in rifle. This allows me to quickly build-a-gun for how I feel at the time. All have their uses but the Sig is the least effective IMHO even at 10.5" and not your 8.5". The other two uppers are much better in either configuration. 300BLK is awesome supressed and handles much differently than the Sig at the same length to me.

Reloading: Shoot the "shit ton" of 5.56 you already have. Take the brass and cut it for 300BLK. I use a $25 Harbor Freight mini saw myself. You can get a press kit with most everything needed to get started for around $150. Die set for $30-50. Powder, primers and bullets are a given. After your first 1000 rounds of 300BLK it all pays for itself. If you want, you are welcome to come over and I can show you how I do it. It is easy but can take some time.

PS:My research found that at 10.5", the 300BLK uses all of the powder where at 8.5" it 'may' use all the powder depending on the cartridge.

Cool factor: they are guns.... They are all cool.

I sounds like you may have already thought of most if not all of this, thus this thread. You could easily rebarrel to 14.5" for now to create the brass. That would be a win-win right there.

[Hoser]

I have a lot of time behind short M-16s and SBRed AR-15s. Of all of them, the shorter than 10 inch guns suck to shoot in 223. Too much noise and harsh recoil make them not a lot of fun to shoot. 11.5 - 12 inch rifles with carbine gas are the best. And there isnt a lot of suppressors that will warranty their cans when shot on anything shoter than 11.5 inches.

300s down around 8-9 inches with a short can are a lot of fun to shoot and run well. Get into reloading and you will be able to shoot more. You wont save any money, but you will be able to afford to shoot almost twice as much.

[Tim K]

I was going to say the same thing. The one time I shot a really short .223 I was astounded at how loud it was suppressed. Nasty.

I'm just putting my own version of the same thing together myself. In my case, I opted for an 8" barrel in BLK. I like quiet guns.

I'll ask the obvious...do you have a .30 cal can, or is it .223?

[bimmer]

All I have right now are .22 and 5.56 cans.

[Great-Kazoo]

All I have right now are .22 and 5.56 cans.

For now.

[MarkCO]

I played with a few 16" and 18" .300BOs as well as a few SBRs in .223. Unless I was running .22Mag .223 rounds, short .223s are not kind. Not impressed with long barreled 300BOs either. BUT .300BOs in the short barrel lengths are a ton of fun.

[J]

Just got done making an 8.2" 300blk. With my SAS Arbiter it is crazy fun and crazy quiet to shoot 220gr SMKs.

Never shot a .223 under 10.5", but 10.5" and even at 11.5" suppressed they still aren't quite my cup of tea. But the grin you will get after shooting the suppressed 300blk SBR with a subsonic ammo and a quality suppressor is undeniable!

The 300blk round begs to be suppressed and run SBR.

[sportbikeco]

I have a 7.5" 5.56 with a forward facing muzzle device

observations: Reliability has been great with all ammo, action is much sharper then carbine length, it seems to be harder on bolt parts, its seems accurate, it is really f'n loud, with certain ammo (tula) the muzzle flash is about the same size as the weapon.

[kidicarus13]

it seems to be harder on bolt parts

How so?

[sportbikeco]

Gas rings seem to be looser at ~1k rounds then I would expect, broke an extractor pin. The pin could be a manufacturer defect though.

[MED]

I just finished my 300 blackout pistol, and I am spending a lot of time cutting down about 5,000 cases (I have a few five gallon buckets of 223 and 5.56 brass). I don't think I will own any 5.56 pistols or SBRs because the 5.56 cartridge is not designed for use in shorter barrels, and certainly not the best for suppression. Both cartridges are great when they are used for their intended purpose, and the great thing about them is that they use the same platform along with the same mags, followers, and brass. However, I can see the difficulty with 300 ammo availability and cost, but I load so it really isn't a big deal for me. I am putting together some polymer lead cast cartridges for $3.25 a box.

[SuperiorDG]

This might help.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxxVCWHE1Xs

[Big John]

This might help.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxxVCWHE1Xs
All of the info in this vid is what has me wanting to change my 7.5" AR to a 8+ inch 300BLK. I really like the SDN6 as well. Ugghhhh... $$$

[Mick-Boy]

I've been carrying an 8in 5.56 (LWRC PSD) operationally for about 3 years now. Overall I'm not a fan (I don't/won't personally own an 8in 5.56). The only real time a really short gun shines is in vehicles and an 8in gun's benefits are almost completely offset by how damn loud the gun is without a can. Add to that the fact that if you time the gun so that it runs well without a can, it will be over-gassed as soon as you suppress it. You can get them to run but other options make for a more versatile, less needy rifle.

Hoser is (surprise, surprise) right on. The 11.5 or 12.5 are where it's at for an SBR'd 5.56.