9 MM AR Pistol... Build or Buy..

[leroy]

Another mania is taking hold of me in my old age...

9MM AR pistol or carbine... Build, by, or forget and keep shootin your pistolas..  Thoughts, experiences, recommendations, comments...

" J Thaddius " leroy...

[Omega]

Buy at PSA, much cheaper that way and they are pretty decent.  They are fun to shoot, and 9mm ammo is currently cheap to buy and reload.  I bought this one https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa-gen4-10-5-9mm-1-10-lightweight-m-lok-moe-sob-ept-pistol-5165449802.html  Keep an eye on the daily deals, which normally makes up for shipping and transfer fees.

 

[deerslayer]

I recently bought a complete upper ($319) and complete lower ($219) from PSA and have been happy with it so far.  Complete gun with the same upper/lower was over $600. 
Mine is the 8” version of Omega’s above.  

Edited January 31, 2020 by deerslayer

[AuEagle]

25 minutes ago, leroy said:

Another mania is taking hold of me in my old age...

9MM AR pistol or carbine... Build, by, or forget and keep shootin your pistolas..  Thoughts, experiences, recommendations, comments...

" J Thaddius " leroy...

I've been thinkin' I need a 9mm pistol with a good brace too.

PSA seems to be the go to.

[FUJIMO]

I will echo the above in that you cant go wrong with either in 9mm. I bought a carbine from a member here and have zero complaints.

[Grayfox54]

I have an Extar EP9 and consider it to be the best value in a AR type 9mm out there. CLICK HERE

Its not quite a true AR as it is a blowback action and the charging handle is on the side. But many standard AR parts drop right in.  You can't buy these in gun stores. You have to order it directly from Extar and they'll ship it to your FFL. The best part is that the price with shipping comes to $439.00 

 I haven't shot it a whole lot. But so far, mine has been very reliable with all ammo I've tried. Shove a 32 round mag in it and its a hoot!  Truthfully, I just consider it a range toy. If the SHTF I have other guns that I'd go for. 

I've only had two minor issues with it. Aftermarket magazines needed to be lightly sanded on the sides in order to drop free. If jammed in hard, mags can go in a little too far and block the bolt. I just insert the mag and give it a slight pull and everything is fine. 

Here's mine after I got it all decked out. Even with the extras, I still have less in it than I would buying a similar pistol from a name maker. 

 

BTW: Extar has plans to make these in .45acp & 10mm also. But right now they're so swamped with orders for the 9mm that the other calibers are on indefinite hold. 

Edited January 31, 2020 by Grayfox54

[Omega]

6 minutes ago, Grayfox54 said:

I have an Extar EP9 and consider it to be the best value in a AR type 9mm out there. CLICK HERE

Its not quite a true AR as it is a blowback action and the charging handle is on the side. But many standard AR parts drop right in.  You can't buy these in gun stores. You have to order it directly from Extar and they'll ship it to your FFL. The best part is that the price with shipping comes to $439.00 

 I haven't shot it a whole lot. But so far, mine has been very reliable with all ammo I've tried. Shove a 32 round mag in it and its a hoot!  Truthfully, I just consider it a range toy. If the SHTF I have other guns that I'd go for. 

I've only had two minor issues with it. Aftermarket magazines needed to be lightly sanded on the sides in order to drop free. If jammed in hard, mags can go in a little too far and block the bolt. I just insert the mag and give it a slight pull and everything is fine. 

Here's mine after I got it all decked out. Even with the extras, I still have less in it than I would buying a similar pistol from a name maker. 

I like it; does it have last round hold open (PSA one doesn't)?  That is not a big deal to me as it's just a fun plinker, but I suppose it can have it's merit in an SD event.

 

Also, "they" seem to be listening, I just got a Rural King ad with this one:

https://www.rkguns.com/freedom-ordnance-fx-9-9mm-semi-automatic-33rd-8-25-ar-pistol-0254453.html

[Grayfox54]

Yes, the last round does lock the bolt open. 

I also recently added an angled fore grip to it. When you start dumping 32 round mags through it, the handguard does tend to get a might warm. 

Edited January 31, 2020 by Grayfox54

[hipower]

Just lay some thoughts out. I have a couple of PSA buys, rifles and pistols. No issues at all with them.

The 16" rifle in 9 is a bit picky with ammo, some seem to give FTF issues. Doesn't happen with good stuff, but Freedom Munitions reloads seem to be the cause.

The 8" pistol is a hoot, as they say. Eats anything I load. And it gets real hungry at the range.

It's just as I got it from PSA, minus the SBA, I put a blade on it. 

Like them, but the side charger thing really calls out to me. I like that. Guess I'll be checking out the Extar.

[leroy]

7 hours ago, Omega said:

Buy at PSA, much cheaper that way and they are pretty decent.  They are fun to shoot, and 9mm ammo is currently cheap to buy and reload.  I bought this one https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa-gen4-10-5-9mm-1-10-lightweight-m-lok-moe-sob-ept-pistol-5165449802.html  Keep an eye on the daily deals, which normally makes up for shipping and transfer fees.

 

Been thinkin the same thing Brother..!

[leroy]

7 hours ago, AuEagle said:

I've been thinkin' I need a 9mm pistol with a good brace too.

PSA seems to be the go to.

See..! It's catchin... HEHEHE... 

[Garufa]

Just to mix it up a little bit @leroy have you considered a Ruger PC carbine?  They’re the bee’s knees IMHO.

[leroy]

1 hour ago, Garufa said:

Just to mix it up a little bit @leroy have you considered a Ruger PC carbine?  They’re the bee’s knees IMHO.

Yup... I like em... A bit more traditional, and the " right price "...

leroy...

[ken_mays]

Just a word of caution on the PSA guns.  The earlier ones had a run of short chambers.  That could be fixed by reaming (I ended up reaming about 5 or 6 guns personally) and I think they have fixed that in current production, but just something you might keep an eye open for if you buy a used one.

I also think the AR9 formula hasn't been universally figured out yet.  A lot of the guys I shoot with were breaking triggers in competition and having to tweak things like buffer springs and weights to get them running reliably.    Not saying everyone will have this problem with every gun, but it's probably good to recognize there's the possibility that you might be buying a minor project. 

[gary_boom]

Armslist in Tri cities has a PSA 9mm Ar for $575 with 6 mags , 3 are plastic and I never could get the plastic mags to work in my Cmmg.

[DaveTN]

I bought an AR Pistol for a trunk gun and discovered they are worthless without a stock. I didn’t want to play the BATF’s game of “Our opinion is a brace is legal and can be used as a stock; but that opinion has no legal weight”. I kind of a sissy about going to jail or spending large amounts of money on attorneys fees; so I sold it. I should have paid the money to SBR one; but hindsight is 20/20.

Having said that though, a 9MM Pistol will do everything a 9MM AR will do; so I don’t see what makes that attractive either.

Hey, you asked for Thoughts, experiences, recommendations, comments... 

[AuEagle]

These look pretty nice.

https://www.wolfpackarmoryusa.com/ar9-platform

[leroy]

16 hours ago, Garufa said:

Just to mix it up a little bit @leroy have you considered a Ruger PC carbine?  They’re the bee’s knees IMHO.

After reading a bit more n thinkin about how these things work; I am being more convinced that the Ruger action n approach may just be the simplest and soundest approach to the PCC thing... Not to mention the best price.    I like the short bolt n weight idea a lot... It's simple, and is a " takedown " ta boot...  Take the stock off, add a sling and grip, and it starts looking a lot like the " real " 9 mm shooter; the smeisser... HEHEHE...

leroy

[leroy]

4 minutes ago, AuEagle said:

These look pretty nice.

https://www.wolfpackarmoryusa.com/ar9-platform

I understand... They look great... Have ya looked at the CMMG stuff..? They look great too... Additionally, there is somebody whose name escapes me that makes a " delayed locking bolt " action, plus other caliber options like 40SW and 10 MM...

leroy

[leroy]

3 hours ago, DaveTN said:

I bought an AR Pistol for a trunk gun and discovered they are worthless without a stock. I didn’t want to play the BATF’s game of “Our opinion is a brace is legal and can be used as a stock; but that opinion has no legal weight”. I kind of a sissy about going to jail or spending large amounts of money on attorneys fees; so I sold it. I should have paid the money to SBR one; but hindsight is 20/20.

Having said that though, a 9MM Pistol will do everything a 9MM AR will do; so I don’t see what makes that attractive either.

Hey, you asked for Thoughts, experiences, recommendations, comments... 

I understand..! I understand the thinkin n experiences here... I agree that these little beasties are pretty well useless without a stock; plus today's legal is tomorrow's illegal.  After thinkin a bit, I'm kinda leanin toward the long barrel pistol or 16 inch carbine thing... I'm liking the Ruger PC thing more n more... Pistols could be commin right behind their carbine I'm thinkin.  Thanks a bunch Brother for the insightful comments.

leroy

[Omega]

One must do what one is comfortable with, but I for one refuse to play the "what if" game.  If the ATF decides to change their mind later, I'll wait until lawsuits are settled *before I decide if I become a criminal or continue to follow the law, but for now I will enjoy them.

* The bumpstock ban screwed a bunch who got rid of theirs, but now ATF says they don't have the authority to ban them.  And too, quite possibly, the FA Reformation folks.

[leroy]

Omega makes a great point RE: " Today's legal bein tomorrow's Illegal "...

To pontificate a bit more; i think us "Mericans", and the civilized world (... Think Europe here...) are gonna get more n more free - as opposed to more enslaved..  The authoritorian, grandfatherly, " we know best " of the " best and brightest among us " movement is almost dead most everywhere; even Britain, where folks have been " Subjects " and not " Citizens "  for millennia ...

The "populist" thing is everywhere as a pushback to this tyranny...  As long as there is an internet and folks toting cel phones and other communicating gizmos, we will continue to become more free because of the instantaneous communications, wealth of information ( and some disinformation HEHEHE ), etc... 

As my 30 year old is wont ta say:  "... The most powerful thing on earth aint submarines n H bombs; it's the internet..."...  I think he is right...

Thank you, Al Gore, for inventing it..! HEHEHE. 

In summary, these pistolas being deemed " illegal " are pretty low on my list, but I understand the concern...

leroy.

Edited February 2, 2020 by leroy
Spelling

[Garufa]

23 minutes ago, leroy said:

Omega makes a great point RE: " Today's legal bein tomorrow's Illegal "...

To pontificate a bit more; i think us "Mericans", and the civilized world (... Think Europe here...) are gonna get more n more free - as opposed to more enslaved..  The authoritorian, grandfatherly, " we know best " of the " best and brightest among us " movement is almost dead most everywhere; even Britain, where folks have been " Subjects " and not " Citizens "  for millennia ...

The "populist" thing is everywhere as a pushback to this tyranny...  As long as there is an internet and folks toting cel phones and other communicating gizmos, we will continue to become more free because of the instantaneous communications, wealth of information ( and some disinformation HEHEHE ), etc... 

As my 30 year old is wont ta say:  "... The most powerful thing on earth aint submarines n H bombs; it's the internet..."...  I think he is right...

Thank you, Al Gore, for inventing it..! HEHEHE. 

In summary, these pistolas being deemed " illegal " are pretty low on my list, but I understand the concern...

leroy.

Those are very fine ideals but the reality is the Internet is highly regulated and could be shut down at any time.  It would take a few more minutes in this country to do than in most others I imagine but if “the common good” requires it, it can be done.

The sanctity of free exchange of ideas is a myth unless you are speaking person to person, face to face.

Edited February 2, 2020 by Garufa

[Hozzie]

I put together a PSA Glock mag 9mm SBR.  Haven't shot it a lot, but does really well with 147gr bullets and my suppressor.   I would think a pistol version would be fine.  I just don't like braces for shoulder mounting.

Edited February 2, 2020 by Hozzie

[leroy]

4 minutes ago, Garufa said:

Those are very fine ideals but the reality is the Internet is highly regulated and could be shut down at any time.  It would take a few more minutes in this country to do than in most others I imagine but if “the common good” requires it, it can be done.

The sanctity of free exchange of ideas is a myth unless you are speaking person to person, face to face.

I understand.   Remember the words of a great ( ...and unknown to me, at least...) Indian (...The "real" Indians from India...) philosopher on this very subject... He said:    " It comes right down to this - There are two types of people in the world:  Those who want to be free and those who want to be told what to think n do "... I think he wuz dead right...

leroy