Educate me on the 9mm AR platform

[creeky]

I'd love to believe there will be a glut of surplus 5.56 but how realistic is that? It seems that the manufacturers couldn't crank it out fast enough for Iraq.

Tungsten... don't talk like that man...

it's...

it's...

all I got.

[TGO David]

I'm not talking about American. I'm talking about European. From what we've been hearing there are large containers on their way or already here.

That usually means steel case and lacquered primers doesn't it?

[Guest jwp]

That usually means steel case and lacquered primers doesn't it?

That would be "Russian" or "Eastern European."

This stuff if brass cased, non corrosive and re-loadable, from all the information I've been given on it.

There is also a new manufacturer who is here in Tennessee who is going to start pumping out some ammo but details on his start up are sort of up in the air due to some zoning problems.

[Guest Mugster]

Shooting 5.56 is going to force me into reloading, otherwise it's going to get stupid-expensive real fast. I sold my last AR simply because it had become too expensive to feed and I had better uses for the money at the time.

Decisions, decisions.

You can still get 55gr fmjbt bullets in the door for $80-90 per K. Figure 4 pounds of powder and a 1000 primers, runs you 175-195 for plinking ammo out of a progressive figuring free brass.

I handload it on a single stage and my stuff meets M193 spec to the letter. I know I'm weird though.

.30 caliber anything and .45acp is cost prohibitive.

[sengsouvong]

I have one that i converted using a 9mm conversion kit that i bought from J&T distributing a few years ago. I think thats their name. But anyways, it came with the whole upper receiver kit including the bolt carrier, 9mm buffer, and mag block. total was about $700 something if i remember correctly. Its probably cheaper now.

I didnt need a new tirgger hammer or anything bc the guy said mine would work fine. Im not sure if u were to need one based on what type of lower you have. I had a rock river arms complete lower receiver.

The mag block I have clips into the lower like a magazine would, then you have to tighten this allen screw to hold it in place. I also recommend using the colt magazines if you can afford them. theyre pretty high in price. I havent yet had any problems feeding with it, my other mags suck. If anyone can knows of a cheaper one that performs as good, id really like to know. thanks good luck to ya man

[Guest Mugster]

I have one that i converted using a 9mm conversion kit that i bought from J&T distributing a few years ago. I think thats their name. But anyways, it came with the whole upper receiver kit including the bolt carrier, 9mm buffer, and mag block. total was about $700 something if i remember correctly. Its probably cheaper now.

I didnt need a new tirgger hammer or anything bc the guy said mine would work fine. Im not sure if u were to need one based on what type of lower you have. I had a rock river arms complete lower receiver.

The mag block I have clips into the lower like a magazine would, then you have to tighten this allen screw to hold it in place. I also recommend using the colt magazines if you can afford them. theyre pretty high in price. I havent yet had any problems feeding with it, my other mags suck. If anyone can knows of a cheaper one that performs as good, id really like to know. thanks good luck to ya man

I'll talk to those guys at the funshow tomorrow. Most of the conversions I've looked at seem to require a different hammer. I bet it varys more by conversion kit rather than lower.

[SkWaShDeM]

That usually means steel case and lacquered primers doesn't it?

Usually, but there are exceptions. For brass cased though, if you can do better than $300/1k, I want to know where, and how much they've got left in stock. I pay $339/1k from Wideners for Priv Partizan, which is brass cased, non-corrosive stuff from Eastern Europe.

[Guest ordonnanzgewehr]

Does it H A V E to be an AR? If you have a spare Glock 17 you could get yourself a CCU (carbine conversion unit). The Glock frame locks into the 9mm upper unit. Takes Glock 32rd mags of course. Not a bad way to go. I like mine.

[deerslayer]

Not exactly an SBR or a build-it-yourself job, but this is hands down the funnest gun I've ever owned. Runs like a sewing machine (FMJ or HP) with the cheap plastic Promags that Bushmaster includes with it:

http://www.bushmaster.com/catalog_carbon15_AZ9-C15R16FT.asp

[Guest Mugster]

Not exactly an SBR or a build-it-yourself job, but this is hands down the funnest gun I've ever owned. Runs like a sewing machine (FMJ or HP) with the cheap plastic Promags that Bushmaster includes with it:

http://www.bushmaster.com/catalog_carbon15_AZ9-C15R16FT.asp

That does look pretty nice. Tough to spend over 1K on a 9mm carbine when I can build a complete ar in a rifle caliber for $300 less. Thats one reason I'm still on the fence.

I'll see how well this 7.62x39 upper digests the el-cheapo russian ammo and re-compute.

[TGO David]

My head is spinning a bit because of the options, but I think I am going to go ahead and build it as a 5.56mm rifle and buy a .22lr conversion upper for it later. EasilyObsessed pointed me to one that looks really nice and is getting good reviews on the various AR forums.

9mm would rock, but .22lr is a hell of a lot cheaper to hose targets down with.

[deerslayer]

That does look pretty nice. Tough to spend over 1K on a 9mm carbine when I can build a complete ar in a rifle caliber for $300 less. Thats one reason I'm still on the fence.

I shopped around and found mine w/ 50 rounds through it for $800 w/ 11 mags. It's good for nothing (except maybe 3 gun) but I love the thing.

On a side note, I read and was told that the 9mm ARs recoil just as much as the 5.56 ARs. I fell over laughing when I heard this. Truth be known, the Bushmaster 9mm kicks about as hard as my Colt HBAR 5.56. This freaked me out at first, but after thinking about it, it would almost make sense for a superlight, blowback-operated 9mm to kick as much as a heavier, gas-operated 5.56. Live and learn.

Edited June 22, 2008 by deerslayer

[Guest Verbal Kint]

Got mine specced out, for 5.56. Definitely more than I originally looked at spending... but Im not cutting any corners either. lol. Stimulus check will be put to good use before the upcoming elections.

Ordering the lower this week, and will begin the paperwork process to make it NFA / SBR compliant.

[Guest FroggyOne2]

The guy asked to educate him on the 9mm uppers and you all start talking about .223..

[Guest Verbal Kint]

The guy asked to educate him on the 9mm uppers and you all start talking about .223..

That's usually how it goes.

Nah, I appreciate all of the 9mm info and suggestions I've received... but I did more research and shopped around and for the time being, at least, I'm going the 5.56 route. I'll pick up a 9mm upper, possibly, once I have this build "finished".

I do, however, agree that 9mm will still be a hell of a lot cheaper to run through the gun and just as much fun to shoot... and appreciate the knowledge gained by looking into the pistol caliber AR's. Before this thread prompted me to look into them, I didn't know anything about them or what all was required.