AR pistol reloading

[kdsd731]

Hey, I recently picked up an Extar 556 pistol with a 8.25" barrel. I ran some of my plinking rounds through it which are 55gr FMJBT and 25gr H335. It performed great and but has lots of muzzle flash which looks cool but I would think if I could work of a different load for it I could save myself from wasting the extra powder and reduce that muzzle flash. Anyone work up AR pistol loads? If so, what powders and charges did you settle on?

[stphnman20]

25gr of H335 seems a little high for plinking rounds. Drop down to 24gr. Also, you're going to have a lot of muzzle flash from an AR pistol due to the short barrel.

[kdsd731]

Yeah, I just like 25gr. So I'm okay with that for plinking. And I know that with standard 223 there will be a lot of muzzle flash in that short barrel which is why I thought it might be fun to experiment and come up with a load to match that round to that barrel length.

[bsumoba]

One of my standard loads is 25gr of H335.

that being said, you will find it very hard to not get a muzzle blast in an AR pistol.

My recommendation, get a flash suppressor like a Smith Vortex. I know...lots of guys poopoo Smith nowadays, but I still like their flash suppressor.

[stilly]

What if the powder was chopped down to like 15gr instead? AND maybe regular pistol powder was used as well?

I was thinking of this the other day. Yeah, for the ak and ar pistol it would be nice to be able to load with pistol powders, but certainly keep them seperated from the rifle rounds.

OR, big balls of fire are fun, put a flaming pig on the barrel and reload as normal...

I think there is also another barrel end device that will allow you to aim all fire and noise downrange. But I forgot what it was called... :\

[kdsd731]

What if the powder was chopped down to like 15gr instead? AND maybe regular pistol powder was used as well?

Exactly! I know people use pistol powders for 223 subsonic rounds. I just looked at Hodgdon's website and they even list Clays and Titegroup under 55gr fmj 223 loads. They didn't show minimum charges but max was like 3.1 & 3.3. I think it would be fun to come up with a powder combo that matches the barrel length and cycles/groups well enough for plinking. It would drop my cost to about 11 or 12 cents a rounds too.

[AandO]

Exactly! I know people use pistol powders for 223 subsonic rounds. I just looked at Hodgdon's website and they even list Clays and Titegroup under 55gr fmj 223 loads. They didn't show minimum charges but max was like 3.1 & 3.3. I think it would be fun to come up with a powder combo that matches the barrel length and cycles/groups well enough for plinking. It would drop my cost to about 11 or 12 cents a rounds too.

This makes nothing but sense to me.

Nevertheless

I could build a tricked out 1911 for the same money....

Must be the cool factor or because I can. Not blasting the ideas here, to each his own.

[kdsd731]

I could build a tricked out 1911 for the same money....

I'm assuming you're talking about the AR pistol cost? If that's the case, not this one. It was like $450.

[stilly]

The Book of Lee DOES have a section for .223 pistol loads...

Starting on page 228-230ish they list numerous .223 handgun loads, but they are all using rifle powders... Nothing like unique or titegroup or bullseye or red dot.

I suspect that they MIGHT be including the newer data when they release their book again this coming summer...

[Jon Road King]

Well, the problem with AR pistols is that whole velocity/lethal thingy...



[edit - that red line at 2500 is the point where the bullet will tumble and explode inside the body upon impact.... any slower and the bullet just passes right through...]

The problem is 7" AR pistols are already under lethal velocity, and 10" pistols are right on the cusp of non-lethal. Your 8" barrel is already too slow. However, since you are already under lethal velocity, you can probably play all you want with the charge since you are more than likely just plinking. Just be aware that while fun, AR pistols are not much more than .22's when it comes to SHTF time, heh.

And yes, I have a 5.56 AR pistol, but I will be converting it to 9mm this next year for that reason, heh Think about converting yours to 9mm too if you really want to reduce muzzle flash.

[stilly]

Oh damn, I was working on an AR upper with a 3.6" barrel...

Have you actually tested these velocities though? Different powders will give different velocities. Damn, it is raining...

TODAY is a GREAT day for PHO!

[Kmai24]

What if the powder was chopped down to like 15gr instead? AND maybe regular pistol powder was used as well?

I was thinking of this the other day. Yeah, for the ak and ar pistol it would be nice to be able to load with pistol powders, but certainly keep them seperated from the rifle rounds.

OR, big balls of fire are fun, put a flaming pig on the barrel and reload as normal...

I think there is also another barrel end device that will allow you to aim all fire and noise downrange. But I forgot what it was called... :\

A linear comp, it does push the blast forward but once in awhile you'll get a fire ball

[Jon Road King]

Oh damn, I was working on an AR upper with a 3.6" barrel...

Have you actually tested these velocities though?

Dang, that will have a muzzle blast longer than you are tall

And no, that's not my chart... pulled it off an article I read a while back. But I do get ave 2854 fps out of my H335 25 gr load (which is right in line with that chart) and a whopping 3100 fps out of my Tac 26.8 load both with 55 gr pills (both out of my 16" Colt though, heh). Never bothered to chrono my pistol though... Needless really since I know it's already starting out way low... but it sure is fun to shoot

[stilly]

Dang, that will have a muzzle blast longer than you are tall

And no, that's not my chart... pulled it off an article I read a while back. But I do get ave 2854 fps out of my H335 25 gr load (which is right in line with that chart) and a whopping 3100 fps out of my Tac 26.8 load both with 55 gr pills (both out of my 16" Colt though, heh). Never bothered to chrono my pistol though... Needless really since I know it's already starting out way low... but it sure is fun to shoot

I call bull**** on many if not all charts then.

When I shot my AK pistol with a 9" barrel, I think it hit around either 2700 or 2300, but when I shot the same ammo through the rifle, it was only about 200 fps difference.

16" vs 9" Should have had a bigger span.

[Jon Road King]

Don't take my word for it... Barrel Length Study