9 mm or .223 in AR15

[lamuskrat]

Can someone explain the advantage or dis-advantage of building / buying an AR15 in 9 mm over the std or common .223? Forgive my ignorance, but that is why you guys (and gals) make the big bucks....LOL

 

[Guate_shooter]

What are you planning on doing with it, what kind of velocity-damage are you looking at doing, what range?

 

[Sin-ster]

FWIW, a good friend of mine has an SBR in 9mm and it gave him a number of problems. It was going full auto with slamfires, which was promptly corrected. There were times when it was short stroking and producing FTEs-- a buffer change sorted this out. The other day, another friend was shooting it and it fired out of battery-- not cool. Still doing some tuning and tweaking to get it working perfectly, but it's been a long road. Fortunately for him, he's a gunsmith and the work is something he can do on his own. Actually testing and figuring out the issues, however, has been quite a process.

Not sure a full sized 9mm, or one from a different manufacturer would produce a different result. Just the same, it's something to consider if you're talking about comparisons between the two. .223./5.56 rifles can have problems as well, although they're so common (as the rifle in that chambering has been around much longer) that the fixes are pre-diagnosed and far easier to administer. They are also fewer and far between, as most of them have been addressed at an assembly and manufacturing level before the rifle ever leaves the factory.

 

[beauxdog]

NOT a problem. The 9mm is a straight blow back upper, the 223 is gas operated, meaning the gasses made during the firing are used to operate the action. A 9mm upper uses a different magazine and there will be a "block" used in the mag well to take up space. The 9mm version also needs a different hammer and buffer to work. That's is the major difference.

The 9mm is cheaper to shoot and if you reload your ammo, easier to work with. It will not make as much noise as a 223 rifle (important to some) and it will not have the range of the 223 rifle. I own both, along with several others, they are a blast to shoot. The 9mm is very user friendly due to low noise, recoil (?) and cost. Many L/E groups use the select fire version for their SWAT Teams.

You can find more information on these rifles @ "www.ar15.com". Look under the AR-15 tab and the section dealing with pistol calibers.

I hope this helps and is some of the information you are looking for. Why just have a .223 rifle? All you need is a few extra parts and you can have both. To swap from one to the other only takes 5 minutes and then you have one lower doing double duty.

Beauxdog

 

[lamuskrat]

interesting info there folks, thanks for the link.

Now i have some research or investigating to do.

 

[Nomad.2nd]

Do you reload?
Do you Suppress?
Do you shoot in indoor ranges?

 

[lamuskrat]

reload.....no
suppress......no
indoor.....yes

 

[LACamper]

Shooting at indoor ranges is a big plus over .223.
Having a .223 AR I wouldn't mind having a 9mm upper and bolt. However, its not that simple. You need to modify your lower's mag well also. If I could switch back and forth that would be the way to go. Am I going to spend close to a grand to shoot 9mm, no.
For much less you could buy a marlin camp carbine, a keltec sub 2000, or for a bit more a beretta storm. These were all designed to shoot 9mm.

 

[Nomad.2nd]

Shooting at indoor ranges is a big plus over .223.
Having a .223 AR I wouldn't mind having a 9mm upper and bolt. However, its not that simple. You need to modify your lower's mag well also. If I could switch back and forth that would be the way to go. Am I going to spend close to a grand to shoot 9mm, no.
For much less you could buy a marlin camp carbine, a keltec sub 2000, or for a bit more a beretta storm. These were all designed to shoot 9mm.

You can.

 

[LACamper]

Its not as simple as just swapping the upper though.

 

[Nolacopusmc]

A 9mm AR also allows you to shoot at your indoor range since most restrict weapons based on caliber due to limitations of the ballistic rating of their baffles or traps.

 

[beauxdog]

I can swap out my upper and then there is one bolt in the mag well that holds the block in place. I ramped my bolt so I can use the standard hammer. The buffer and spring stay the same for me since I am running a 16" barrel in the .223 version. It akes about 30 seconds more to swap back and forth since I have to get a wrech out for the mag block. I have not had any of the problems others are talking about with the 9mm.
I run a RockRiver upper and a Essential Arms lower and I am not sure who made the lower parts kit. The only problem I have is loading mags fast enough and it does not like Blaser ammo. I shoot reloads and factory ammo, lead and jacket. I know of another BS member that has just about the same set-up and he hasn't had any problem with his. I run C-Products and Uzi converted mags.

Beauxdog