I am a pistol guy, and really don't know squat about AR's. I have shot bolt actions, shotguns, etc. I have owned an AR for several years and never have shot it...

I came across a Ruger AR556 pistol in .300blk for a good price, and bought it. I don't know anything about this thing or the round really. It was used, but not much. Didn't come with a manual or anything. It has no sights on it, I do have a spare Romeo optic I put on it.

What is the best place to go get some info on this thing? What are good sights? I don't know how to clean it, maintain it, etc. (I'm sure there are many YT videos but how many are worthless) I want to get a suppressor, but I guess that makes it an SBR? As a noob should I have just stayed away from this?

What makes it a SBR is putting a stock in it, if the barrel is less than 16” or OAL is less than 26”. You could put on a brace, at least for now, before that changes and braces are basically banned. A suppressor is a separate NFA item and requires it’s own tax stamp, and has nothing to do with whether something is a SBR, or anything else.

For the gun, it’s just a standard AR with the barrel having a .30 bore. The bolt, magazines, and everything else is standard AR, and standard 5.56 AR disassembly and maintenance procedures work. Plenty of online resources, including videos.

.300 BO is basically a 7.62 bullet in a short, 5.56 sized case. Basically comes in two flavors, subsonic or supersonic. Most people who run suppressors run subs. Ammo isn’t cheap, especially subsonic ammo, if you can find any.

ETA: you can download the manual.

https://ruger-docs.s3.amazonaw...6_Pistol-K94Vg4d.pdf

Thanks, that same thought popped in my head after I posted that, I did just get the manual from Rugers website.

It was kind of an impulse purchase, it looked cool, it was cheap enough, lol.

Now I need to do some reading.

They are extremely fun to shoot and decently accurate. It's not a rifle but also not a standard pistol you'd think of.
You can leave it stock, put on a brace or SBR it depending on what you want to do. I put a brace on mine, I shoulder it and have a blast shooting it.
Enjoy it any way you desire setting it up.

I went down the rabbit hole of an AR pistol except mine is in 5.56. After a little range time, it was so obnoxiously loud I decided on a suppressor to help with that. After all, this will be used and enjoyed at the range exclusively, but if I did have to press it in to service for defense, it would almost certainly be inside the house and that would be deafening to everyone and I am already dealing with some hearing loss as is. Or so my wife says. The suppressor has been worth every penny and I can’t believe it has taken me so long to buy one. I opted for a SliencerCo Omega 36M so I can use it with other firearms as well to include a 9mm pistol.
I also had a feeling the pistol brace issue was going to go the way it appears to be going and I submitted a Form 1 to register my lower as a SBR so I can put a stock on it. At the end of the day, I want to be able to legally use it as a SBR.

Thanks, I didn't really realize what I was getting into when I bought the pistol.

I think Ill go the SBR route as well. I definitely want a suppressor and may want to put a stock on it at some point.

The pro to the AR pistol is that you can cross state lines w/o written permission from the BATF..

With an SBR, you do need permission. Plus it’s a $200 stamp.

The suppressor is also a $200 stamp.

That’s why a lot of people don’t bother SBRing the pistol. At least that’s why I kept mine a pistol.

quote:

Originally posted by Lord Vaalic:
I am a pistol guy, and really don't know squat about AR's.

Lots of information is available on the web, but it's challenging separating the wheat from the chaff.

ARs need lubrication more than cleaning, however a lack of cleaning eventually causes cycling problems. You should wipe down the bolt regularly and keep it oiled. A dry and really dirty bolt increases the possibility of jams.

Use quality mags. Like with all firearms, you get what you pay for with ammo.

My Wilson Combat 300blk SBR has a 10.3" barrel, so I'm familiar with factory ammo ballistics from a setup similar to yours. I find the accuracy wanting from subsonic ammo. The subsonic rounds I've tried cycle just fine. Lateral dispersion on targets is pretty small and wind drift isn't very much. I see a lot of vertical dispersion. At distances under 20 yards it's no big deal, but by 50 yards it's not pretty, and it's really bad by 100 yards. Likely 2-3 times more vertical stringing than horizontal.

Supersonic ammo has its quirks. Accuracy of some 140-150 FMJ rounds can be just bad. Even worse than 55 grain FMJ in a 223 AR15. But the 140-150 loads work fine for short-range practice. One thing I like about 140-150 grain loads in my SBR is that the MV is low enough that I don't pit the surface of my AR500 targets at distances as close as 5 yards.

Expect best accuracy from loads with 110 VMax, 110 Vor-tx, and 125 SMK bullets. This isn't just from my SBR, but from precision rifle shooting buddies who also have 300blk ARs. FWIW, I've struggled with pressure signs on some 125 grain factory loads. Sig's hpbt match load was the worse, with popped primers repeatedly jamming the gun -- badly jamming the gun. Hornady also has a problem 125 grain load for me. My most accurate load at any distance is ADI 125 SMK, next is Hornady 110 Vmax. I've shot my SBR out to 445 yards.

300blk produces more recoil than 223 Remy in a comparable firearm. Not a huge amount more, but noticeable when shooting multiple rounds in a short time.

I find the report of my 10" barrel 300blk a little louder than my 14" barrel 223s. I shoot suppressed at all times, and very rarely shoot subsonic 300blk ammo. Subsonic ammo is pretty quiet with a can, but it's not nearly in the league of subsonic 22lr with a can.

Thanks fritz, all good info.

Pretty pleases with a cherry on top, make sure you USE A DIFFERENT MAG THAN YOU DO WITH ANY 556 THAT MIGHT BE LAYING AROUND. Sorry for the caps but 300blk can load into a 556 gun and blow it right up pretty catastrophically. I use PMAGs for my 556 so I use lancers for my 300blk. Just a thought. Otherwise its a cool if not niche round that has some good uses and suppresses well.

^^good advise. I use only black mags for 300BO. All my 5.56 stays in usgi mags.

My buddy bought some fancy printed rubber bands that show he caliber for his 300 BO

You don’t want to try and run a 30caliber round thru a 22 caliber bore

I love the platform for one good reason and two stupid ones.

1. 300BLK is very efficient in short barrels.

2. Because of the ignorance of legislators, you can posess an AR pistol in many situations where you cannot or should not otherwise have a loaded rifle, like in your vehicle in Colorado.

3. You can hunt with an AR pistol. You cannot hunt here with an SBR AFAIK.

I'll say go ahead and get a brace now and keep the pistol buffer for when the winds change. For now, the brace really improves the handling.

Also, I bought an Aero Pistol upper, so I have their Gen 1 folding irons on it currently. The sights are ok, but I do not like the fact that you cannot lock them in the up, or deployed position. The Gen 2 sights are like this too.

The logical thing to do would be to put solid, non folding irons on it, but I'm still planning on putting a RDS on it.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DoctorSolo,

I have a Romeo red dot, but I am not sure what sights or scope set up I will use with it.

I did get some .300blk mags from Magpul.

Don't think I want a front grip, but maybe one of those finger stops

Not sure if I will go the SBR route, unless forced to. I do want a suppressor for sure

Also know that if you/as you register the AR lower to become a SBR, once approved and your lower is correctly engraved, you can then remove the 300 B/O upper and replace it with a 5.56/.223 upper also sine the lower is the registered SBR (unless this has changed since I registered my three SBR lowers 8-10 years ago electronically). I stand to be corrected on this statement if someone know differently…

quote:

Originally posted by sigarmsp226:
Also know that if you/as you register the AR lower to become a SBR, once approved and your lower is correctly engraved, you can then remove the 300 B/O upper and replace it with a 5.56/.223 upper also sine the lower is the registered SBR (unless this has changed since I registered my three SBR lowers 8-10 years ago electronically). I stand to be corrected on this statement if someone know differently…

It’s still the same. I rarely shoot the SBR lower that I originally registered in .300 BO with that upper. The price of the ammo has just gotten too high, and it’s not that exciting a round IMHO. I really don’t have any interested in shooting supers, and sub ammo is expensive and hard to find. I have a feeling that the .300 BO craze has peaked.

Agree to disagree. It's a round designed to enable the AR to be used in place of older, less powerful sub guns, that's where it shines.

I took mine out last weekend with some old buddies and everyone loved shooting it. We ran supers, unsuppressed, and it definitely has a nice boom compared to the 5.56 rifles, but it's satisfying rather than obnoxious(like how 5.56 is out of short barrels).

Ammo is expensive, but I really like shooting it, personally.

As far as a quick lube, here’s a good video on what to do.