AR-9 pistol build

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Tanis143

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Jun 5, 2018
Messages
3,062
Reaction score
3,169
Location
Broken Arrow
Ok, I'm looking at doing an AR-9 pistol build (hence the reason its in handguns). The two roads I'm looking at are a dedicated AR-9 glock style lower that uses glock mags OR a standard AR-15 lower with an adapter. Looking into both ways and interested in what others have experienced. This is how I'm looking at it:

dedicated AR-9 lower:
better function as its designed to work with glock mags
more expensive

standard AR-15 lower w/adapter:
possible issues due to fit of the adapter
much cheaper and easier to source parts plus more variety of lowers I can use.

Thoughts?
 

BobbyV

Are you serious?
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Dec 31, 2013
Messages
5,615
Reaction score
7,887
Location
Logan County
Can't go wrong with a dedicated AR9 lower IMO . . . I have one from PSA that uses Glock mags and I love that thing.

It's super fun to shoot.

PSA and New Frontier Armory are the two places I'd check out for a lower . . . NFA might even be having some Cyber Monday deals today.
 

NikatKimber

Sharpshooter
Staff Member
Special Hen Moderator
Joined
Jan 2, 2006
Messages
20,771
Reaction score
1,492
Location
Claremore
If you can, the CMMG RDB system is amazing for the AR-9 platform. Recoil is significantly lower than with a comparable standard blow back system. I’m also a fan of their ARC-9 magazines for 9mm, as you can use a standard AR lower with standard AR controls. The RDB system is a little higher at ~$300 for the barrel/bolt combo, but the improvement is worth it in my opinion.

See my quoted opinion. The RDB system is a vast improvement over the standard blowback systems.
 

Shadowrider

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Jan 28, 2008
Messages
21,505
Reaction score
9,294
Location
Tornado Alley
If the CMMG system makes for a lighter setup, I'd look hard at it if I were building another. That's one thing I was disappointed with. Weight. I built mine for the wife mainly for when I wasn't home and it's pretty dang heavy quite honestly. Blowback requires a heavy BC and buffer. Not only does that increase overall weight it's a lot of mass reciprocating in there so the dot moves around a lot.

I went with a Hahn block and Colt pattern mag. My PCC Carbine is setup with a dedicated Glock mag lower. In both of mine reliability has been great. Glock mags are generally cheaper. Reloads are easier/faster with the Colt mag. After shooting both side by side with my SIL's CZ Scorpion pistol, that's the route I'd go or maybe a Sig MPX. The scorpion is much easier to shoot at speed than the AR.
 
Last edited:

NikatKimber

Sharpshooter
Staff Member
Special Hen Moderator
Joined
Jan 2, 2006
Messages
20,771
Reaction score
1,492
Location
Claremore
If the CMMG system makes for a lighter setup, I'd look hard at it if I were building another. That's one thing I was disappointed with. Weight. I built mine for the wife mainly for when I wasn't home and it's pretty dang heavy quite honestly. Blowback requires a heave BC and buffer. Not only does that increase overall weight it's a lot of mass reciprocating in there so the dot moves around a lot.

I went with a Hahn block and Colt pattern mag. My PCC Carbine is setup with a dedicated Glock mag lower. In both of mine reliability has been great. Glock mags are generally cheaper. Reloads are easier/faster with the Colt mag. After shooting both side by side with my SIL's CZ Scorpion pistol, that's the route I'd go or maybe a Sig MPX. The scorpion is much easier to shoot at speed than the AR.

The RDB system is quite a bit lighter. Standard buffer, bolt carrier is similar weight to an M16. Recoil is less and smoother.
 

MilitantBEEMER

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Mar 9, 2019
Messages
3,930
Reaction score
7,442
Location
Tulsa Oklahoma
This is a qc10 with SLR front end (on the right)
Not to heavy at all.
 

Attachments

  • C4F40D19-21B8-4159-B71B-A157779564F6.jpeg
    C4F40D19-21B8-4159-B71B-A157779564F6.jpeg
    32.7 KB · Views: 145

Tanis143

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Jun 5, 2018
Messages
3,062
Reaction score
3,169
Location
Broken Arrow
Well, looks like I picked a heck of a time to do this build. Bought a lot of the parts today at a LGS (Crusader Tactical in BA), but trying to find the rest of the parts from one website is like trying to talk to a hardcore anti-gunner. Right now I need a barrel, hand guard, bcg, muzzle device and a folding stock adapter. So far I found a 4" barrel from New Frontier Armory for $105 or a BCA 7.5" for $48.99. I really want the 4" as I want the overall length as short as possible, but I am already looking at going over my budget so that BCA is appealing even though its about 1.5" longer than I wanted. Once that is decided, gotta find a decent handguard. The BCG I think I might get from PSA, but not 100% on it yet.

The downside is a see a lot of products out of stock right now, which is severely limiting my choices. *sigh* waited too long for this build :/
 

Perplexed

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Apr 7, 2009
Messages
15,759
Reaction score
10,583
Location
Tulsa
I’ve had two AR9’s, one with a Circle D lower and the other I forget. Each time, I picked up my Sig MPX... and sold both AR’s.

My gf loves her AR9, though!
 

Tanis143

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Jun 5, 2018
Messages
3,062
Reaction score
3,169
Location
Broken Arrow
I’ve had two AR9’s, one with a Circle D lower and the other I forget. Each time, I picked up my Sig MPX... and sold both AR’s.

My gf loves her AR9, though!

Yeah, that MPX is a wee bit out of my price budget lol. I'm sure its a great gun, just too much champagne cost on my beer budget.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom