Tag Archives: AR pistol

A North Star AR?

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When I do a gun review, I typically only have a chance to kick it around my local climes– the swampy Gulf South, where humidity is as thick as the gumbo and sand is only something you find on the riverbank or the beach.

Well, I had a special chance recently to hammer away on a test carbine in a class at Gunsite in the high mountains in Northern Arizona during monsoon season, where the moon dust turns a unique bubblegum consistency and sticks to everything.

Then, switching gears, I was able to bring said carbine back home and continue the T&E period with another 700 rounds in between Sazeracs and crawfish boils.

The gun was a Northstar NS-15.

This thing…

You may not have heard of them, but North Star has some pretty interesting sister companies.

An offshoot of RSW Aviation, North Star Arms is the second and more commercial firearms endeavor that has sprouted from the Arizona company. The elder RSW-related gun company is the better-known Profense, a maker of improved M134 Mini Guns in 7.62 and its downsized 5.56 little brother that started when RWS was looking for gun pods for its aircraft.

And I have to admit, the NS-15 proved super accurate and durable for a mid-length carbine with a 16-inch barrel.

North Star uses Ballistics Advantage barrels and ships with a sub-MOA guarantee

More in my column at Guns.com.

That’s TAC-9, not TEC-9

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You are probably already unknowingly familiar with Melbourne, Florida-based Sol Invictus Arms through their AR components but get ready to meet the all-new TAC-9 pistol. 

Sol Invictus has long produced rugged, and reliable components such as barrels and lower parts kits that are OE for several brand-name AR manufacturers – for example, they ship a whopping 30,000 LPKs a month. However, when it comes to making their own all-up guns, they have had a more pockmarked past, having attempted to bring the AA-12 shotgun back to the market in 2018 before federal regulators gave the project a thumbs down. Now, SI is back with the TAC-9 pistol. 

Boom

I got to mess with one this month at the Shooting Sports Showcase and found it very interesting.

More in my column at Guns.com.

Alakablam

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If you think an AR-15 pistol in 5.56 is kinda rowdy, how about an AR-10 in .308? I’ve been fooling about with one for the past few months (when I can get ammo).

Behold, the Diamondback DB10P, with a 13.5-inch barrel.

DB10

Equipped with an adjustable Gear Head Works Tailhook Mod 2 stabilizing brace, the DP10 is 31 inches long overall with the hook extended all the way and hits the scales at 7.8 pounds.

More in my column at Guns.com.

Playing with Jelly

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It is not rocket science. Longer barrels give you more complete propellant combustion which translates to more velocity imparted to the projectile. The more velo, the more energy is carried by the projectile on the impact and the higher ballistic performance. In short, whittle the barrel down and you sacrifice some performance. By way of thinking, the optimal performance for NATO 5.56mm ball, such as M855, is wrung through a 20-inch barrel.

With that in mind, I wanted to check and see just how much velocity dumped by running a 7-inch barrel out of a DB15 I have been testing for the past few weeks.

This thing.

For reference, the Winchester 55-grain 5.56 NATO FMJ rounds I chose for the bulk of our reliability testing have a listed 3,270 fps muzzle velocity generating 1,305 ft./lbs. muzzle energy. We found that, out of the 7-inch DB15, an average across five rounds hit closer to 2,240 fps, which, using the standard bullet energy formula, translates to something like 619 ft./lbs., or a loss of about a third of its velo and half of its energy.

How effective is that? Well, in 10% gel, the FBI recommends 12-to-18 inches of penetration to be considered an effective self-defense round. In our tests with a 16-inch block of Clear Ballistics 10% gel, I found that every round of a 7-shot test string of Winchester 55-grain FMJ penetrated the entire block and left a significant channel in its wake. 

Food for thought. Now to test some Gold Dots and the like to see how they expand.

An 8-pound pistol

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So for the past few weeks, I have been fooling around with a T&E DB15 pistol. Featuring a 7-inch barrel, it is a fairly compact blaster and I have to admit that the KAK Flash Can and Gearhead Works Tailhook is growing on me.

While right out of the box, the 23-inch long 5.56 NATO handgun weighs just 4.53-pounds, I have added a Sig Sauer Romeo 5 red dot, a 600-lumen Streamlight and a Magpul D60 drum to it, bringing its loaded all-up weight with spare batteries (in the MOE grip) and boolits of 8.7-pounds.

Nice. For reference, the total cost as shown with all accessories is still under $1K. 

More in my column at Guns.com. 

4 legal ‘thing that goes up’ stabilisers for pistol AR builds

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Super-short AR-15 guns that legally fall under the ATF’s definition of a pistol have been around for decades. However, in recent years these guns have been given a phenomenal jump in popularity due to the Bureau’s approval of a number of non-buttstock braces that can be fitted to these handguns to give the user the ability to fire the gun from a more supported position. We take a look at some of the better designs on the market.

According to the National Firearms Act of 1934 (the NFA), arms that the government thought to be too dangerous for over the counter sales, such as machine guns, suppressors, and short barreled rifles and shotguns, were regulated with an obscene $200 tax and special requirements to obtain one of these registered devices. When you take into account that $200 in 1934 is some $3500 in today’s dollars, you can see why this was thought so unachievable.

In regulating short-barreled rifles, the NFA states that any rifle less than 26-inches overall had to be registered and so regulated. However, as long as a pistol did not have a buttstock, and was made from the beginning as a handgun, it could be shorter than this requirement. That’s where these braces come in at..

2686358_09_grim_reaper_ar15_pistol_sb15_s_640

Read the rest in my column at University of Guns.com

The SIG P556 Pistol, settling the 9 over 40 argument once and for all

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How many times have you personally weighed in on the subject of what is better in a handgun, more powerful, etc., the 9mm, .40S&W, or .45ACP? Well SIG would have to weigh in on that with their P556 and bring something very different to the table with one of the coolest pistols on the planet.

Yes, Virginia, this IS a pistol

Yes, Virginia, this IS a pistol

Read the rest in my column at University of Guns.com