I'm currently looking at purchasing an AR-15 rifle, but I want to get one chambered for 9mm, instead of the usual 5.56, because I want to be able to shoot it at the indoor ranges near my house (they only allow pistol calibers).

A friend of mine told me to be wary of the 9mm AR15's because they evidently have accuracy issues - something like a 3-5 inch deviation at 100 yards. Is this true? I don't plan on doing any 100 yard shooting - mostly plinking at the range and (God forbid it ever comes down to this) home defense.

What do you guys think? Am I making a good decision here?

XXL

 

A 9 mm is not a accurate round at 100 yards.

Plinking at 100 yards? I understand your pistol cartridge problem but I wouldn't ruin a semi-automatic rifle so that I could shoot it in a pistol range. I'd buy a 22 pistol instead.

My 2 cents.

 

I fired a M-16 in 9mm while in Las Vegas last year. I found it to be very controllable (it was full auto). Recoil was almost nonexistant. 100 yards? It may not be very accurate but is it the gun or the nature of the caliber? You can buy a 9mm rifle for a lot less if you look for a Ruger PC9 or a Marlin Camp rifle. However,if you buy a AR 15 with a 9mm upper, it can be converted to a 223 by changing the upper and removing the magazine adapter. You might have problems removing the mag adapter if you buy a Colt, I think it is held in by rivets. The Colt AR in 9mm is expensive, too. Incidentally, you can rent a full auto of about any manufacturer in Las Vegas at a place called 'The Gun Store'. They have a range in the back for you to shoot. You have to shoot it there and not leave with it, of course. It's a hoot. Cost about 30 bucks for 100 rounds. :7

 

>A 9 mm is not a accurate round at 100 yards.
>
>Plinking at 100 yards? I understand your pistol cartridge
>problem but I wouldn't ruin a semi-automatic rifle so that I
>could shoot it in a pistol range. I'd buy a 22 pistol
>instead.
>
>My 2 cents.

That's my point; there aren't any readily-available outdoor ranges around here, just a couple of indoor pistol-caliber ranges. I've seen several AR-15's that used 9mm ammunition, and I like the idea - ammo's fairly cheap and I can use the weapon at just about any range. I don't foresee any need to shoot something from 100 yards, so the long range innacuracy doesn't really worry me.

Now that I look at my previous post, my actual question is "at what distance would accuracy suffer on a 9mm AR-15 compared to the 5.56?"

If the rifle will still be reasonably accurate at pistol range distances, then I'd rather get the 9mm AR15. But if it's going to be more or less unusable, then there's no reason for me to get it.

What do you think?

XXL

 

i would think the 9mm would have less accuracy at all ranges just by the way the cartridges are made, and the 223 is really accurate (varmint snipers), i dont think i would waste my money getting an AR-15 to get a 9mm in it, u can get rifles in that caliber really cheap..and u can spend ur money on ammo instead of wasted money and accuracy on a caliber that wont hold its own on the ar-15

 

I have owned several 9mm pistols and an Uzi with the long barrel.

None of them we capable of hitting a target with "rifle like" accuracy at anything over maybe 50 yards.

Could just be my lousy shooting or bad luck but none of the pistols would stay on the black at 25 yards. The Uzi might stay on the black at 100 but this is a far cry from the dime size groups I can get from a 223 AR.

In my mind the 9mm is a plinker for short range. My 357, 44 and 45 all are much more accurate.

Just my opinions.

Jim Henderson

 

9mms are just short range calibers to begin with


i shoot my colt AR-15 ~~~.223~~~ caliber all the time at indoor ranges here.


before you dump hundreds of dollars into a gun, TALK to the people at the range, maybe one bozo told you wrong. the ranges here you can shoot almost anything except for armor piercing ( i want some )
or steel tip bullets.


BuiltToughF250

 

I wouldn't pay more than 10 dollars for a 9mm AR 15. It is a silly combination

 

Is there any particular reason why they'd not allow a certain caliber? I can understand armor-piercing bullets, but I would think that for intents and purposes, at a shooting range, bullets are bullets. On their website they specify "Pistol calibers up to 44 magnum only"

As you can probably figure out, I'm new to this, but I've used my friend's AR-15 on several occasions (he knows someone who lets him shoot on his property) and I really enjoy it. If anyone has a suggestion for a semi rifle that will satisfy the "pistol caliber", please let me know.

Thanks for your help

XXL

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 06-Nov-02 AT 08:48 PM (EST)]You want a semi auto-rifle that fits the pistol bullet specs? All right then, a 22 semi-auto rifle. Ruger, Marlin, etc. For plinking, nothing is cheaper and you can get some big mags for them.

Are you postive they do not allow rifles loads? The statement that -Pistols up to 44 caliber only - only refers to pistols. They may allow rifles. I shot at a private area that specified nothing bigger than 44's on the pistol targets. If you didn't shoot the targets and used the backdrop instead, the sky was the limit in rifle calibers.

You could post the web site so that we could look at it. It shouldn't hurt anything.

 

certain TYPES of AMMO tear up the back stops of the indoor ranges. they are only made to handle so much, not like the armor peircing or steel jacketed. call and speak to the gun range manager. if not, find another one. the idea sounds rediculous, since ive gone to 3 indoor ranges with my colt .223 + ruger .223 without any fuss from them


BuiltToughF250

 

OK ya'll here's the lowdown...

The 9mm AR15's CAN shoot out to 100 yards, but lack punch at those ranges. After all, it IS a pistol cartrige. Granted, it is still lethal and should be taken seriously in the event you are on the receiving end of such a round at 100+ yards.

The 9mm rifles are meant for up close work, but keep in mind that most police depatrments are going away from the 9mm rifles and using exclusively the .223 versions because of the outstanding lethality and the fact that (believe it or not) the .223 round does not overpenatrate walls and such. However, if you are just plinking, the 9mm is a cheaper round to shoot overall, but it does not necessarily recoil less than the .223.

My (researched) suggestion is to actually go with the Olympic Arms 9mm system (PCR-9), which is tried and true, reasonably priced and (perhaps most importantly) allows you to use Sten gun magazines when using a special mag block. If you go with the Colt system (incompatible withthe Oly system), you will be paying for the name and will have to spend mucho bucks on the mags at around $100 EACH! Sten mags are about $5 each. Do the math. Remember, this is about cheap shoot'in...

For more info, I invite you to check out one of the best websites on the web (really!) besides this one:

www.AR15.com


Everything you want to know is right there. Keep in mind however, since the recent spate of Sniper shootings, the traffic on that website has increased 10-fold. So in order to combat this, the moderators are requiring you to actually sign on before you can access any of it's vast information. Not a big deal, just a hoop to jump through in order to keep the rif-raf out.

Enjoy
GS