14 New Rifle-Caliber Pistols For 2019
BY Herschel Smith
5 years ago
See the list at Shooting Illustrated. This one was particular interesting.
Alexander Arms Highlander
Available in 6.5 Grendel, .50 Beowulf, .300 BLK and .17 HMR, the Highlander offers the added efficiency of a carbine-length gas system in select models.
The .50 Beowulf is a large bear round. I cannot imagine shooting that out of a pistol length barrel. It’s interesting that they have engineered this down to the .17 HMR, which of course is a rimfire round. I wonder about the reliability of cycling this round in an AR?
On May 2, 2019 at 3:04 am, Rocketguy said:
Up in the wee hours because a bat got into the house…and landed on my head. That’s quite a way to wake up.
I know a guy with a 10″ Beowulf and it isn’t really that outrageous. The 500 S&W is fired from a shorter, lighter platform and is reasonably controllable. The 6.5 Grendel gets an eye roll from me. Reduced velocity and ridiculous muzzle blast from expensive ammo….yay?
On May 2, 2019 at 7:56 am, Bram said:
The 6.5 Grendel caught my too. There’s also a .308 with an 8″ barrel on the list. Sounds incredibly unpleasant to shoot.
On May 2, 2019 at 4:05 pm, Pat Hines said:
6.5 Grendel ammo is available for less than $6.00 per box of 20 in steel cased, plinking ammo. I have some. My first AR build was a 6.5 Grendel rifle, I have a pistol length upper ready to go at some point.
My current vehicle firearm is a AR-pistol in 5.56NATO, for which I have 30, 40, and 60 round magazines. I tend to stay away from crowds, but should I find myself in a typical situation as described by Paul Kersey, I’ll have adequate repellant.
On May 2, 2019 at 4:17 pm, Pat Hines said:
Here’s a photo of one.
https://media.fotki.com/2v2UJ8H22xQKds.jpg
On May 2, 2019 at 4:29 pm, Pat Hines said:
The Trijicon MRO is almost the perfect sight for an AR-Pistol, the green dot is superior to the red dot.
https://www.trijicon.com/na_en/products/product3.php?pid=MRO-C-2200031
On May 4, 2019 at 2:39 am, DAN III said:
Mr. Hines @ 1629,
“….the green dot is superior to the red dot.” Not so. Perhaps for your eyes. Not for mine and many other folks, green is not the answer.
It is well understood in the optics realm that a green reticle image does not surpass the quality of a red reticle image. Eyesight being what it is, everyone is different. Those lacking in the red/green color spectrum do not see green particularly well. In my case, as an example, I find an amber colored reticle to be much more bright and visible than either red or green.
You make the same argument for green as many do for the non-ocular focus Trijicon ACOG….that it is the best. When it is not. Green reticles/dot reticles along with ACOG optics may be the “best” for some folks’ eyes. But in general among the shooting community, neither is the “best”. Good perhaps. But not the best.
The addition of green dot optics is basically another marketing ploy to convince red dot owners that the new green is better than the old red. IOW….get rid of that old fashioned, obsolete red dot and buy a new, wunderoptik green dot !
To each their own. If green works best for one’s eyes, great. However, it is not “best” by a long shot. It is only different.
On May 4, 2019 at 3:08 am, DAN III said:
Rocketguy @ 0304,
Recently I have developed an interest in 6.5mm Grendel. For many reasons I consider it a much better cartridge inside 400m than a 5.56mm. However, the 77 grain Mark 262 Mod 0/1, 5.56mm round inside 300m has performance that rivals the Grendel.
Regarding Grendel 12″ barrel muzzle blast, I find it no more significant than 5.56mm from a 14.7″ barrel. For me the Grendel recoil is minimal. FWIW, I run a AAC muzzle brake on my PSA Grendel pistol upper.
Purchasing a Palmetto State Armory Grendel pistol and using the steel Russian 6.5 ammo Mr. Hines references, was an easy and inexpensive way to venture into this caliber. There are many Internet articles regarding 6.5 Grendel vs 6.8 SPC vs 5.56mm vs 300 BLK vs 6.5 Creedmore. In my mind the Grendel is the perfect combat round for 1 to 400 meter engagements. Yet, given the logistics circumstances of the 5.56mm, it is the round I rely on for civil defense.
Whatever research you choose to do on the Grendel will offer many valid perspectives. For me, it is an amazing cartridge.
On May 4, 2019 at 8:43 am, Rocketguy said:
No ill will against the Grendel at all. It’s an impressive cartridge. I’ll confess I haven’t done enough research (and have zero actual experience) about the effects of reduced barrel length on its ballistics. I see it as more of a mid-to-long range performer that should be given enough barrel length to reach out there…maybe 20″ min. with 24-26″ optimum.
My truck gun is a 10.5″ 5 .56. I recognize it suffers from short barrel ballistics too but TANSTAAFL, etc.
There’s also always the possibility I’m completely full of chit.
On May 4, 2019 at 1:57 pm, Pat Hines said:
The US military did extensive testing on sight dot color, most using Trijicon ACOG units. Green was better than red, both green and red were much better than amber. I did some research 6-7 years ago before I bought my first ACOG, going with green. Aimpoint doesn’t seem to offer colors other than red. Trijicon does offer both green and red dots for their MRO.
https://www.trijicon.com/na_en/products/product2.php?id=MRO&mid=MRO%20Green%20Dot
Apparently, as I was looking for that study again, there’s lots of opinions about the subject, and maybe more on laser target designator color, too.
On May 4, 2019 at 2:27 pm, Pat Hines said:
More info:
Here’s a comparison video, green dot versus red dot, both Trijicon MRO sights. One huge factor he mentions drove me to check the Trijicon MRO spec pages and sure enough, the battery life for the green dot is one year on day setting 3, while battery life is five years for the nearly identical red dot unit on the same power setting. That’s significant in my opinion. The green light generation must take significantly more power, only Trijicon knows the answer and they’ve not published that so far.
https://youtu.be/a2EnoyGOFyg