Building an SBR

I don't have any experience with or knowledge of SBRs but, with an AR15 lower, I'm going to build one. I've been reading and watching videos but thought I'd get you guys to chime in cartridge selection and barrel length.

223 Rem has appeal as I'm not adding another cartridge to my inventory and I also already reload it, but I recognize there are better choices. My reloading bench also already has Hornady ELD-X 212 gr 30 cal. Not sure if those fit in anywhere. How about barrel length? Suppressor? Several people have told me and told me again to get one. I suppose I will.

Thanks.

I have a few, I prefer the ones with 10” or so barrels, they are a handy size and always suppressed. It makes it a very manageable size, all of mine are 223/556. That is still a very effective round. I tried the 300blk but it wasn’t my friend, lol

What did you not like about it?

What is the purpose of the will be short barreled rifle?

Zombies, SHTF, you just never know 5.56.

Stupid quiet with a suppressor but then better load options for super sonic hunting 300blk

Hunting focused trying to pull as much energy out of the rifle as possible and even shoot out to 800yards 6.5 Grendel.

I struggle to see the point of going SBR without a suppressor. So you mine as well be saving an extra $1000 on top of the SBR build. With wait times in a week or less it’s a no brainer if you can find anything in stock.

Home defense.

I guess I just learned people hunt with SBRs and have other uses as well.

8” barrel with a suppressor sure is handy. Subsonics aren’t louder than dropping the hammer. And I’ve killed every pig and racoon I’ve pointed it at so far.

Im moving the sightmark to a 12” 6.5 Grendel upper and will be putting a red dot on this blackout.



With the statement of using the rifle for defense a 10.5-12.5” unsuppressed shot indoors will make your ears bleed so it really doesn’t seem like the best home defense option.

I have one sbr I put together for work. If I did another I would just go 16” with a shorter can

What is the SBR configuration?

I already have a 16" (and an 18") and have some new lowers coming, so I need something short as I don't want to go longer than what I have.

A silencer isn’t going to do much for you in home defense. It will make the overall length more and increase your chances of fouling out and not working. I have SBR’s for hunting so after I screw on a silencer, its length isn’t unwieldy. That’s my take on silencers for dedicated home defense rifles.

All I know is you don't want a 10" barrel 5.56X45 without a silencer.

When things get real, the report isn’t noticed much if at all.

It may not be noticed at the time, but the damage will be real. I really like my 300 blk for home defense. 10" barrel w/suppressor. Leupold red dot. Subs impact about 2" low at 20 yards (just fine for defense) and supers impact 1" high at 100. Can go from close up subsonic to supersonic out to 150+ yards with just a magazine change.

I’m well aware of the damage concerns and the odds of it ever being fired in anger. The OP said it was for home defense and nothing about dual use for hunting. A grand extra for something that’s going to sit by the bed with a tiny possibility of being used just doesn’t seem like money well spent to me. Factor in the other aspects of it and I’d just use a 16” gun and call it good but that’s me. If money is no concern, I’d choose a short, blowback, PDW with a can.

I have this by my bed but no can due to the very small chance of it being used in a gunfight.

I would assume that a home defense weapon would be taken to the range and practiced with. Also, the OP didn't say he was going to hunt with it, but he didn't say he wasn't going to. I'll take mine on walks and run across some pigs often enough that it's useful to have a magazine full of supers that I keep next to it.

An AR SBR would be the last firearm I would consider for home defense. I would want something that has "shock & awe" to it. Mine is Beretta 1301 12 Ga w/ a .45 ACP pistol back up. I have SBRs, F1 & F4, but use them for hogs or range plinking. SBRs are cool but a waste of money IMO since you can't sell them (if you wanted to) unless you part them out minus the receiver. Not many people are going to want to buy someone else's project. YMMV

I'm going to build an SBR for my wife to have. Since I've made some custom .223 Wyle ammo for a 7 1/2" barrel with a powder no one would ever thing to lod in a .223 Wylde chamber, I gained back a whole bunch of velocity.

So she will have a 10" barrel, with a suppressor, .223 Wylde chamber and a 1-6X scope.

Not my statement, but I agree with it.

"The pistol is for clearing the room. The shotgun is for clearing the house. The rifle is for clearing the neighborhood."

Well, you know well about my "neighborhood".

Agree and that's why I don't wear protection when hunting. Though hunting, for me, is a single shot - maybe a few. In the unlikely event this SBR is ever used it will be in the house and thirty rounds which won't be anything like hunting. The silencer isn't for the bad guy, it's for me.

I get your point about the additional cost, but if I have the suppressor I could use it on other guns, so it's not simply sitting in the corner.

Correct, no other use for this rifle other than home defense (and, thusly, some range time). No hunting, no "truck gun", I'm not law enforcement, no competition, nothing else.

The SBR won't be alone in home defense, I have options.

I don't sell guns.

A bullpup is still on my list. Maybe a centerfire and a shotgun.

Variety. It's the spice of life.



It's not fancy (or small), but I have a S&W M&P FPC... 9mm blowback folding carbine, threaded muzzle, Aimpoint H2, flashlight. Came with one 17-round magazine and two 23-round magazines. I bought a third 23-round.

In home defense, I want a gun in every room. An SBR is only one tool in the plan, but mine wears a can in this situation because I'll fight like I train, and I'm not training with a can-less SBR.

What is the SBR and suppressor?

Not sure I understand your question. My personal kit?

What's the configuration... cartridge, barrel length, suppressor make and model, etc. Things you [dis]like?

Gotcha... I SBRd one of my LMT lowers and installed a Geissele SSA-E trigger and SOPMOD stock. I have 2 uppers, one is a BCM 11.5" in 5.56 (soon to be ARP .223 Wylde) with an Aimpoint RDS. The other is a 12.5" Blackstone Arms upper (THF member) in 6.8 SPC-II with ARP barrel (Blackstone now owns ARP, BTW). Both wear adjustable gas blocks.

I float a Saker 762 between the two using the YHM universal QD system. Love them both, but biggest gripe is the dirtiness of shooting cans, which increases the blowback.

The suppressed 6.8 was a great platform for teaching the kids to hunt.

Best home defense shorty is an SBS

Shorter the shotgun, the better spread at closer ranges. Remington 870 police tactical at your local GT Distributor should run you $400-700 depending the condition.

Thanks, DeRico, but I'm looking for info on SBRs.

^ This right here and what JG stated above!

No worries, SBR’s are great too. I own one and don’t use it for home defense.

I had one in .300blk suppressed and I tell you that I’d choose my pistol first rather than my SBR.

Enough ranting, I’d recommend 8”-10.5”, 5.56mm 62gr green tip or 77gr OTM(for the 10.5”). I know it’s expensive but the Surefire RC3 would be the best option for suppressor, next in line would be the Dead Air Sierra 5. Both are lightweight.

Personally I'd trust a light, short, carbine with good terminal ballistics like a 5.56 or 300blk SBR over something that I'm likely to short shuck in the heat of the moment. And also, since I'm accountable for every bullet that leaves the gun, I'm not keen on wide spread, low cap, high recoiling shotguns.

The 5.56 will blow through your walls and possibly into your neighbors. With a center fire rifle cartridge you have to be precise in your aim. Shotgun, not so much plus you get the knock down punch factor.

If you live in a city with other houses nearby, I would be concerned about 300 Hammering a baby in another house. Sheetrock won’t do much to stop hog blaster SBR’s most folks have. If you live in the country, disregard.

1. What is the typical drywall penetration of a 12ga 00 - #4 buckshot vs 5.56?
2. Do you think you don't have to aim with a shotgun? What happens to pellets that don't hit your target? I think your answer might change after you read about #1.

Again, I must stress, you are responsible for every bullet that leaves your gun. A wide spread is not something your neighbors would appreciate.

If it helps: 12ga flitecontrol at 6:20, AR starts at 7:20. As always ammunition choice matters a lot, but 5.56 tends to yaw and break apart after a couple layers of drywall. Pay attention to the VMAX and 77gr loads especially.

1. YouTube video...take that with a grain of salt.
2. I never said you don't have to aim with a shotgun, just don't have be a precise as I would have to be with a 5.56 rifle. How many times do you have to fire the 5.56 to stop the the threat? Shotgun is probably going to knock the perp on his arse after the first "well placed" shot.

I've done two now, and am happy with both. The first is a 12" barrel 5.56mm, no suppressor, using Palmetto State parts. That's just plain fun to shoot and makes a damn good truck gun.

The second is an 8" barrel, 45acp (because I like 45acp . . . a LOT), built on CMMG parts. Uses Glock magazines. Waiting on my Rugged Obsidian suppressor to get approved for it. This is intended as a home defense gun, as I'm not worried about 45 going through the brick walls into neighbors homes.

Not to derail the thread, and i didn't want to ask this question here, but there is so much convoluted info on the internet now, i figured i may as well.

Do you have to have a Tax Stamp to own a SBR?

Short answer: in most cases, yes

Under what circumstances is a tax stamp not needed for an SBR?

there are none that I know of.

I have built 4 sbrs, 5.56/7.62x39/.300 bo/.17hmr, they all have a purpose and were built to carry in a sxs here at the ranch.

if it will be a bedside home defense gun then just buy a complete upper (I use the side charging) from psa or bear creek, mine are all 10.5" except the 7.62x39 is an 11".

all are or will be suppressed, waiting on the last can to be approved now (I screwed up and did the trust thing).

these are the 7.62 and .300 bo, saving for a thermal for the 7.62 to finish it off.




this is the 5.56 I used


https://www.bearcreekarsenal.com/55...arbine-10-handguard-sch-nrail-upper.html

Thanks for the replies fella's.

One more question, and I'm out, i guess it's to say that I should go buy a complete SBR upper and do the Tax Stamp all at once?

A short barreled upper is not restricted as it can also be used in a pistol configuration.

The Tax Stamp is for the lower receiver (serial numbered part), however when you submit your application for it, you have to list a caliber, barrel length and overall length.

Once approved though, you can use that lower with any upper.

^ nothing wrong with that approach. Just don’t store the lower with the upper (constructive intent).

If its transferred to you tax free on a form 5.