Until recently, the usefulness of an AR pistol was questionable to me. What changed my mind was the better understanding of how they are effectively fired...Namely, by cheeking the buffer tube, using sling tension, or both... Trying these methods (with a rifle using a collapsed stock), I was amazed how steady you could be with one of these techniques and never have the gun touch your shoulder. Then on one of Michael's podcasts a few months back he gave me a reasonable reason to justify pulling the trigger on the purchase. He made a great point on how they are Joe Citizen's PDW or in my eyes, the ultimate bug out pistol. So after checking out a few different types of AR pistols at a local shop, I was officially bit by the bug and was on the hunt for a 7.5" model.
Spikes has built me a gun in the past and I'm incredibly confident in their work so when I read the description of the Concussion upper, I knew I was getting another spikes. It had all the features I was looking for in a well build upper and they customized the lower to my specifications.
Concussion Upper Specs After I picked up my Pistol from my FFL, I threw on a set of front and rear MBUSes, a Bushnell Holosight, a Magpul MS2 sling, a BAD lever, and headed to the range.
The Holo sight was previously zeroed on an AR so it only took a few adjustment to get the groups on paper at 100 yards and I was blown away. The first three shot group , fired with XM193, was about 1.5" which is about as good as I can shoot with a zero magnification optic. Then, while fine tuning the zero, I had a group right at an inch. I was seriously impressed and am planing a range session with a magnified optic soon.
Once zeroed I tried some drills on an 8 inch plate at 100 yards. I had no problem coming up from low ready and putting a quick shot on the plate, then a double, then a triple. As I got used to the gun I was just amazed how well it performed. I then started pushing the distance and had no trouble ringing the 12 inch plates at 200 yards, than 300 yards. This thing is bad as$! Tried punching out to 500 yards but had difficulty calling my shots. I've since worked out the dope for the little 55 grain bullet at 2450fps and will be ready for the next visit.
Shooting the pistol is quite an attention getter at the range, but thanks to modern blast-directing comps and brakes (like the DPMS Levang and the Troy Claymore), the sound and concussion from the gun is directed down range. I had a shooter one bench away who didn't seem to mind at all when I shot. For the shooter, its just pure adrenaline. With .223 reloads, there was very little if any flash, but the XM193 would generate some wicked muzzle flashes every 4th or 5th shot which would be blinding a night. For me however, it just made the plinking session that much more exhilarating.
In 150 rounds I experienced no malfunctions of any kind and the gun ran incredibly smooth. Then when I broke it down for cleaning, I was shocked how spotless the action was (we'll see how it does on a more extended range session).
Overall I'm very happy with the purchase and look forward to seeing what the Spikes Concussion Pistol is capable of. One of these days I'll run some match ammo through it in this set up to see what kind of groups I'll get.
I made a quick video when testing muzzle devises comparing the Levang and Claymore. It gives you a sense for what the recoil impulse and controllability is like with these interesting weapons. With a sling its even better...
If you can't own an SBR in your state or just don't want to deal with the paperwork give the AR pistol a closer look. Its my new favorite plinking gun and may come in handy in a SHTF situation down the road...
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