One of the shortest common barrel lengths for ARPs is 5 inches, but not all builders choose a 5 inch AR pistol upper for their builds. As with all things in firearm engineering, and in life, there are benefits and tradeoffs to every choice.

So, with that said, let’s put 5 inch AR pistol uppers under a microscope for a moment to see what sorts of advantages they offer enterprising shooters that build with them.

Plenty of folks build 16 inch carbines, and plenty more build ARPs, but there is a dedicated subset of those that build true, full-size rifles.

For these, it’s hard to beat a 20 inch AR upper, if only for the number of benefits that a 20 inch upper can confer.

AR pistols, or ARPs, as they are sometimes known, are among the most popular AR variants in the country, next to carbines and full-size rifles. But did you know these 6 facts about them? They offer rifle firepower in a smaller footprint One of the th

ARP shooters know one thing very well: while you can get rifle-sized firepower from an AR pistol, you don’t just get rifle-sized recoil. You get worse. ARPs are lighter and smaller than their full-sized cousins, and that loss of mass comes at a price

Even though the majority of AR builds in this country are chambered around 5.56 (or perhaps .223 or .223 Wylde) there is a growing portion of shooters that are enamored with alternative cartridges. One of these is .300 Blackout, which offers some serious advantages over the former two.

This post will look at some of the reasons that a .300 Blackout built kit might offer you more value than a completed rifle, as well as where the cartridge wins out over 5.56.