Saint Victor 5.56 Pistol Barrel Length Upgrade?
- Thread starter Coopdawg
- Start date
Thank you. Will any adjustments need to made for it to run smoothly? I have the Saint Victor 5.56 / 7.5" barrel wanting to go to 10.3’ to 11.5"
HansGruber
Ronin
Easier just to swap the entire upper.
Grifter
Custom
This.
Just get another upper and now you essentially have two weapons. You use whichever upper suits your purpose at that time.
BET7
Ronin
Agreed with swapping the upper with a longer barrel. Being new to AR15's as you say, you may or may not know, that it is the AR15 lower receiver that is serialized requiring the FFL Background Check and Federal form fill out.
AR15 uppers do not require any interaction with a FFL, nor the filling out of any Federal form, or Background Check. They can be bought and sent direct to your residence legally (check for any State laws that could negate this. As far as I know, I can't think of any, and I've bought several uppers and had them shipped to my home here in Pennsylvania). You can also buy different calibers uppers (as long as they are compatible with the AR15 lower receiver). For AR pistols, check with State laws etc., for barrel lengths greater than 16" if you ever desire to buy longer ones, I've read where that may be of concern. No concerns if it was registered as a rifle. Also in the case of AR pistols, be aware of any ATF attachment restrictions (Vertical hand-grip NO, angel hand-grip OK). Things like this and replacing the pistol stock with a fixed or collapsible stock, could make it into a Short Barreled Rifle (SBR), by ATF definition, requiring more form fill outs and a $200 Tax Stamp.
I know I've provide much more information than your original question, and there may be others on here that can provide more, or correct me if I stated something wrong.
But to answer your original question, going from 7+" to a 10-11+" 5.56 bbl upper, shouldn't be an issue. Good luck.
AR15 uppers do not require any interaction with a FFL, nor the filling out of any Federal form, or Background Check. They can be bought and sent direct to your residence legally (check for any State laws that could negate this. As far as I know, I can't think of any, and I've bought several uppers and had them shipped to my home here in Pennsylvania). You can also buy different calibers uppers (as long as they are compatible with the AR15 lower receiver). For AR pistols, check with State laws etc., for barrel lengths greater than 16" if you ever desire to buy longer ones, I've read where that may be of concern. No concerns if it was registered as a rifle. Also in the case of AR pistols, be aware of any ATF attachment restrictions (Vertical hand-grip NO, angel hand-grip OK). Things like this and replacing the pistol stock with a fixed or collapsible stock, could make it into a Short Barreled Rifle (SBR), by ATF definition, requiring more form fill outs and a $200 Tax Stamp.
I know I've provide much more information than your original question, and there may be others on here that can provide more, or correct me if I stated something wrong.
But to answer your original question, going from 7+" to a 10-11+" 5.56 bbl upper, shouldn't be an issue. Good luck.
HansGruber
Ronin
10.5” in 556 is my minimum; I have buddies with 7.5” PDW’s, but...I don’t think that the degradation in performance is worth it.
Plus, they’re LOUD.
Talyn
SAINT
I agree on both points. I just didn't see an operational advantage with an AR pistol, even with an 11.5" barrel, vs. a pinned 14.5" for my AOPs.
Based on my AOPs regaining ballistic performance was more important than a slightly shorter length, especially when I can shorten up the stock for maneuverability. And the troops seem to do fine since the M4 barrel length is 14.5.
BangBang
Professional
Run a carbine length gas system over a pistol length. Even on a 10.5” it runs much smoother.
Talyn
SAINT
Thank you and very much appreciate your insight. As I stated, I am totally new to the AR platform, and I never saw myself owning anything more than a conceal carry weapon, and a few hunting rifles; the current state of this country has made me rethink that, and now I can see myself becoming addicted.
If I may, how can I know what uppers are compatible with the Saint Victor pistols. I would love to a .308 and a 300 B/O but have no idea where to start. Does Springfield sale these components?Can this be done with my current AR assuming I get all the proper tax stamp etc.?
BET7
Ronin
Hi @Coopdawg and welcome to the forum. I only started my firearms collecting about 8 years ago, so I'm new to this as well. But in my case, it's an addiction, and I've collected several firearms of all types, concentrating a good portion now, to older collectable militarily firearms of prior conflicts (WWI, WWII, etc.). I read a lot about Firearms, so a significant portion of knowledge I obtain that way, and have learned a lot form the Guys and Gals on this forum. I probably own 15-20 AR's in Carbine and pistol lengths and configurations. A lot of my AR15 uppers, I buy from online stores such as Midway USA, Palmetto State Armory (PSA), Optics Planet, Classic Firearms, and many many more (doing internet searches for a particular caliber, length, etc., will provide more & I'm not sure if Springfield sells just uppers (I don't think they do)). A .308 upper would need to go on an AR10 lower receiver. Some Calibers I have for the AR15 lower(s), are .223/5.56; 300BO; 6.5 Grendel; 50 Beowulf; 458 SOCOM; 450 Bushmaster; 350 Legend; 6.8 SPC; .224 Valkyrie; and some that I might have forgottenThank you and very much appreciate your insight. As I stated, I am totally new to the AR platform, and I never saw myself owning anything more than a conceal carry weapon, and a few hunting rifles; the current state of this country has made me rethink that, and now I can see myself becoming addicted.
(I've provide a link that list more below). You may need a different Bolt Carrier Group (BCG), but I usually buy my uppers that come with the correct BCG. Some Calibers will require different magazines (300 BO will work fine with the 5.56 mags), but they will all fit into the Mag-well of the lower AR15 receiver. You can even buy Pistol Caliber Uppers, such as 9mm, but would need to have either a conversion kit for the Mag-well that accepts 9mm Mags (in this example), or a kit that goes inside a 5.56 mag that allows 9mm ammunition to load correctly.Link for Calibers compatible with standard AR15 lowers:
Calibers Compatible With Standard AR-15 5.56mm Lower - The Weapon Blog
One of the great strengths of the AR platform is its flexibility. There are multitudes of ways to outfit your rifle. Not least of which is the choice of
www.weapon-blog.com
Talyn
SAINT
A/Your AR pistol is not an NFA item that would require a $200 tax stamp from the BATFE.
Once you put a rifle stock on your AR pistol you're in NFA territory, unless you have a barrel with an OAL of 16.1" or greater. You can convert an AR pistol lower to a rifle configuration, but you can't convert a lower that was originally in a rifle configuration to a pistol AR.
If you had an AR "rifle" and wanted to go with a barrel that's less than 16.1" in length then that would put it into the NFA category. Except, I went with a "pinned" 14.5 in which the muzzle device was permanently attached and therefore brought the barrel to the legal 16.1" length that doesn't require a tax stamp. @BET7 also described that other features added to an AR pistol would push it into the NFA category.
BTW - A typical 16.1" AR barrel is actually longer due to the addition of the muzzle device.
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So is Springfields Saint Victor.308 pistol on a A10 lower?Hi @Coopdawg and welcome to the forum. I only started my firearms collecting about 8 years ago, so I'm new to this as well. But in my case, it's an addiction, and I've collected several firearms of all types, concentrating a good portion now, to older collectable militarily firearms of prior conflicts (WWI, WWII, etc.). I read a lot about Firearms, so a significant portion of knowledge I obtain that way, and have learned a lot form the Guys and Gals on this forum. I probably own 15-20 AR's in Carbine and pistol lengths and configurations. A lot of my AR15 uppers, I buy from online stores such as Midway USA, Palmetto State Armory (PSA), Optics Planet, Classic Firearms, and many many more (doing internet searches for a particular caliber, length, etc., will provide more & I'm not sure if Springfield sells just uppers (I don't think they do)). A .308 upper would need to go on an AR10 lower receiver. Some Calibers I have for the AR15 lower(s), are .223/5.56; 300BO; 6.5 Grendel; 50 Beowulf; 458 SOCOM; 450 Bushmaster; 350 Legend; 6.8 SPC; .224 Valkyrie; and some that I might have forgotten
Link for Calibers compatible with standard AR15 lowers:
Calibers Compatible With Standard AR-15 5.56mm Lower - The Weapon Blog
One of the great strengths of the AR platform is its flexibility. There are multitudes of ways to outfit your rifle. Not least of which is the choice of
Talyn
SAINT
Yes. AR-10 lower.
So, if I decided to go to a rifle barrel & stock, pinned 14.5" barrel with muzzle device that is permanently attached, I would NOT need the tax stamp?
Talyn
SAINT
The pinned muzzle device must be long enough to bring the OAL barrel + muzzle device length to 16.1". Several extended flash hiders or muzzle breaks are available that would do that. Then yes you're GTG w/o a tax stamp.
BCM makes an extended A2-type flash hider that is long enough, and has a pre-drilled hole for the included pin. The pin has to be secured with a spot weld.
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HansGruber
Ronin
Weld or silver solder...weld being easier.
You can also weld in 3 spots 120° apart, or a 360° continuous weld without pinning.