Some questions about the Bushmaster carbon 15 and about .223 AR pistols

[blahblahblah]

I want a compact AR. Something small that can deliver a lot of firepower.I am considering getting an AR pistol, but I can't decide on which caliber. I have no experience with shooting .223 through a pistol length barrel. Any recommendations on weather I should go with the .223 or the 9x19?

[jonathon]

I'd go for .223 over the 9mm.. still has a big edge over any practical handgun caliber out there.

The Bushy's make a fine toy, but I would NOT use one for serrious use..

Barrel is too short for anything out there to fragment in flesh. 10" is about as short as you want to go if you want something that is practical.

Twist rate is 1x9 which is not optimal for heavier bullets(though it will work, but not nearly as well).

Someone is bound to disagree with me on this, but yeah. Don't get me wrong, the Bushmaster's are a fine product, just ment for play and range fun.

[Zagger]

5.56mm from super short barrel has its uses. Namely, penetrating body armor and fitting in a small package while utilizing the same ammunition and magazines as larger weapons in the same unit. The penalty for it is fierce though--a lot of flash and noise, and relatively poor ballistics.

[jonathon]

The key to the SBR is to use the right bullets ;)

Blackhills 75gr OTM is very accurate out to good distances with 10.5" barrels, and still frags within 100 yards to create a nasty permanent wound cavity. The 75gr bullet needs 2300 FPS or so to frag, and it gets 2400 FPS out of the shorter barrel.

[blahblahblah]

These were the responses I was looking for.