The SBR: Rifle-down or pistol-up?

ENDO Tactical is one of the few companies providing pistol-up stock accessories.

Why do I consider the “pistol-up” SBR to be the golden mean? In my opinion it's the perfect weapon platform. It's uber compact. The magazine is inherently safeguarded by the grip. It's serviceably accurate. And it's a lot of fun. Yeah, fun plays a big part in the weapons I choose.

I see numerous discussions about SBR’s and wish to relay my personal (and I stress, this is a purely personal) opinion on what I think is the optimum system, and why. Last year I purchased a Ruger MIII 22/45 threaded barrel rail gun. Upon firing it a few times it was evident it had a feeding problem - I couldn’t get through more than half a mag without issue. So it went back to Ruger and they (as per their usual impeccable customer service) covered to-and-fro shipping and returned it in 100% working order: evidently a faulty extractor was the culprit. They also polished the feeding ramp and other parts making it run like a clock. Back in hand I could see it functioned flawlessly with any ammo, so I promptly went about filing for my Class 1 and Class 4 tax stamps. Six months later I had a suppressed (Huntertown Guardian) 22/45 with a folding stock. I then fitted a vertical grip and and a $20 red dot sight from Amazon, and lo and behold I had an SBR I can bounce a tennis ball around the yard with whilst making no more noise than a BB gun. This is a formidable instrument - it's carbine accurate with it's fixed barrel and direct blowback, cheap as dirt to shoot, only weighs about 2.5lbs, it's robust with it's fully protected mag and it's under 12” folded.

So there’s my rationale. Considering the rigidity of current laws and highly punitive repercussions of assembling an SBR without appropriate stamps, I feel it’s only worth doing via a pistol-up approach. This means converting a handgun into an SBR and not cutting down (or adding a shorter barrel to) a full sized rifle (i.e. rifle-down). The few inches less of barrel on a full size rifle does negligibly little for weight, concealability or mobility whereas a pistol with a folding stock gives you a weapon potentially as short as 10” folded and less than half the weight of a shortened rifle. Add a suppressor and it’s a spectacular toy that will inspire frequent use and foster a resultant dexterity. What good is any firearm if we're not proficient with it?

If the need arose and I had to grab a single tool from the box, it’d be this. No ear drum damage, assured hits and zero recoil make it feel like airsoft, so if you’re considering the headache of going through the process for stamps 1&4, I’d advise you do it for a pistol. Ammo doesn’t come cheaper than 22LR or 9MM, it puts other weapons in the shade for shear fun factor plus it’s unchallenged at the range for fast, quiet short-range accuracy and agility. It is indeed the golden mean and the regulating bodies know it which is why they’ve curbed usage for decades, kept tabs on those who have them and dispense stern penalties for unqualified users. However, a gun is a gun is a gun whether its short, long, quiet, loud, black or pink so the only hurdle between law-abiding citizens and any firearm - whether in stock condition or SBR’d and suppressed - should be a simple NICS check. God willing the HPR (Hearing Protection Act) will pass this coming year and the SBR will be the next head on the block. Once we’ve cleared these archaic laws from the books the market will see a whole range or new and innovative firearms! ED