I'm having this discussion right now with a friend, and he is dead set on me building a pistol with the receiver set that I won over the weekend.

My response was that I really don't understand the point... I feel as though they exist for 1 of 2 reasons:

1. For those who want to be tactical with an "SBR" but can't/won't pony up the $$ to obtain a stamp for something they can actually enjoy shouldering and shooting comfortably/accurately without one of those stinkin' braces

2. For the anxious who have been waiting for a stamp and can't wait long enough to test fire, so have a pistol lower for functional testing

I don't know, maybe I'm just weird. I see them all over the web, but never have seen someone firing one after over a hundred range trips...gotta mean something, right?

AR pistols are ridiculous and pretty useless IMO. I see no reason anyone would even want one unless they're just impressed with all that's "tacticool."

Only real plus is if you want something with "rifle" firepower when you travel to a state thats not ok with your SBR.

Pistol uppers make plenty of sense if you pin and weld your suppressor to make the barrel+muzzle device 16" or longer. No SBR stamp required.

Pointless IMO only reason to build a pistol is if you are cheap and don't want to get a stamp and you plan on shouldering the brace

This should not be an issue. The old days of the NFA need to go away.

To me, it's a - censored - waste of money. To some, it's worth it. To each their own. My two cents, put your money elsewhere.

They can serve a purpose. I have a bunch of SBR's but I wanted a dedicated short barrel 9mm AR and didn't feel like going through the process again after they changed the rules last summer. So I bought a 6" upper and put it on a pistol lower with the Shockwave brace. Works great for what I wanted. I saw no point in doing another SBR just to put a stock on it when the Shockwave gets the job done.

That is because in 2015, the ATF said that shouldering a pistol brace turned it into an SBR and that was a felony. Nobody wants to go to the gun range and have pictures taken of them shouldering a pistol and those pics end up being seen by the ATF. Let alone arguing with a range officer who thinks you shouldered it when you didn't. Plus AR pistols are ridiculously loud so I'd hate to be next to one at the gun range.

What are they good for? They make for a good truck gun on the ranch. It's short and easy to maneuver in a truck cab to get the barrel out the window or even in a side-by-side. Light weight, short, and plenty of rounds.

Last month the ATF wrote a letter clarifying that simply shouldering a pistol does NOT make it an SBR. So now you might actually see more AR pistols at the range. I suggest not being near them, they are worse than a muzzle brake.
http://thefederalist.com/2017/04/27/allowing-ar-pistol-brace-may-give-gun-industry-just-shot-needs/

I do have a SBR AR15 and I only shoot it suppressed. With the suppressor on, it's shorter than a rifle with a 16" barrel. I wouldn't use it for longer shots but it works fine for anything within 200 yards shooting supersonics.

Right there.

Add a can, and a brace, and it's handy.

Beats me. I'll never have one.

It's certainly not for me. But it does serve a purpose of being a very handy "pistol" and shooting a rifle cartridge. A truck gun would be a good fit. I have shot a few AR pistols, and I can't hit anything with them. To properly shoot them, they generally need to be slung up properly for forward pressure to shoot accurately.

How about...Because they are fun as heck to blast with? Everybody who has shot mine has come away with a big grin. Not everything has to have a specific utilitarian purpose.

Neither will I.

I used to think they were pretty pointless as well and not that I'm big on them now... When riding through trees/brush in my Pioneer and you come right up on a sounder of hogs, trying to lift my scoped/suppressed M&P-10 from the floor beside me up into a shooting position, was entirely not happening. Not likely even if it's on my lap.

Having something smaller/shorter is on my list now. Pistol yes, but would prefer it to have rifle bullets.

They are certainly useful from a marketing standpoint. - Remember that there is a brisk market for plastic imitation dog poo.

If fake dog poo is a good seller, why not AR pistols too?

not useful for most cases

but, I carried my Sig 556 Pistol when I am offshore on my boat
or long road trips at night - just in case some yahoo
want to rage against my machine

I've had a couple...I'm one of the ornery cusses that will own anything that other people think I shouldn't have just because I can...that's why all my AR's have bayonet lugs with bayonets, flash hiders, pistol grips, grenade launchers where applicable, high capacity mags, etc...the more nasty the better....I'm a nasty, nasty guy as that Judd chick would say...

Hell just this past weekend at the Fort Worth show I didn't find anything EXCEPT a Sure Fire 100 round AR15/M16 Mag priced $20 sitting on a table. I snatched that puppy up. No, I don't "need" a 100 round AR15 mag that looks like the state of California hanging off the mag well, but need ain't got nothing to do with it.

Close range high capacity truck gun with enough juice to penetrate hard objects when your 9mm/10mm just isn't enough. In a pinch, it can also reach out a bit further with practice by resting on the hood, bed, door.

Sometimes folks that travel frequently across state lines prefer to have a compact weapon for self defense that can fit in a backpack and be low profile, be maneuverable in confined spaces, and have quick high capacity reloads

Other folks just plain get their rocks off on the novelty. Which I will agree, is a pretty silly reason to buy one.

You can have all that with a sbr though without the silly brace. Just do a 5320.20 form

Considering I have horrible Tinnitus 24/7/365, I would suggest tying some earplugs to it. I sure wouldn't have a muzzle break on it.

You mean, just do a Form 5320.20 in advance of the travel date every time you travel out of state.

You can do it for an entire year at a time..