I
know what you are thinking. The AR15 pistol is the hard core party
fratboy of the AR15 family and consequently most only think of it as the
toy of the AR15 family. Generally the relationship ends with dollars
worth of .223/5.56 ammo spewing from the pistol’s ejection port
producing a grin from ear to ear.
Yeah, you gotta love the party frat
boy, however would you be surprised if I told you it could be your next precision hunting
handgun, a very effective personal defense gun with one simple
modification, or a perfect survival/hunting pack gun that will fit in
even small day packs? Surprised? What was more surprising was the level
of innovation that you simply would not expect on a $449 street priced
polymer firearm marketed to the masses. I will be very frank, I never
expected to go all nuts over a short barreled pistol format AR15,
however let me tell you this gun changed my mind when I was delivering
nice little .25”-.5” 25-yard groups
ABOUT EXTAR EXP
EXTAR has teamed up with New Frontier Armory to distribute the EXTAR. I
ordered one of the EXP-556 AR15 pistols and had it shipped to my local
gun dealer where I completed my paperwork and skipped home with my new
pistol. With a few exceptions, essentially the EXP-556 is more or less a
standard AR15 chassis with the obvious absence of a buttstock and very
short 8.25" barrel.
It should be noted that this is not a short barrel
AR15, it is classified, manufactured, and registered as a pistol and
converting it to a rifle could create significant legal (read that as jail) headaches for
owners. It is and forever will be a pistol even if you start swapping
out parts, however never ever, ever, ever attach any type of shoulder
stock to this pistol or it will immediately be considered an ATF controlled Class 3 Short Barreled Rifle which requires a whole bunch of
registration stuff at the Federal level which is legal but expensive and
time consuming. To further prevent someone from attaching a stock, the
EXTAR has a molded in rear mounting plug which secures the rear buffer
spring housing, prevents someone from inadvertently attaching a stock, or
using the lower on a rifle package. As is, the EXP-556 pistol is a
whole bunch of fun and utility all wrapped up in a small little pistol
format AR15 package.
FIT, FINISH, FEEL, & FEATURES

Fast forward and now New Frontier has updated the receiver's features
to include a single sided safety selector which will now operates just
like a standard AR15 version which means it "cannot be switched into safe after the hammer
has been dropped,". Similar is the design on the EXTAR. The lower receiver features an extended trigger guard, and a few other minor
cosmetic and structural updates.
The
fit similar to the original lower design, which means there is a bit of sharp flashing here and there from
the molding process, however nothing a razorblade could not take care of
in about 2 minutes. The black molded in color will not chip, fade, or
come off, and matches well to standard Type III anodized upper
recievers. In this case, the EXTAR EXP-556 has a new unique proprietary
upper and lower (with the molded in buffer tube plug) for the pistol
which eliminates the need for a short or extended buffer tube. It does
it via standard direct impingment and without the need for a heavy
piston system. The end result of an all polymer upper receiver, polymer
handguard, polymer based charging handle, polymer lower, polymer trigger
assemble, polymer Mission First Tactical grip, and short proprietary
bolt is stunningly light 2.98lb AR15 pistol. Compared to anything else
in the industry, it is the lightest by over 2lbs and the shortest by
6”-8” and it does it all for $449 which is about a third of the Rock
River LAR-15.
Part
of the genius of the design it the heavy reliance on an adjustable gas
block which allows a minimally long and very light bolt to function
perfectly with just a small top piggy-back riding spring hidden under
the tall upper receiver. The adjustable gas block allowed EXTAR to tune
the gas way down to deliver only the required gas pressure to cycle the
now much lighter BCG and lighter tension buffer spring. It all works
marvelously… actually brilliantly. Obviously moving away from a standard
AR15 upper design also required moving to a side charging format. A
reciprocating polymer/steel hybrid charging handle on the left/weak hand
side provides fast and efficient charging of the EXP-556. To further
improve control, EXTAR added a very aggressive muzzle brake.

Ergonomics
were great thanks to the Mission First Tactical grip and polymer
forend. The polymer forend worked perfectly and shielded the heat
generated from magazine after magazine of ammo.
FUNCTIONS
When
we look at all the polymer on this AR15 pistol I have to take pause and
realize this is a pretty groundbreaking accomplishment from a design
perspective. Heck, not only could this gun give an H&K MP5 pistol a
run for its money, if this same design had a 16” barrel and folding
buttsock, you have a a mighty fine AR rifle format that could be tucked
handily away in all sorts of places.

During
testing I left the adjustable gas block alone, however later on I
played around with it a bit and found that I would turn down the gas
pressure a bit more with certain loads. For most, I would leave the
setting where it sits to assure reliability.
I
had zero reliability issues and it feed just like you would expect any
other AR15 platform, chewing up over 300 rounds on our first day at the
range. From a setup perspective I would recommend mounting the scope
mount bolts to the ejection side to avoid interference with bolt
charging. A nice optional extra would be an extended charging handle was
offered for scope users.

Included
in the very nice custom foam cut box was the EXP-556, a steel mil-spec
30-round magazine, and instructions. Already attached and zero'ed was a
rear peep sight that worked extremey well to drill a lineup of pop cans
and golf balls at 25 yards, but not scoping the pistol is doing both you
a and the pistol a huge diservice.
ACCURACY
Following
that party boy image, most AR15 pistols are a lot of fun but are
generally thought of as less than accurate big boy toys. I was
definitely in that mindset before I was shooting at, and hitting, golf
balls at 25 yards offhand with the stock front and rear drift adjustable peep sight. What convinced me more was installing an
EOTECH 912 on the top and printing a nice tidy little 1” group at 25
yards.
What
convinced me the most of the accuracy potential slipping on a Leupold
4X handgun scope and watching the EXTAR EXP-556 deliver 25-yard .25”-.5”
groups from the sand bags all with just Military XM193F Ball (FMJ)
ammo. I printed a sub-1” group at 50-yards and was even able to hammer
the 300-yard gong 10 for 10 with just a 4X scope. After spending some
time with a higher quality Winchester PDX and Hornady match ammo, I increased accuracy by
about 20%-25%.
Throughout
testing, I found myself scratching my chin and muttering, "I am pretty
sure you could hunt with this". In fact with this accuracy, you easily
could. My other testers both noted that it was plenty accurate for
hunting especially with the Leupold 4X mounted. One of my testers noted
that it would be an outstanding coyote/varmit gun with a bipod added, because
in reality you only get one shot at them anyway, so the muzzle blast and
concussion is irrellevant, and it could deliver the power over a longer
range in an easy to carry package.

I
ended up zeroing at 20-yards which put zeros roughy 6” high at
50-yards, 8” high at 100-yards, 12” high at 200” (where we were ringing
the 8” gong) and dead on at 300-yards. Honesly I never though I would
get the accuracy I saw or I would have set up at least a 75-yard zero.
That 20-yard short range zero and the lower velocity from the barrel
definitely impacted the trajectory, however correcting over to a
100-yard zero would provide a pretty flat shooting trajectory out to
200-yards which is a realitic range for a hunting pistol.
WHY SHOULD I OWN AN AR15 PISTOL
Maybe
I have convinced you with the frat boy fun, stunning low price,
reliability, innovative design, and accuracy; on the other hand you
might need a bit more convincing. Despite that beer can crushing party
boy image, the AR15 has some extremely redeeming and interesting
qualities.
First
is its power and capacity which in this case delivers an impressive
energy level somewhere around a .41 S&W Magnum which has a power
level between a .357 Magnum and a .44 Magnum and of course it can accept
5-round to 100-round magazines. That is a whole lotta power in a 3lb,
18” overall length gun. When in bear country, would this not be a really
good option?
The
size, weight, capacity, power, and accuracy make it a really
interesting option for a bug out and survival gun. Not only can it be
easily stowed in almost any small pack fully assembled and even loaded
(if you have a concealed carry permit), but could also be an excellent
defensive firearm at both short and long distances. Concealed under a
longer jacket via a single point sling, the EXP-556 is clasified as a
pistol and could be considered your CCW pistol. The only modification I
would make is a swap out the muzzle brake for an effective flash
supressor to reduce or eliminate the giant 18” muzzle flash ball and the
requirement to wear safety glasses when shooting the gun gangter style
from the waist. Depending on your needs a 2x Leupold scope would provide
a lot of utility, however go a little ninja and add a small laser for
close defensive ranges.
Suppressed
the EXTAR EXP-556 AR15 pistol and you have a very quiet little solution
for a variety of situations including varmint hunting and even
unsupressed the gun could put meat on the table, varmits in the ground,
and a smile on your face all at the same time as a very fun hunting gun.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The
$449 MSRP will pull you in, the 2.98lb weight will sell you, and the
accuray will make you love the EXP-556. As a long-time handgun hunter,
this gun very quickly moved mentally from a fun gun to a hunting tool.
I mean seriously this thing weights the same as a loaded 1911 and is 8"
shorter than any other AR pistol on the market ... how can you not love
it.
It
is far from subtle and quiet however neither is my Thompson Center
30-30 pistol, however it is small, light, high-capacity, and accurate
all while being quite innovative and inexpensive. In these times, it is
hard to ask for more in a gun I have found to be more versatile than
most would ever think.
SPECS
Lightest 5.56/.223 Pistol In The World
Made In USA
Compact Design With No Buffer Tube
Ergonomic Pistol Grip
Integrated MIL-STD 1913 Picatinny Rail For Easy Mounting Of Optics And Accessories
Extremely Low Recoil – Can Be Held And Shot With One Hand With Virtually No Muzzle Climb
Crisp Trigger Pull Of 5.5 Lbs
Reversible Safety To Accommodate Left Hand Shooters
Why Pay Extra For Parts? Comes Standard With Front Anti-Slip Free Floating Hand Guard And Muzzle Brake!
Integrated Winter Trigger Guard
Specifications
$449 MSRP
MFG – EXTAR
Model - EXP-556
Type – Semi Automatic Gas Operated Pistol
Caliber - .223 / 5.56 NATO
Magazine – Standard MILSPEC AR-15 Magazine
Weight (Unloaded) – 2.98 Lbs (48 Oz)
Weight (Loaded W/ 30 Rd AR-15 Mag) – 4.06 Lbs (65 Oz)
Overall Length – 18” (45.72 Cm)
Barrel Length – 8.25” (20.96 Cm)
Barrel Length Including Muzzle Device – 9.25” (23.50 Cm)
Barrel Twist – 1:9 Standard ½-28 Threaded Barrel With Included Recoil Reducing Muzzle Brake
Width – 2.25”
Fixed Sights -- Sight Radius Of 12.38” (31.43 Cm)
Pistol Grip Screw – 3/16” Standard Hex Head
SOURCES
EXTAR Guns - http://www.extarguns.com/
8 comments:
I want one , I want one..... did I mention I want one ..... will these ever be at gun shows.. or would it be best to go through mail order/dealer?
When did you receive yours? Mine came with a Tapco mag , not a steel one. Also do you know of anyone that has suppressed one yet?
Carl - I would just order direct
Zack - Mine came early Oct. I don't know of anyone who has suppressed one yet.
No buffer tube = no sig brace
No sig brace = no practical value, or use
Little more than a novelty gimmick. No deal.
I was curious if you had shot this much more and how its held up. I am contemplating ordering one but am not convienced. Sure, would be nice to spend half as much as I would on a Sig 556. Also, have you tried to take the break off?
I have one. I have one. It's just as Pandemic says, they're friggen awesome, with and without the SIG brace. Oh, yes. I also have the SIG brace.
I used their Tactimount and an aluminum tube to custom fit a Shockwave arm brace to mine.
Do you know where I can find an upper receiver for a extar exp 5.56
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