American Tactical Mil-Sport, 9mm Luger AR carbine.
AR-15s are known as America’s Rifle, and with good reason. They can be had in a plethora of calibers, each one serving a purpose depending on the need. I would expect the most common AR-15 would be chambered in 5.56×45 and rightfully so, but that is not to say other rifle and pistol calibers wouldn’t be at home in Stoner’s genius platform. That brings us to the current AR carbine we are running. It is the American Tactical Mil Sport chambered in 9mm Luger. I know this may seem odd but truthfully pistol cartridges make sense in carbines, if they are designed correctly.
The 9mm Luger gains a bit of velocity when going from a pistol to a 16″ carbine. I have done a ballistic test comparing those differences, and while I did not use the Mil Sport I did use another carbine with similar barrel lengths, so the results would be very similar. You can find that test by following this link. Some manufactures of a an AR type carbine use a proprietary magazine, and in my opinion that is just plain stupid. American Tactical engineered this carbine to run off any 9mm Glock magazine from the thirty three round to the ten round. I see several benefits in that as some folks have Glocks chambered in 9mm and already have plenty of magazines on hand. If not, those magazines and reliable after market ones are readily available and inexpensive.
Dedicated 9mm billet aluminum lower including forward assist and dust cover and forged upper.
6 Position Roger Superstock
Free floating aluminum hand guard with KeyMod attachment system. Full length Picatinny rail down the length of the top.
Comfortable pistol grip, the trigger broke clean at 6.5 lbs with a bit of take up and over travel.
The safety engaged and disengaged with minor effort and audible click. The safety and bolt release was serrated for traction.
Factory installed single point sling attachment, a nice touch. The charging handle has plenty of real estate for a positive purchase.
The bolt face of the straight blow back system on the 9mm carbine.
Initial Range Trip
I started the review with a few magazines about forty feet away to get an idea of point of impact on the sights I installed, oddly enough this rifle ships sans sights. I got it dialed in easily enough and for the first few magazines there were no issues so I pressed on.
Accuracy from 100 yards shot from a rest using iron sights.
Second Range Trip
Conclusions
Reliable AR style carbines in 9 x 19 are challenging to produce being reliable in available 9×19 cartridges and that can make producing them somewhat expensive, and though this one is not as expensive as many with MSRP at $900, it is an investment. There are many things that I do and a few things I do not like about this carbine. I will start with what I like about this model. This carbine uses Glock magazines, so if have any Glock in 9 x 19 you already have plenty of magazines and if you do not their are easy to find in factory or aftermarket and inexpensive,it does ship with an aftermarket thirty one round magazine. Generally I carry a carbine with me when I can, especially going out of town. One of my primary carry pistols is a Glock 17 and the convenience factor of ammunition and magazine interchangeable is a excellent reason to consider this carbine. Since the 9 x 19 does benefit from a carbine length barrel it has an advantage of increased terminal performance and sight radius. Many ranges limit or forbid rifle cartridges so the Mil Sport allows people to run carbines on more restrictive ranges. So as you can see the it has a lot going for it and if you are in the market for a 9 x 19 carbine or another rifle, you may want to give this one a think.
There are a few things I do not care for. This rifle ships without any sights, owever, along the length of the top of the rifle is a long Picatinny rail so adding sights or optics is no big deal. Also, the carbine does not lock the bolt to the rear on an empty magazine. I don’t know if that is typical of carbines that use Glock magazines but that is something that jumped out at me. I was looking forward to threading on a silencer on the end of this carbine (I mean, a 9mm Luger carbine is just asking for a silencer). When I removed the A2 type birdcage flash hider, I learned this carbine does not have standard threads at the muzzle. They are either 1/2″x36 as that is as close I could get my SAE gauge, or they are metric. Bear that in mind not only for silencers but muzzle devices you may want to add. Standard threads in the US on AR-15 carbines in 5.56, and 9mm Luger pistols, are 1/2″x28, so metric threads are pretty uncommon. For folks that have a silencer already, it more than likely will not jive with this carbine. You would have to seek a different end cap, if one is made for their can. To me none of those are real deal breakers but are worth mentioning. The Mil-Sport ran through nearly 400 rounds of various 9mm rounds without failure and was accurate for the cartridge at 100 yards. If none of that is a selling point for you, it is an awful lot of fun and with the 9mm ammunition being somewhat inexpensive, even of you don’t reload it won’t break your ammunition budget at the range or your local match.
Specifications
Forged Aluminum Upper Receiver
Billet Aluminum Lower Receiver
16″ Nitride Barrel
10″ Free Float Keymod Rail
6 Position Roger Superstock
31 RD Magazine Trigger Pull MSRP $899.95
Limited Lifetime Warranty
Acknowledgments
[…] the American Tactical Imports Mil Sport 9mm AR carbine, which you can read that review by following this link. After I was satisfied it was reliable in that platform using several defensive and ball rounds I […]