Shortly after I arrived in Germany as a freshly minted Air Force Security Policeman I became acquainted with the XM-177, a short barreled M-16 variant sometimes referred to as a CAR-15 or Colt Commando. While our standard issue rifle was a full-sized M-16, Security Alert Team drivers were issued a XM-177 as well.

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Chiefly because I had taken the trouble to obtain a German driver’s license, the next thing you know I was driving SAT patrols with a .38 Special Smith & Wesson revolver on my hip, an M-79 grenade launcher and a M-60 machinegun in the back of the truck and a XM-177 in my lap. Having an 11.5 inch barrel and a telescoping stock, the little carbine was compact and just the thing to have handy while driving patrol. Later on it became the basis for the 14 inch barreled M-14 and all the variants that followed. I developed quite a fondness for small, compact rifles and continued using them throughout my law enforcement career.

I now have a short-barreled AR-style pistol at hand that would serve admirably as a truck gun, much like my old XM-177. Made by Wilson Combat in their new 300 HAM’R chambering, it is a shorty variant of their 300 HAM’R carbine I tested recently for Downrange.TV. The 300 HAM’R is a new cartridge designed by Bill Wilson to add considerable power to the AR-15 platform by means of loading various .30 caliber bullets in .223/5.56 cases. It outperforms anything I know of based upon a 5.56 case and just about anything else you can manage to shoot through a .223/5.56 size AR rifle or carbine. Wilson is manufacturing this ammunition in a bunch of loadings with bullet weights ranging from 110 grain to 150 grains. According to Wilson, these loads can be compared to .30-30 ammunition and do a splendid job of killing game, especially deer and wild hogs.

The pistol version of his carbine has an 11.3 inch barrel with a muzzle brake/flash hider that brings the overall length to about 13 inches. At the other end there is a Gear Head Works telescoping arm brace stock that adjusts from about a 10 – 12.5 inch length of pull. A full length Picatinny rail is atop the receiver and key-mod style forend and my sample includes sling sockets and a small piece of rail for attaching lights, lasers or other accessories. The trigger is Wilson’s excellent modular trigger – it’s held in place by two pins – with a precise, crisp 4 pound weight of pull. It’s a very nice trigger.

While Wilson says the pistol can make game killing hits out to about 300 yards he also touts it as a PDW – a Personal Defensive Weapon – and this is the realm in which I think it shines. Whether in the house or riding in a vehicle or an airplane this pistol is compact, very accurate and sufficiently powerful to handle just about any situation in which you might find yourself. It’s perfect for taking with you everywhere and as a grab and go gun. Using 300 Blackout magazines, my sample was shipped with one Lancer 30 round magazine in a very nice Wilson Combat logoed soft case.