Description
The Andro Corp ACI-15 CQB 5.56 is the shortest 5.56 NATO gun Andro Corp builds, and it is an honest trade rather than a free lunch. An 8 inch barrel gives you a firearm that fits in a pack and swings inside a hallway, at the cost of velocity and a good deal of muzzle blast. If that trade is the one you want to make, this is a well built way to make it. Andro Corp Industries lists it as part number 5568CB, UPC 796258933275.
What 8 inches costs and what it buys on the Andro Corp ACI-15 CQB 5.56
Be clear about the trade first. A 55 grain 5.56 load out of an 8 inch barrel leaves several hundred feet per second slower than it would from a 16 inch barrel, and a fair amount of the powder finishes burning outside the muzzle, which is where the noise and the flash come from. Inside a house or a vehicle, at the distances this gun is meant for, that velocity loss matters much less than the size does.
The barrel on the Andro Corp ACI-15 CQB 5.56 is 4150 chrome moly vanadium steel with a QPQ nitride finish inside and out, cut 1:7. That twist stabilizes heavy for caliber bullets, which is what you want in a short barrel, and the muzzle is threaded 1/2-28 under an A2 flash hider. If the blast bothers you, those threads take a linear compensator that pushes it forward.
The Andro Corp ACI-15 CQB 5.56 runs a pistol length gas system behind a .750 low profile gas block. On an 8 inch 5.56 barrel there is no alternative, and Andro Corp pairs it with an M16 profile nitride bolt carrier group so the timing works as delivered.
Receivers, handguard and the brace
The upper on the Andro Corp ACI-15 CQB 5.56 is 7075 T6 forged with T-markings, a forward assist and an ejection port cover. The lower is 7075 forged with a type 3 hard coat anodized finish and a mil-spec parts kit, so every aftermarket trigger, safety and grip you already own drops straight in.
Out front is a 7 inch M-LOK free float handguard that covers the gas block and leaves a short run of mounting space. On a gun built to be small, a light and a hand stop are usually the right answer and everything beyond that is weight you did not need.
The Andro Corp ACI-15 CQB 5.56 ships with an SB Tactical SBA3 adjustable stabilizing brace on a carbine receiver extension, which is what keeps it a pistol in the eyes of the law. Fitting a conventional shoulder stock to an 8 inch upper creates a short barreled rifle, which requires ATF approval and a tax stamp before you build it. MAG5 Firearms does not sell NFA items.
Andro Corp ACI-15 CQB 5.56 specifications
- Caliber: 5.56 NATO
- Barrel: 8 in, 4150 CMV steel, QPQ nitride finish
- Twist rate: 1:7
- Muzzle: 1/2-28 threads with A2 flash hider
- Gas system: pistol length with .750 low profile gas block
- Upper receiver: 7075 T6 forged, T-markings, forward assist, ejection port cover
- Lower receiver: 7075 forged, type 3 hard coat anodized
- Bolt carrier group: M16 profile, nitride finish
- Handguard: 7 in M-LOK free float
- Brace: SB Tactical SBA3 adjustable stabilizing brace
- Grip: mil-spec
- Capacity: 30+1, one magazine included
- Part number: 5568CB
- UPC: 796258933275
Andro Corp Industries publishes the full build sheet for this model on the Andro Corp Industries product page, and SB Tactical documents the SBA3 fitted here. Quote part number 5568CB when you order, since the same CQB is also built in 300 Blackout. If you would rather have the bigger bullet out of a short barrel, the ACI-15 CQB in 300 Blackout is the better answer at this length, and the rest of our in stock firearms are worth a look.
A 1:7 twist handles heavy for caliber loads, which is what short barrels need.
Pistol length gas and an M16 profile carrier mean it cycles as delivered, without buffer experiments.
Forged mil-spec receivers mean your existing AR-15 magazines, optics and triggers all carry over.
The SBA3 adjusts across five positions, so it fits over a jacket or a carrier without tools.
This suits anyone who wants the smallest practical 5.56 for a truck, a pack or a bedside safe and already understands the velocity trade. If you want short but would rather not give up terminal performance, look at the 300 Blackout version instead; if size is the whole point, the Andro Corp ACI-15 CQB 5.56 is the right gun.
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