I bought two 556/223 rifles this year.
First was a 16 inch barrel 556 Nato chambered budget build my Gunsmith was selling that I set up as a HD gun. Light/sling/vertical foregrip/optic/pop up sights. Ballistic advantage barrel and lower and various other parts bin stuff.
2nd is a 16 inch 223 wylde with just sling, backup sights, cheap optic and hand stop. Aero precision upper, Anderson lower, both bought complete from different vendors at different times. Will be a range only gun that gets stored empty.
A Buddy who has a rifle wanted us to he able to go play together at the 100 yard outdoor range instead of just always shooting pistols at the indoor ranges. He sold me on buying the first one, then I picked up the 2nd kind of on a whim after reading up on 223 Wylde. Both fun to shoot, whether in combat drills, un-supported at 25-100 yards or 100-plus yards supported for optimal groups.
I entertained the idea of a pistol caliber carbine but just didn’t go that route. The first deal I found was on a 556 chambered rifle. My gunsmith was doing builds until mid summer for 699 to undercut all the local shops who only had 1200 dollar and up ARs left available. He didn’t put anything together in a pistol caliber, only 556 and 223 Wylde pistols and rifles of various lengths, all 699.
If I do an AR pistol next year I may do that in 9mm. Just seems easier than finding the right rifle caliber and barrel length combo to get an enjoyable gun that will perform somewhat like a rifle at longer distances that I’ll probably just use my rifles for anyway. Probably gonna be set up for Glock Mags since I keep a G26 as one of my HD guns and have a pile of glock Mags.
I bought two rifle caliber guns and now want something in a pistol caliber. Had I started with a pistol caliber I’d probably now be online shopping for my chance to step up to a rifle caliber.