Q Let Me Build A Honey Badger in 5.56

At Q, the core philosophy boils down to this: "Nobody really minds what you're up to, as long as you're enjoying yourself," explained Nick Schaefer, an engineer who's played a key role in developing many of Q's products. This mindset influences every aspect of the team's work, from brainstorming designs to assembling custom orders. It's a blend of cheeky humor, serious technical expertise, and lots of good vibes - just what you'd anticipate from the group responsible for iconic creations like the Honey Badger and the Fix.

In July, I had the incredible opportunity to visit Q for a few days and even assemble a couple of firearms on-site. Honestly, I was stunned when they extended the invitation to build, but now I'm excited to pass along my insights to you all.

More Q @TFB:

• TFB Review: Q Unveils SPEAKEASY And BLIND TIGER Silencers
• TFB Preview: Q Boombox 8.6 Rifle – The Honey Badger Replacement
• Q Fix Review: Does It Actually Live Up to the Hype?
• Kevin Brittingham Explains Why the Q Honey Badger is Better than the AR-15

The Honey Badger by Q, LLC, has long been a standout on the firearms market. I first remember seeing it in Call of Duty of all places, back in the day. The Honey Badger gained fame for its .300 Blackout configuration. Now, with the introduction of the 5.56 Honey Badger, Q has expanded its lineup to include a variant chambered in the ubiquitous 5.56x45mm NATO cartridge. This new iteration maintains the Honey Badger's signature compact design while incorporating specialized engineering to overcome the challenges inherent in short-barreled rifles (SBRs) or pistols. I got the chance to pick the brain of Nick Schaefer, Q’s Director of Engineering, while he helped me assemble my very own 5.56 Honey Badger.

During the build, Schaefer and the team walked me through the gun's user-friendly controls and premium components, sharing stories of its development amid laughter and candid insights. At its core, the 5.56 Honey Badger boasts an ambidextrous selector switch with a 70-degree throw, sourced from Radian—a deliberate choice after testing showed shorter throws could compromise safety. "That's the degrees I was telling you about earlier," Schaefer noted during our build session. "It's the best we can do and still keep everything safe all the time."

An interesting innovation is the two-piece bolt carrier group (BCG), which overcomes the space limitations of traditional AR designs in compact setups. In standard ARs, the buffer and spring take up room in the receiver extension, restricting shortness. Q's solution integrates the buffer into the carrier, shortening the recoil stroke for a more compact upper while ensuring reliability. "The Honey Badger carrier is about 150 thousandths shorter than a regular carrier," Schaefer explained, referencing its compact design. "It's the only difference."

The two-piece construction—machined separately for tighter tolerances—incorporates tungsten weights in the rear to prevent bolt bounce, especially in full-auto fire. As Schaefer recounted the backstory, it stemmed from challenges with the original .300 Blackout version: "The original Honey Badger has no bumper; there's a guide riding an internal spring... It relies on the shittiness of .300 Blackout to run. So .300 Blackout feeds rather difficult out of a standard mag format, and it actually slows the carrier down just enough that we don't have this tremendous bolt bounce."

The development wasn't without hurdles, including supply chain issues during COVID. "COVID happens. Every carrier for the future of the end of time is sold," Schaefer shared. "We started making them or modifying carriers in-house... We kind of got kicked out of the office so we just started working out of our house." They iterated relentlessly, dropping prototypes repeatedly for testing: "We dropped it like 700 times on a pad of concrete."

This led to a redesigned carrier that's easier to manufacture: "We started designing a carrier that could be made on any turn-mill, no grindings, no clums." The recoil system evolved too, returning to an outboard spring with a bumper filled with tungsten shot. "You can hear it now," Schaefer demonstrated, shaking it.

Testing the 5.56 version proved demanding due to the caliber's power variance. "It's difficult to make a 5.56 run, really, especially in auto, especially across the range of power," Schaefer admitted. "There's a huge power difference between the 55-grain cheap ammo and the 77-grain."

After assembling prototypes and firing thousands of rounds, they refined the barrel length to 9.69 inches after questioning traditional lengths: "Kevin's like, why are barrels 10?... I was like, I'll see why. More dwell time is helpful. He's like, practically, how much freaking barrel do you really need? I was like, 9.7. Kevin then smiled and said can we make it 9.6?”

Hands-on assembly highlighted the design's simplicity. We started with the lower receiver, installing triggers, safeties, and detents—much like the Fix, but with Q's tweaks. "Just like the Fix... Same levers in the system," Schaefer guided. The upper came together quickly: barrel installation with a jam nut at 50 foot-pounds, gas block secured without timing hassles. "All of the nuances of building an AR, like the parts that I would consider, oh, I don't know how to do that... We just took it away," he said.

The handguard locked via the turnbuckle: "What it's doing is pushing on this front face of the barrel nut to jam the handguard back into the receiver." Field stripping revealed the two-piece BCG's elegance: "That crosspin here and then pin out, bolt out like a standard AR.”

Other enhancements included a flash hider for a better shooting experience - "Cherry bombs are absolutely freaking horrible to shoot on the short 5.56. It's like getting slapped in the face" - and plans to integrate this recoil system into .300 Blackout models. "This is the new wave for Honey Badgers because this is what's working quite well in .300 Black as well." The trigger, a light two-and-a-half-pound pull with minimal reset, drew from law enforcement feedback: "The first 250 of those triggers we made actually went to the U.K. Metro Police... Their feedback was, the trigger is too light. Will you make us a heavier version?"