Question of the Day: Why Make an SBR?

So, now that I have my new gun trust in hand, the question arises, what to buy? Obviously a silencer is an easy one. I placed an order today for a Silencero Sparrow. I was torn between that and the AAC Prodigy, but on speaking with my local dealer and understanding how the construction of the Sparrow makes cleaning a lot easier, the Sparrow was the easy choice. I also have my eye on the new AAC  300-TM that will work well for my .300 Win Mag and my 16″ 300 BLK upper, but that won’t be available until June at the earliest, so I have to cool my heels for a couple of months . . .

I’m fond of the saying that just because you can do something, does not mean that you should. With that in mind, I’m trying to decide if I want to spring for another $200 tax stamp to make an SBR. A couple of months ago, I picked up a spare 5.56 lower with the intention that I would register it as an SBR and then procure a short upper some time in the future.

But now I’m not so sure. Looking at what’s available, purchasing a 9″ or 10″ complete upper would run me in the neighborhood of $1,000. While I could purchase parts and build one myself, it would only amount to a couple of hundred dollars in savings.

With this in mind, I am honestly torn as to whether I want to cough up the dough or not, so I’m asking the TTAG community, whose opinion I respect, would this be a good use of $1,000 – $1,200? I can’t really imagine a situation where a 10″ barrel would be better for me than the non-NFA 16″ barrel, but perhaps I have overlooked something. Please, give me a reason to justify the purchase.