A Carbine in 9mm or .40? Are they Worth It?

I for one have been looking for a Ruger P9 Carbine for a long time. The main reason I want one is that it takes the same mags as my P95s. I have 6 15rnd and 2 32rnd mags for those. I have also heard good reviews on them. I would be buying it more or less for plinking, but thats about it. I got to shoot a Hi Point carbine a while back and it was quite fun around the woods. Drawback would be if I bought one I would need a new and different set of mags for it.

I have 2 marlin 9 mm camp carbines ones stock and the other is configured as a bullpup, both are great shooting very well made guns.

great pinking guns, as well as a decent varmint shooter.

I've done a bit of night varmint hunting with my Sub2000 in 9mm and it works quite well. The main thing I use mine for is a traveling gun, it fits in a standard briefcase with 4 x 33 round mags and still leaves room for my lunch.

RRA has ARs in 9 and 40. I bet that would be pretty cool. Since you get a much longer barrel than any pistol would have, you get some more velocity. Also the longer sight radius makes your shots much more accurate throughout the usable range of the round.

Every time I consider a pistol caliber carbine I keep coming back to the AK-47 I own, much more powerful with a little more recoil and in a very similarly sized platform with relatively similar ammo prices.

Every time I consider a pistol caliber carbine I keep coming back to the AK-47 I own, much more powerful with a little more recoil and in a very similarly sized platform with relatively similar ammo prices.

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That serve different purposes.

Nothing wrong with a pistol-caliber carbine.

My Marlin Camp 9 is just a lot of fun to shoot. I'll buy a 9mm Sub 2000 when I find one that takes S&W 59 series mags, again just for plinking/fun purposes.

My pasture-truck and and tractor-cab rifle, though, is a beat-up pre-safety Marlin 336 in 30-30.

Les

also consider the whole ammo-commonality between the long gun and a sidearm.

Every time I consider a pistol caliber carbine I keep coming back to the AK-47 I own, much more powerful with a little more recoil and in a very similarly sized platform with relatively similar ammo prices.

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I tend to agree here. If it warrants getting a rifle, then get a rifle. Most military and police seem to understand that now too, as you tend to see more rifle caliber guns filling the role the 9mm SMG's did not to long ago.

Now for a plinker, thats a little different story.

My Ruger PC9 in 9mm sits under my bed with a 15 round mag. If something/someone comes in the house they will be met with some 9mm FMJ. I like the 9mm Carbine because it has low muzzle flash and low muzzle blast as compared to other rifles/shotguns. High caliber firearms fired inside the house can be pretty intense to the point of disorienting shooter. Cheap ammo also allows for lots of training.

I just tried a Beretta .40 carbine at the range, and I didn't notice significantly less recoil than my AK. I didn't find it's plastic-y raygun looks too appealing. I guess if you only have a 9mm/.40 pistol and you get a similar caliber rifle, it keeps your ammo buying simpler.

I love my Uzi! Fun gun to shoot and very accurate. I also have one of the Sterling 9mm carbines and a High Point 995; they too are very nice.

zebco said:

Does the longer barrel length actually add to the performance of the 9mm or .40? Or is it more of the better accuracy?

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Yes, it improves the muzzle velocity significantly. Someone else will have to chime in with specifics, but I seem to remember that a carbine barrel can add 10-20% to the muzzle velocity of a pistol round.

THIS WEBSITE will give you an idea about velocity gains.

If you want some SERIOUS velocity gain, get a .357mag levergun. Takes the .357magnum and gives it rifle like numbers. 158gr. at over 2000fps sounds more like a rifle round than a handgun.

That being said, I'm sorely tempted by the Beretta CX4 and the Ruger PC4 as bedside guns for my wife and I.

I've never shot one. I've heard they actually give a good thump in the recoil department because of the heavy bolts required for the straight blowback action.
Is this accurate? If recoil is going to be significant anyway, I may just get a 20ga coach gun for the wife.

They seem like a good home defense alternative to the brute shotgun or the potentially hard er to steady and aim handgun. They also would not have the over penetrating issues as with a full powered rifle. Good for small stature people defending they,re home in urban-suburban areas.

19-3Ben, I would say that my KelTec sub2000 has a bit less recoil than my M1 carbine, with a significantly less ergonomic shoulder stock.

zebco said:

I have mixed feelings right now about getting the Keltec. I'm sure it would be fun, but otherwise not sure of the purpose. I can see the home defense argument, although a high-capacity pistol or a shotgun should be fine.

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Oh, it is fun!
The positive things:
You have something to share mags or at least ammo with your pistols
It is very reliable due to the straight blowback action and long time the bolt spends behind the magazine (and Glock mags are pretty reliable in the first time) ... no "bolt cycled but no round got picked up" malfunctions
It is cheap, in fact it is cheaper than many pistols
It is easy to train with (easy on the wallet and you can use it at an indoor range)
It folds! (holy crap, it folds!) ... mine fits into a double pistol case with mags and 100-150 rounds of ammo, depending on packaging and what else I shove in there.
It pushes a 1142FPS round (in a carry-size pistol) up to 1391FPS (that's short barrel 124 grain Gold Dots out of a 3" para mini-1911 type gun vs the sub2000)

The negative things:
Pistol rounds just aren't rifle rounds, although the extra barrel does add velocity (and a longer barrel seems to rob velocity with some loads, apparently KT knows how to use a chronometer ... check out the 18" barrel on the website above)
The KT sub2000 is primarily designed to be a stowable rifle that takes common pistol mags, ergonomics aren't the greatest (surprisingly the hi-point carbine's ergonomics are almost as good as the things are ugly)
It requires an odd reach to cycle the bolt manually
It makes ammo go away FAST. A common 17x mag and a 33x mag are a whole box of ammo. Add in the cost of a destroyed target and operating costs continue to be cheap compared to a rifle, but they can add up

I like my Sub2000 because it fits in a laptop bag.

I like my Oly K9-GL...



Goes great with my G22/17 and G23/19 combo....uses the same mags...

A little heavy but with the Eotech I can hit an 8" plate at 100yds all day long.

get a .357mag levergun. Takes the .357magnum and gives it rifle like numbers. 158gr. at over 2000fps sounds more like a rifle round than a handgun.

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..and paired up with an Blackhawk in 357 it makes you feel like a 10 yr old cowboy every time you pick it up... trust me.

If you want them for something serious, and want serious performance from them, then you want a full auto gun. At least in that respect, up close, it will work like a shotgun, but just be easier to handle and shoot, and still give you better options without having to change ammo, if ranges open up.

This is all assuming youre dealing with unarmored targets too. If so, then regardless what you have, pistol caliber/shotgun wise, youre still going to want that rifle.

I like my Uzi very much. It's a great training tool for ranges where rifle ammo isn't permitted or for cheaper practice.

It's still a pistol caliber round. Even out of a 16" barrel terminal performance is still going to be pistol class- underpowered. Pistol rounds break bones, rifles shatter them.

My Uzi is the last long arm I would grab if I needed a gun. OTOH, given a choice, I'd grab the Uzi before a pistol anytime. The stock and extra sight radius make hits out to 200 yards possible, if not easy. BSW

I want one and a 30/30!

imo there of little to no use but that doesn't mean there not fun