What are pistol-caliber rifles all about?

When I was a kid, we showed each other we were men by shooting squirrels with things like 8mm Mausers.

Now that I’m older I learned that I can take out a coyote from the balcony upstairs without waking up my wife down stairs, with a suppressed 9mm carbine.



If I tried that with a “real” rifle, I’d be sleeping with the dogs.

Not to mention it’s cheap to shoot, a pound of powder loads more than 2000 rounds.

I live in a "straight walled cartridge" for deer state.

Even if Ohio opened up bottle necked cartridges I don't think I could make an better choice of carbine than a 16" 44mag M92. Very short, very well balanced, very accurate, reliable and powerful at the ranges involved.

I hunt thick brush. Doing deer drives on hands and knees crawling through thorns, vines and various other flora and fauna. Humping an AR15 with all the various protrusions would be a nightmare. At the available ranges the 44mag is plenty of thump to easily punch through both shoulders.

Edited to add, snapped this last week during gun season. This is the kinda brush I'm talking about:

Ammo capacity. Low cost. Low recoil. Velocity boost. Fits some states hunting regs. Just some attractions...

I don't have a "need" for a pistol caliber rifle hunting wise. Not that I would be particularly handicapped with a .44 or .454 casull, even a .357 carbine would get the job done, but any number of bottleneck rifle cartridges will do the job more efficiently. Where I am shopping for a .357 carbine, is for casual plinking at moderate range. .38, .357 are dirt cheap and butt simple to reload. Recoil and report are mild, and less of a backstop is needed than for .308 win 147gr M80 ball. They are also quite challenging to shoot when you push their envelope on targets to 100 or even 200 yards, making "long range" Kentucky calls when only moderate distance is available to shoot. Yes, I need one for this purpose, and I may take it for an occasional walk in the deer woods.

I have learned there is no sense to the question, “Why on earth would you want...?!”

There is no accounting for taste.

I happen to love the PCC idea. Can’t fathom why someone would want a .460 Roy. But I’m glad there are people who like them. 1. It keeps cartridge development going. 2. Keeps gun companies in business. 3. Ophthalmologists need to feed their families...

YMMV
Greg

I'm just waiting for Illinois to join in on pccs so I can then stew over which carbine to pull out for deer season, the Win or Mar 44, the 92 357, or the 444 or 45-70 Marlin. Oh, to have to choose.

Ok, I have to see the pictures of your Four Fourty Four and Fourty-five Seventy pistols.
(Definitely the Ninety Two, PapaG.)
The allure is they are so much fun to shoot! Like a big rimfire. Of course, not so much with the big guys!

So things haven't really changed. It's nice to have a rifle and pistol chambered in the same caliber. It's just nowadays it would be Nine Millimeter in the stead of Thirty-Eight Fourty Four.

I've got a couple of pistol caliber rifles - a 92 in .45C and a Lightning in .357. They don't have any particular purpose except for recreation, where the have some of the feel of my .45-90 and .50-110 big bore lever actions without the cost and recoil. Recoil is OK for children and new shooters.

The .45C in particular would be useful for hunting in some states, but it's basically useless here.

This is my only pistol caliber “rifle” (technically a pistol due to the brace)

It’s purpose is to make steel plates go ding using the ammo from the bucket of handloads I already make for my pistols.

9mm is about 1/3rd the cost to reload and about 5 times faster than 223. Plus because it’s only 9mm it doesn’t destroy my soft steel plates like a 223 will unless you have AR500 plates

I plan to also get a lever action in 44 mag or 45 colt for the same reason.

I can reload 9mm for pretty close to what quality 22lr costs and cheaper than good 22 mag ammo. I can work up an accurate load for my PC9... for my 10/22 I just have to try different ammo to find one that is accurate with my rifle. The tin cans cower in fright when I show up at the range with my PC9!

What are pistol-caliber rifles all about?

Click to expand...

WELL... most are considered "carbines". You gotcher ree-volver caliber car-beens -and- you gotcher semiauto caliber carbines... one is rimmed, the other rimless. Either will dictate the action it will function in, generally. All are commonly referred to as "pistol caliber" carbines.

As for requisite ballistics, look at what handgun hunters achieve with single-action revolvers: typically large-caliber, heavy bullet, not necessarily blinding speed. Then look at what men were using 150 years ago in the 1860s to hunt buffalo... if it was effective then, it is effective now.

Your "modern" centerfire bottleneck stuff is for DISTANCE. On the other hand, revolver-caliber carbines are used in closer quarters, as woods guns, brush guns, etc. Distances are +/- 100 yards. That's my take on it. My favorites are the Marlin 1894s in .357 S&W Magnum, .41 Remington Magnum and .44 Remington Magnum calibers, in barrels running respectively 18.5", 20" and 16.5".

Some of us just like the idea of a long gun that shares ammo (and in some cases magazines) with our favorite handguns.

My favorites at the moment are a pair of Henry Single Shot rifles in .357 and .44 magnum. They are about as un-tacticool as you can get ... but they sure are fun to shoot.
I also have one of the new Ruger PC Carbines that shares magazines with my Glock. Again, just fun to shoot.

someguy2800 said:

View attachment 814710

This is my only pistol caliber “rifle” (technically a pistol due to the brace)

It’s purpose is to make steel plates go ding using the ammo from the bucket of handloads I already make for my pistols.

9mm is about 1/3rd the cost to reload and about 5 times faster than 223. Plus because it’s only 9mm it doesn’t destroy my soft steel plates like a 223 will unless you have AR500 plates

I plan to also get a lever action in 44 mag or 45 colt for the same reason.

Click to expand...

My wife wakes me up to shoot them. She likes to hold the spotlight. I must be super lucky.

PCC, like someone else said, cheap ammo, low recoil, quieter, lighter package, easy too shoot well.

Some of us just like the idea of a long gun that shares ammo (and in some cases magazines) with our favorite handguns.

Click to expand...

low recoil... lighter package, easy to shoot well.

Click to expand...

^ ^ ^ There's that, too. I was interested to learn that, again, say, 150 years ago, a cowboy would rely mostly on his carbine or rifle to put meat on the fire and defend against those red-skinned "hostiles"... the sidearm was used mainly for self-defense should he find himself thrown from a spooked horse but with a boot stuck in the stirrup... he'd have to shoot his horse in order to save his own neck...

And, forgive me; I failed to mention what it is about the "carbine" that is so appealing: It is it's short, handy length, it's light weight (typically 6.5 lbs empty), and as Cooper put it, it's "friendliness". When you have a longarm with these physical qualities yet chambered in an effective game-getter, your needs are met and in the most pleasant fashion.

I have Cowboy guns and shoot Cowboy Action but I have always liked the idea of having a carbine that matches my pistol or revolver.
I have a Glock 19X and a G45 so I got myself a Ruger PC 9mm Carbine. Not for competitions, just for fun.

The pistol caliber carbine allows you to shoot the same cartridges only further and more accurately, at least for me. The longer barrel adds up to a few hundred feet per second to the same ammo you shoot in your handguns.

Shooting a pistol caliber carbine is fun and inexpensive.

rpenmanparker said:

So are the pistol-caliber rifles these days mostly or all carbines or “technical” rifles as opposed to more traditional bolt action hunting rifles? Are they mainly semi-autos?

EDIT: I see there a lot of lever actions which makes sense. What are the main types of rifles the pistol-calibers show up in?

Click to expand...

Pistol caliber rifles come in bolt actions as well. This is a Ruger in M77 in .357 Mag.
My son took his first deer in Ohio, a fat doe, at 78 yards 4 years ago. The doe went about 30 yards and piled up. A very effective short range rifle with quick handling characteristic.

Low cost, easier than handguns to shoot well , moderate recoil, easy to suppress, accurate, same platforms as larger calibers so something of a crossover for training to shoot actual rifles, can be used on steel at close range without damaging steel..... etc


It isn't always about firing a full power round all the time. Sometimes it is about firing a round that is powerful enough.

I am still handloading 9mm for .08 per round with components I bought quite a while back. So I can shoot 3x the ammo compared to factory 223, and I can shoot it at my steel targets at 25 yards. Add a silencer and I can do it without disturbing anyone.

As fas as my Winchester ‘73 in .45 Colt: the shorter lever stroke sound, the cartridge lifter echo, the fat, stubby cartridge sliding into the chamber, the trigger snap, the lighter recoil, the 50 yard accuracy, classic looks, etc - fun to own and shoot - neat piece of metal and wood.

rpenmanparker said:

So one subcategory is modern AR like semi-automatics that are used in competitions and for fun. What about the older style guns in pistol calibers? Lever actions, bolt actions.... What are they for?

Click to expand...

Same thing + hunting

I don't hunt, but the concept is correct... I would rather have a wider, heavier bullet travelling at less velocity than a smaller, lighter bullet travelling faster. I suppose there are exceptions, of course, and we are not talking about Godzilla.

I hunt steel... steel pipe at distance. It's quite a hoot to shoot steel pipe at 600yds with a .41MAG carbine. Sure, I can do it all day long with my .30 lever-actions, too, but it's pretty satisfying nonetheless.

the sidearm was used mainly for self-defense should he find himself thrown from a spooked horse but with a boot stuck in the stirrup... he'd have to shoot his horse in order to save his own neck...

Click to expand...

My luck I would shoot my own damn foot.

I have PP rifles in 9mm, 32, 357 and 44 mag and really get a kick out of shooting them. I hope to get a deer this year with the 357 mag Marlin. I have killed a deer with the 44 mag and my buds son shot his first deer with a Marlin Camp Carbine 9mm like mine. One shot and a 40 yard run and the deer was down. Light to carry, low recoil and all the power you need out to a hundred yards or so with the right caliber for the game you are hunting. Plus they are just so much fun to shoot.

rpenmanparker said:

So one subcategory is modern AR like semi-automatics that are used in competitions and for fun. What about the older style guns in pistol calibers? Lever actions, bolt actions.... What are they for?

Click to expand...

Whatever you want to use them for. But if you’ve never carried a Marlin 1894 through the woods, you’re missing out. Plus, 10+1 of 44mag in a quick handling levergun is quite a bit of firepower.