9mm PCC input

Have you considered the KelTek Sub 2000. My son has one and I think these are the most interesting of them.

I have a Ruger and several of my friends do. They are popular and fun to shoot. I'm generally not a fan of Kel-tec products. Seen a lot of failures.

Only had my Ruger a couple months but I like it quite a bit. Cheek weld is too low even with irons. I shoot a lot of garands and mini 14 and M14 so I prefer the “traditional” feel of the standard Ruger PC Carbine. I don’t need the takedown feature but it’s cool and solid. Trigger is pretty good. I have dual charging handles installed because I shoot lefty. Easy to swap the magwell and the mag release. No malfunctions so far. Might run it in a multigun this month.

I have the Ruger PCC and it is a good carbine but fairly heavy.

I have owned the Keltec in the past and felt it was flimsy and I didnt like the recoil impulse.

I have owned a Beretta Storm in the past, and it had the worst trigger of any gun I have ever owned.

I bought a CMMG Banshee with 8" barrel (technically a pistol, its an AR9 with a brace), and I so far absolutely love it. It handles like an AR, almost no recoil, shoots great, 100% reliable so far, uses standard Glock 9mm magazines, and feels like a high quality gun. This is what I would recommend.

It's better to hold a Beretta CX4 and evaluate its construction, design, and fit in person as simple photos just can't give you that feedback.

The Ruger PCC will feel like a typical rifle in comparison and the Ruger will have a rifle like trigger.

The Beretta trigger is no bolt action rifle trigger, but it's not worse than some factory lever gun triggers and it surely isn't worse than a typical SKS trigger.

BTW, the Beretta is a take-down gun as well but the barrel stays with the upper receiver.

I think if you want a 9mm carbine that feels like a rifle, you'll want the very popular Ruger.

It has been said that the Beretta is designed like a sub-machine gun with about 4" of barrel added. If you don't mind the turn of the 21st century styling of the Beretta and are intrigued by the mystique of a sub-gun that happens to be easy and fun to shoot, then the Beretta is worth a look.

Here's an entertaining video of the CX4's sub-gun brother known as the MX4.

I had a marlin in 9mm back when. also had a beretta storm carbine. both were fun guns but neither were sturdy enough for anything more than that. the marlin was full of sheet metal parts and the beratta trigger group including the hammer has lots of plastic. also had a semi Thompson. way to slow to change mags and rechamber a fresh round.
…...that pretty much leaves some derivative of the modern sporting rifle in a pistol cartridge. jmho.

Yeah, the CX4's poly trigger group and hammer sure isn't traditional. Then I think back to me going shooting last week with my friend and his wife and they brought out their FN PS90 and FN FS2000, both with poly trigger groups and hammers.

How about the KelTec 9mm carbine? Does it have a poly trigger group and hammer as well?

+1 on the CMMG banshee. I just finished building one and it’s pretty incredible how soft it shoots compared to a blowback 9mm

I suggest you handle a Beretta prior to buying one. I couldn't get past the "streamlined" ergonomics.

Especially since you mentioned steel and wood.

It was a fine 9x19 carbine, but I never felt like I had a "good grip" on it.

I ended up with a 16" 9x19 Colt pattern AR, and after some tuning ( heavy 308 recoil spring, and 7.5ish oz buffer weight ) it is a pleasure to fire.

If I was to do it over again, I'd probably go with a 10.5ish barrel length and make it a pistol build.

FWIW... here is a ton of 9x19 chrono data from that 16" barrel... YMMV
https://www.ar15.com/forums/ar-15/1...129-OEM-rds-52-more-added-May-7th-/16-712312/

I like the Ruger PCC. I had one of the original Ruger PC4s (.40 S&W) and liked it; what I didn't care for was that it used Ruger magazines and I don't care for Ruger semiauto pistols. I contacted the company years ago and said that if they ever reintroduced a carbine capable of taking Glock magazines, I'd be all over it ... and I guessed a lot of others would, too.

I think Ruger got it right with the newest iteration. The replaceable mag well is slick, and the takedown feature is a plus. I have and regularly shoot a Glock 23 with a KKM 9mm barrel and like having the pistol and carbine share magazines.

I've had my Ruger for close to two years now. When we have PCC matches at my club half the firearms used are Rugers. The other half are AR platforms.

There's starting to be a lot of aftermarket support for the Ruger. They have good triggers out of the box, at least all that I've handled have. You can get a spring kit that will make that trigger even better. They are dead nuts accurate. They eat everything. I have mine set up with the Glock mag adapter. Glock mags are inexpensive and available everywhere.

IMHO it really breaks down to either the Ruger or an AR platform. My buddy has a PSA 9mm pistol. He's in love with it.

I'm building my own 9mm carbine, starting with an 80% lower and a quality 16" barrel. I have to do some more research on a BCG and heavy buffer/spring assembly. Also considering a drop-in trigger.

I like my Ruger PCC and my Sub 2000. Here's the scoop,

Ruger PCC is a great shooter. Easily adjustable LOP. As was previously observed the cheek weld is far too low, though. Maybe it was designed for a pad to be added I can't say. Trigger is great.

Sub 2000 is tiny, light, adjustable LOP but can't be folded if you take advantage of this feature. It has a LOT of recoil. It's worse than a handgun by a wide margin as the hard plastic stock, light weight, and blowback design all add up to pain for the user. The trigger is very heavy but otherwise good.

Both shoot accurately.

Just acquired this. Soon as the reflex sight comes in I’ll see what it does at the range, hopefully tomorrow.

When I fired the Beretta CX4 I was surprised that it recoiled more than my 16" 5.56 carbines. Muzzle jump was substantial. I wanted to "like" the gun, I really liked its looks but after firing it I was disappointed.

I have two Ruger PC 9mms. It's heavy for its size but there's virtually zero recoil and the minimal muzzle jump. I'm disappointed with the accuracy of the two I have. IMO the take-down feature is a gimmick. I wish I had the option to purchase one without the take-down feature. On the plus side - it takes inexpensive Glock and Magpul magazines, it's accurate enough for my intended purpose, and it's less "scary" looking.

Another CX4 sales pitch comin'.

Sure, the CX4 ought to have more felt recoil than a Ruger PCC.

For one thing, the bore line of the CX4 is lower which should put more of the recoil straight into the shoulder.

The other thing is the CX4 is about 1.125 lbs. lighter. It's interesting when .357 mag lever gun carbines are mentioned that lightweight (harder recoiling) Rossis seem to be preferred over the 1.5 lb. heavier Marlins. People mention the ease of carry and the handiness of a lighter weight gun.

The CX4 may move around a bit when fired but it doesn't cause pain like some guns can. It certainly has less felt recoil than my .357 Marlin, which thanks to its recoil pad doesn't cause pain either.

Another point. The early model CX4s had smooth forends which could get slippery with sweaty hands. Many years ago, Beretta added good molded-in checkering on the forend to make gripping the gun better. Since I'm here again, let me just throw this pic in.

View attachment 895273

and another video . . .

Cz scorpion doesnt fit your requirements but maybe worth looking at. I purchased mine when first came out. Nice sights and been reliable. I just have a brace on mine but nicer options out there now.

shootbrownelk said:

I'm building my own 9mm carbine, starting with an 80% lower and a quality 16" barrel. I have to do some more research on a BCG and heavy buffer/spring assembly. Also considering a drop-in trigger.

Click to expand...

Be aware that some of the normal AR triggers have finite lifespans when put into blowback PCC's - that bolt comes back faster than a DI rotating bolt carrier. Among the competitive PCC shooters that I know, it seems like the Hyperfire triggers are regarded as the answer - very good trigger that can stand up to blowback actions better than a lot of drop-ins.

I have the Ruger PCC to pair with my SR9c, since they can share magazines. I also have a Gen 2 Sub 2k with the "multimag" feature, so this one can share mags with my beloved Third Gen A&W semi-autos.

I see these carbines as similar to the idea of the old cowboy guns but brought forward to the current century; Back then, rifle and pistol shared the same ammo. Today, they share the same ammo and the same magazines.

All the mentions about pistol caliber carbine triggers in this thread made me realize I've never measured the trigger pull on my Ruger 9mm PC Carbine. Got it back in July 2018; and like it a lot. Trigger is 4 lbs. 8 oz.; average of 3 pulls on a Lyman digital gauge. Has a nice crisp break and I probably might have guessed it as being lower. OP was looking for feedback concerning that and the Beretta CX4, which I have zero knowledge of. My Ruger is just a standard range toy & plinker but may even be useful in other things like for defensive purposes. It's had almost 500 rounds through it and has had zero problems and sometime soon it's gonna be switched over to use Glock magazines, as I also have a G-19. Bought the Ruger on a whim and never regretted it.

I had the Ruger out yesterday. With a Bushnell TRS-25 I was ringing steel at 100 with no problem. Plenty accurate for its purpose.