Pistol cal. carbine fans, what do you love about them?

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Jason_W

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Pistol caliber carbines tend to get a bad rap with dismissive language such as, "I don't get the point," or commonly "an AR in 5.56 is better." But there are those of us who love them and have identified advantages they have over AR pattern carbines.

My experience has been with carbines chambered in magnum revolver rounds, so I can't speak with any knowledge on auto pistol carbines. Anyway, here is what I love about revolver caliber carbines.

Ammo commonality: Frugal minded people can appreciate being able to invest in one type of ammo, one set of dies, one type of bullet/primer, and one category of powder to feed both a handgun and a long gun. The performance increase of a rifle chambered for a magnum revolver round is substantial if appropriate, slow burning powders are used.

Straight walled pistol calibers are a dream for the DIY minded. Pistol cases load quickly as carbide dies eliminate the need to deal with case lube. If one is able to cast his own bullets, loads can be made with recycled cases for pennies a piece.

Versatility: In the same gun, a shooter can run mild, light kicking/reporting loads that will be perfect for plinking or punching caliber sized holes in small game without vaporizing them, or the shooter can ramp things up to a level more than adequate for killing medium to large game out to 100-ish yards (we're not all hunting the plains or over crop fields).

A more slender gun: This one is admittedly all personal preference, but if I were to hunt in heavy brush, I would prefer to carry a sleek lever action rifle as opposed to an AR with lots of protruding parts and saw blade-like rails to snag on the bramble.

Any platform obviously has its disadvantages (I certainly wouldn't pick an M92 in .44 mag to hunt pronghorn on the plains of Wyoming) but the PCC isn't as useless as many seem to make it out to be.
 
I like that my LRN 9mm are cheaper than 22lr to make. Recoil is about the same as 5.56 but considerably quieter. I used mine in a carbine match and several shooters came up and asked if it was a 22lr. I did very well with it as I could see my hits on paper, unlike the 5.56 guys having to put 3-4 rounds into each as they couldn't tell.

Hotter SD loads run about 1400fps out of my CX4, on par with 6" revolver 357's.

I can hit a 12" plate at 150 yards, no problem.

They're compact, lightweight and have a simple manual of arms. My AR sits in the safe while the CX4 serves HD duty...and is why I am looking to sell the AR and get another bolt or Mini 14.
 
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I don't own one, but certainly like the concept. The auto pistol carbines make for a handy, accurate, low recoiling package. The lever guns really take advantage of barrel length to achieve way higher velocities taking them to a whole nother level, 1800-2000 fps in .357 magnum, with high capacity and still low recoil.

I prefer my SBR AR for HD, but a well set up PCC is a solid choice. The only thing holding me back is cost, I have Caddillac tastes (Sig suppressed MPX if/when it hits the streets), on a currently High Point budget. :p
 
Cheap to shoot, low recoil, low noise, more accurate than a handgun, more effective than a .22, less intimidating to new shooters.
 
A lever action 1894c in 357 for deer out to 100 yds.

A pc 9 carbine in 9 mm for fun, varmints, and HD. At 6 lbs I can tote it all day and a 4X scope makes it a perfect all around weapon for my needs.
 
HammsBeer said:
Cheap to shoot, low recoil, low noise, more accurate than a handgun, more effective than a .22, less intimidating to new shooters.
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Yep - all this. And if you get the right PCC, it can share mags with other firearms you may also own.
 
I like PCC's, even though I'm firmly in the "just give me a rifle" camp for anything serious. They're great for new shooters. Low noise, low blast, low recoil... usually..., cheap to shoot (9mm is the new .22 for me), and good for indoor ranges. The ammo commonality is overblown, IMO... Unless you only own a 357 revolver and carbine, it's a moot point.

But I don't see myself ever taking a PCC hunting or using one for defense.

A more slender gun: This one is admittedly all personal preference, but if I were to hunt in heavy brush, I would prefer to carry a sleek lever action rifle as opposed to an AR with lots of protruding parts and saw blade-like rails to snag on the bramble.
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AR's aren't all rails... and I can't tell you how many buckhorn sights I've snagged on junk.
 
For women and inexperienced shooters pistol caliber carbines are great for self defense. It is not hard to coax either group into shooting a pistol caliber carbine enough to be able to handle it under stress. I would much rather my wife used a 20 ga for SD. But she will not shoot a pump shotgun enough to handle it under stress. We have a solid safety plan. Hide, try to avoid a a confrontation, but when discovery becomes imminent ambush the invader and cut him down before he knows he is in danger.
 
cost. decent plinking ammo in 9mm runs 8-12 dollars for the cheapest 50 round boxes. the cheapest plinking ammo ive seen in 5.56 is 12 dollars for a box of american eagle , 20 round box.

easier to surpress that 9mm carbine.

less finicky on ammo. ive seen highpoints that do well with 147 grain loads.

its not so easy to get a budget 600 dollar ar that CAN get accuracy with the full spectrum of bullets.
 
I shoot paper and reactive targets like steel or self-sealing plastic.

9mm leaves bigger, easier to see holes in paper.
It can shoot pistol steel plates which last forever with no penetration.
Plastic targets react better with 9mm.
9mm is easier to clean up.
9mm has better barrel life.

Why use a .223 for target practice? A 9mm AR behaves almost exactly the same as a .223, but works better for the range. And the ammo is about half the price to crank out, at a speed 8-10x faster than .223.
 
I have around $350 in my Hi Point including two extra magazines, a stock mounted magazine clip, 300 lumen light with a T6 cree bulb and mount for the light. I got the Hi Point in OCT. So far it has run over 1,100 rounds of all types of ammo from 147gr sub sonic loads to 115gr +P+ ammo without a malfunction. I have had a Hi Point 995 Classic for well over 10 years. I cannot recall a single malfunction with the Classic.
 
Lever action are a ton of fun to shoot, and 357 out of a rifle hits almost as hard as a 30-30 for half the price.
 
I own a Miroku "Winchester" .45 Colt lever, but I really don't think that's exactly what you are talking about. Other than what I have, that has several decent (short range) hunting applications, I think you are talking about recreation, or some kind of defense application. Those 2 are plenty in my mind to justify their existence, but I hope owners are clearly aware of their best uses and limitations.
 
VThillman said:
What say? The thutty-thutty is in a whole nother ballpark from a .357.
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The .30-30 does hit with more energy and has a flatter trajectory. However, nothing you hit inside of 100 yards will know the difference between the two if appropriate ammo is used.

For example, Buffalo Bore produces a 158 grain load that is alleged by the manufacturer to have a MV of approximately 2100 f/s from an 18.5" barrel Marlin. Their 180 grain load will do around 1800 f/s. That's nothing to scoff at.

No, the figures don't match the .30-30, but the trade off is that with the .357, you can switch to ultra-fun cat sneeze .357 loads (or .38 spl. loads) when large game isn't the objective.
 
OK, reasonable. But notice the short range caveat in my post. The .30/.30 extends this rather dramatically. Especially with newer ammo (Leverevolution anyone?).
 
We all like what we like: it's not as if we are arguing that my 1894 is the best elk gun. The are fun. The lever action reminds me thT ARs were made in the 19th century. And as a bug out gun my .357&.357 make a good combination. As a pleasing push on my shoulder my .44mag is about as good as it get. Now I just need a RedHawk.

Greg
 
I guess the main reason I like them is that they're significantly quieter than anything else I shoot barring my .22's. And really, an SBR'd MP5 clone is no slouch for HD.
 
rswartsell said:
OK, reasonable. But notice the short range caveat in my post. The .30/.30 extends this rather dramatically. Especially with newer ammo (Leverevolution anyone?).
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True, but long range isn't always needed. As noted in the OP, a lever carbine in .357 or .44 mag wouldn't be a great choice for plains hunting.

Me, I'm mostly a brush hunter. I've never even hunted terrain that offered visibility beyond 50 yards at the most.

Even now that I've moved out west I'm noticing that the open terrain is broken by large chunks of land densely covered by scrub oak and manzanita.
 
At 6 lbs I can tote it all day
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3

This is where Taurus messed up with their CT9 - it was way too heavy. Their catalog has it listed at 6.5 lbs empty but I held it at a gun store and it sure seemed a lot heavier than that. and it was really muzzle heavy. It was a boat anchor and it would have been a pain to lug around.
 
I got a Ruger M77/44 on the way from Buds gun shop, should have it by Tuesday, cant wait, gonna go in the brush on my cow pastures and look for some hogs, gonna have my .44 mag Super Blackhawk pistol on my side too...cant wait....got lots of long guns in assortment of calibers from .17hmr to 30-06, my favorites are .308 and 7mm-08, but just had to have a .44 carbine...why...cause I can :)
 
What say? The thutty-thutty is in a whole nother ballpark from a .357.
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Indeed. I believe the late Jeff Cooper said it was the ideal urban defense weapon.

I own a Miroku "Winchester" .45 Colt lever, but I really don't think that's exactly what you are talking about.
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I consider my 45 Colt lever to be a excellent 100 yard carbine so that makes two of us.
 
For me the appeal is the ability to practice shooting centerfire rifle without the expense of centerfire rifle ammo.
 
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