Jason_W
Member
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.
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.