pistol caliber rifle help

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runnn

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I am looking to buy a rifle or carbine chambered in 9mm, 357 mag, or 40 s&w. I have just started looking around at them but they seem to make sense as they dont cost as much money to feed.

Could anyone who has some first hand experience please give me some insight or things to consider when it comes to these things. I have been looking at beretta's CX9 and several AR15's that shoot 9mm but they seem to be twice the price as a .223 AR15.
 
I have seen and shot and as a range officer SEEN a lot of pistol cal rifles shot, and the only one that works with any regularity is the Colt 9mm AR15 w/ the pinned mag block and the Beretta.
 
My favorite pistol caliber rifle is a Marlin 1894c that's chambered in .38/.357 magnum. It's the right size is easy to carry, fun to shoot and cheap if you reload. Buffalo Bore Ammo sells .357 ammo that comes close to standard .30-30 ammo in velocity if you need some extra punch and don't reload. These can be hard to find.

I have other pistol caliber rifles in 9mm and .45. The least expensive is the Hi Point 4595. Ugly as sin and totally reliable. Not as accurate as the Marlin. Hi Point makes these in 9mm and 40S&W also, these rifles will be your least expensive choice.

I recently bought a Marlin Camp 9. It's a handy little rifle and would be a great plinker. It had a REALLY bad trigger on it. I sent it away to have that worked on. It's better, but....

My next pistol cal rifle will be a M1 Carbine, I'm just having a hard time getting over the prices on these.:D
 
dom11o4 I have had the Marlin Camp 9 and 45 also the High Point 9 and 40[don't tell anyone]. Never had any trouble with any of them. They are all very reliable from my experience.
 
I am just looking for a cheap to shoot paper killer, I dont really care about the cost of the gun up to the $650 area. I also would like something that wont bust the bank to run a couple boxes of shells through it on the weekends and thats why I am leaning towards 9mm or 38 special at the moment. I like the idea of a hi capacity 9mm but it seems the mags cost an arm and a leg.
 
I've shot the Beretta CX4 Storm, an HK semi auto carbine (don't recall the number), Kel-Tec 2000 and a JR carbine.

The Beretta and HK were extremely smooth. So smooth that they are only a little more "exciting" to shoot than a .22. The Kel-Tec and JR were a little more "rough" due to the basic blowback bolt. But this certainly gave them a more lively feel.

I was just looking at a Thrueon Defense 9mm carbine yesterday at the gun shop. It's a VERY nice looking setup. The only issue with it up in Canada is that because it's a semi auto "rifle" the mags need to be pinned to 5 rounds. On the other hand the carbines which use handgun mags get to use 10 round mags becuase the mags were originally intended for the handguns and not for the carbine...... Do NOT try to make sense of this. You'll just give yourself a headache. It just is what it is.

But the bottom line is that in the US for a lower cost pure fun plinker I'd suggest that the Kel-Tec, JR and Thrueon are all nice looking options for a 9mm plinker carbine. If it would be used for a little more serious application as well then I'd include consideration for the Beretta or other higher end light pistol carbine style. This might include the idea of an AR style but it certainly does not need to.

For .38Spl/.357Mag you're looking mostly at lever action rifles or perhaps break open single shot or bolt action repeaters. But mostly your options would likely aim at the lever guns. Rossi makes an OK gun out of the box. It's reliable if a little rough feeling. Any decent cowboy action gunsmith can slick them up very nicely. Lots of folks like the Marlin 1895 as well. The Marlin has the advantage of a solid top so peep sights or even a scope can be easily mounted.
 
With your criteria, Runnn, I'd recommend the Hi-Point carbine. Cheapest one out there, and functions perfectly fine (nothing to write home about, but not bad)
 
Thanks for all of the information guys.

dprice, http://www.mechtechsys.com/ thanks for the link I think I will look into these --already have a couple glocks and plenty of mags.

RX-178-- do the hi points have regular/hi cap mags can you find aftermarket hi cap mags for them?

briansmithwins-- I never liked the uzi looking guns 'till now:D your set up looks very "comfy" and shootable. that wouldnt happen to be a registered FA would it? if not could you give me some more ino on it like make, model, when and where ya got it, if not a transferable did you have a shop sbr it? and would you reccomend it.
 
If your primary goal is to have a cheap to shoot rifle you may want to look at an AK74 or AR upper chambered in 5.45. Its not a pistol round but 1080 rounds of milsurp is only $140.
 
No, not a full auto I got mine as a 16" carbine from Vector. Screwed around with it for a year and got the SBR papers done.

Either the Vector or IMI are reliable guns, and I'd rank the IMI as being the better of the two.

SBRing one is dead easy: Unscrew the barrel nut, chuck the barrel into a lathe and turn it down until it fits the trunnion and restrictor ring. Then drop the barrel back in and you're GTG.

BSW
 
Although there are some hi-cap mags out there for the Hi Point 9's and 45's (not sure about the 40) they are after market and the reviews on them have been mixed. Some get them to work properly some not. I bought one for my 4595 but have not gotten around to doing the mod to make them work in the rifle(they are made for the 1911 and need a small amount of fiddling so they will latch in place). Can't say I would recommend the .45 because of ammo prices, 9's would be MUCH cheaper. My Marlin Camp 9 does take 17 and 20 round mags made by McGar.

If you are considering the Hi Point, check out the forum.
http://www.hipointfirearmsforums.com/forum/
 
A friend recently got a Kel Tec Sub2000 Hard Chrome in .40S&W. It is amazingly fun to fire, just a hair more felt recoil than a .223 AR due to the gun being very light weight. He hasn't fired it a ton yet, but so far not one malf in a hundred rounds or so.

With the 31rnd glock mags it makes one hell of a handy carbine and just about perfect for home defense.
 
Kel-Tec Sub 2k is my pick, simply because:

A) cheaper than the CX4 Storm
B) takes your pick of common pistol mags (i.e., Glock)
C) conveniently folds in half
D) lightweight
E) won't alienate buyers like a Hi-Point should you choose to sell it later
 
I know 9mm AR's are expensive, but I really like mine. This one is built using a Lone Wolf Dist. Lower. However, I just ordered a replacement for it because it lacks a last round bolt hold open. I like the fact I can use my Glock Mags with the rifle. (The only way it makes sense in my opinion.)

picture.php
 
:what: awsome looking rig you have

rj, that is what im thinking about as well. It would be nice if the rifle would not just take the ammo but the mags. I think ya just narrowed it down to the lonewolf glock lower or the mech tech conversion unit. thanks a million for all of the info fellas.
 
Hi-Point has a great range of PCC's. They come in 9mm, 40 S&W, and 45 ACP. They are lovely guns, cheap, and I honestly think that they do such a good job for so much less money than an AR PCC or a Beretta PCC that you positively have to get a Hi-Point hands down. I should have gotten one instead of my Beretta. The Beretta is nicer and more accurate, but the magazines are smaller and they do not offer bigger ones nor are there aftermarket options, I cannot really get all the accuracy out of the Beretta, and I don't shoot nearly often enough to need a really fancy gun. The Hi-Point carbines have that great customer service and guarantee and also, I like the controls, look, sights, and feel more.

http://www.hi-pointfirearms.com/carbines/carbines_main.html
 
I've had a handful of lower end carbines in pistol calibers... I've never been able to afford any of the high end stuff so I can't comment on that. I can tell you DO NOT buy the Circuit Judge from Rossi... They're pretty decent to 50 yards, but any more than that and it's a crap shoot. A deer size target is about 50/50 at 100 yards.

My highpoints were all very sweet shooters, sure I had a couple feeding issues, but there aren't many semi-auto guns out there that have never had a feeding issue. They were cheap, accurate, and fun to shoot... although ugly as sin and felt in your hands like they were poorly made. They did all have soda-can accuracy at 100 yards which was pretty darn good if you ask me.

I just got a levergun in .44 mag, it's an older marlin 1894, I like it so far, pretty nifty, and I love a gun with an actual hammer that you can lower so it's relatively safe to keep one in the pipe (this scares me to death with any hammerless auto). While .44 mag certainly doesn't fit in your definition of "cheap to shoot" I think the .357 models can handle .38 special without any feeding issues, plus they hold quite a few rounds in that tube mag...

being pretty darn poor though, I do lean towards the hi-points... as long as you're secure with people poking fun at you for having one, they are pretty decent rifles.
 
I like to drive the slow lane with a big truck when it comes to pistol caliber carbines.
My H&R Classic Carbine in .45 Colt.
HRclose.jpg
 
I used a hi point 40 S&W carbine this year while driving swamps out. It went threw a mess ( wet, cold, dirt, ect,) and still was able to level a Doe @ 60 yds using Winchester 165 JHP. ( not the PDX1 Rounds the reduced recoil loads = fail in Hi Point)
 
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