9mm carbine wisdom

[Bitcoin919]

Hi folks,

I'm interested in 9mm carbines; to those of you with experience in this area, what sorts of considerations ought I take when researching/shopping? What do you know that a rookie doesn't?


Thanks in advance!

 

[92FSTech]

Find something that's not straight blowback.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Find something that's not straight blowback.

Yep. CMMG's radial delay system is awesome if you can spare the extra cash.

 

[Dean C.]

As mentioned above spend the extra on a better locking system, straight blow back 9mm PCCs kick significantly more than most would expect. Personally a roller locked fan myself

 

[Scott58]

I secretly wish all my 9's were .38 special.

 

[Mgderf]

I don't like magwell adapters.
I much prefer a dedicated lower.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

I like bolt actions... (okay, it's 9mm Largo, but still)

 

[Route 45]

Find something that's not straight blowback.

Nothing wrong with straight blowback. I'd take a roller lock or radial delay over a blowback, sure, but not for 2x-3x the cost. It's a 9mm carbine, not a battle rifle. Recoil should not be an issue for most.

Although if someone has a line on a CMMG Banshee for a couple hundred bucks more than a PC Carbine or Beretta CX4, I've got a finder's fee for ya.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Nothing wrong with straight blowback. I'd take a roller lock or radial delay over a blowback, sure, but not for 2x-3x the cost. It's a 9mm carbine, not a battle rifle. Recoil should not be an issue for most.

Although if someone has a line on a CMMG Banshee for a couple hundred bucks more than a PC Carbine or Beretta CX4, I've got a finder's fee for ya.

That's what I was thinking. It's a handgun round (and not a particularly powerful one at that) for crying out loud. Recoil? What recoil?

 

[Cameramonkey]

Nothing wrong with straight blowback. I'd take a roller lock or radial delay over a blowback, sure, but not for 2x-3x the cost. It's a 9mm carbine, not a battle rifle. Recoil should not be an issue for most.

Although if someone has a line on a CMMG Banshee for a couple hundred bucks more than a PC Carbine or Beretta CX4, I've got a finder's fee for ya.

Its about comfort. I dont mind blowback. But I did shoot a Banshee and it was very nice. But I dont want to pay that much so I dont own one. Maybe if I had extra money to throw away, sure. But I dont shoot my carbine enough to mind the extra kick.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Its about comfort. I dont mind blowback. But I did shoot a Banshee and it was very nice. But I dont want to pay that much so I dont own one. Maybe if I had extra money to throw away, sure. But I dont shoot my carbine enough to mind the extra kick.

I'm guessing that the Hi Point carbine I had (in 45 acp) was blowback. Recoil was very soft. Of course it weighed about 14 lbs, so there's that.

 

[Cameramonkey]

I'm guessing that the Hi Point carbine I had (in 45 acp) was blowback. Recoil was very soft. Of course it weighed about 14 lbs, so there's that.

Funny thing, is as much grief Hi Point gets for their pistol, the carbine is awesome. The worst thing Ive heard about it is that the barrel overheats too quickly. Other than that, its a solid no nonsense (and ugly as sin) carbine.

 

[Dean C.]

That's what I was thinking. It's a handgun round (and not a particularly powerful one at that) for crying out loud. Recoil? What recoil?

I shoot a lot of shotguns so recoil is not an issue , it's just the concept of a 9mm PCC having "worse" recoil than an AR-15 I won't accept personally. If it's straight blowback just give me my 2011 and I will be just fine with 26 round sticks

 

[firecadet613]

Have you considered a folding PCC? The S&W 9mm FPC has good reviews.

 

[d.kaufman]

Funny thing, is as much grief Hi Point gets for their pistol, the carbine is awesome. The worst thing Ive heard about it is that the barrel overheats too quickly. Other than that, its a solid no nonsense (and ugly as sin) carbine.

They do what they need and are accurate. Have 9mm and 45 version. If the 10mm comes up locally at a good price, I'll probably buy it too

 

[ECS686]

My agency had a lot of Colt 9mm SMG’s and I am not familiar enough with the Springfield as it looks like a dedicated lower

But the Colts specifically (and maybe colones that have a smaller 9mm well pinned into the receiver)

That and the Colt patterns magazines were problematic with feeding a lot of JHP I know Win Ranger Fed and worked great but the Federal 9BP my agency has been stuck on for a couple decades worked but you’d get a couple a mag nose dive into the feed ramp making the stubbiest 9mm round. Ball worked I can only presume some of the Gold Dits would be just as problematic but maybe someone else can share.

The other biggest downside to Cokt pattern mags is they can be hard to seat when fully loaded so turn the magwell to the side while you are seating. Because IF you drop the mag a great chance it will spit out half to most of your rounds like a PEZ dispenser!

That said if I had to buy one today I’d consider the CZ EVO it works as good as the SIG for half the $$ but that’s me

Good luck

 

[DadSmith]

Nothing wrong with straight blowback. I'd take a roller lock or radial delay over a blowback, sure, but not for 2x-3x the cost. It's a 9mm carbine, not a battle rifle. Recoil should not be an issue for most.

Although if someone has a line on a CMMG Banshee for a couple hundred bucks more than a PC Carbine or Beretta CX4, I've got a finder's fee for ya.

Well some may find 9mm carbine to have harsh recoil.

 

[Mgderf]

Well some may find 9mm carbine to have harsh recoil.
View attachment 350996

Karen, is that you?

 

[KJQ6945]

There are so many options for 9mm carbines. You just have to decide how much you can spend, and how cool do you want it to be.

They are all pretty much range toys with some home defense applications.

To me, I break them down into to two separate groups. The guns that were designed as carbines for the civilian market, and the guns that were designed as subguns for military and law enforcement, then sold as semi autos to us peons.

Category 1 the PCC
Ruger, Marlin, Kel-Tec, Hi-Point, S&W etc.

Category 2 the SubGun
Colt, HK, Mac, Uzi, Sig, CZ, Kriss etc.

I have always loved the subguns after shooting an MP5SD. They became a quest for me. They are cheap to shoot, way more accurate than a pistol, and hold almost twice the rounds as a pistol. The downside, they are way more expensive than a pistol. As a suppressed SBR, they are a lot of fun.

 

[spencer rifle]

Some small experience with these:
Ruger PC9 (old one)
Calico
Uzi
Various MP5 clones (Coharie, SP5, AP5)
Hi-Point
MAC-11
Sub 2000 (1st and 2nd generations)

The MP5 clones are reliable, easy to shoot, mild recoil (roller locked) and more expensive.
The Ruger is lights-out reliable, but not as accurate and has more recoil, and eats anything.
Calico has 50 and 100 round mags but is finicky, though also completely ambi.
Never had any issues with the Hi-Point, but didn't keep it due to limited mag choices.
Uzi is a classic, easy to work on, but somewhat awkward to shoot, and spendy.
Sub 2000 is getting better with each generation, but the cheek weld is awkward.
The MAC-11 is simply a blast.