Your thoughts on pistol caliber carbines?

[akhimark]

I would be interested in feed back on pistol caliber carbines in general compared with the .223/5.56 and the Beretta CX4 Storm in particular. Also, do you think SA would come up with an XD carbine? and would you buy one if they did? Thanks

[jdavionic]

Originally Posted by akhimark

I would be interested in feed back on pistol caliber carbines in general compared with the .223/5.56 and the Beretta CX4 Storm in particular. Also, do you think SA would come up with an XD carbine? and would you buy one if they did? Thanks

My friend has a CX4. He has been disappointed in it. The gun works fine. But the mags are expensive and he's now questioning the purchase...from a practical perspective.

[Yuppicide]

I have a Ruger PC-40 carbine, and I love it.
If SA came out with something like that in .45ACP and took XD mags I'd buy one in a heart beat.

[GoCodeBravo]

Never shot the CX4 nor will I own one. Too much money. However, for a 9mm carbine, the Kel-Tec Sub2000 (mine has the Beretta grip/mags, but you can get the Glock grip, too) is fun and a bargain. Oh, and more importantly, it is HIGHLY concealable and transportable: folds to 16"x9" and about 1.75" thick. Which fits in all kinds of "normal" looking bags. It'll do the job from 25 to 100yds.

No substitute for a fighting rifle (AK, AR, Galil, SAR, etc) whatsoever, but for LESS than many pistols, you can have quite some fun and it can serve as a defensive tool. Also makes a good CAR gun and a decent home defense tool. Given the price, it's something you could leave in trunk and not freak like with a $1200 AR or $800 AK.

You can shoot it one handed, if needed, in a jam, in close quarters, although that's far from ideal. Buy one and keep it in your bug out bag with 5 loaded mags from Eagle (17 rds, stainless, for $8 ea from CDNN Investments, at least for the Beretta 92 version). Some economical peace of mind, amigo.

[FrankW438]

In general, firing a pistol cartridge through rifle barrel isn't all that helpful. Yes, you will gain some accuracy with a longer barrel, a longer sight radius, and a more stable platform.

However, you will probably lose a substantial amount of velocity pushing that bullet through a longer barrel. Most handgun powders are designed to burn completely in a shorter, pistol length barrel. Rifle powders burn more slowly, and actually gain power and velocity from a longer barrel.

But when you fire a pistol cartridge loaded with a pistol powder through a rifle-length barrel, the powder burns up in the first several inches. The remainder of the length of the barrel is just added friction that will drag on the bullet, resulting in slower velocity and lower muzzle energy.

There are probably special handgun cartridges specifically loaded for carbine-length barrels, but they may be hard to get and probably won't be cheap.

-- Frank

[cougar_guy04]

Originally Posted by jdavionic

My friend has a CX4. He has been disappointed in it. The gun works fine. But the mags are expensive and he's now questioning the purchase...from a practical perspective.

Really? The CX4 our club owns takes normal Beretta 92 magazines.

As for me, I'm still hoping to find a Marlin Camp Carbine in .45 ACP. Shot one and I loved it. My range owner said he'd consider selling me his since he got bored with it.

[Pinto]

Frank - FWIW

A discussion over at the Ruger forum on the very question of velocity of .40 S&W handgun ammo through the PC4 carbine, it is stated there is a gain in velocity of 10 - 20 % . The actual testing was done with Federal Hydra-Shocks. One of the posters there, Coffee Pot, was the developer of the PC carbines for Ruger.

http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB/view...1e4e681d37989a

[101radioman]

Not sure about the carbines, But dang my Thompson sure is fun to play with.
Sure it's a newer one semi only 16 inch barrel but load up the 50 drum and WOW.
Gorram thing weighs a ton.

[Kaboom]

An XD based carbine would be very interesting, not sure if I care about the mags but why not!
I have an Uzi and a Sterling in 9mm and they are more than competant shooters! I love them and the accuracy I get from the iron sights on the Uzi is quite amazing. 45ACP is too slow, I dont even want to calculate the drop at 100yds lol.

ok I calc'd it anyway and not as bad as I thought, about 25 inches, but that's 4 times more than a 9mm.

[Alaskapopo]

Originally Posted by akhimark

I would be interested in feed back on pistol caliber carbines in general compared with the .223/5.56 and the Beretta CX4 Storm in particular. Also, do you think SA would come up with an XD carbine? and would you buy one if they did? Thanks

Pistol caliber carbines are fine as toys to be used as understudys for 5.56 guns. They can be shot at indoor ranges and that is a good thing and they cost less to shoot.

But for serious uses don't bother. They lack range and stopping power compared to a .223 carbine. They also pose more of an over penetration risk in the human body and in common building materials when compared to the .223. Most people don't realize that last fact I mentioned.
Pat