Ruger PC Carbine Range Report

JKP · June 2018

Got my new carbine out to the range recently. Pretty handy little rifle. Ran about 200 rounds down the pipe with no issues.

I'm running a Sig Sauer Romeo 5 and like it so far, especially for $140. It has an auto on/off feature based on motion that works well.

Trigger is typical 10/22 and I'd definitely like improve it once more after market upgrades become available. I've also ordered a brake for it.

I fired 115 and 124 grain range grade ammo and got decent results at 50 yards especially considering the optic. Cheap Russian steel case even grouped decent.

For $500 I think the PC Carbine is a great alternative to the AR based 9mm carbines.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6030353/uploads/editor/ns/gda60ez46f6d.jpg

JKP · June 2018

bisley · June 2018

That's encouraging. It would be hard for me, personally, to do any better (with any rifle) without some magnification, at 50 yards or more. I think 50 yards is probably the best distance to judge a 9mm carbine by, without a scope.

I'm still mulling it over about buying one.

Zee · June 2018

Yeah. I still contemplate getting one of those. Just not fully convinced yet.

earlyagain · June 2018

Ooooooo!
I like that!

tennmike · June 2018

They are fun, and the ability to change out the magwell to switch from Ruger to Glock magazines is a nice feature.

Those groups are pretty much what I got at 70 yards with a red dot-and-circle sight on mine. Make sure the locking ring that adjusts receiver/barrel tension is snug. Mine was loose and I didn't really discover that until after my first time shooting it. It can make a big difference.

JKP · June 2018

tennmike said:

They are fun, and the ability to change out the magwell to switch from Ruger to Glock magazines is a nice feature.

Those groups are pretty much what I got at 70 yards with a red dot-and-circle sight on mine. Make sure the locking ring that adjusts receiver/barrel tension is snug. Mine was loose and I didn't really discover that until after my first time shooting it. It can make a big difference.

Good tip, pretty sure mine is a bit loose. Of course I have't read the instructions...

I also hadn't yet used Loctite on the optic mount since I wasn't completely sold on it. That's since been rectified.

More accuracy tests to follow.

Big Chief · June 2018

Wambli Ska said:

STOP IT!!! ALL OF YOU!! I'M NOT GETTING ONE...

Yes you are.............

So when does a .45 ACP version come out?

Big Chief · June 2018

Will Ruger make an aftermarket trigger sorta like the ones fer the ARs/10/22s for it, I'm betting they will someday.

JKP · June 2018

It is rumored to have the "upgraded" version it for what that's worth.

Not it really a bad trigger, just nothing special.

tennmike · June 2018

Wambli Ska said:

STOP IT!!! ALL OF YOU!! I'M NOT GETTING ONE...

You want one. You KNOW you WANT ONE! Stop resisting; you will be assimilated, resistance is futile!

Zee · June 2018

I’m gonna wait for the price to come down in a year or so. I like the gun. But not $550+ like.

Sub $500 and I could be convinced.

Big Chief · June 2018

Here ya go $479 and I'm sure many other joints will have them sub $500

https://www.gunsamerica.com/943584845/Ruger-PC-Carbine-9MM-19101-NEW.htm

JKP · June 2018

Mine was $500 shipped to FFL.

bisley · June 2018

If it was a 10mm, instead of 9mm, I would probably be on a waiting list somewhere, @ ~$500. That would make it a marginal hunting rifle, which the 9mm ain't, and therefore more utilitarian, to me.

bisley · June 2018

Exactly my thinking.

gator · June 2018

One of my favorite guns is my PC 4
I have a Millett 1" red dot set in ruger rings my groups are comparable to jkp's at 50 yards

BAMAAK · June 2018

bisley said:

If it was a 10mm, instead of 9mm, I would probably be on a waiting list somewhere, @ ~$500. That would make it a marginal hunting rifle, which the 9mm ain't, and therefore more utilitarian, to me.

So get a hipoint in 10mm.

JKP · June 2018

Got a brake on it today - like the looks, will see how it performs when it's not 95 degrees in the shade.

JKP · June 2018

shotgunshooter3 · June 2018

I like the idea. However, I'm going to wait until the inevitable day that PSA has a weekend sale of a PC Carbine and 3 stripped lowers for $375

Antonio · June 2018

Are you having the usual shifts of P.O.I. you have with take-down rifles when resting it in the front section? 10/22s surely suffer from this so you have to both settle to "plinking accuracy" and avoid resting it in front, no matter how tight you assemble it. Obviously not a match-accuracy gun but seems accurate enough for having fun at the range, putting down game in reasonable situations and as a HD rifle.

Friend of mine just bagged one of the only 3 predecessors of this PC rifle that were imported here: The PC-9.
Intended as showpieces for government contracts (Prison guards or so), being 9mm. were finally blocked of further importation (Back then it was a restricted caliber for civilians) and only 1 was sold to the general public; the owner fired it a little and stored it for over a decade before selling it to my pal. Hope to test-fire it soon and will make a range report if possible.

bisley · June 2018

BAMAAK said:

bisley said:

If it was a 10mm, instead of 9mm, I would probably be on a waiting list somewhere, @ ~$500. That would make it a marginal hunting rifle, which the 9mm ain't, and therefore more utilitarian, to me.

So get a hipoint in 10mm.

No. I don't like it.

tennmike · June 2018

bisley said:

BAMAAK said:

bisley said:

If it was a 10mm, instead of 9mm, I would probably be on a waiting list somewhere, @ ~$500. That would make it a marginal hunting rifle, which the 9mm ain't, and therefore more utilitarian, to me.

So get a hipoint in 10mm.

No. I don't like it.

These are available in 10mm and in several platforms.

http://mechtechsys.com/

I have one in .45ACP on a 1911 frame. They're a lot of fun.

Jeff in TX · June 2018

If you remember correctly back in March/April I put a thread out my wife's knot head friends husband that comes out to the ranch and drives me nuts with his all knowing everything. In the post he told me he was buying the ultimate pig rifle the new Ruger PC Carbine and that bolt actions were obsolete.

I hate to be a Debbie Downer here, now that I've seen it on this thread I keep staring at my computer screen and saying "I just don't get it"! I truly see zero need for this rifle, at least for me! And if knot head thinks he's coming out and going hog hunting with that, he's "NUTS"!

However, I'm glad y'all like but I just don't get it!

Big Chief · June 2018

Jeff in TX said:

If you remember correctly back in March/April I put a thread out my wife's knot head friends husband that comes out to the ranch and drives me nuts with his all knowing everything. In the post he told me he was buying the ultimate pig rifle the new Ruger PC Carbine and that bolt actions were obsolete.

I hate to be a Debbie Downer here, now that I've seen it on this thread I keep staring at my computer screen and saying "I just don't get it"! I truly see zero need for this rifle, at least for me! And if knot head thinks he's coming out and going hog hunting with that, he's "NUTS"!

However, I'm glad y'all like but I just don't get it!

Sounds like the exaggerating braggart in Junior High who tried to convince everyone he had a Corvette at home that was his, not his dads..............so show us we said..............he said he can't cause he was to young fer a drivers license!

bisley · June 2018

Jeff in TX said:
I hate to be a Debbie Downer here, now that I've seen it on this thread I keep staring at my computer screen and saying "I just don't get it"! I truly see zero need for this rifle, at least for me! And if knot head thinks he's coming out and going hog hunting with that, he's "NUTS"!

I don't need it. I just think it would be fun to plink with, and not a bad option for an additional home defense weapon. My wife is not into guns, and will not practice, even though she has some natural ability and shoots rather well for someone as disinterested as she is. We discovered that she shoots really well with an AR-15 at 50 yards, and she likes it. So, this would be a good option for her, around the house. I bought a 20 gauge 7-shot pump for her, but she has no interest in it.

As for hogs, there is no way would I encourage any handgun round except maybe a .357 magnum, .44 magnum, 10mm, or the newer large caliber handgun rounds.

earlyagain · June 2018

A long gun allows the operator four points of contact as opposed to two for a handgun. At self defense distance (the range that excludes the possibility of escape) the extra contact could conceivably double on target hits. The major draw back of course being ready access and hard to hide.

Not ideal for hunting, but arguably unsurpassed for defending the home, barn or shop.

bisley · June 2018

tennmike said:

bisley said:

BAMAAK said:

bisley said:

If it was a 10mm, instead of 9mm, I would probably be on a waiting list somewhere, @ ~$500. That would make it a marginal hunting rifle, which the 9mm ain't, and therefore more utilitarian, to me.

So get a hipoint in 10mm.

No. I don't like it.

These are available in 10mm and in several platforms.

http://mechtechsys.com/

I have one in .45ACP on a 1911 frame. They're a lot of fun.

Yeah, I have studied those. They are selling the fixed stock model, now, for $435, which I think is a little less than when I was looking at them, and Hickok45 shot about 300 rounds through it, with good accuracy and no malfunctions, so I might go that route.

tennmike · June 2018

Jeff in TX said:

If you remember correctly back in March/April I put a thread out my wife's knot head friends husband that comes out to the ranch and drives me nuts with his all knowing everything. In the post he told me he was buying the ultimate pig rifle the new Ruger PC Carbine and that bolt actions were obsolete.

I hate to be a Debbie Downer here, now that I've seen it on this thread I keep staring at my computer screen and saying "I just don't get it"! I truly see zero need for this rifle, at least for me! And if knot head thinks he's coming out and going hog hunting with that, he's "NUTS"!

However, I'm glad y'all like but I just don't get it!

I'd give my Ruger carbine a pass on hogs unless I could take shots at 40 yards or less. Main reason for that range is I would be shooting into the ear canal, or at the base of the skull. For deer where I hunt, 40 yards is the average distance from a tree stand to the deer, so a double tap with a light recoiling carbine would be doable. I've shot a few deer with the .357 Mag single shot rifle I put together at that yardage, and shorter, and haven't had to do any tracking; they fell within sight of the stand, and the two head shots were bang/flop. Allowances have to be made for the platform and the power of the round. If you can't wait for that shot that will pretty much guarantee good shot placement at an acceptable range and a clean kill, then wait some more, or pass on it, or hunt with something with more power downrange. It's that simple.

Neither the Ruger Carbine or the Kel Tec Sub 2000 I own were bought for hunting. Plinking, and HD/SD is their primary purpose. The Kel Tec folds and fits in a small innocuous bag that gives no outward sign of its contents and rides in the truck on occasion. Fits under the seat and out of sight.

1911LVR · June 2018

JKP said:

Got a brake on it today - like the looks, will see how it performs when it's not 95 degrees in the shade.

95 degrees in the shade?? That's a cool day around here.

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