Pistol Caliber Carbines

There is a propensity with gun nuts to downplay the value of a pistol caliber carbine.

For those of you who don't know, a pistol caliber carbine (PCC) is a rifle that fires a lower powered round that is typically associated with a pistol.  For example, a .357 fired out of a lever action rifle.  The extra barrel length gives the gas a longer time to expand, creating higher velocities, increased accuracy, lower bullet drop over a distance.

A lot of gun nuts consider the PCC to be an intermediate, and therefore pointless, long arm.  They say that a pistol round is better out of a long arm, but not as good as a rifle round out of a long arm.  "If you're going to carry a rifle, why shoot less effective rounds?"  Technically, and ballistically, they are correct.  A rifle round is almost always better than a pistol round out of a rifle, that's what they were designed for.  However, a pistol round is far more efficient, with less kick, and more accuracy out of a longer barrel.

It's my opinion that those gun nuts are being a short sighted (no pun intended).  I love the idea of the intermediate firearm.  Kind of like the scout rifle concept, the idea that a firearm can be used adequately for multiple purposes really appeals to me.  A PCC is a good example of this.

If you want a long range hunting rifle, there are plenty of long range hunting rifles out there, but they are exactly long range hunting rifles.  Not much good at anything else.

Just like a hand gun for personal defense, they are designed for their purpose specifically.  Not much good for accurate distance shooting.

Gun nuts want a rifle that is exceptional, a general purpose firearm is almost by definition average... but it's average at a lot of things, an expert at none.  Personally, I like the idea of a firearm that can be used for multiple purposes over carrying multiple firearms that each have a specialty.

There are quite a few PCC options out there.  I lean toward lever actions, there are plenty of good revolver/rifle combos out there.  .22lr, .357, .44 mag, .45lc... Historically, cowboys liked having a long gun and a pistol that used the same ammunition, that way they only had to carry one.  So, cowboy combos are easily adapter to a pistol-rifle combo.

However, in this modern age, there are quite a few options for semi-auto rifle and pistol combinations.  With a little research, it's quite possible that your favorite mag fed semi-auto pistol has an equivalent carbine.

If you like Glock, there is a Hi-point carbine for you.

If you like Beretta, there is a Beretta CX4 storm for you.

Even the M1 carbine, which shoots ".30 carbine", has a Ruger revolver that uses the same round.

Almost all of the big gun manufacturers have a PCC available, that uses their variety of magazine and ammunition.  It's only too bad that there isn't a good PCC that will take a large variety of magazines, it would make acquiring and matching magazines so much easier.  Personally, I like Glocks but want a CX4... those magazines don't match up.

Or you could look at something like Mech Tech where you can convert your favorite pistol into a PCC.  This is of course depending on your local laws.  There are a couple of companies that offer packages like this, it's an interesting option.

The other benefit is the range time fun... They're a blast to shoot, very low recoil, and pistol ammo is usually far cheaper than rifle rounds.  For a box of common ammo it is around the same price, around $25, but rifle rounds usually come in a box of 20, pistol rounds usually come in a box of 50.

The PCC might not be the best at anything, but it will get the job done in most situations.  That's what I like about them.

Right now, it might be the M&P 22 and the M&P 15 combo.  Or I could do the Rossi R92 and the Ruger Blackhawk.  Neither option is too shabby, if you ask me.

Range Review: Henry Golden Boy .22lr

Ok, I made the mistake of going to a local Gun Store yesterday.  Seriously, a guy like me in a gun store is worse than a kid in a candy shop.  I want it all.

I originally went there to look for a bolt action .22lr that I could use to teach my daughter how to shoot.  Maybe in a couple years I could even pass it down to her.  My father taught me on a beautiful little .22lr bolt and I still have good memories of those lessons.

Anyway, while looking at 22s I noticed the Henry lever action.  I asked to see it and as soon as I laid my hands on it I was sold.  It's a beautiful gun but as soon as you pick it up you realize this is no toy.  First off, it's heavy.  I think it's around 7 lbs, especially with the 20" hexagon barrel.  The Walnut stock is beautiful and it cycles like butter.

It wasn't cheap, around $550, but it looked like a high quality gun so I was hoping it was worth it.

After the range today, it was totally worth the price.

It took a little while to get used to the buckhorn sites, I'm used to matching the top of the rear site with the top of the front site.  With these, you match the round dot on the front site with the round hole at the bottom of the rear site.  Once I got that straight it shot beautifully.

These are probably the most accurate iron sites out of the box that I've ever shot.  Seriously, with just the iron sites and a little practice I was hitting silhouettes out to 100 yards.

I ran two hundred rounds through it, 100 Remington Viper 36gr, and Winchester Xpert HV 36gr hollow points.  It was a joy to shoot.  It cycled flawlessly with the two different rounds I brought with me.  I wasn't sure how it would go with the hollow points (they were pretty cheap so I figured I'd give them a shot), but they cycled just as well as the Remington.  Not a single failure to fire, failure to cycle/eject, with either brand. Accuracy was about the same too.  I loaded one tube with a mixture of both and couldn't tell a difference between shooting them.  (I know, there isn't a huge difference between the two in the first place other than the tips).

The only complaint I had with the Henry is the reloading.  To reload you pull the inner magazine tube out until it clears the loading port.  Put the rounds in, slide the magazine tube back in and secure it.  Ready to go.  The first couple times it's a little weird but once you get used to it you can reload fairly quickly.

(You can see the loading port on the magazine tube about halfway to the muzzle)

Now, it isn't difficult or awkward, but it's more awkward than having the more traditional loading port in the receiver.  To reload this one you have to stop shooting, put the gun down, and reload it, rather than being able to reload on the go like the receiver loading guns.  With the older versions you can fire a round, reload a round, fire a round, without taking the gun from your shoulder or missing a beat.

Also, this might not be best rifle for teaching your young ones.  You load it awfully close to the end of the barrel, so you need to pay attention to where body parts are and where you're pointing the barrel while loading.  There's also no safety switch or lever so you have to be very aware of the hammer position too.  There is a "safe/load" position for the hammer, but I would consider hammer manipulation of a loaded gun a more advanced lesson.

Basically, I think this gun is the perfect for the range, plinking, or maybe small game hunting.  The reloading is a fairly minor complaint considering you can load 15 rounds (though they do go fast when you're having that much fun shooting them).

It's just a fun gun.  It's pretty, it shoots great, and works great mechanically.  It's really nice to have a gun that I love to shoot that is also a cheap date at the range, it's only 15-20 bucks for a box of 500 .22lr.  I had an absolute blast at the range and definitely look forward to taking it again.  I think this might be my new go-to-gun for plinking and silhouette shooting.

And if that means I have to go back to the gun store to get a bolt action for my daughter... I'm ok with that.  We can go plinking together.