The Ruger Pistol-Caliber (PC) carbine
is a
blowback centerfire
Two rounds of .357 Magnum, a centerfire cartridge; notice the circular primer in the center
A center-fire (or centerfire) is a type of metallic cartridge used in firearms, where the primer is located at the center of the base of its casing (i. ...
semi-automatic pistol-caliber carbine manufactured by
Sturm, Ruger & Co., designed as a companion to certain
Ruger P series semi-automatic pistol
A semi-automatic pistol (also called a self-loading pistol, autopistol, or autoloading pistol) is a repeating firearm, repeating handgun that automatically ejects and loads cartridge (firearms), cartridges in its chamber (firearms), chamber afte ...
s, using the same
9 mm Parabellum and
.40 S&W caliber
cartridges and
magazine
A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...
s of the P-Series pistols.
History
In 2007, Ruger discontinued production of their original police carbine, citing low demand. More than ten years later on December 29, 2017, Ruger announced the reintroduction of a new upgraded 9 mm
takedown model called the Ruger PC carbine with the PC now referencing the old police carbine name and the product descriptions calling them pistol-caliber carbines, which has a
threaded barrel and accepts not only the
Ruger SR9 pistol magazine, but also magazines from
Glock
Glock (; stylized as GLOCK) is a brand of polymer- framed, short-recoil-operated, striker-fired, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H.
The firearm entered Austrian military an ...
,
Ruger American Pistol and the new Ruger Security-9 pistols via interchangeable magazine well adaptor inserts.
In early 2019, Ruger introduced a variant PC carbine model with
free-floating M-LOK
M-LOK, for Modular Lock, is a firearm Rail Integration System, rail interface system developed and patented by Magpul Industries. The license is free-of-charge, but subject to an approval process.
M-LOK allows for direct accessory attachment ...
handguard
A barrel shroud is an external covering that envelops (either partially or full-length) the barrel of a firearm to prevent unwanted direct contact with the barrel (e.g. accidental collision with surrounding objects or the user accidentally touch ...
, and also reintroduced the .40 S&W caliber.
Design
The carbine has some unique design features. The action is a simple
blowback design, which requires a fairly massive bolt to handle the pressure of 9mm and .40 S&W. To prevent the gun from being too unbalanced by the large bolt, the bolt consists of two parts; the main body of the bolt is fairly light and located in the receiver, while the other part is just a weight located under the forend of the carbine. These two parts are held together by strong, rigid steel bars. The combined mass serves to hold the breech safely closed during firing, while keeping the center of gravity forward, so the gun handles well.
Another unique feature is the bolt lock. Since blowback guns of these calibers require heavy bolts, the inertia of dropping the gun can cause the bolt to come partially open, rendering the gun unfireable until the bolt is manually closed all the way. To prevent this, the carbine uses a bolt lock that locks the bolt securely closed so that a fall will not dislodge it. A slight pressure on the trigger or on the bolt handle, however, will disengage the bolt lock so that the bolt can move for firing or clearing the action.
In addition to caliber, the carbine also comes with a choice in
iron sights
Iron sights are a system of physical alignment markers used as a sighting device to assist the accurate aiming of ranged weapons such as firearms, airguns, crossbows, and bows, or less commonly as a primitive finder sight for optical telescop ...
. The standard model uses notch-and-post sights, while the GR models are equipped with
ghost ring rear sights. The ghost ring sights cost more, but they are generally considered better for defensive purposes, as they allow faster sight alignment under poor lighting conditions plus a longer sight radius for greater accuracy. The carbine also has Ruger-style scope bases built into the receiver, allowing optical sights to be easily and securely mounted.
Both the PC9 (the 9 mm version) and the PC4 (.40 S&W version) are modelled after Ruger's highly successful
Ruger 10/22 rimfire carbine. It is intended as a shoulder-braced weapon for law enforcement use, although it was available for sale to civilians as well. The intent is that an officer will carry a Ruger P-series pistol as a
sidearm, and keep a police carbine available (for example, in the
patrol vehicle) as a more offensive weapon if needed.
Since the PC-9 has a
barrel
A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden stave (wood), staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers ...
, it provides more
muzzle energy
Muzzle energy is the kinetic energy of a bullet as it is expelled from the muzzle (firearm), muzzle of a firearm. Without consideration of factors such as aerodynamics and gravity for the sake of comparison, muzzle energy is used as a rough indi ...
with the same ammunition used by pistols which often only have barrels (see
internal ballistics
Internal ballistics (also interior ballistics), a subfield of ballistics, is the study of the propulsion of a projectile.
In guns, internal ballistics covers the time from the propellant's ignition until the projectile exits the gun barrel. The s ...
), thus better
stopping power
Stopping power is the supposed ability of a weapon – typically a ranged weapon such as a firearm – to cause a target (human or animal) to be incapacitated or immobilized. Stopping power contrasts with lethality in that it pertains only to a ...
, accuracy and effective range than pistols.
See also
*
Ruger PC Charger, a pistol made from the PC Carbine's chassis.
References
External links
User Manual
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017
Semi-automatic rifles of the United States
Police Carbine
Carbines