Thread: Any suggestions for a reliable Pistol Caliber Carbine?

chemist- If you don't like the looks of or the name Hi-Point, just say so. Anyone that has been within a mile of their pistols knows that they are garbage. However, if reliable workings and a price tag under $300 doesn't constitute a value in your book, well, I don't want to read your book. If my math is correct(and it is), you can purchase 8 HP carbines fr the price of a Kriss or 6 for the price of an H&K. Since suppression is your point, by the time you are done with that you could have an HP in each caliber and piles of ammo. The Keltec is made perfectly for the 9mm and .40. The beefier HP is better suited for the .45(opinion). HP carbines are the best deal in all of firearms(fact). There is nothing wrong with appreciating more "high end" firearms, but when value and reliability are the question, a rose is still a rose. halmbarte-I have never heard of PC trigger issues. Were you able to get it loosened up? Those Uzi's look like fun.

some more pistol caliber carbines that I didn't see listed yet (not sure how reliable any of them are though):
-calico makes/made a 9mm
-feather ind. makes/made a 9mm (I had the .22lr version and it was trash though....but still gnarley looking)
-rossi
-henry
-wilkinson arms
-spanish destroyer
-auto ordinance thompson clone
-and there's various old school subgun designs (suomi/sterling/etc) that are being sold in 9mm and 7.62x25 now

Yes, unklekippy, it's pure prejudice on my part. People that own Hi-Points say they always shoot and the NQA customer service is the best.

I wonder, though, how a blowback .45 would do with a can on the end. There's already a serious issue with stuff coming back in your face with suppressed locked-breech designs.

My list begins and ends with the Beretta CX4 in 9mm. The trigger wears in just fine, but for those who can't wait, there are aftermarket parts to rapidly improve the trigger.

Anyone have any experience with the Sterling carbines?

Originally Posted by jordanvraptor

Anyone have any experience with the Sterling carbines?

Does touching one in a store count?

It looked good. If I didn't already have the UZI I'd probably get one. But 1 SBR range toy is enough for me.

H

I have a couple that I bought for low noise, under 100 yard coyote control. I have a very long barreled 10-22 that does the possum and skunk duties.

I wanted a long barrel so I found a used Taurus Thunderbolt pump in 45 Colt. My hope was that the 26" barrel and 45ACP equivalent loads would keep the sound profile down. It has a sweet short stroke action but it jambs at times and takes quite a while to get the shell out from underneath the carrier when it does. I'm sure it would thump a yote if I could see it, my eyes are getting bad real fast and I don't think I can mount a scope on it.

Last year I got a Mech-Tech upper for a .40 Glock. Dead nutz reliable. I don't know who they designed the but-stock for I had to cut out 1 1/2 inches and re-weld it to get a 13 1/2" LOP. I recently replaced the red dot with an inexpensive 2-7 scope and it thanked me by shooting 2" groups at 25 yards. Hopefully it just doesn't like those full power 155 gr loads. I'll try and find some subsonic loads that it likes better. Or it could be the scope, I'll swap it out. It's well built though a bit heavy at 7.8 lbs empty with all the tacticool looking sights on it. A laser and flashlight are nice to have when you're trying to hit a running critter at night.

Thanks, Bigfoot - that's what I wanted to hear. That Mech Tech on a Glock 21 lower might be the answer I'm looking for.

I saw somebody selling a Ruger 10/22 barrel that was cut down to 11" and threaded, but it had this big, 6" flash hider permanently mounted to it, so it wasn't an SBR. The suppressor fits inside the flash hider, sticking out just enough to allow it to easily be screwed on and off.

If the overall length of that Mech Tech is cut to just over 16" with or without the can, then the 11" barrel would be just about perfect for getting the max velocity out of a 45ACP - which is barely subsonic for a 230gr. slug.

The 10-22 kills smaller critters well. Remington Subsonics penetrate one water jug and dent the back of the second one expanding to .35". The last possum I popped died just as fast and afterward I realized that I had the magazine filled with cheap non-expanding Peters Thunderbolt ammo and it was still quiet. Now that I know that the long barrel drags the velocity of some standard ammo down to subsonic I'll experiment with some hotter ammo. It's 36" long and it's so quiet that I can shoot it indoors without hearing protection. I have a buffer that I need to install, if a rifle is so quiet that you can hear the bolt slap then it's not loud enough to wake the neighbors. Green Mountain does a production run on these 28" sporter barrels every now and then. A Timney trigger made it tolerable to pull. I recently put another one of those 2-7 scopes on it and it shoots holes touching at 25 yds.

If you can get a 22LR suppressor cheap good on ya. If not this is another direction to go. I wanted to go the same long barrel, bullpup stock route with the 45 Colt and the Mech-Tech but I hate working with fiberglass so it keeps getting put off.

I can personally vouch for the ruger pc4 (I've shot lead out of it, just a PIA to clean) the marlin camp9 and the hi point 9.
all have performed perfectly, minus an aftermarket mag issue with the ruger. The same mag wouldn't shoot in my p series, either.
The hi point is the least friendly with mag drops. At least with the ati stock, anyway. all 3 are accurate.

Originally Posted by Rix

I can personally vouch for the ruger pc4 (I've shot lead out of it, just a PIA to clean) the marlin camp9 and the hi point 9.
all have performed perfectly, minus an aftermarket mag issue with the ruger. The same mag wouldn't shoot in my p series, either.
The hi point is the least friendly with mag drops. At least with the ati stock, anyway. all 3 are accurate.

there was a rumor going around that the ATI stock was the SOLE item you could void the lifetime warranty on, simply because it was too rigid and thus you'd be breaking the two cross pins on the stock...but I've never confirmed it...its the CX4 look alike stock right? I myself am looking at either a .45 or 9mm Hi Point carbine, preferably classic stocked (the .45 never came with it, BUT the .40 did, and as far as I know, the mag well is the same size, just the feed lips on the mags ARE different, means I could swap the 4095 classic in place of the TS stock of the 45)

Can't confirm the stock deal.
I bought mine used, with a taped together stock, for dirt cheap (70 bucks).
maybe I should have just called up hi point, they probably would have sent me a new one. But the old style stock is horrendously ugly....

had a trigger break apart on a hi point 9mm carbine, thru it in the trash wish i would have investigated there warranty i just figured they were beak and throwaway guns

Don't know why everyone is knocking Hi-Point. I have had one of their 9mm carbines for over four years now and it has never hic-cupped and is surprisingly accurate. I was so impressed with it that I bought one of their 9mm pistols and it to has been a good shooter. My friend, who is a WSP trooper was so impressed with the carbine after shooing it that he bought one as well. Granted, the pistols are rough and cheap and I wouldn't carry it as my main weapon, but for plinking and practice, it works just fine.

Originally Posted by samuelm16

had a trigger break apart on a hi point 9mm carbine, thru it in the trash wish i would have investigated there warranty i just figured they were beak and throwaway guns

Yeah, the rule is you don't throw away your Hi-Point until it has at least 2-3 murders on it!

Originally Posted by iamme

AR15 in 9mm. Sooo much fun.

Yuuup! Mine is ultra reliable with 3 jams in 800 rounds of handloads.

Originally Posted by SVT-ROY

Yuuup! Mine is ultra reliable with 3 jams in 800 rounds of handloads.

You need to shoot more with more people.

Carbines that work perfectly when you are alone always go FUBAR when there is a crowd around to watch.

H

Mech Tech by an owner. I have/had one in .38super on a 1911 frame...cannot take it away from the wife: she loves it.
so, I bought a 10mm conversion for the Glock 20.....found 29round mags on the net and am a big fan. They can be modified in appearance and are both quite reliable and really send those pills downrange at a much higher velocity than the handgun(supposed to add 30%). Look at their site: http://www.mechtechsys.com/

Originally Posted by iamme

AR15 in 9mm. Sooo much fun.

Great little guns.

H&K USC in .45 if you don't care about the price.