Ruger PC Carbine Tactical Upgrade:

When I was growing up, Ruger’s first entry into the long gun market was their unique .44 Magnum Carbine introduced in 1960. It was a head-turner. We all lusted for the little semi-auto M1-looking carbine, chambered for the era’s most powerful revolver cartridge and a caliber companion to Ruger’s Super Blackhawk. Having a carbine and a revolver of the same caliber was heady stuff and took us back to the dreamy days of the Winchester Model 1873 and Colt Single Action Army chambered in .32-20, .38-40 and .44-40 WCF.

Touchy Deerstalker

Paging through the gun magazines of the era, there was ad-after-ad showing Bill Ruger, Sr. on safari in Kenya and Uganda with his .44 Magnum Carbine and an assortment of trophies ranging from leopards to waterbucks. Ad copy was as seductive as the carbine itself:

“America’s newest game rifle … Proven on the plains of Africa, the RUGER ‘Deerstalker’ carbine is a technological breakthrough for the benefit of the American sportsman — proven not only on Whitetails in North America, but on Leopard, Hyena, Wart Hog, Topi and many other species in Africa …”

To those hardy souls who remember the .44 Carbine, it was very touchy about the ammunition it would shoot, and was a bear to put back together once disassembled. Yet, I still miss mine!

Over a quarter million .44 Magnum Carbines were made through 1985. Then there was a long period of drought for the concept of a pistol-caliber carbine from Ruger. When it returned in 1998, it was designed and marketed more toward the law enforcement community as the “Police Carbine” (PC) and chambered in 9mm Luger and .40 S&W as a companion piece to the most popular duty handguns of the day.

Gone was the walnut stock of the .44 Magnum Carbine, replaced by a plain, boring, black synthetic stock. Gone was the unique bottom feeding magazine of the .44 Carbine, replaced by conventional 10- and 15-shot pistol magazines while adjustable open sights were gradually replaced by a rear receiver sight combined with a protected blade front. It was Ruger — rugged, reliable but not particularly stylish with its forearm barrel band. I suspect we mere mortals bought more PCs than all the police departments combined.

All this has changed with the recent return of the new PC Carbine in 9mm and 40 S&W. It’s a complete redesign and is being offered in 9 variations with six 9mm models and three in 40 S&W as well as four limited special editions from Talo, Bill Hicks, Lipsey’s and Davidson’s.

Trigger Time!

How did it shoot? I mounted a Bushnell Trophy 1x28mm red/green dot optic on the Picatinny rail and headed for the range with five different popular 9mm loads with bullet weights ranging from 115 to 147 grains.

First impressions? The crisp trigger was a delight to work with — averaging 5.5 lbs. on my Lyman gauge with a quick reset. It had great balance in the offhand position with minimal recoil and barrel flip. It fed a variety of hollow point designs without a hiccup.

Accuracy delivered at 50 yards for 3-shot groups averaged around 3 MOA using CorBon 90-gr. JHP +P, Federal 115-gr. FMJ, Hornady Critical Defense 115-gr. FTX and Remington Golden Saber 124-gr. BJHP. I thought I had, more or less, a 1.5″ gun until I fired Winchester’s 147-gr. load and got the tightest group of all at .710. The carbine’s 1:10 twist thrived on the heavier bullet, which proves how important it is to test a variety of bullet weights to determine any gun’s potential — although most 9mm’s will do just fine with the common 115-gr. loadings.

It’s great to see the thoroughly modern and refined PC carbine returning to the Ruger stable. It’s a family-friendly rifle, a plinker, a hunting gun and a reliable firearm for self-defense in the universal 9mm pistol caliber. MSRP for the model tested is $729.

www.ruger.com

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