smokestakz

Im definitely in the market for a 9mm carbines (ammo is cheap and with a long barrel velocities and overall ballistics are very good for a pistol caliber carbine)....now 1. is there anywhere besides getting lucky on gunbroker where i can find one...2. is almost 700$ a acceptable price for it, because that seems high when mini 14s and 30s are about 680....3. i just want some peesonal reviews; how the shoot, feel, handle...the accuracy, reliability etc....i want this rifle purely out of the design and aesthetics but would i be better served buying a high point 995 or a marlin camp for considerably less change....as far as i can tell, the marlin C9 is almost the same rifle....thx in advance...pat...

Specs

It took me 5 years to find a PC9 privately. I can only say that they will go up in value since there is such a limited supply and some people are just now learning about them. Lots of cheap fun and a good close up HD tool. If you find one and like it, grab it!

Benemorte

First some facts about the PC series carbines:

Caliber: 9mm Luger or .40 S&W
Capacity: 15rds for 9mm, 11 rds for .40 S&W, aftermarket mags up to 30rds.
Finish: Blued
Stock/Grip: Black synthetic
Barrel Length: 16 1⁄4"
Rear Sight: Adjustable open or ghost ring
Groove: 6
Twist: 1:10" RH (9mm) 1:16" RH (.40 S&W)
Overall Length: 34 3⁄8"
Weight: 6 lb 6 oz
Other: Cross bolt safety, bolt lock, firing pin block

The PC (Police Carbine) series was introduced in 1996 and discontinued in 2006. The overall design of the PC series is essentially an upscaled version of the 10/22 rifle, using the same blowback design. The guns use P-series pistol magazines.

The PC series was first introduced and heavily marketed towards law enforcement sales, as Ruger saw potential need for a pistol/carbine combo that used shared magazines. While the idea caught on somewhat, the idea never truly caught on and for the most part, only small department purchases were made. At the time of introduction, the Smith and Wesson 5900-4500 series, and the Glock pistols were in main contention for law enforcement sales as well, and ended up with the much larger sales contracts. Ruger started marketing the PC carbines more to private sales eventually, but the entire campaign just seemed to die out. The PC series was discontinued in 2006, after just ten years, Ruger commenting that sales were just too slow to continue production.

The PC series was a typically "overbuilt" weapon by Ruger, hefty and sturdy, built for long term use and abuse, not to be a lightweight plinker. Finish, stock and sights were more "combat" oriented, making it IMO at least, Ruger's first "black gun".

Since the PC carbines were essentially upsized 10/22's in design, they shared the blowback action, albeit a much heavier bolt. Due to this heavy bolt, Ruger had to use a "bolt lock" that was de-activated by the trigger to keep the bolt from coming out of battery if the gun was bumped or dropped, and in turn was at least partially blamed for what ended up being a heavy and somewhat bad trigger pull. Others did not like the trigger unit being housed in the stock, adding to its negative trigger reputation.

Overall, the PC series carbines are very robust, far more so than the "comparable" Marlin camp carbines. Accuracy is good, but not great, and overall reliability outstanding.

My personal take on the PC carbines is that Ruger needs to go back to the design, tweak it, and re-introduce the gun in 9mm, .40, and this time perhaps add a .45 to the lineup, with magazines being shared by the SR9-40 series pistols this time around. The gun obviously fits a niche, and seeing that the Hi-Point and Keltec firearms are selling like crazy, the market is surely there if they can keep somewhat close in price point. While I do not believe it would be possible for Ruger to introduce a new carbine for anywhere near the $250-350 range that the aforementioned sell for, a much sturdier design by Ruger should hold its own.

The PC series make for great plinker guns, and obviously fit a role of "urban combat" gun as well. Used models are rare, and typically sell for what they did new, often for quite a bit more. I think it would be fair to say that the gun is more popular now than it was during production, it was sad to see it go.

bigghoss

Here is absolutely everything you need to know about the ruger PC9: If you find one send it to me. You wouldn't like it much anyway.

kiwihunter

There a lot of fun if you can find one ,i dont know about State side but over here they command top dollar ,heres my one above my Browning its now wearing a Bushnell 1.5 to 4 with Warne quick release mounts.