There have been some other postings about the Ruger PC Carbine so I think there is some interest in the gun. Here is my report:
1- Unboxing: Came in a cardboard Ruger box with SR magazine, Allen wrenches, extra spacers for the stock and the adapter for Glock mags. All the usual paperwork included. Was fully assembled.
Gun is heavier than it appears. Finish is utilitarian but done well. Suppressor ready.
2- Range Prep: I read the manual and decided to take it apart prior to shooting. Instructions were good and taking it all the way down was kinda fiddly but OK. Has some non-captured pins so loss is possible if not careful. Manual was vague about lubrication. I just wiped it down internally and reassembled. I switched the charging handle to the left side and swapped the magazine adapter to take Glock mags. The breakdown barrel feature is easy off and on and locks up tight. Picatinny rail is integral to the receiver .
3- Shooting: 175 rounds of Fiocchi 124gr FMJ was loaded into Glock G19 and PMags for the G19. Shot all 175 rounds without problem and the PMags worked great. At 25 yards, impact was one ragged hole about 2 inches in diameter about a half inch low. At 50 yards, sights are dead on. AR style iron sights work well. Extraction was consistent and brass went forward and out at about the two o'clock position. Brass was tossed out about 10 feet and appeared re-loadable, with no deformation. Trigger was pretty good, a little heavy and the reset could be more tactile. Recoil is minimal.
Cleaning: Was fairly dirty inside due it being straight blowback but nowhere nears as dirty as my old Marlin Camp 9, which would clog and jam at about 150 rounds.
Bottom line: This is a shooter! The use of Glock PMags is a huge plus for me. Easy to slap a red dot on. Its easy to say this is a 10-22 on steroids, but that is not accurate. Much different internally. The take down feature adds to its utility.
Minor whines: Trigger could be better but its "learnable". A non reciprocating charging handle would be nice. The charging handle started to work loose at about the hundred round mark and I had to tighten it. It cant be lock-tighted as you have to remove it for take down to clean the gun. The front sight was dark due to the protective ears being solid, reducing the light to the post. Holes in the ears would cure this or a fiber optic front post would work too.
If you are on the fence about picking a PC up, dont be. Very good experience so far. I paid $500 for mine. Very fun little gun! Ugly too!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: YooperSigs,

Good report. Glad you like it. I'm very pleased with mine and I agree with you, it is fairly accurate. I've had good luck with the Magpul mags too.

I like it better than I thought I would. I have a backpack for mine and it makes it so easy to throw it in the truck and go.

Thanks for the report.

I had a PC4 and a Camp 45. The PC4 fit and finish were outstanding but holy $hit, it was effing heavy! Accurate and reliable, but I got out of 40S&W and ditched the PC4.

Camp 45 was a sweet shooter, but wow, filthiest gun I ever shot. Got rid of it because I'm a bit anal about keeping my firearms clean, and it took 2+ hours to clean.

I’ve really enjoyed mine. I bought it in 2018 so it didn’t come with the new free float hand guard. In the beginning, it generated a lot of side eye feedback when I shot it at Steel and USPSA PCC matches as its not the most beautiful rifle, doesn’t look like the other nerf guns and obviously isn’t in the category or a SIG MPX. Recently, I bought a Midwest Industries handguard and changing handle as a nice upgrade.

Having said all that, it’s a great rifle and a great value for PCC or as a truck gun. I have a little take down backpack that I can use as well. I placed a low cost Sightmark Optic and has red or green dot choices on the fly which is something my Halosun doesn’t offer. The Sightmark has also performed well.

It’s not a lightweight PCC rifle but shoots flat and is accurate. I use the Glock mag insert instead of the Ruger mag insert.

My front sight fell off at the range so now Im more careful to check this rifle. It’s a blowback designed rifle so a good check over is recommended after each outing. I called Ruger, they sent a new front sight and screws for no cost.

Highly recommend this rifle.

Out of curiosity, does anyone have/had experience with the Ruger PC40? I am picking up the 9mm this weekend and there is a 40SW available also. I have a buttload of ammo and glock mags for the 40, and thought it would fit in perfectly.

quote:

Originally posted by taco68:
Out of curiosity, does anyone have/had experience with the Ruger PC40? I am picking up the 9mm this weekend and there is a 40SW available also. I have a buttload of ammo and glock mags for the 40, and thought it would fit in perfectly.

2PAK, see my post above. I had one, dead-nuts reliable, indestructible, but very heavy.

I shot one last week, and my experience mirrors basically everything said so far. Handy little gun, very mild recoil and it just runs. Yeah, it’s a teensy but heavy for its size but I didn’t find it overly so. Trigger could use some improvement, but it isn’t bad by any means. It fed fine with factory Glock mags of 15, 17, and 33 rd capacity and even did fine with some ETS mags, though those took a little more persuading to lock in.

It will be interesting to see the aftermarket for this gun in the next few years. An overmolded Hogue stock would probably cure a lot of “ugly” comments. I think it would be an absolute giggle if High Tower Armory made one of their bullpup conversion kits for these.

quote:

Originally posted by Batty67:

quote:

Originally posted by taco68:
Out of curiosity, does anyone have/had experience with the Ruger PC40? I am picking up the 9mm this weekend and there is a 40SW available also. I have a buttload of ammo and glock mags for the 40, and thought it would fit in perfectly.

2PAK, see my post above. I had one, dead-nuts reliable, indestructible, but very heavy.

Was yours a take-down? If not, you had the prior version from the mid 90’s that was discontinued. New for this year is a PC carbine take-down like the 9, but in .40. Different animal.

https://ruger.com/products/pcC...pecSheets/19109.html

This message has been edited. Last edited by: P220 Smudge,

My PC 4 was not a take-down version. It was probably at least a decade old when I got in 5-6 years ago. It was absolutely heavy for its size, but that's because it could also be used as a stout club.

I had a trigger job done on it, not a high-end one, but it improved the trigger quite a bit. I also hear the disassembling and reassembling the trigger group on the original Rug PCCs was very challenging.

Yeah, that’s a whole other rifle. I think taco is probably asking about the one new to market this year.

I’d be interested in seeing a comparison and review between the older version and the newer one, though. The trigger group on the newer version is essentially a beefed up 10/22. I watched a video recently where a fella dropped in an upgraded trigger in just a few minutes with the Allen wrench to take the stock off and drove two cross pins out and that was about it.

Apply blue loctite to the front sight screws....mine worked loose after 500 rounds or so....

Did you notice any marks on your shoulder after? I find the sawtooth pattern to be pretty sharp and after a few hundred rounds it left a red imprint on my shoulder. Not a bruise and it didn't hurt just was a bunch of red lines for a couple days.

After reading your review I went and bought the new model with heavy barrel and mlok rail. My AAC Illusion 9 suppressor should work great on this carbine.

quote:

Originally posted by YooperSigs:
The front sight was dark due to the protective ears being solid, reducing the light to the post.

Interesting comment.
Shooters traditionally preferred their front sights to be as dark as possible. That was (is?) the reason for small carbide lamps whose flames deposit an extremely heavy coating of dead black soot on the sight. Although it’s easily rubbed off, nothing is better for killing reflection than heavy soot. When direct light is reflected from a sight post, that can affect the shooter’s sight picture to the extent of actually changing the point of impact, and is sometimes the reason people have trouble zeroing handguns whose sights are not normally shrouded.

The problem of course with a black front sight is that it tends to disappear against a dark-colored target. If something easier to see is desired, however, there are various coatings and paints that can be applied. I have used fluorescent orange with good results myself. If using something like paint, it usually works best if a coat of white is applied first.

Mine left marks on me too. Love bites! I may go with the Midwest Industries stock adapter. I want one of their full length hand guards but I dont want it 150 bucks worth!
As for the front sight being dark, it would possibly cease to be a problem after I stop shooting it under the covered and unlit firing points at the local range.
I should add another minor whine: The use of tiny Allen head screws to adjust the sights and secure the sights to the barrel make it a PITA to adjust and tighten the screws. I had to buy a small Allen wrench set just for the gun and add it to my range kit.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: YooperSigs,

quote:

Originally posted by YooperSigs:
The charging handle started to work loose at about the hundred round mark and I had to tighten it. It cant be lock-tighted as you have to remove it for take down to clean the gun.

Let me introduce you to Vibra-Tite. It works just like Loctite, except it’s reusable. It’s the perfect thread locker to use for this Ruger charging handle on these guns.

https://www.vibra-tite.com/thr...ite-vc-3-threadmate/

A Ruger PC Carbine is on my bucket list. Don't need it, but I want it!

Thanks, Bubbatime. I just ordered a tube of Vibra Tite off Amazon. Great tip!

I have been almost praying Ruger makes a “charger” version, or a pistol version for those not familiar with the ruger 10/22 line up.

Along with a pmaca chassis system to mimic my 10/22 charger.