.40S&W in a carbine

[19-3Ben]

So I'm starting to think about a Beretta PX4 and CX4 duo in .40cal. I know it's unusual for us to be discussing pistols here in the rifle subforum, but since it's in a carbine, I'm posting here.

What kind of velocity increases could I expect from the 165gr and 180gr rounds out of the 16" bbl?
what kinds of muzze energy increases would I see with the longer barrel?
What sort of ranges could I get? Do you think a .40S&W shot out of the CX4 would still carry any oomph at 100 yards?

And before you say it, yeah I know if i'm going to bother with a rifle, I may as well get rifle ballistics and all that jive. Wonderful. And as soon as you figure out how to get an AK or AR15 to have compatible mags and ammo with my sidearm we'll chat about that.

I already have real rifles for shooting at serious range. I'm thinking of the CX4 as an HD gun that would be quicker and easier to handle than my 870HD, and still have enough power to be effective as a short range SHTF type gun.

 

[MJR007]

I find this interesting. I saw Oly had a 10mm AR15 upper. This would be a neat little brush rifle.

 

[Grassman]

I'm interested too, I was kicking around the idea of picking up a Hi point .40 carbine. Now we know they ain't tack drivers, but what can we reasonably expect up to 100 yds?

 

[Marlin 45 carbine]

Ben sums it up fairly well, handy for H-D or 'away from home' defense in a bad situ. someone (woman?) unfamiliar with firearms at all IMO could handle something like this better than either a powerful handgun or a service caliber rifle excepting the M1 Carbine perhaps. I sure would not want to be on the bizznes end of it at 100 yds.

 

[19-3Ben]

Exactly. What I figured is that at 5 3/4 pounds, it's really light. If I had to suddenly take off, it might be handy.

Also for HD, the CX4 is just under 30" long. So it's actually a good 9" shorter than my 870hd.
Until now, my 870 was fine because it's not like I'm clearing a house or anything. I'm going to camp out in my bedroom with the shotgun pointed at the door if someone breaks in. But I just got married 3 weeks ago. I have to start thinking about what's going to happen when I have kids. I may have to move around the house in the event of an home invasion so that I can get my kid to safety. The shorter OAL and ability to use one handed (ie, while holding a child in one arm) would be very helpful. I also like that I could make a more precise shot with the single projectile should I ever have to.

I know the short barreled shotgun is the generally accepted king of home defense, but let's face it, there are plenty of good reasons why a CX4 in .40 would be excellent for that purpose. And if you want numbers, check this out:
DoubleTap's 180gr load.
It's pulling 1150fps from a 4.5"bbl and delivering 538ft/lbs. That's from a service sized pistol. Imagine what the extra barrel length would do for that round!

Marlin- I was also thinking of the M1 carbine. Thing is, it's longer than the CX4, not compatible mags/ammo with sidearm, and tough to get reliably expanding ammo. The M1carbine is a great PDW though.

 

[minutemen1776]

But I just got married 3 weeks ago. I have to start thinking about what's going to happen when I have kids. I may have to move around the house in the event of an home invasion so that I can get my kid to safety.

You've been married three weeks and are already thinking of hostage-rescue scenarios involving your yet-unborn children?

Seriously, though, if you need to move about the house and keep a free hand for kids and such, your pistol alone will be the better option. Though a pistol-caliber carbine will give somewhat enhanced ballistics, a .40-cal pistol is itself a good stopper, and you'll gain much more benefit from the pistol's compactness than you'll ever get from the marginal gain in ballistics from the carbine. Your mileage may vary, but I've owned a number of pistol-caliber carbines over the years, and my analysis always comes out the same, and I've yet to keep a pistol-caliber carbine beyond the point that its novelty fades.

 

[wnycollector]

My keltec sub2K spits out doubletaps 155gr gold dot at ~1500-1520fps IIRC (it's been ~2 years since I chronoed it). That puts it up there with .41 mag power levels. My sub2k goes on every family camping trip or vacation since everyone in my family can shoot it effectively out to 50+ yards. It also is ever so portable since it folds in 1/2 and slides into a laptop case or backpack. It takes Glock 22 mags which are cheap and plentiful.