What caliber carbine: 9mm VS .40s&w VS 10mm VS .45acp

[Alan Fud]

For general self defense purposes with a handgun round, what carbine would you prefer?

Chambered in

• 9mm
• .40s&w
• 10mm
• .45acp

 

[Silent Sam]

460 Rowland...

 

[Otherguy Overby]

Yer list seems a bit short...

Where's .357 & .44 mag?

Lever-guns are carbines, too!

 

[foghornl]

I picked .45ACP

I have several .45ACP handguns, and really don't want to stock ANOTHER type of ammo.

Waiting for Hi-Point to finally sell their .45ACP carbine*** since Marlin no longer makes the "Camp Carbine".


***Said while installing asbestos bloomers While Hi-Point arms certainly are not the most AP {Aesthetically Pleasing} firearms out there, they do go BANG! on request.

 

[Alan Fud]

Yer list seems a bit short...

Where's .357 & .44 mag?

Lever-guns are carbines, too!

I was looking at only those that came in the AR configuration and not all carbines.

 

[Manedwolf]

I picked 9mm. To me, the point of a carbine is better accuracy than a pistol, extended range compared to a pistol, and higher VELOCITY compared to a pistol.

For the latter especially, I don't see the point of 45. Great handgun round, but slow...what's the point of putting it in a carbine, really?

Lightweight 9mm rounds like the GECO BAT or Cor-Bon +P are rather swift out of a carbine, allowing for a much longer range and better accuracy at that range, (and more penetration, as in through windshields, car doors, etc) I'd think.

That, and significantly greater ammo capacity and less weight at the same time.

 

[HorseSoldier]

I'd personally say caliber is less important than commonality -- whatever pistol you also prefer to shoot, and, ideally, with whatever magazines your pistol uses.

 

[grimjaw]

.357 Sig should have been an option, but among the ones you listed, I'd say 9x19.

jmm

 

[B.D. Turner]

I picked the 9mm because the .44 magnum was not a choice. Having a Colt AR in 9mm and an IMI UZI in 9mm I can say the UZI will shoot rings around the Colt 9mm all day. The Norinco UZI clone was ok too but the stock stinks. HiPoint Carbine in 9mm is a great plinker too.

 

[zamboxl]

wow they offer 10mm nice.

 

[Alan Fud]

• I picked the 9mm because the .44 magnum was not a choice

• .357 Sig should have been an option, but among the ones you listed, I'd say 9x19.

They presently don't offer a .44mag or 357 SIG in an AR configuration. If you follow the links, these are rifles that you can presently buy.

 

[warriorsociologist]

If I could get my hands on a H&K MP5-10, (10mm MP5), I'd never consider another 0-200m carbine. Since getting my hands on one is not likely, I have yet to fully convince myself that any of the others presents a justifiable (for me...mind you) advantage over a .223 K.I.S.S. M4-clone. I trained with MP5's in the Marine Corps (9mm of course) and they are very nice for close-quarters/room clearing....so I guess evey once in a while, I do get the hankering for a 9mm AR or MAC (what I could afford) just to do some cheap plinking. That said, what stops me is that for many of the roles I'd now need something smaller than my M4, I probably reach for my Glock 20 (15+1 rds of 10mm in a small package).

Anyway - that's my .02.

FWIW, if you are interested in finding "10mm discussions" on THR, I have a sticky here that links many of them together:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=2678679#post2678679






***As for Oly's 10mm carbines....I have heard stories that they are less than reliable over the long haul. It could be just an internet gossip/rumor, but it does take a little tweaking & tweeking to get a 10mm carbine to feed light (.40 spec.) and full-power loads without suffering some sort of reliability issues. This rumor is one of the reasons I never got one (the other being magazine availability & overall mag reliability) and why I almost jumped on board with the Vector "MP5-10 clone" pre-buy. Anyway, I'd love to hear feedback from actual owners of 10mm OLy carbines on how theres' performs.

 

[Brian Williams]

I voted 9mm as in 9mmX32R, better known as a 357 mag.
I have often thought about making a 9mmX45, basically a 5.56 blown out to a straight case. Now that would be a hoot.

 

[B.D. Turner]

Alan Fud,
Who said it had to be on an AR platform????? The post said "For general self defense purposes with a handgun round, what carbine would you prefer?"

 

[Harley Quinn]

I'd go for the 10 mm

But I don't have one nor do I plan on getting one, I like my 30 carbine's.

Neat little shooters and fun to boot. I like the 5.7mm conversion I have.
I heard they can do the 10 mm also. Hmmm I believe I have about 4 I could play with.
I have a 1905 Winchester 32-20 that was converted long ago into 30 Carbine, I did not do it, bought it pretty reasonable about 30 years ago.

The 30 carbine being a rifle round in the first place, fits me fine. If DE made a pistol for it I'd buy it. I have a Ruger single six in it, one of the first they made circa early 70's. Loud and you should see the flame in the evening, I like it, scares people even with earmuffs. Puts on quite a display. LOL

HQ Giving away to many secrets
Boy these smilies are great

 

[BillinNH]

Go to the SD caliber that you are the most confident with in a handgun. For me that's the 9mm. And I own carbines in 357, 44 and 45 as well as three in 9mm. It's a personal choice, they can all do the job, choose the one you are most confidant with.

Bill

 

[Bigfoot]

From the choices offered I'd go .40. From a carbine barrel it should be close to 10mm performance and a 10mm handgun with 200 gr XTPs is considered one of the best choices for deer-hog hunting and couger-bear protection.

The low pressure .45 doesn't gain as much from a longer barrel as the higher pressure .40 does.

Should I disclose that I shoot a .40 handgun? Bias? What bias?

 

[Vitamin G]

But if you'd pick a .40S&W because it would be almost equal to a 10mm with that length barrel, imagine what a 10mm could do

 

[warriorsociologist]

Remember folks, in general, barrel length only helps if there is still burning powder to accellerate the bullet. Once the powder is burned up (all gas released), any "extra" barrel is just a source of friction & slows the bullet. Most pistol rounds have fast powders optimized for short barrels...but a big pistol-caliber case packed with slower powder can take advantage of some increase in barrel length. I read somewhere that anything over 11" or so didn't help with factory 10mm loads... Anyone else have any info on this?

 

[Bigfoot]

Doh! I didn't know they offered it in 10mm and I must have missed that in the original post.

Oh yeah, 10mm in a carbine. Now that would be a versitile gun.

 

[bowfin]

/*If I could get my hands on a H&K MP5-10, (10mm MP5), I'd never consider another 0-200m carbine.*/

Using some of that oldtime potent Norma ammunition, we had a blast ringing a 6" gong at 100 yards with my brother's S&W 1076 pistol, once elevation was figured out. I think an MP5 in 10mm would perform that same feat with boring regularity and little effort.

The FBI had some Thompson SMGs converted to 10mm when they were sold on that cartridge. Since the Thompson was also designed to accommodate the powerful but never produced .45 Remington-Thompson cartridge, it was a fairly simple procedure.

 

[Myself]

10mm

 

[bowfin]

By the way, ballistics on that .45 Remington-Thompson cartridge was a 250 grain bullet at 1,450 fps(!)

 

[Alan Fud]

Alan Fud,
Who said it had to be on an AR platform?????

Uhh, my survey

 

[spartacus2002]

10mm firing loads from DoubleTap Ammunition.