9mm Carbine Home Defense

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  • Dizzle

    Active Member
    Jan 27, 2018
    117
    What would you guys recommend?

    Cz Scorpion
    Kel Tec Sub 2000
    Ar 9mm

    There are tons more options just throwing a few out there. Share your thoughts....
     

    gwchem

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 18, 2014
    3,434
    SoMD
    For home defense, reliability takes the front seat.

    I've heard wayyyy too many people need to tune 9mm ARs. Fine for competition, not fine in the middle of the night. Why not a more proven 5.56 AR?

    Keltec is a fine rifle, but awkward. Really best served as a trunk gun.

    That leaves the cz as the best of your choices. Though my personal preference is a reliable AR in another caliber.
     

    teratos

    My hair is amazing
    MDS Supporter
    Patriot Picket
    Jan 22, 2009
    59,775
    Bel Air
    If you are going with a carbine, go with 5.56. Less over-penetration and more effective.
     

    Jimbob2.0

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 20, 2008
    16,600
    Its a good choice easy to handle, reasonable recoil, easy follow-up. With the right ammo a fantastic option. My top couple would be:

    CZ Skorp
    Ruger PC
    AR in 9mm

    Keltec is a good option but its ergonomics are terrible and having the charging handle far back in the stock could be awkward in a jam and I think some serious training would be in order to be instinctive. They are great emergency and pack weapons just wouldn't be my "go to" if I had other options.
     

    Dizzle

    Active Member
    Jan 27, 2018
    117
    Thanks everyone for all the information. I would think .223 is super loud inside a house and 9mm not nearly as bad especially in a Carbine. That's what has lead me to the 9mm Carbine. I'm just not totally sold on the reliability as some of you have also pointed out. Alot of great options for sure.
     

    motorcoachdoug

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    I was thinking of the High Point carbine and they come in 9mm,40cal and 45cal as well. They are very dependable, always goes boom when you pull the trigger no matter what kind of ammo you are using even if its junk ammo,very slight recoil at least in the 40cal,which I happen to own. Besides my ar 15 with 5.56 ammo in the mags, I have the Gold Saber 180 grain, JHP in my mags for home defense. I do have choices when it comes to my home defense even if I do live in a 40yr old apartment building on the 2cd floor.
     

    stank

    Lifes Good
    Oct 20, 2008
    385
    Pasadena
    Beretta CX4 storms have been reliable and always go bang. Mine are all stock but you can deck them out with Siera Papa items which people say make them super reliable and bullet proof but the upgrades cost more than the carbine itself.
     

    Mini14tac

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    May 14, 2013
    2,146
    North County
    Another vote for the Ruger PC Carbine. I also have a High Point that is just as reliable and accurate but the limitation of the mags and the ergonomics makes the a Ruger stand out.
     

    Bountied

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 6, 2012
    6,893
    Pasadena
    I'd go 9mm AR carbine. That's what I have in the bedroom, plus a .40 cal pistol, and a 20ga 870 for the wife, and a katana...just in case.

    My 9mm AR is a diamondback and was unreliable at first. The chamber had a rough edge and would catch the brass. I removed the barrel polished the chamber with a dremel buffer cone and it's been 100% with WWB, PMC, and Blazer 115gr.

    The AR platform is familiar to me and very easy to accessorize with lights, optics, grips, etc. YMMV

    What ever you get shoot it a lot so it's very familiar to you.
     

    TheOriginalMexicanBob

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 2, 2017
    32,178
    Sun City West, AZ
    I'm sure any will do but the AR platform is so well proven it's difficult to recommend otherwise.

    My Olympic Arms M4 in .45 ACP makes an outstanding home defense carbine. I've had it over twenty-years and and it's amazingly accurate and has been completely reliable. You can buy just the upper from them or the entire carbine in .45 ACP, 9mm and 10mm.
    Oly_Arms_45_M4.jpg
     

    Trekker

    Active Member
    Oct 20, 2011
    687
    Harford County
    Thanks everyone for all the information. I would think .223 is super loud inside a house and 9mm not nearly as bad especially in a Carbine. That's what has lead me to the 9mm Carbine. I'm just not totally sold on the reliability as some of you have also pointed out. Alot of great options for sure.

    I did a bit of google-fu, and the results suggest that a 9mm (pistol) is louder than a 223 rifle (i.e. https://www.m1911.org/loudness.htm). In any case, I keep a set of earmuffs next to my bedside gun for this reason, and just hope I remember to put them on if needed.

    Given the adage "rifles are rifles, and pistols are pistols", it is generally accorded that rifle caliber rounds are more effective that pistol caliber rounds. Certainly shot placement is more important than power, but power will have a quality of its own for off-center hits.

    At steel challenge shoots I see the pistol caliber carbine (mostly 9mm) users generally outspeed all the other firearms in tagging the multiple targets quickly. While 223 will have more recoil than 9mm, and so would be slower for tagging multiple targets, I do not think 223 has that much recoil that speed is critically slowed.

    Overall, for a home defense carbine, my pick would be an AR in 223.
     

    Bountied

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 6, 2012
    6,893
    Pasadena
    I did a bit of google-fu, and the results suggest that a 9mm (pistol) is louder than a 223 rifle (i.e. https://www.m1911.org/loudness.htm). In any case, I keep a set of earmuffs next to my bedside gun for this reason, and just hope I remember to put them on if needed.

    Given the adage "rifles are rifles, and pistols are pistols", it is generally accorded that rifle caliber rounds are more effective that pistol caliber rounds. Certainly shot placement is more important than power, but power will have a quality of its own for off-center hits.

    At steel challenge shoots I see the pistol caliber carbine (mostly 9mm) users generally outspeed all the other firearms in tagging the multiple targets quickly. While 223 will have more recoil than 9mm, and so would be slower for tagging multiple targets, I do not think 223 has that much recoil that speed is critically slowed.

    Overall, for a home defense carbine, my pick would be an AR in 223.

    My 9mm AR has a 16" barrel and is way quieter than a 16" 5.56. There is also no muzzle flash and not much recoil at all.

    I can hit a 12" steel plate at 200yds with a red dot easily.
     

    jimbobborg

    Oddball caliber fan
    Aug 2, 2010
    17,112
    Northern Virginia
    If I didn't have neighbors literally surrounding me, I'd go with the 9mm carbine if I could prove it's reliable, the same as I would a pistol. Yes, I can shoot the carbine faster and more accurately than any of my pistols. Reloading sucks, but since I'm running 32-round sticks, it's only done when required. One more thing about the quiet part, I've had people ask me if I was shooting a .22 LR version at a Steel Challenge match last year, it's that quiet.
     

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