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Ruger PC Carbines are autoloading semi-automatics designed for compatibility with Ruger’s P-Series pistol 9 mm and .40 S&W gun magazines. This compatibility simplifies logistics and enhances interoperability for police forces, etc. Thus, Ruger PC (pistol caliber) Carbines come in 17+1 9 mm Luger and 15+1 .40 S&W configurations.

Currently, there are about 20 PC Carbine models. We’ll cover some key ones, what they share in common and their differences in sights, handguards (or lack thereof), etc. Let’s examine their commonalities.

All key models have aluminum alloy receivers with Type III Hard-Coat anodizing. They have 16.12” chrome moly steel barrels forced into shape by cold hammer-forging. The bolts are also made of chrome moly steel, though they are machined rather than forged.

The heavy contour barrels are 6-grooved on the inside and fluted on the outside. Barrel fluting uses the same architectural principals as fluting on building columns: they maintain rigidity while shaving weight and enhancing portability, so this is a good thing. All this ensures durability and accuracy. And they are 34.37” long in overall length. The .40 S&W has a 1 to 16" RH barrel and a 9/16”x24 TPI pattern thread while the 9 mm Lugers have a 1 to 10” twist and a 1/2”x28 TPI thread.

All these guns have threaded muzzles and thread protectors. The PC Carbines been very cleverly designed to have interchangeable magazine wells. Each ships with one Ruger SR-Series pistol magazine, an installed Ruger SR-Series pistol magazine well and an extra Glock magazine-compatible well.

The PC Carbine’s architecture was designed for easy takedowns for storage or transportation. They have tungsten dead blow weights.

So that either right-handers or left-handers can use these guns, they have reversible charging handles and reversible magazine releases. All use 10/22 trigger components for clean breaks, positive resets and minimal overtravel. Here’s a quick model by model assessment of how they differ:

The .40 S&W receiver is made out of 7075-T6 aluminum and is crested with an integrated Picatinny rail. It comes standard with a blade front sight that has protective vertical wings. The stock forend has a three-slot Picatinny accessory rail under the barrel. Further back is a ghost ring aperture rear sight that’s easily adjustable for windage and elevation. It has durable sling swivels at front and rear.

At back is a synthetic buttstock made of glass-filled nylon. It’s texturized where the hand falls. It also has an integrated sling mount. It has a soft rubber butt pad and comes with three .5” spacers to optimize length of pull for different size users or different types of clothing. And it comes with a 15-round magazine. Weight is 6.6 pounds.

The next model is a 9 mm Luger gun that is the same as the .40 S&W except the barrel and its 17-round magazine. Weight is 6.8 pounds.

The third model adds an M-LOK compatible handguard. Weight is 7.0 pounds.

The fourth model is the same but has an American flag decorative motif described as “camouflage”.

Last, the fifth model is the most aggressive. It has a triangular skeletonized 6-position Magpul MOE buttstock with an ambidextrous QD sling mount and a protected squeeze latch. It has a .3” thick rubber pad complete with anti-slip texturing and an anti-wobble friction lock. The gun lacks sights, but, with a slightly different M-LOK handguard with an additional four-slot Picatinny rail atop it, the gun is more than ready for them. Finally, it has a detached straight-leg pistol grip.

These are the five main models. Additionally, there are a good number of state compliant models. All are restricted to 10-round magazines in lieu of the aforementioned 15 and 17-round mags and some have non-threaded barrels. Otherwise they are the same as the regular models.

Ruger PC Carbines are built at by Ruger at their Newport, New Hampshire locations and are thus Made in USA.

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