Ruger Pc4

Guns Magazine, Jan, 2001 by Charles E. Petty

Ruger's handy tactical carbine gets a turbocharge with this new .40 S&W chambering.

There is almost universal appeal in having a small, handy carbine that fires the same cartridge as your chosen handgun. This is true with the Ruger PC4, a carbine which fires a .40 caliber autopistol cartridge. The PC4 is also available chambered in 9mm.

The basic design of the PC4 features direct blowback operation with a steel bolt, receiver and barrel. The stock is a molded synthetic material. The standard rear sight is a typical notch adjustable for both elevation and windage. An optional ghost ring sight mounted on the rear of the receiver extends the sight radius considerably. The receiver also wears Ruger's special scope bases to allow the mounting of optical sights. Our PC4 was tested with the standard adjustable sights.

The carbine weighs 6 lbs. 6 ozs. The first time you shoot it recoil seems unusually heavy, but that impression goes away quickly with just a little more shooting experience. There were no stoppages throughout the course of initial function and break-in testing -- roughly 100 rounds of assorted ammunition.

Real-World Performance

Further accuracy testing was done with ammo selected to cover all the bases in bullet weights normally seen with the .40 S&W. We also set out to determine the differences between a 165 gr. bullet loaded to full velocity and the FBI's chosen load that normally runs about 950 fps from handguns. As expected, the FBI's load was clearly the accuracy champ when fired out of the Ruger's 16.25" barrel.

Accuracy results fit very nicely with proven performance of this round in a number of handguns. The Federal 165 gr. American Eagle or companion Hydra-shok loads almost always shoot well. Surprisingly, the Federal Personal Defense load -- which really hustles along out of the carbine's barrel -- came in second.

Typically, as velocity increases -- at least in the .40 S&W -- accuracy decreases. That was not the case here and all the other loads had pretty much the same accuracy.

During testing we experienced three stoppages with three different kinds of ammo, All were magazine related. There were two occasions where the bolt locked open prematurely and one double-feed.

Unfortunately, the rifle comes with only one magazine and even though it uses the same as Ruger's pistols, another magazine was not available. During follow-up shooting with more of the ammo used in the accuracy test, as well as some other loads, there were no further stoppages.

Both Sides Of The Badge

Ruger's PC4 is available to both civilian and law enforcement buyers. There is something to be said for having a convenient carbine in the patrol car. Many officers adamantly avoid the 12 gauge shotgun -- even when it might be the very best weapon for the task at hand -- and rely only on their handgun. This may be more of a training problem than anything. Shooting just a few rounds of buckshot -- let alone rifled slugs -- in a light pump shotgun can be brutal for someone who is not trained welt in recoil management.

The carbine avoids those concerns and, as a fringe benefit, extends the officer's effective range considerably. With training, officers should be able to hit a man-sized target at 50 yards; some better shooters could double that. That's enough range for most normal situations to contain things until the cavalry -- in the form of S.W.A.T. guys -- can arrive,

All in all the Ruger PC4 is both fun to shoot and a worthwhile addition to the armory for those situations where a handgun isn't enough but where a tactical rifle might be too much.