I missed participating in this thread from another GT sub forum:
https://www.glocktalk.com/threads/shtf-gun-9mm-carbine-vs-223-rifle.1662992/
However, I'd like to take this discussion away from SHTF and TEOTWAWKI and WROL scenarios for a bit and talk about the day-to-day pros and cons of 9mm semiauto PCCs only. Someone else can explain/defend .45 carbines or lever guns.
Facts not seriously in dispute about 9mm PCCs:
Pound for pound 9mm and 5.56 rounds with mags are functionally of equivalent weight, but the 9mm mags consume less space.
Round for round 5.56 is much more powerful and far ranging than any 9mm.
The 9mm will produce less muzzle flash and sonic report than 5.56 at the same barrel lengths.
The PCC will be easier to suppress. A PCC like the CX4 has no gas system to contend with.
Though some may claim it possible due to wringing max velocity out of the fired round, a 9mm PCC cannot be counted upon to defeat soft body armor.
* * * *
Okay then. I have a PCC I like very much, a 9mm Beretta CX4 that is the companion piece for a couple of PX4 and M92 pistols I have.
Some may call it a range toy, others a weak overpackaging of a pistol round. However, for a long gun, it gets the most trigger time of any of the ones I own. Here's how I view my own PCC:
1. I can fire the PCC any day I want. I can use it at all area indoor pistol lanes. My gun club has an outdoor pistol range that is completely gravel covered, so it's open in all weather. Many ranges here will close for heavy snow, rain, or the resultant quagmire.
2. It's way cheaper to feed. Factory ammo is generally cheaper than 5.56, but 9mm reloading is way cheaper and simpler if casting your own lead.
3. No tinkertoy temptation. The parts, especially the massive blowback operated bolt, are robust. There isn't much point to replacing anything.
4. It's useful for self-defense in the vast majority of circumstances. I live in a moderately sized urban area of around 200k souls. In the two plus decades I have put in here, I cannot recall one instance of local criminal activity involving the use of even commercial grade soft body armor, to say nothing of anything more exotic. The North Hollywood bank robbery down in California was spectacular, but it was also a unicorn.
5. With practice any 9mm CX4 will easily and repeatedly hit a chest sized gong at 200mm using nothing optical greater than a 4MOA red dot and some judicious holdover.
So, is it a replacement for a true rifle? Nah. Is it a very viable trunk gun or indoor oriented SD long arm? I think so, especially as it shares mags with my EDC.
I bought my CX4 on a lark. I too initially thought of it as a fun range toy. It has eventually become my favorite "rifle."
