My first exposure to the above type of gun was the Marlin Camp 45, a teeny, lightweight little thing that was so handy and easy to shoot — and it used 1911 .45 ACP mags withal — that I couldn’t understand why they weren’t as popular as .22 rifles.
Well, after the third breakage — I mean, parts that actually shattered upon extended use — showed me why the Camp 45s weren’t as popular as .22 rifles. Nice concept: total dud in execution.
There were others that came along — the Beretta CX-4 carbines were nice, and being Beretta were a lot better than the Camp 45 when it came to reliability. Also kinda cool-looking.
I had one for a while, but traded it for something else at the range — as I recall, a Ruger Redhawk in .357 Mag — and to be honest, I didn’t miss the CX-4 that much.
However, this little thing from Ruger, the LC Carbine, has caught my eye recently, and I must confess to feeling a teeny lil’ tug at the old wallet.
Now the guys at TTAG seem to like it quite a bit, calling it a “real thumper”, and that appellation will always get my attention. It has several features that do ditto: it uses Glock double-stack mags (which are cheap and ubiquitous); it looks easy to mount a decent tac-scope like an Aimpoint on the thing (and I happen to have a spare one or two in Ye Olde Gunne Sayfe); and it has a threaded barrel for an eeeeevil silencer / suppressor / moderator (pick your preferred nomenclature).
We won’t discuss the ammo issue, of course.
And speaking of which, all the range tests I’ve seen for the LC have shown that it handles pretty much any kind (FMJ or HP), bullet-weight (185gr to 230gr) or strength (+P) with equal ease, and with excellent accuracy, as it should, with a barrel longer than a 1911’s.
I see that Bud’s is selling them for under $800, which is always a good indicator of “street price” vs. MSRP (over $1,000).
I might just sell one of my other guns for one of these. Even though I’ll need to buy some Glock mags — yeah, guess why — and I’m debating whether to let the feds crawl up my ass just to “allow” me to get a frigging suppressor (don’t get me started), I might very well end up with one of these Rugers, under the “home defense / under-the-bed” rationale, so to speak.
Also, if anyone has any first-hand experience with the LC, please let me know.