Building a PC9

[gato naranja]

I have given this project a name - the Fuck You New York carbine.

This reminds me of the little mantra of mine back when a certain political creation's wife was crusading against salt- I'd get a side of fries at a restaurant and mutter FUMO while I scowled and shook the hell out of the salt shaker. Don't F with my fries, Mick.

Anyway, I look forward to seeing this project's progress. It ain't an M4 or even a Beretta Modello 38 (with or without bayonet), but IMHO it ain't anything to sneeze at, either.

[NH Shooter]

It ain't an M4 or even a Beretta Modello 38 (with or without bayonet), but IMHO it ain't anything to sneeze at, either.

Definitely NOT battle-proven like an AR, but the PC9 is getting enough use in civilian circles that the issues are being identified and ironed out. The collective knowledge on keeping the PC9 running continues to grow, and at this point is recognized as being reasonably reliable. It also has some decent aftermarket support.

It will be a fun project that I will have fully vetted before leaving NH, and I remain confident that it will serve my purposes behind the iron curtain.

[mmc45414]

Zip ties.

I think they may prohibit bayonet attachment lugs, but not sure they remembered to prohibit bayonets...

[Glenn E. Meyer]

As an aside, reading the new Colorado law being voted on, it seems to exempt the classic Mini-14 and Ruger PCC. Could be wrong as not an expert legal type. One wonders if this windfall was part of the decision to design the PCC.

[zaitcev]

Definitely NOT battle-proven like an AR, but the PC9 is getting enough use in civilian circles that the issues are being identified and ironed out. The collective knowledge on keeping the PC9 running continues to grow, and at this point is recognized as being reasonably reliable. It also has some decent aftermarket support.

The thing I hate the most about Ruger PC(C) is all the tiny fiddly bits. I remember how I thought that buffer detent on AR-15 was a dumb idea, but this is on another level. The key difference is, nothing falls out of AR if you just field-strip it. But it does fall out of Ruger. I was mostly lucky, but I had to replace a lost bolt stop spring. After that, I gave up and replaced the pins with shortened 10/22 pins with ball detents, made by TK. Ridiculous. Thanks for the aftermarket, I guess.

Homesteader's pins are not captive, but at least they are reasonably large - about the size of HK pins.

[Exiledviking]

Definitely NOT battle-proven like an AR, but the PC9 is getting enough use in civilian circles that the issues are being identified and ironed out. The collective knowledge on keeping the PC9 running continues to grow, and at this point is recognized as being reasonably reliable. It also has some decent aftermarket support.

It will be a fun project that I will have fully vetted before leaving NH, and I remain confident that it will serve my purposes behind the iron curtain.

I had trouble with our PC9 and 147 gr JHPs when it was new. Now that it's broken in, it runs fine. 200+ rounds of Magtech 124 FMJ appears to have helped. So, check your ammo for proper function.

[NH Shooter]

After that, I gave up and replaced the pins with shortened 10/22 pins with ball detents, made by TK.

Do you have the link to those handy?

I too enjoy doing the "deep dive" on the bench in terms of disassembly to get a good look. Every new gun I've owned has gone through this to remove the shipping lubricant and to re-lube with the good stuff.

BTW, they say a sizable portion of the junk orbiting Earth are AR detent springs. :-)

I had trouble with our PC9 and 147 gr JHPs when it was new. Now that it's broken in, it runs fine. 200+ rounds of Magtech 124 FMJ appears to have helped. So, check your ammo for proper function.

I have the MCarbo extractor, pins and buffer pad on order and will likely install those before the first shot is fired. I'll be using 147 grain loads and have 500 rounds of 147 FMJ on hand for the vetting process. I will also (obviously) be testing with the 147 JHP loads I plan on keeping the magazines loaded with.

Like most of the other guns I've owned, once I become confident with its function and reliability, it will likely get limited range time use and spend most of its life on standby in detailed cleaned & lubricated condition.

[zaitcev]

Do you have the link to those handy?

The ones that work for bolt stop are these:
https://www.tandemkross.com/upgraded...nsforruger1022

I cut mine with a triangle file, but I suppose a dremel works too if you have a steady hand.

I also installed these receiver pins for PC:
https://www.tandemkross.com/tk-pccarbineaccessories

However, I don't think these are a hard requirement. Nothing too bad happens if a receiver pin jumps out, just pick it up. There aren't any tiny springs ready to escape behind those large pins. I only replaced those because I disassembled my PC more than 1,000 times in the course of developing and QC-ing the SIG and Beretta magwell adapters. This surely is not normal.

I don't have any extra parts on any of my PCs. One of my extractor springs started to go, but I didn't get any FTEs, just a weird ejection pattern. I bought an OEM spring from MGW. I don't have any McCarbo extractors, bolt face pins, buffers or anything of that nature. Don't tinker with what's not broken!

There are parts of the design that are dubious, such as the C-clip that captures the recoil spring. And some users reported breaking it. However, this is why I have several guns. I'll just ask Ruger to send me one if I break it.

[NH Shooter]

Don't tinker with what's not broken!

There's wisdom in that statement. Aftermarket vendors make $$ by selling "upgrade" parts, whether they're actually needed or not.

I will likely run my PC9 with the stock internals at least initially. Even though an extractor shouldn't play much of a role in a blow-back action, there's mounting anecdotal evidence that the better-made MCarbo extractor has solved some cycling issues, and the plastic retainer clip for the action spring seems like a no-brainer to replace with the steel aftermarket version. Likewise the shock buffer pad which I see no downside to using. I am, however, more skeptical of the harder "tool steel" bolt pins as the factory pins may be softer for reasons other than cost.

The thoughtful selection of aftermarket parts and accessories are a fun (and often very productive) way to personalize our machines.

[gato naranja]

There's wisdom in that statement. Aftermarket vendors make $$ by selling "upgrade" parts, whether they're actually needed or not.

I will likely run my PC9 with the stock internals at least initially. Even though an extractor shouldn't play much of a role in a blow-back action, there's mounting anecdotal evidence that the better-made MCarbo extractor has solved some cycling issues, and the plastic retainer clip for the action spring seems like a no-brainer to replace with the steel aftermarket version. Likewise the shock buffer pad which I see no downside to using. I am, however, more skeptical of the harder "tool steel" bolt pins as the factory pins may be softer for reasons other than cost.

The thoughtful selection of aftermarket parts and accessories are a fun (and often very productive) way to personalize our machines.

Indeed. I have had a couple of whacks upside the head WRT an aftermarket component that was closer to "bombproof" than the more important bit(s) it was applied to. Had I stopped and really, REALLY thought about things like hardness vs. toughness, the law of diminishing returns, etc, etc, I could have spared myself (and the missus) both drama and a bit of coin.

(To paraphrase Twain, "If a man has some profanity in him, ruining a perfectly good firearm receiver by making it the weakest link in the chain will bring it out of him.")

I was wont to "improve" 10/22s via aftermarket parts at one point in my checkered amateur gunsmithing career; the results were, shall we say, mixed. I ended up deciding that the 10/22s of that era needed fewer "fixes" than I was giving them.



This "FYNY" project already interests me for a couple reasons, and if it also ends up being enlightening about what isn't needed to make the thing run, so much the better.