Best round for a pistol caliber carbine?

C

CCCLVII

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I am ready to make a new gun purchase soon. I have many guns but at the moment no pistol caliber carbines. I would like for it to double as a hunting rifle. I hunt in Indiana frequently.

It should also be a fun plinking gun.
 
"".45 Colt - One of the Italian reproductions""

Was looking today at some of the lever actions, trying to decide which I'd like best.

Anyone ever play with a Rossi in .38/.357?

That ammo is (normally) fairly common. I'd really rather a carbine in 9mm, but those had become scarce before the recent panic. The one I wanted seemed to be like Unicorn horns, a figment of someone's imagination used to entice the gullible into hunting them.

Any comments/reviews appreciated.
 
it's a tossup really, it all depends on your personal tastes and budget.
I have a 9mm AR15, the most fun semi auto I have and has the cheapest ammo.

I have a bolt action 45ACP, it's a conversion kit job and it fires but has serious ejection issues so it has little advantage over a break action. more expensive ammo, not a huge increase in FTLBs over 9mm but is strangely more quiet or at least comparable to 9mm. still working on a good sight setup so I can't vouch for accuracy at any range but I would wager that for hunting it would have to be restricted to muzzle loader ranges.

I have a marlin 44 mag that is a beast. I didn't even want it, I wanted a 357 but it's pre cerberus and the guy was asking half of what it was worth so I decided to risk it. Now I will never give this bad boy up. anymore the ammo isn't that expensive and I reload for it anyway which I think puts it below 9mm factory prices. the energy is decent enough to make a good deer rifle out to 150 yards and the very first shot I took with it vaporized a chipmunk at 20 yards... probably the moment that i decided that I would never give it up :D.

if I had to pick just one I would have to decide whether I wanted a lever action or a semi auto, if I wanted a semi... I'd go with the 9mm, if I wanted a lever... 44 mag.
 
For hunting in Indiana, I'd get either a lever gun in 454 Casull or an AR in 458 SOCOM.

If you don't reload and want to plink, scale it back to 44mag.
 
9mm in a auto, 357 or 32/20 in a lever. 45 and 44 usually have varying bore diameter, throat and chamber sizes. it becomes difficult to get an accurate load without lots of effort. bobn
 
For hunting in Indiana, I'd get either a lever gun in 454 Casull or an AR in 458 SOCOM.
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you expecting to run into a few polar bears and rinocerous in IA? those are large shoulder crushing rounds, neither are what I would call pistol calibers.
 
tahunua001, The OP said Indiana, not Iowa. Either way, It's farm country. The longer effective range is useful and neither have unreasonable recoil from a rifle while still being legal. Your recommendation of 9mm, while great for plinking, is somewhere between silly and worthless when the OP said it has to double as a hunting rifle. Oh, and 9mm is illegal too.
 
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bedlamite, Idaho has a lot of open farmland too, yet I have managed to get within archery range of deer plenty of times, close shots are doable especially for a seasoned hunter, not that I am one. also 458 socom was designed for rifles, not pistols, therefor it has no place in a discussion about pistol caliber carbines.

I'm sorry, I didn't readup on indiana hunting law, I suspected the OP would be familiar enough with local regs that I shouldn't have to. also your link don't work.

I merely was stating all of the PISTOL CALIBER carbines that I have experience with and my take on them. all are capable of killing deer given the proper ranges.
 
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In my mind... .375 winchester...

2000fps with a 220 gr lead point straight out kicks the **** out of white tails.

I shoot it out of a 15" encore barrel, hits them like a light switch and down they go.

I've named her gertrude :)

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stick a 24" 375 barrel on there and you'd have nothing but sweetness
 
I am partial to the 357 magnum. I have taken many an Idaho mule deer with it and a 158 grain bullet. Make sure you take your time and dont push it.

A 45Colt or a 44 Mag would be a good bet too, especially if you reload.

I am not 100% sure why the semi-auto Pistol caliber carbines dont gain near as much velocity as the revolver caliber carbines. Though a 10mm Carbine would work pretty well in my book.

I was looking at the regs. How can a 458 socom be ok but a 45-70 or 30-30 not be? Are they thinking the 458 socom is a pistol caliber?

Never mind I found the answer. It is the length of the brass.
 
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The one you have the most ammo for. My only purpose for a "pistol caliber carbine" is as a companion for a handgun. Two semiauto carbines use the same ammo and mags as their handgun counterpart. Two lever carbines match revolvers for ammo.
 
.357

Anyone ever play with a Rossi in .38/.357
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I have had one for a couple of decades. Great little gun. I was going to recommend it....and still do.
It may not be suitable for Midwest hunting (never been there to hunt) but for our PA woods, it is a handy little item. I load it nowadays with Hornady's Leverevolution bullets at 140 grains at about 1800fps.
Pete
 
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