Ruger PC experience

Range report:

Only one mag locks open on last shot. Same one that worked when dry firing dummy rounds.

I made the hammer spring heavier by adding a washer to the end of the spring. It also added about a pound to the trigger weight. But the carbine will not reliably shoot rifle primers. Still get 1:10 fail to fire. I will remove the washer.

Tested the muzzle brake again. It moves the group to the right and opens it a bit. It makes no difference to results when double tapping or in rapid fire. Will not use.

Tested various reloads one more time. The clear winner is the CamPro 147 plated with 5.2gr of Power Pistol (about 1000 fps).
50 yards
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It was a vey productive day at the range.
 
thegazelle said:
Thanks. I don't own any Korean mags so my familiarity is very limited...what do you recommend and what retailers carry them?
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The only 10/33 mag I found that worked in my FX9 was the SHK Mag marked Made in Korea. I believe I got them through Irunguns, a site sponsor. The followers are quite different from the Gen 4/5 mags in that raised rib on the left side of the follower extends to the feront of the follower whereas the Glock OEM rib only goes out about halfway. Not sure if that makes a difference though as I have other Korean mags that look exactly like the SHK mags but do not hold the bolt back.

It may be a hit or miss situation. The Korean mags are not all that expensive so give it a try. I use my carbine in IDPA PCC Division. Here in Canada, with our 10 round limit I use the SHK mag first then use a G17 mag to do my reload. I want the boly locked back when doing my reload. 18 rds is the maximum round count for a stage and I seldom do make up shots when shooting the FX9. 21 rounds is the most I ever need. In PCC Division you load one in the chamber ad 10 rds in the mag to start the stage. When I go to the US next spring, I'll use a 32 rd mag and pin it before returning home.

Take Care

Bob
 
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be super interested in seeing a point of impact shift talking down the rifle and re assembly if you feel like shooting more groups?? Maybe you could test last shot hold open and do 10 shots/ 10 take downs in one group haha
 
Correct me if I am wrong...but the Ruger PC Carbine...isn't most of the "recoil" coming from the massive/heavy bolt cycling due to it being a simple blowback design...are brakes really doing anything to limit the recoil or just look cool?
 
Big JD-From the hills said:
be super interested in seeing a point of impact shift talking down the rifle and re assembly if you feel like shooting more groups?? Maybe you could test last shot hold open and do 10 shots/ 10 take downs in one group haha
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If everything is tight, especially the locking collar then it is not too bad...

Cycling the bolt a few times after reassembly helps

Also it does matter if your optic is receiver or handguard mounted (less concern if barrel mounted)
 
hannibal.black98 said:
Correct me if I am wrong...but the Ruger PC Carbine...isn't most of the "recoil" coming from the massive/heavy bolt cycling due to it being a simple blowback design...are brakes really doing anything to limit the recoil or just look cool?
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Straight blowback, large reciprocating bolt/buffer mass, felt recoil, yes.

There is not much gas for a brake to work with for 9mm on such a long barrel, so it doesn't do much (if anything) as a brake.

However, any mass attached to the muzzle will dampen both recoil impulse and muzzle jump, reducing perceived recoil and probably feels faster-shooting for most people.
 
thegazelle said:
My PC Carbine has had progressively worse last round bolt hold open not working. Always with Glock OEM 10-round native non-pinned mags - G5). PMAGs and ProMags perform marginally better but not by much. The problem is with the Glock mags/Glock magwell. When I had my Ruger magwell and the S9/SR9 mags, the last round bolt hold open worked 100% of the time flawlessly. Wish I hadn't have sold both.

I remember taking a photo of both of these a while back. Just found it on my computer. There is a bigger gap with the Glock magwell/magazine (first photo) than the Ruger magwell/magazine (second photo).

View attachment 627122

View attachment 627123
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I've used Glock G40 magazines in my PCC and never had any issues either with bolt hold open, FTF, FTE etc.
 
My opinion, and it's just that, no basis in competition experience or whatever, is that BHO is akin to a safety on a gun. It's neat, I guess... but if I want a gun to be made safe, I unload, clear, and check, then check again. If it's loaded, or if I don't know if it's loaded, my safety is my finger. I don't touch a trigger until I know the status of the chamber and firing mechanism and then only touch the trigger if/when it is time to fire in a safe direction. Seems pretty basic stuff, from the course for the PAL/RPAL. I don't trust safeties. Seen a few fail to work properly. That ain't safe. And a bold hold open function actually bothers me a little - I prefer manual, direct, simple engagement with a firearm's loading system, whether it's a simple airgun single shot thing or a semi-auto. I want full and direct control of its function, so yanking back the bolt handle on my TNW after popping in a fresh mag seems sensible.
 
GerardSamija said:
My opinion, and it's just that, no basis in competition experience or whatever, is that BHO is akin to a safety on a gun. It's neat, I guess... but if I want a gun to be made safe, I unload, clear, and check, then check again. If it's loaded, or if I don't know if it's loaded, my safety is my finger. I don't touch a trigger until I know the status of the chamber and firing mechanism and then only touch the trigger if/when it is time to fire in a safe direction. Seems pretty basic stuff, from the course for the PAL/RPAL. I don't trust safeties. Seen a few fail to work properly. That ain't safe. And a bold hold open function actually bothers me a little - I prefer manual, direct, simple engagement with a firearm's loading system, whether it's a simple airgun single shot thing or a semi-auto. I want full and direct control of its function, so yanking back the bolt handle on my TNW after popping in a fresh mag seems sensible.
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It tells me that the gun is empty and not a FTF so i know what to do next vs having to try and remember how many rds ive used

It lets me do mag changes slightly quicker. Less motions required

Its a nice feature but not a deal breaker for me
 
GerardSamija said:
My opinion, and it's just that, no basis in competition experience or whatever, is that BHO is akin to a safety on a gun. It's neat, I guess... but if I want a gun to be made safe, I unload, clear, and check, then check again. If it's loaded, or if I don't know if it's loaded, my safety is my finger. I don't touch a trigger until I know the status of the chamber and firing mechanism and then only touch the trigger if/when it is time to fire in a safe direction. Seems pretty basic stuff, from the course for the PAL/RPAL. I don't trust safeties. Seen a few fail to work properly. That ain't safe. And a bold hold open function actually bothers me a little - I prefer manual, direct, simple engagement with a firearm's loading system, whether it's a simple airgun single shot thing or a semi-auto. I want full and direct control of its function, so yanking back the bolt handle on my TNW after popping in a fresh mag seems sensible.
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I hear ya, and everything you said makes sense and I agree that not assuming some type of technological function will do a role you should manually check, is a good thing.

For me it's not so much being lazy or a convenience factor, as much as it is my experience that a full mag on a closed bolt seems to have seating problems...I have experienced this in PCCs and AR platforms. Seating on a closed bolt seems to be alleviated by reducing the amount of rounds in the magazine, but if full capacity mags (whether Glock, Pmags, etc) consistently seat on a closed bolt, the last round bolt hold open is less of a factor in that case.

I also try to count rounds but I am old and sometimes I forget and the last round bolt hold open's function (and I can feel it when it is held open) is helpful to know the magazine is empty and I can easily check the chamber immediately to validate there are no rounds/casings in there.
 
thegazelle said:
I hear ya, and everything you said makes sense and I agree that not assuming some type of technological function will do a role you should manually check, is a good thing.

For me it's not so much being lazy or a convenience factor, as much as it is my experience that a full mag on a closed bolt seems to have seating problems...I have experienced this in PCCs and AR platforms. Seating on a closed bolt seems to be alleviated by reducing the amount of rounds in the magazine, but if full capacity mags (whether Glock, Pmags, etc) consistently seat on a closed bolt, the last round bolt hold open is less of a factor in that case.

I also try to count rounds but I am old and sometimes I forget and the last round bolt hold open's function (and I can feel it when it is held open) is helpful to know the magazine is empty and I can easily check the chamber immediately to validate there are no rounds/casings in there.
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I'd adjust the magazine latch if I had problems with seating on a closed bolt. But I'm a tinkerer. Can't stand mechanisms not working perfectly. I've modified stuff since I was a young child owing to that obsessive streak. Seems almost nothing works perfectly as built, but no matter, so long as the materials and basic construction are solid, I can generally make things work well.
 
A 10 shot mag should hold 10.5 rounds, so that the 10th round can still be compressed down a bit. You need this when shoving a mag on a closed bolt, which often happens in a match where we are shooting against the clock.

The problem with Glock and Smith mags is that they are made to hold 9.9 rounds and we have trouble seating the last round and when we seat the mag on a closed bolt we have to pound the mag to get it to latch.

The solution is fairly easy. take the mag apart and shorten the legs on the follower by a quarter inch.

The bolt hold open solves the problem if the gun is empty. And it is faster to just hit the bolt handle enough to drop the bolt then cycling the entire bolt.
 
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Ganderite said:
A 10 shot mag should hold 10.5 rounds, so that the 10th round can still be compressed down a bit. You need this when shoving a mag on a clased bolt, which often happens in a match where we are shooting agist the clock.

The problem with Glock and Smith mags is that they are made to hold 9.9 rounds and we have trouble seating the last round and when we seat the mag on a closed bolt we have to pound the mag to get it to latch.

The solution is fairly easy. take the mag apart and shorten the legs on the follower by a quarter inch.

The bolt hold open solves the problem if the gun is empty. And it is faster to just hit the bolt ahndle enough to drop the bolt then cycling the entire bolt.
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Ah, so a spacing issue with certain mags and this particular PCC bolt carrier. With the TNW ASR some users have reported a similar seating problem in earlier versions. Apparently got worked out in the later releases, and mine has no such issue. I polished the sliding parts of my mag latch mechanism and especially the catch itself to minimize wear and tear on mags at the notch, and have never had an issue with seating a topped-up pinned-to-10 mag in it whether an actual 10-round Magpul 'Glock' mag (I have only 1 of those) or the 17/10 Magpul or 33/10 SGM Korean mags. They all just work. No BHO feature on this carbine though. And I suspect if there were, the massive bolt and buffer weight would soon result in tearing apart the followers.
 
GerardSamija said:
Ah, so a spacing issue with certain mags and this particular PCC bolt carrier. With the TNW ASR some users have reported a similar seating problem in earlier versions. Apparently got worked out in the later releases, and mine has no such issue. I polished the sliding parts of my mag latch mechanism and especially the catch itself to minimize wear and tear on mags at the notch, and have never had an issue with seating a topped-up pinned-to-10 mag in it whether an actual 10-round Magpul 'Glock' mag (I have only 1 of those) or the 17/10 Magpul or 33/10 SGM Korean mags. They all just work. No BHO feature on this carbine though. And I suspect if there were, the massive bolt and buffer weight would soon result in tearing apart the followers.
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No. The bolt is not help open by the mag. It is held open by a steel bar that lifts up to hold the bolt open. The mag just lifts the bar up.
 
Ganderite said:
No. The bolt is not help open by the mag. It is held open by a steel bar that lifts up to hold the bolt open. The mag just lifts the bar up.
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Pardon my ignorance. I've seen quite a few semi-autos where the bolt's lower edge directly contacts the follower's rear edge once the last round has been fired, locking the bolt (or slide, in the case of pistols) open and indicating an empty mag visually. Just assumed it was a similar arrangement with this PCC, not an indirect follower-pushing-bar-blocking-bolt sort of thing. If it works, then that's easy on magazine followers.
 
Bubba Yugga said:
Do you have at least ONE example that is NOT a rimfire? I'm intrigued...
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Oh no, got me there. I haven't bothered memorizing them. Ian McCollum has shown quite a few in 9mm over the years. At least one modern PCC does that, whacking the bolt into the back edge of a Magpul or Glock follower on empty. Wish I could recall, but I've seen it discussed somewhere here quite extensively, including little tweaks to the follower to help make it more reliable.
 
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