JR Carbine Vs Kodiak K9

Bobert1212

Bobert1212

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Hello Enthusiasts!

I have extensively researched both of these PCC’s. I was hoping to hear your thoughts on which one you might prefer? They both seem very capable and excellent carbines, I just haven’t had the chance to handle either one, let alone run rounds through either.

Any insights from you experts is much appreciated. Thank you!
 
I can’t tell you a lot about the JR, I have had the opportunity to shot a couple and they are very nice for sure, been around for awhile and those that run them seem to enjoy them, never hear a lot of bad about them. I have been running a K9 for a couple of months now and I must say it has been awesome so far. I’ve shot it in a few competitions now, 2Gun/3Gun and IDPA in the PCC division and I’m starting to love this carbine. It has functioned flawlessly for me with a variety of magazines and ammo, cycled everything with no issues and the last round bolt hold open has worked without fail with all of my magazines. I recently picked up the new 9 1/2” upper from Kodiak for it and now I like it even more. They are starting to show up more at the range these days, our last 2Gun there were 3 K9’s in my squad and all three ran flawlessly all day. I replaced a Ruger PC9 with the Kodiak and for me it has been an excellent choice, I find the AR style controls much more to my liking than the PC9. I’m sure you will receive some better feedback on the JR than I can provide but at least this gives you an impression of the K9, enjoy whichever you end up choosing 👍
 
edgy said:
I can’t tell you a lot about the JR, I have had the opportunity to shot a couple and they are very nice for sure, been around for awhile and those that run them seem to enjoy them, never hear a lot of bad about them. I have been running a K9 for a couple of months now and I must say it has been awesome so far. I’ve shot it in a few competitions now, 2Gun/3Gun and IDPA in the PCC division and I’m starting to love this carbine. It has functioned flawlessly for me with a variety of magazines and ammo, cycled everything with no issues and the last round bolt hold open has worked without fail with all of my magazines. I recently picked up the new 9 1/2” upper from Kodiak for it and now I like it even more. They are starting to show up more at the range these days, our last 2Gun there were 3 K9’s in my squad and all three ran flawlessly all day. I replaced a Ruger PC9 with the Kodiak and for me it has been an excellent choice, I find the AR style controls much more to my liking than the PC9. I’m sure you will receive some better feedback on the JR than I can provide but at least this gives you an impression of the K9, enjoy whichever you end up choosing 👍
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This was exactly the feedback I was looking for, thank you for taking the time and being so thorough.
I have been wondering how much I would miss the last round bolt hold open on the JR. It’s too bad they don’t have it, but like you said it doesn’t seem to deter people from enjoying the carbine. If I could ask, have you had any screws come loose on your K9?
 
The JR carbine is solid... just not a lot you are able to "tune". The K9 is solid, all be it a bit chonky, and somewhat "tunable". There is a K9 facebook group where a gentleman has managed to be able to increase the buffer weight (its a weird proprietary buffer) to slow the bolt down to help with cycling, reliability, and reduce the sharp recoil impulse. I'm seriously considering one for my next PCC (glad my wife isnt on here. She doesn't like PCC math... N+1, N being the current number of PCC's owned) especially with the new 9.5" upper.
 
Bobert1212 said:
This was exactly the feedback I was looking for, thank you for taking the time and being so thorough.
I have been wondering how much I would miss the last round bolt hold open on the JR. It’s too bad they don’t have it, but like you said it doesn’t seem to deter people from enjoying the carbine. If I could ask, have you had any screws come loose on your K9?
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As soon as I got my K9 I stripped it down, cleaned, lubed and reassembled it. I Loctited all of the screws at the same time and have had no issues with loose screws in either my 18 1/2” nor my 9 1/2” uppers. Preventative maintenance lol
 
edgy said:
As soon as I got my K9 I stripped it down, cleaned, lubed and reassembled it. I Loctited all of the screws at the same time and have had no issues with loose screws in either my 18 1/2” nor my 9 1/2” uppers. Preventative maintenance lol
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Yeah, I do that with every firearm. I had some screws walk loose on my Ruger PC Carbine in a match and it cost me... Its a very good best practice to take it down, know the parts and function, and put it back together with our friend blue Loctite
 
edgy said:
As soon as I got my K9 I stripped it down, cleaned, lubed and reassembled it. I Loctited all of the screws at the same time and have had no issues with loose screws in either my 18 1/2” nor my 9 1/2” uppers. Preventative maintenance lol
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Right on, thank you for the advice!
 
No experience with KP, but I've had my JRC 9mm for a few years now. I love shooting it. Its a pretty solid build. Pretty accurate out to 100m with FMJ brass ammo (1.5 to 2MOA). I've only put FMJ ammo through it to date. No failure to fire or ejection issues. I haven't tried any flat or hollow points to date.

I bought it so I can use it lefty. Big plus. I have about 900 rounds through it so far and it runs smooth. I havent cleaned it yet.

Unfortunely no last round hold open.
Mag drop is designed for righties only (as far as I can tell) and is out of reach of trigger finger.
My rifle suffers sporadically from double/triple rounds being discharged if I am light on the trigger. Customer service from JRC is terrible and has never helped my try to resolve. I have a Triggertech trigger to replace factory trigger so I hope to resolve.
Disassembly/maintenance is a little onerous but not outrageous.

All in all I'd buy again.
 
This was an awesome run down. Thanks for the information pal. I have done a lot of research and they seem like a solid platform for sure.
Does the lack of last round bolt hold open bother you at all?
 
Bobert1212 said:
This was an awesome run down. Thanks for the information pal. I have done a lot of research and they seem like a solid platform for sure.
Does the lack of last round bolt hold open bother you at all?
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Not all that much. If no boom, I elect for quick mag drop and swap for fresh mag and rack the bolt. I usually have plenty of other full mags on hand and run the drill a few times at the range. I havent run into a situation yet where the 'no boom' event was a jam or other failure.
 
gurpgork said:
Not all that much. If no boom, I elect for quick mag drop and swap for fresh mag and rack the bolt. I usually have plenty of other full mags on hand and run the drill a few times at the range. I havent run into a situation yet where the 'no boom' event was a jam or other failure.
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Right on. I didn’t think it would be an issue for me, but didn’t have any first hand experience. This confirms my suspicion that it’s probably not a big deal for me either. Thanks again. Very helpful.
 
Personally I am a big believer in LRBHO, especially if you shoot competitively. As a safety officer I’ve seen a lot of folks pull the trigger on an empty chamber without LRBHO. To each their own, and if it’s not a big deal to you then it’s not an issue. I just absolutely hate wasted time on the clock lol, hundredths of seconds can come back to bite you in the standings at the end of the day 😁
 
edgy said:
Personally I am a big believer in LRBHO, especially if you shoot competitively. As a safety officer I’ve seen a lot of folks pull the trigger on an empty chamber without LRBHO. To each their own, and if it’s not a big deal to you then it’s not an issue. I just absolutely hate wasted time on the clock lol, hundredths of seconds can come back to bite you in the standings at the end of the day 😁
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That’s absolutely valid. Great point. I’m just getting into the PCC space, from a long time bolt action hunter experience. So far I love it and am learning a lot. It’s a great space in the firearm world.
 
edgy said:
Personally I am a big believer in LRBHO, especially if you shoot competitively. As a safety officer I’ve seen a lot of folks pull the trigger on an empty chamber without LRBHO. To each their own, and if it’s not a big deal to you then it’s not an issue. I just absolutely hate wasted time on the clock lol, hundredths of seconds can come back to bite you in the standings at the end of the day 😁
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Well as an RO in IPSC we have commands "unload and show clear" which is opening the chamber after unloading the competitor so the RO can visually confirm there is nothing chambered, then "if clear, hammer down and action open". Which is ensuring a clear chamber by pulling the trigger and opening the action and inserting a chamber flag, once the flag is applied the firearm is inert.
So in IPSC a lot of competitors will short stroke because the lrbho is not necessary and short stroking makes the PCC cycle faster for quicker split times. If you manage your round count/mag changes you should never have an empty chamber during a course of fire.
 
I've had both. The JR was dead reliable, no issues at all. I prefer the K9 as it has better (more AR like) controls despite some issues. It had a pretty annoying break in for the first 200 rounds or so where the 2nd round of each mag wouldn't feed. After that though, it has been great. Another annoying thing was the loose screws which i had to locktite.
 
For plinking and small game hunting id lean towards the JRC due to its reliability, durability and accuracy.

For competition shooting id go FX9 or more likely Raven 9.
 
edgy said:
Personally I am a big believer in LRBHO, especially if you shoot competitively. As a safety officer I’ve seen a lot of folks pull the trigger on an empty chamber without LRBHO. To each their own, and if it’s not a big deal to you then it’s not an issue. I just absolutely hate wasted time on the clock lol, hundredths of seconds can come back to bite you in the standings at the end of the day 😁
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I am on the same page. LRBHO is a must for me.

There is already enough going on during a stage that I am not wanting to count rounds / think about this. For me once I have enough rounds on a gun the difference in recoil impulse from the bolt going back but not forward feels different enough that I can tell when the gun is dry.
 
Sniffer said:
I am on the same page. LRBHO is a must for me.

There is already enough going on during a stage that I am not wanting to count rounds / think about this. For me once I have enough rounds on a gun the difference in recoil impulse from the bolt going back but not forward feels different enough that I can tell when the gun is dry.
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How often are you running dry in a course if fire??? I've shot 15 matches this year and ran dry maybe once, and it would have been at the end of a stage. If you manage your mag changes and round counts you should never run dry.... That being said, a functioning bolt hold open sure speeds up an unloaded start when faced with an option 3 start
 
AlphaCharlieDelta said:
How often are you running dry in a course if fire??? I've shot 15 matches this year and ran dry maybe once, and it would have been at the end of a stage. If you manage your mag changes and round counts you should never run dry.... That being said, a functioning bolt hold open sure speeds up an unloaded start when faced with an option 3 start
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Like I said, for me the juice isn't worth the squeeze.

To look at it from another perspective, how much time are you saving by short stroking for faster splits and is that worth the downsides (ie the penalty of bolt forward on an unloaded start etc)?
 
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