Rifle and Handgun Pairing

The 1873 Winchester rifle (or carbine) was the “gun that won the West.” The movie is pretty good and the rifle is awesome. It was a great benefit to have the same caliber rifle as the handgun you were carrying. Colt’s single action army (SAA) in 44-40 was a great match to the Winchester 1873 rifle.

My grandfather’s rifle was passed down to me by my father, of blessed memory. It’s a Winchester 1892 44-40 lever-action rifle. I’ve never shot it, but I finally have a box of ammo for it… Someday this fall I’ll clean, lube and take it out to our Outdoor range. I had thought about getting a pistol in 44-40 to match, but I already have an 1873 Colt Single Action Army replica, made by Uberti and it’s in .45 Long Colt. So I just purchased an Uberti replica of the famed 1873 Winchester lever gun to match in the same caliber. I think I’ll just hang my grandfather’s rifle on the wall.

I have a lot of GLOCK handguns, as you might imagine, and it would be great to have a 9mm rifle to match my handgun caliber. There are two ways to accomplish this:

The most robust solution is to purchase a pistol-caliber carbine, which are all the rage these days. Here are a few of which I have experience, in ascending price order.

• The Kel-Tec Sub-2000 Gen2 is available with your choice of S&W M&P, SIG P226, Beretta 92/96 or GLOCK magazines. Out of the box it’s ready to use your existing mags and ammo for $500. Very nice in a bad situation. I don’t recommend the Gen1, so watch that GunBroker/GunsAmerica best buy opportunity. I am not a Kel-Tec fan, but this carbine folds in half and actually works.
• The Beretta Cx4 Storm is adaptable to accept any full-size Beretta PX4, 90-series and 8000 series magazines. So if you have a Beretta 92F, or better, the 92G, your mags will fit in your new 9mm carbine. The Cx4 runs about $800, but it’s not as “cheap” feeling as the Kel-Tec.
• The Angstadt Arms UDP-9 is basically an AR-15 in 9mm that uses GLOCK mags. At $1,350 your shooting smile is beginning to cost a good penny!
• The CZ Scorpion EVO is also a 9mm carbine, but I have no experience with it. They run about the same price as the Beretta.
• I have the SIG Sauer MPX At $1,800 it’s the most expensive option in this group, but I can tell you from personal experience, it’s an incredible firearm. With SIG quality, standard AR-15 controls, a Giselle trigger replacement and a folding stock, it has become my “truck” gun, “SHTF” gun, “survival pack” gun… Whatever we’re calling awesome, handy, reliable firearms, this is it.

The second way to get a pistol-caliber carbine is to augment your current pistol with some furniture.

I’ve been happy with the KPOS-G2 for the GLOCK 17 and 19 from Fab Defense, but truth be told, I rarely use it. For $600 you get a plastic shell into which you lock your GLOCK. The result is a GLOCK 9mm carbine complete with full length upper and lower rails. It works great. However, it’s NOT the same as having a pistol-caliber carbine by your side. This is a shell that NEEDS a gun. It’s not a gun – which is why you can buy it online without an FFL. With the former recommendations if your pistol jams you can pick up your carbine and stay in the fight. You’ll use the same rounds and possibly even the same mags. With the KPOS you must mount your handgun inside for longer, more accurate shots.

I also have a MechTech Systems GLOCK Carbine Conversion Unit (CCU) that accepts the lower receiver of my GLOCKs, but it’s heavy, unwieldy and makes my pistol unusable when I am shooting the CCU. It’s $500 for the upper.

So there you go. Several great ways to shoot 9mm Luger in both your handgun and carbine. If you’re a survivalist, this is a great way to conserve weight and storage space. If you’re waiting for the FBI to knock down your door and you want to go out fighting, ala Ruby Ridge, this could help keep you going for a while… Seriously, if you’re moving, having the same ammo for both is a great plus.

Whether you get a matching carbine for your pistol – or the other way around – be sure to practice! I’ll see you at the range.

JoeGLOCK