Good morning everyone: I am seriously considering the 9 mm carbine and was looking at several brands and was wondering if anyone had any opinion. One is JR carbines which is not a true AR but does use clock magazines versus CMMG which I believe uses the colt magazines. The colt mags are certainly more expensive and many people report they are very difficult to load. Rock River arms and cold both make a 9 mm carbine but you have your choice of the colt mags or modified Uzi mags - I am not good with my hand so I do not want to be cutting into magazines. There does not seem to be a lot out there and I do not want to build my own rifle that is just not something I do so I want something already intact.

There is a twofold purpose in buying a 9 mm carbine. One is for rain juice and one is for general self-defense indoors. Anyway any advice or suggestions of where to go for something that is very reliable and looks good would be deeply appreciated.

As a long time owner of both a Rock River Arms 9mm AR and a Just Right carbine in .45acp my experience has been that the JRC is VERY accurate, more so than my RRA. But I spent a lot of time fiddling with the .45 Glock mags to get them to run (reasonably) well, I don't think the 9mms have as many feed issues. MY JRC is the genII with the heavier buffer. If I could have gotten my JRC with the 1911 magwell instead of the Glock I don't think I'd have as many feed issues, most seem to be caused by the steep angle of the Glock mags bringing the round up too high and catching the top edge of the chamber. When it does the bullet is jammed so far down in to the case it's unfireable.

The RRA 9mm with a Hahn toploading block and Metalform mags has been 100% reliable since day 1, with all ammo including steel case. Although not as accurate it's a rifle I'd bet my life on. With a heavy 8 oz buffer & xtra power spring it runs +P 147 grain rounds on a regular basis. The JRC shoots best with 185 gr standard loads but will feed most 230 gr. loads with no issues MOST of the time.

As for loading mags, spend $20 and get a Lula speed loader for Colt 9mm SMG mags, problem solved.

Factory Glock 9mm 33 round magazines are about $30 to $40, same cost as a Metalform 32 rounder.

The JRC is harder to clean, not difficult, but the stock has to be removed (comes off like a std. M4) to remove & clean the buffer.

On the magazine loading issue...no what which brand you use Glock or Colt Pattern mags. A Maglula loading tool is your friend.

I built on the first 9mm AR on a Spikes lower and Hahn load block. It runs 100% and eats everything I stuff in the mags. If you dont want to build the gun of your dreams. Just buy a Colt. The resale will always be there and they have a good reputation of running well out of the box.

The joy comes in making choices to get exactly what you want.

I bought a CMMG MK9 and love it.  It has a dedicated magwell (not an adapter) for the Colt style stick mags.   Mags are a beotch to load and you need to use some type of loader--several simple ones are available.  The gun runs 100%.  It is so much easier to reload ammo for than any rifle round.  Get one, join in the fun.  

I love rain juice, but it gives me indigestion

I have both a Colt and CMMG carbine, plus a QC10 Pistol and QC10 SBR  I use Colt and ASC mags with no problem.  I don't think you can go wrong with either the Colt or the CMMG carbines....

"Rain juice"

RRA

I built my own using a CMMG upper and the Lower of my choice. It uses the Colt style mags and loading the mags is dirt simple with the  Maglula Loading tool  

There is also an Olympic Arms 9 mm AR pattern carbine assembly which uses some proprietary components in the upper receiver as well as magazines.  Any standard AR-15 pattern 5.56 lower receiver can be used.  While I do not have experience with the Olympic Arms 9 mm products, I have used an Olympic Arms .45 ACP upper assembly and magazines with success in several standard AR-15 pattern 5.56 lower receivers.

Best of luck with whatever you decide to pursue.