I signed up for a PCC course this fall with a group of friends.  I have a few months to get geared up so I am in the market for a PCC.  I definitely want something that takes Glock mags.  I like the ruger PC9, but I am concerned about all the reliability issues I have read about.  On the plus side the new Magpul backpacker stock gives me the wants baaaaad.

I am generally a buy once, cry once kind of guy.  Nothing would be worse than spending big$ on a training course only to spend the entire time fighting function issues.

I don't see myself using the rifle much after this course is over,but then again who knows.

I have been underwhelmed by Ruger quality recently (I have a GSR that I have spent a bunch of money to improve it to 1.75" finally put it back in the safe and started over with a Tika for my deer rifle).  Seems like there are stories plenty of PC9 owners having issues and Ruger seems to be good about working with them to address the issues, but that would not do much good during g a three day course.

Does the hive think the PC9 would hold up to a 1000 round course of fire?  My options are:
1)Rent a gun from the instructor
2)buy a high quality PCC and enjoy the course trouble free (open to make/model suggestions here)
3)build a PCC from a mix of new and ee parts and potentially fight function issues here as well
4)roll the dice, buy a PC9, deal with low quality Ruger issues, put it in a backpackerstock when they are available and have a fun range toy long term

Well I have not been through a 1k round course with mine but I have not had a single issue with my PC9 (except for a few cheap korean glock mags that are junk) it works great with the magpul and real glock mags.  I saw a review where the ejector gets a little bent (just a sheet metal tab) after about 1k rounds. I have not hit 1k rounds yet, but so far it has been great.

That being said, if money was no object I would have bought (plus I didn’t know about it then) a CMMG Banshee with the RDB set up or maybe a MP5 clone.  I plan on suppressing mine someday so a delayed system would be better, if not then it doesn’t really matter.

Just my 0.02 on 02/02/2020

I have no idea what you are talking about as I have had zero issues through 100s of rounds through mine, and can't think of an issue I've ever had with any Ruger I've owned.

If it's not your thing,  how about a PSA pistol/PCC.   Again I've had zero issues,  plus if you are partial to AK platform they have y'all covered.

For me,  I have many PCC (PSA, Berretta, Ruger, KUSA, stribog) and would have no issues trusting the Ruger.   Not my first choice in PCC (KSUA)  but no worries at all.

I work at an LGS that has a large rental program. We have had PC Carbines in the rental program since they came out. The first one ran great until it jammed and someone took it upon themselves to wedge a screw driver into the magwell and bend the ejector. Bent the ejector back and never had another issue, replaced before we sold it. Second one has been on the wall for just over a year, has run perfectly both with or without a suppressor on it. These rifles have had thousands of rounds fired.

That being said the Scorpions see a lot more use and have never had an issue. The current FDE carbine has been run so long without cleaning that it had carbon stains coming from every seam. It was just plain nasty, ran like a champ.

They’re the best buy in PCC’s these days. Toss in the Glock magwell and go. The sights are great. Reliability was great. Only reason I sold mine was to help cover the HK SP5 that I impulse bought when I got on the list as #1 for the first one that came in.  I’ll buy another some day as a truck gun.

Zero issue with mine after about 400 rds before the snow set in.  I use Glock mags.  Zero issue with the 30 round KCI mags from Korea in my Ruger.  Recent;y purchased a CZ Skorpian Evo 3 18.5" barreled carbine.  It arrives later this week.   Both guns have a decent reputation for accuracy and reliability.  I should add the Ruger PCC has gained an excellent reputation north of the 49th for build quality , reliability and accuracy.  I use 124/125 gr bullets either my cast or FMJ bullets and range brass.

The only issue I do have is the Ruger seems to demand significant amount of ammunition at every range visit.  I suspect the Evo will suffer from the same malady.

Take Care

Bob

Also keep in mind that sooner or later Volquartsen or some other company will start making some upgraded parts (if they're not already...i've been out of the loop since I bought the HK).  I'd recommend sticking with 147gr if you want to ensure reliability in a course.  Something like Speer Lawman 147gr TMJ.  It's cheap...and hot.  Won't even stay subsonic in an 8" barrel...so it's perfect for a blowback PCC like the Ruger.  Before you go to the course (if you buy one), pull the ejector tab out of the Ruger mag well block and bring it with you as a spare.  While I never had issues, I did read about someone having theirs fail.  They did the same thing, and swapped the other unused ejector in to continue with trouble free shooting.  Might now be a bad idea, not that I'd expect issues.  Stick with factory Glock mags if you have that option.  Aftermarket mags "can" work fine but the magazine is the single biggest potential point of failure in a gun like this.

OP you should go with the Ruger, if you like it. I’ve probably put 300+ rounds thru mine zero issues. Would be cool to see how it does in a carbine course.

Especially running irons. They’re the best PCC irons out there outside of HK diopters...

Update:Thanks to everyone for the comments  I did get a PC 9.  Have not run it yet but I'll be sure to post reports as I get it reday for the course

Check out the MI handguard - it’s awesome.

I have the PC9  with the hand guard and adjustable stock.  I have a Burris FFIII on it.  I found that it like the 124 grain bullets over the 115's.  It is fun to shoot and so far I have not had any issues with it.  I used it for a ASI carbine shoot this last week.  A couple other shooters at this match and they also liked it.

Interesting and something I’ll definitely keep an eye on. I will say Ruger customer service is excellent.

about 1500 rounds through mine using glock mags, no issues yet.

Only complaints came from the other half. It seems heavy.

Anyone have issues with steel and aluminum cased 9mm?

I’m shocked that so many here have had no problems with their PC Carbines. Mine has been a dud since the start, with FTE stovepipes every couple of magazines since the day I bought it. I finally contacted Ruger. I was able to convince them to send me a new extractor and extractor spring, as mine looked rounded off. I also ended up with a brand new bolt assembly from them because the tooling marks and finish on my original one looked horrible. I put the MCARBO exact edge extractor in the new bolt assembly and reinstalled it. Haven’t had the chance to get it to the range since the swap and have unfortunately lost my faith in the gun, which is a shame because it has some great features and overall I like it quite a bit. Maybe the warmer weather ahead will change my mind.

2000 rounds. No issues. What reliability issues????

Not a Jab at you, but you mostly hear about the ones that do not work not the half million that run day to day without issue. AKA the squeaky wheel get the grease kinda deal. We all know manufactures have the +/- good/bad guns. Quality control seems to be even more important today as everyone has a facebook/IG or what have you account and posts publicly on OMG all of the PCCs might have this issue... When in reality a few actually do.

Like I said not a jab at you.

Not taken as a jab. What you are saying is true. It seems that I got one of the duds, which may end up being resolved with the parts they sent me/the extractor from MCARBO. Just a bummer, since people here report thousands of rounds without issue and I couldn’t even get through 3 consecutive magazines. Anyways, OP should be aware that such PC 9 duds exist when asking here about reliability. Obviously not to say that that couldn’t happen with literally any other model of PCC on the planet as well.

Shot the PC Carbine today for the first time since all the part swaps. Ran 100%, although I only shot ~100 rounds and 90% of them were suppressed with 150 grain ammo. I’ll be interested to see if it continues to function well unsuppressed and with the 115 grain varieties.

I'm confuzzled about this thread.  OP mentions the PC9 which I assume he means the old model?

Anyway, I have a PCC as others here have described and like it very much tho it does have a couple significant faults.

1}  Mag retention w/ Glock mags is VERY problematic, in that it takes little to depress the mag button enough to disengage the mag.  If a guy is gaming with the thing it may not matter, but for my use there is no way that is acceptable. Strapped to the rucksack, ski falls, horse scabbard, etc.  Really, it's bad.  I can't make use of my 30-round Glock mags.  I bought 6 Ruger SR9 mags and they work much better.  Quite secure.
2}  The lack of a positive stop for the magazine except for the extractor root is a joke.  This is really a poor engineering feature.  Significant flaw to be sure.  Using 17-shot vs 30-shot mags will help to prevent the occasion of damage, but still.  Bad move on Ruger's part.

But the thing has a great trigger and is fun as heck to shoot.

While I agree, I don't believe the intent for the PCC was ever to be a combat or even duty grade firearm.  It's a fun plinker and will work for home defense...but that's about the extent of it.  For what it's meant to be, it does fine.  If you need a fighting tool/real subgun then you're much better served with a CZ Scorpion for a few hundred more, or a B&T APC or MP5 if its in the budget.  I look at the PCC like I look at the Mini-14.  It's a neat, innocuous looking plinker that can be used for self defense if need be, but it will never be a serious contender against most other firearms in its class.  Unlike the Mini-14 however, the PCC is priced accordingly and for less than $500 you can have a 9mm rifle.  That's hard to do today...and it's probably the cheapest option available.

I won mine at a NRA fundraiser and didn't buy it, but once in-hand I really liked the concept.  But it has a couple serious flaws.  I consider the lack of a positive stop on the mags to be the most egregious.  Plus I hear all the war stories about self destruction at 800 rounds and whatnot.  There is an outfit that supposedly cures the stoppages with their upgraded/improved extractor which as I understand it is the main culprit.

I also wonder about this.................

It's a straight blowback gun and the innards get very dirty.  Are guys not cleaning them and then at ~800 they just start to seize up?  I wonder, as it seems that the +-800 number gets tossed around enough that a parts failure would appear to me to be unlikely, but a general accumulation of muck might make for a more predictable time of stoppage.  That's all just a WAG but who knows.  I have a couple hundred rounds thru mine including FMJ, JHP and lead TC and almost all of it has been handloads and the thing so far has been a bullet hose.  No bobbles at all.

No issues out of mine. Runs great suppressed too.