9mm Carbines

[Ballistol]

I’m keen to acquire something new for gallery rifle style competition that is capable of competing at the highest level and have a yearning to try 9mm.

I’m aware of the Southern Gun lever action, and the Lantac straight pull, and now the Schmeisser in 9mm.

What kind of real life performance are owners of these 9mms turning in at say 25 and 50y and are they capable of being competitive, or are old style lever actions still king of the range.

[meles meles]

If you can lay your paws on one, we'd highly recommend an Armalon PC carbine. Converted from Lee Enfields and with hammer forged barrels, short stroke bolts and superb triggers, they are superbly accurate, fast firing and immense fun too!

[Pinguino]

The Armalon has the looks of a child that only it's mother could love

[Pinguino]

We were promised that Chiappa would bring out a UK legal version of its CBR-9R .... I'd have bought of of those in a heartbeat ... sadly it seems they never will

[Blackstuff]

Accuracy-wise my SGC lever-action will do 2"-3" at 100m (12" barrel using factory S&B 115gr) on a rest. I've never shot it at 25/50. I used it in anger for the first time at a PCC match a fortnight ago and couldn't fault the accuracy. Obviously way faster to reload than a traditional L/A.

[Ballistol]

As all of the guns mentioned are far from cheap, I want to make as informed a decision as possible.
There’s been some useful information disclosed so far, it does help me so thanks for that .

My thought process so far :-

I’ve tried the Armalon, and whilst I was impressed with the accuracy, it was a bit clunky to operate which I think would hamper it in competition.It would be difficult to use when shooting from the weak shoulder.

I’ve tried the Lantac, which was exceptionally well built, and very smooth to operate, but wasn’t as accurate as I would have liked. Again, the straight pull could be a limitation when shooting from the weak shoulder.

My only experience with Southern Gun products is with their .223 straight pulls, and while they shot well, I didn’t like the trigger. Looking at the gun builder on their site, I’m not sure if fitting an aftermarket trigger is even possible to the lever action due to its mechanism. As a lever action it should be easy to use from either shoulder.

The Schmeisser, again I’ve seen/handled them in .223, but I guess the 9mm is brand new and as such is an unknown. Once again, the straight pull could be a limitation shooting from the weak shoulder.

All of them would be easier to reload than my conventional lever action with my fat fingers.

Hummmmm.

[Blackstuff]

I've tried the 'standard' trigger on a friends SGC L/A and I have the SGC 'upgraded' trigger in mine and both are fine. I'd say akin to a mid-range AR trigger with a 5-6lb pull. I haven't looked into putting a lighter trigger in as the nature of my type of shooting with it wouldn't be a good idea to have a super light trigger. The pins do look to have the standard spacing on them and i'm sure my mate said that normal AR triggers would fit. The hammer profile would probably be quite important to make the operation smooth.

[Mattnall]

I have seen the Lantac, Armalon and the SGC 9mm carbines. For GRCF use the Lantac is not quite as fast as the SGC and the Armalon is the slowest. The SGC sometimes has problems with smooth cycling making the traditional lever actions a slightly better bet at comps. If the comp timings allow then either should be OK but something like the Speed Steels they would all be out classed.

[Graham M]

That Armalon PC carbine looks as though someone took a hacksaw to a No 4. Who thought that one up

[Ballistol]

I have seen the Lantac, Armalon and the SGC 9mm carbines. For GRCF use the Lantac is not quite as fast as the SGC and the Armalon is the slowest. The SGC sometimes has problems with smooth cycling making the traditional lever actions a slightly better bet at comps. If the comp timings allow then either should be OK but something like the Speed Steels they would all be out classed.

This is my main concern, I have a super slick Marlin in .45LC, and my concern is that the SGC lever action would be a backward step, but I do like the concept of a magazine as opposed to a tubular feed.