The PC Carbine by Ruger was a surprising release that was both successful and presented you with a high quality but affordable pistol caliber carbine. Ruger followed the original PC Carbine up with the PC Charger. The PC Charger is a pistol variant of the PC Carbine. 

The PC Charger falls into a weird category of legally a pistol, but man, oh man, is it a big pistol. Subgun is what I call these little fellas, and the PC Charger might be one of the best. It’s certainly an innovative design full of notable features.  

What Makes the PC Charger Different

The PC Charger uses a unique blowback-operated system that incorporates a tungsten weight attached to the bolt. This weight limits bolt travel and reduces the recoil commonly associated with blowback-operated systems.   Beyond that, the PC Charger incorporates a takedown design that is unique to the Charger design. The takedown design allows you to separate the barrel from the receiver and make the package incredibly compact for storage and travel. 

  Lastly, the magwell can be swapped, and Ruger includes both a Ruger Security 9 magwell and a Glock magwell. They are super simple to change, and in the future, the possibility of different magazine compatibility is a genuine possibility.  

Range Time

Talk is cheap; how does the gun perform in the curch of lead and steel? It outperforms what I expected. There are some downsides; for example, to get the most out of this gun, you’ll need two accessories, a brace and a sight of some kind. I suggest the SB Tactical FS1913 brace and the Burris Fastfire 3.   

 The PC Charger has an excellent trigger that is relatively light. The pull is a little long but lightweight the whole way through. The gun has minimal recoil, and the dead blow system does an excellent job of reducing both recoil and muzzle rise. The short 6.5-inch barrel keeps the weapon light and handy, which makes it perfect for home defense.   Inside of 50 yards, this gun rocks your socks off. 

You’ll have no issues making headshots and ringing steel. At 75 to 100 yards, the 9mm cartridge starts to experience lots of drop and gets tricky to be accurate with. This is a gun best used inside of 50 yards, and due to the outstanding trigger, and low recoil, almost anyone can handle it.

Ergonomics

The Charger is outfitted with excellent ergonomics. The charging handle can be reversed for left or right-handed shooters. The pistol grip is an AR-type and can be swapped for any AR pistol grip you desire. The safety is a push-button design placed slightly forward of the trigger for quick and easy access. Lastly, the magazine release is massive and placed in a manner that leads to rapid mag changes.

Reliability

The PC Charger runs quite reliably and seems to be far from ammo picky. The gun eats JHPs of all weights cartridge type. The weapon has no problems with cheap steel ammunition and will eat whatever you choose to put through it. I swapped the Ruger magazine well for the Glock variant, and the gun feeds without issue from Glock OEM mags, ETS mags, Magpul mags, and KCI mags as well. The weapon doesn’t choke, and you can trust it without a second thought.

Charged Up

The PC Charger is a sweet little shooter. It’s lightweight, easy to handle, and perfect for plinking or home defense. The 6.5-inch barrel takes full advantage of maximizing velocity and reducing muzzle flash. The M-LOK rails allow you to easily attach a light, laser, or whatever else you may desire. Ruger knocked this one out of the park.