Idea for small carbine

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

I have an idea for a small and light carbine for plinking, pest or predator control out to 50 yards, training new shooters in rifle marksmanship, and small game hunting for kids / women.
It would also be a decent hiking /backpacking rifle to take into the woods when camping, although it wouldn't be good for bear protection. Coyotes and rabid raccoons, sure, but not bear.

A .32 acp semi-auto rifle with a 16" barrel, a factory flat-top receiver with a Weaver base machined-in, and it would come with iron sights as well.

Something similar to the Marlin Camp Carbine, but with a much smaller receiver and lighter bolt, with a thinner-profile barrel. The .32 acp round has a lot less chamber pressure than a 9mm or .40 caliber.

The stock should be synthetic and come with a removable 1.5" spacer / butt plate so that when it's removed, the length-of-pull is 12.5", which is about the proportion of a Daisy Red Ryder BB gun. Add the spacer for adult men or tall older-teen boys who want a 14" length of pull like a regular rifle has.

This rifle would have more power (and recoil) than a .22 LR, but it would be quieter and less intimidating to shoot than a 9mm or any other centerfire rifle caliber.

Perhaps the barrel could even be aluminum, with a steel inner sleeve / barrel liner.

The rifle should only weigh about 5 lbs.

It would look like this Marlin Camp Carbine, except imagine the stock being black plastic instead of wood.

...

 

[StuP]

32 acp might get a bit $pendy compared to 9mm or 22lr.

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

Right now, it looks like 1000 round case of 9 x 19 mm 115 gr. FMJ is going for about $230.
In contrast, it's $300 for a 1000 round case of .32 acp.
So the smaller caliber is a bit more expensive, yes.

What you get for that extra 7 cents per round, compared to a 9mm, is:

1-- lower recoil
2-- less noise
3-- less muzzle flash or blast
4-- a lighter gun, due to the receiver, barrel, and bolt all being smaller and lighter.
5-- a wife/ son/ daughter/ non-gun-owning friend that will actually enjoy going shooting with you and look forward to using this gun.

 

[GTSteve03]

There's not a big difference in kinetic energy between 32acp from a pistol and 22lr from a rifle. I don't imagine a 16" barrel will really boost the 32acp numbers very much.

I get the idea you're going for, I'm just not sure a pistol caliber rifle in a lesser utilized caliber would be the best way to do it.

I think a lever-action 38 shooting the cowboy style loads is something that a lot of new shooters would enjoy, and it would more easily compare to the BB guns that kids used to grow up with.

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

You're right about the .32 not gaining much velocity in a 16" rifle barrel compared to a 3.5" handgun barrel.

http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/32auto.html

This can work out as a benefit for those who would like a quiet carbine to shoot suppressed.
Make that .32 semi-auto carbine with extra-tall sights, with the front sight set back a bit from the muzzle, and thread the muzzle for a silencer. A .32 acp bullet is the same diameter as the "7.62" Soviet rifle bullets -- .312" or actually 7.9 mm.
You could use a .30 rifle suppressor or a can made for 9mm / .380 pistols.

.32 acp ammo in normal bullet weights (70 gr.) will stay subsonic with any barrel length.

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

It's true a .32 acp doesn't have more "energy" than a high velocity .22 LR. Both are in the same ballpark of 140 ft/ lbs. with standard weight bullets, and both can be boosted up to 170 foot-pounds of energy with light bullets and +P powder charges.

But, the .32 should be more satisfying to shoot because it makes bigger holes in the target!
When fired at reactive targets, it should push them over better, and knock them down with more authority.
I think it would be more satisfying to shoot.

And the .32 acp should be more reliable, not only due to its priming system but also due to the bullet profile, and the bullet being a true copper-jacketed slug with a hard surface.

 

[letusbuyyourcar]

On the drawing board in my head for the last few decades I've had an idea for a similar carbine but in 9mm. ( Not very original I know) But I basically want to produce q super low budget pistol caliber carbine in plain old wood and steel using as many preexisting parts as possible. Picture a new version of the semi auto Reising in 9mm. Tube receiver with a 16" Uzi carbine barrel. Maybe the easy drop in trigger group from an SKS. Uzi or maybe Stem mags. And so on and so forth...

Owning two pistols in 32 ACP and an RG snub in 32 Long I would be interested in seeing how your theory of running it through a 16" carbine length barrel would work out. If you do this project you just have to use the old Skorpion 20 round mags.

 

[teearr]

What's wrong with this.........oh wait, it's 9mm, sorry . (recoil feels like .32 though ).

 

[letusbuyyourcar]

What's wrong with this.........oh wait, it's 9mm, sorry . (recoil feels like .32 though ).View attachment 1151703

I've been wanting a Camp 9 for years.

 

[Radar363]

Sounds like a screen door on a submarine to me.
.32ACP? How many people even own a modern handgun in that caliber?