9mm pistol caliber carbines are all the rage. But, in 2013 there were far fewer options than present-day. Back then I looked at a PCC as more of a luxury than a necessity. Regardless, I knew I wanted one. But, where will you choose to spend your money? Are you going to use it for a range toy? Are you going to use it for home defense? Suppressed? All of these questions and more come to mind when spending my hard-earned money.

I’d like to say I’ve shot all PCC’s… but, it feels like a new one comes out every quarter. I began my journey in 2013 to find the right gun by trying to narrow things down. My journey led to me testing out my friend’s guns, spending hours combing the internet doing research, and trying to narrow it down while potentially gaining the courage to commit to something I’d never shot before.

Ultimately, I felt like the MP5 was the right move. It’s old tech. It’s reliable. It also hates optics mounts. It’s not very customizable, but who cares! It’s iconic as is.

I spent a few years with my MP5 and loved every minute. but, as these platforms gain popularity, many new companies came out with offerings. And, some new tech started to catch my eye. I made an impulse and bought a Stribog. I thought it was super cool. And many folks enjoyed them even though they were still a brand new offering in the market I think mine ran well for the first and/or second range trip. But, it began to fail. There were also many people on the dedicated Facebook groups that had the same claims. They have since refined the guns in more recent generations. But plenty of the first generation guns had issues.

Frustrated with the Stribog, I ultimately ended up with a B&T APC9 Pro (FDE). That thing is an absolute tack driver. I love how it’s modern and modular. I’ve also never had a malfunction in several thousand rounds.

Maybe the moral of the story is you can’t just have 1 PCC. If I had to choose just one…. I think…. I’d go with the MP5.