Henry Homesteader 9mm Review

[thastinger]

One note on pistol caliber carbines - the recoil is more than I expected. The extra barrel length allows the bullet to reach greater velocity, so, the recoil is higher. First time I fired my Ruger model 44 (a .44 magnum carbine) I was shocked by the recoil. Kicked harder than a Garand. A lightweight carbine, coupled with a powerful cartridge, added up to significantly more than I expected.

So, when I saw the rubber butt pad on your carbine, I smiled. Sure wish my Ruger had one!

Yeah, barrel length really matters if you have a 9mm you're trying to keep subsonic for a can. You find out that you pretty much HAVE to use 147gr bullets. I had loaded some 125gr Sierra HPs that were subs out of 4-5.5" pistol barrels but they picked up 250FPS out of a 16" barrel.

 

[billt460]

In addition to being inexpensive and reliable, they are also much easier to disassemble and clean. Not that a polymer mag needs a bunch of cleaning, but I do like to wipe down the follower and inside the body with a cotton cloth to remove the residue.

I'm thinking of going with a couple of 10 packs The Mag Shack offers. Their prices are pretty good, and they ship fast. I've got quite a few Glocks to feed.

https://themagshack.com/shop/pistol...-21-round-magazine-for-glock-pistols-10-pack/

https://themagshack.com/shop/pistol-magazines/9mm/magpul-pmag-glock-17-magazine-ten-pack/

 

[billt460]

One note on pistol caliber carbines - the recoil is more than I expected. The extra barrel length allows the bullet to reach greater velocity, so, the recoil is higher. First time I fired my Ruger model 44 (a .44 magnum carbine) I was shocked by the recoil. Kicked harder than a Garand. A lightweight carbine, coupled with a powerful cartridge, added up to significantly more than I expected.

So, when I saw the rubber butt pad on your carbine, I smiled. Sure wish my Ruger had one!

I experienced much the same with my Marlin 1894 in .44 Magnum. It's far worse than my Winchester Model 94 in .30-30. Especially with heavy bullet handloads, like the old 265 grain Hornady Interlocks. They were discontinued a while back, but I still have a few boxes laying around.

 

[thastinger]

They sell Glock mag AR15 lowers, or G mag 80% lowers if that is legal in your state. You can put together a nice little 9mm PCC for a whole lot less money than 900 bucks...and it'll have rails on it to accept a light, red dot etc. If the D60 drums are a desire, you might have to trim a slight amount off the shoulder of the drum to get it to lock in the AR9 lower...but they do work just fine.

 

[Elkins45]

I’d be all over a 10mm!

A 10mm really needs a locking breech design and not a blowback IMO. The bolt block would need to be substantially heavier to safely use true full-power 10mm.

 

[Astro14]

A 10mm really needs a locking breech design and not a blowback IMO. The bolt block would need to be substantially heavier to safely use true full-power 10mm.

I am clearly not smart enough on firearm design to have known that.

Would a .45 ACP work in this design?

Because I would be all over a .45 carbine.

I do have a .44 Mag carbine and that thing is quite a bit of fun, with a surprising amount of recoil, but very expensive to feed.

 

[Elkins45]

I am clearly not smart enough on firearm design to have known that.

Would a .45 ACP work in this design?

Because I would be all over a .45 carbine.

I do have a .44 Mag carbine and that thing is quite a bit of fun, with a surprising amount of recoil, but very expensive to feed.

Marlin made the Camp Carbine work in 45acp with a blowback design. There’s more of a recoil impulse with 45 because of the heavier bullet but the chamber pressure is significantly lower. The two factors probably cancel to a degree, and a slightly heavier bolt + spring combo would do the rest. The important thing is that the bolt doesn’t start opening until the bullet has left the barrel and the pressure has dissipated. 10mm is a double whammy of both a heavier bullet and higher pressure compared to 9mm so you would need a much bigger inertial mass and a heavier spring, translating into a heavier gun with more recoil from the moving mass.

Your 44 can be significantly lighter because it uses a locked breech. All the opening forces are absorbed into the barrel/bolt/receiver interface, then straight into the shooter. The angle of the stock also makes a big difference. I briefly owned a 44 Marlin and it was an unpleasant thing to shoot for more than a few rounds.

 

[SR5]

Would a .45 ACP work in this design?

Because I would be all over a .45 carbine.

I'm going by memory here, but years ago I read a review of the Marlin Camp Carbine in 9mm and 45 ACP. They did velocity testing and compared them to the same ammo in pistols.

What struck me was the 45 ACP showed no significant increase in velocity coming out of the rifle barrel compared to the pistol. Looks like with a 45 ACP it's all over after 5". This was with standard 230 grain ball, it may be different with a +P JHP. I'm sure a good hand load could make use of that extra barrel length.

Conversely the 9mm showed a good velocity increase going to the longer barrel. So did the 40 S&W in a Ruger carbine review.

The 45 ACP carbine would definitely be easier to shoot than a pistol at longer ranges.

 

[SR5]

What struck me was the 45 ACP showed no significant increase in velocity coming out of the rifle barrel compared to the pistol. Looks like with a 45 ACP it's all over after 5". This was with standard 230 grain ball, it may be different with a +P JHP. I'm sure a good hand load could make use of that extra barrel length.

Maybe my memory is wrong, or they only tested fairly slow 230 grain FMJ that didn't have much more to give. However ballistics by the inch do show a decent increase in velocity for 45 ACP.
Eg. Federal 230 grain hydra-shok at 5" give 895 fps, and at 15" gives 972 fps.

http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/45auto.html