Ruger PC Charger centerfire pistol: new, versatile, reliable
Ruger's new PC Charger semi-automatic pistol is a handgun version of the Company's own, popular PC Carbine – and just like its bigger brother, it is a rugged and reliable designoffering the versatility and features modern shooters require from a plinking, training, or defensive firearm
The Ruger PC Charger semi-automatic pistol, recently launched on the US market, bears witness of the US gun industry's will not to be brought to its knees by the Coronavirus pandemic. The PC Charger is a large-size handgun version of the Ruger PC Carbine, a selfloading pistol-caliber carbine first showcased at the 2018 SHOT Show as a legacy of the legendary Ruger Police Carbine, and since offered in several variants.
Currently chambered in 9mm Luger only, the Ruger PC Charger pistol feeds through double-stack Ruger SR-9 and Ruger Security-9 metal pistol magazines, but just like the PC Carbine, it comes issued from factory with a drop-in adapter for Glock magazines, while a separate adapter for Ruger American Pistol magazines is available upon request. But this is not all the Ruger PC Charger pistol has to offer.
The Ruger PC Charger pistol is built around a CNC machined aluminum alloy receiver and employs a dead blow action system, based on a custom tungsten dead blow weight that shortens bolt travel and reduces felt recoil and muzzle rise. The bolt is machined from heat treated, chrome-moly steel to ensure strength, structural integrity and durability, and features an easily-removable cocking handle that can be swapped from left to right side.
The lower chassis is manufactured out of glass-filled polymer, is compatible with AR-15 pistol grips and comes with built-in QD sling swivel cups.
The magazine release button can likewise be swapped from the right to the left side; at the rear of the chassis, a built-in short, vertical MIL-STD 1913 Picatinny rail segment provides an installation point for armbraces or stocks.
The Ruger PC Charger pistol comes issued with a black hard-anodized, CNC machined aluminum handguard with M-LOK slots at 3-o'clock, 6-o'clock and 9-o'clock for tactical accessories, and a 165 mm / 6.5" long, cold-hammer forged chrome-moly steel barrel with a 1:10" rifling pitch and a 1/2"-28 protected thread at the muzzle. The barrel and handguard can be easily stripped from the receiver as a single unit, breaking the PC Charger in two components for a safer and more convenient storage or transportation.
The Ruger PC Charger pistol is 419 mm / 16.5" long overall and weighs 2,35 kilograms (5.2 lbs.); it comes without factory-issued sights, featuring instead a full-length Picatinny rail integrally machined on the receiver. Sold at a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $799.00 in the United States, the Ruger PC Charger pistol is one of the to-go alternatives for those shooters who plan to build a reliable and affordable SBR or "mini-rifle" for sport shooting or personal and property defense; no information concerning export availability and pricing has been released so far.