Ruger's LC Carbine in 10mm Delivers Big on Power

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One of the first firearms chambered by Ruger for the FN 5.7x28mm cartridge was the semiautomatic LC Carbine. The .45 ACP was added to the Carbine during early 2024, and a few months later the 10mm Auto joined it. I received one of the 10mm LC Carbines not long after its announcement and put it through a thorough review.

Foolproof Features

My digital postal scale indicated a weight of 7.5 pounds for the 10mm gun. Blowback-operated, the LC Carbine comes with a 30-round magazine made by SGM. When compactness becomes more practical than maximum firepower, Glock magazines holding 15 and 20 rounds work equally well, although that company offers a 30-rounder as well. Ruger recommends extensive dry-firing in order to become familiar with the LC Carbine, and it will suffer no damage

Combining a protected internal hammer with a bladed trigger safety, the patented Secure Action fire-control mechanism of the LC Carbine is quite similar to those of Ruger’s Model 5.7, Security-9, and LCP II pistols. Also featured are a lightweight firing pin and what Ruger describes as a neutrally balanced sear with significant engagement along with a mechanical catch that prevents the hammer from contacting the firing pin until the trigger is squeezed. A 1911-type manual safety can be engaged from either side. In other words, Ruger design engineers have made the LC Carbine as safe and as foolproof as a firearm can be. Even so, a big helping of common sense and proper firearm handling on the part of the shooter is equally important.

The chamber can be charged by inserting the loaded magazine and then pulling and releasing the nonreciprocating bolt handle, or charging handle as Ruger describes it. When the magazine runs dry, the bolt automatically locks back. Simply insert a loaded magazine, retract and release the charging handle, and keep on shooting. Possibly a bit faster is to insert the fresh magazine and then extend the trigger finger to press the bolt release button on the right side of the receiver, just forward of the trigger. The bolt release, ambidextrous safety, and magazine release are easily operated without shifting the hand on the grip.

The gun can also be operated in single-shot mode by engaging the safety, locking back the bolt, removing the magazine, pointing the gun in a safe direction, manually inserting a cartridge in the chamber, and then pressing the bolt release. Due to the absence of a magazine, the bolt will not remain in a locked-back position when that round is fired.

While the gun departs the factory with its magazine release on the left-hand side, it is easily moved to the right-hand side for left-hand shooters. As already mentioned, the bolt locks back on an empty magazine. With the magazine detached, the bolt can be released for forward movement by pressing inward on the release button at the right side of the aluminum receiver, by pressing down on the boltstop on the opposite side, or by pulling and releasing the left-side-positioned charging handle.

While shooting the gun, most right-handed shooters will instantly realize that having the charging handle on the left side is a better idea. Southpaws will also appreciate an extremely comprehensive owner’s manual that clearly illustrates how the charging handle can be switched over to their side.

The receiver is precision-machined from aircraft-grade aluminum bar stock, with its Picatinny rail extending all the way to the front end of a free-floating, octagonal-shaped ventilated handguard that has plenty of M-LOK slots for attaching accessories. There also is a short, six-slot rail at the bottom of the receiver.

All metal has a durable hardcoat anodized finish. Two large steel pins are used to attach the grip frame assembly to the receiver, and a steel-reinforced socket for accepting a single-point, quick-detachable sling is located in the synthetic grip frame.

The gun comes with Ruger’s excellent Rapid Deploy, spring-loaded folding sights attached to the rail. Pressing a button on their sides causes them to spring to the upright position for a sight radius of 17.25 inches. Bump one of the sights against a tree while chasing a wild pig, and spring tension causes it to immediately pop back up.

The aperture of the rear sight is wheel-adjusted for windage in half-minute clicks, while an included tool is used to adjust the M16-style front sight for elevation. Folding the sights allows the use of a scope or red-dot sight, or if need be, they are easily detached. My Trijicon RMR with a size-adjustable red dot proved to be a perfect match for the LC Carbine.

The LC Carbine has a telescoping bolt consisting of front and rear sections. That design concept originated during the early years of the 20th century, and it has been utilized in a number of compact submachine guns, with the Israeli-designed Uzi probably the best known among American shooters. In addition to adding weight to the bolt required for recoil operation, the design allows the breech end of the barrel to be positioned far enough toward the rear of the receiver to allow it to be fed from a magazine located in the grip of the gun. The result is a shortening of overall length, which according to my measurements is 30.375 inches or 22.625 inches with the stock folded. In comparison, my Ruger AR-556 with a barrel of the same length measures 34.5 inches overall.

Pressing down on a button at the hinge of the LC Carbine stock releases it for folding to the left side, and it can be changed to right-side folding if the shooter prefers. Holding down a lever at the bottom of the stock allows length-of-pull adjustments ranging from 12.6 to 14.6 inches.

Disassembly of the LC Carbine for cleaning and reassembly are clearly covered in the owner’s manual, so I won’t go into it here. The wrench needed for doing so is included in the package.

Pressing on a spring-loaded grooved tab at the side of the bolt levers the extractor outward and away from the boltface, and it serves an important role. Should a fired case become stuck in the chamber and be impossible to extract by pulling on the charging handle, releasing the handle and then holding down the tab moves the claw of the extractor out of engagement with the rim of the case. This allows the bolt to be manually retracted and locked in its open position. With the bolt out of the way, a cleaning rod or wooden dowel is inserted into the barrel from the muzzle end, and the stuck case is removed with no damage to the extractor.

The hammer-forged, carbon-steel barrel is 16.25 inches long, and it has a 1:16 twist. The muzzle is threaded 0.578-28, and I purchased a 0.578-28 to 5/8-24 adapter for my suppressor on eBay for $16. Several groups fired without the suppressor confirmed that accuracy was pretty much the same with or without it.

The stubby little firearm is an excellent candidate for wearing a suppressor, for a couple of reasons. For one, muzzle blast is quite a bit closer to the ears of the shooter than when firing a pistol with a 5.0-inch barrel with arms extended. Second, with my SilencerCo Hybrid 46 suppressor attached to its muzzle, it was still quite manageable at a bit less than 38 inches long overall. An O-ring attached at the factory to retain an included thread protector should be removed when a suppressor is used.

As should be the case on any repeating firearm chambered for the 10mm Auto cartridge, the chamber of the barrel supports a case all the way to the front of its extraction groove. Even so, Ruger warns that ammunition with aluminum cases should not be used in the LC Carbine.

Shooting Impressions

Putting the LC Carbine through its paces from the bench held no surprises. Feeding of ammunition loaded with bullets having a variety of nose profiles was 100 percent, and that included Lehigh Defense bullets with their Phillips head screwdriver shape. The chamber and bore became quite dirty before I was finished shooting, but the gun did not appear to mind.

Five-shot accuracy at 25 yards proved to be about the same as for my Springfield Armory XDM Elite with a 4.5-inch barrel, the best all-around 10mm Auto pistol I have ever shot. Average velocity differences between it and the 16.25-inch barrel of the Ruger carbine proved to be in the neighborhood of 200 fps.

The single-stage trigger free-traveled slightly before breaking at an average of 5.3 pounds, with a pull variation of five ounces. Out of curiosity, I folded the stock and shot a few groups with the forearm snuggled in my Lyman Bench Bag and both hands wrapped around its grip. The Lyman Bag Jack allowed me to elevate the gun enough for its long 30-round magazine to clear the top of the bench. Groups fired in that manner measured about the same as those fired from the shoulder with the stock unfolded. It should be noted that powder charges shown in the accompanying chart were maximum or close to it in the test gun and should be reduced by 10 percent for starting loads in other firearms.

A big advantage to recoil operation is the action does not require cleaning as often as a gas gun. After digesting just over 250 rounds, the interior of the carbine’s action appeared to be as clean as it was fresh from the factory box. Nothing more than cleaning the bore made the handy little carbine ready for stowage.

While testing firearms at the range I keep a small columnar pad handy for jotting down comments, both positive and negative. In the case of the 10mm Auto LC Carbine, the positive column was quite full, and the only thing in the negative column was that the magazine latch was too easy to inadvertently push. A stronger spring would fix that. One thing is certain, Ruger design engineers did an excellent job making sure the LC Carbine works as well for left-handed shooters as it does for those of us who shoot from the other side.

LC CARBINE SPECS

• MANUFACTURER: Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. ruger.com
• TYPE: Recoil-operated autoloader
• CALIBER: 10mm Auto
• MAGAZINE CAPACITY: 30 rounds
• BARREL: 16.25 in.
• OVERALL LENGTH: 30.375 in. and 22.625 in.
• WEIGHT, EMPTY: 7.5 lbs.
• STOCK: Folding
• LENGTH OF PULL: 12.6 to 14.6 in.
• FINISH: Black hardcoat anodized
• SIGHTS: Fully adjustable Ruger Rapid Deploy folding rear and front
• TRIGGER: 5.3-lb. pull (as tested)
• SAFETY: Model 1911-type ambidextrous thumb safety, bladed trigger
• MSRP: $1,049

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