Let there be pump action PCC's.

New Pump Carbine in 45ACP or 9MM by Fabarm! Just joking!

If I was Thor, to hell with hammers. For reloading speed in a locked breech rifle, nothing beats the pump action. Shotguns and 22’s have been privy to this secret since 1897 but try telling this to the centerfire community. Currently there are only three notable offerings in centerfire pump rifles - the Remington 7600, the Troy Pump Action AR and the Colt Lightning (currently made by Uberti in Italy). All are great rifles but they each adhere to a genre: the Remington is in classic hunting configuration, the Troy is a spitting image of an AR and the Lightning is a retro repro for luddites and CASS practitioners. But where is the modern iteration? Where is the 16” barreled 45ACP or 9MM pump carbine that weighs 4.5lbs? Or a pistol counterpart that can be SBR’d? 

People like the semi-auto because it’s fast on follow-up shots, but I argue that if those shots are to be well-placed then the split second of sight alignment you lose during battery can also be used to operate the slide and chamber your next round. In the shotgun world where killing a bird or dusting a clay EVERY time is the objective, I’d dare to bet any pump action shotgunner can equal the speed-accuracy of any semi-auto shotgunner…or should I forego modesty and claim to know that from experience. Closed-bolts are simply more consistently accurate than blow-back ones, this any sniper or hunter can attest to. In layman’s terms, combustion efficiency and a solid backstop give a bullet a better launch, so when you’re using precision rounds and the placement of each bullet is mission critical then the bolt action is the current ruler. In long range precision critical moments the bolt action rifle is usually supported by a bipod or the suchlike and follow up shots are either ill-advised or well-considered so the comparatively slow speed of removing your trigger hand from the grip to chamber the next round isn’t an issue. But when a weapon is for home defense, LEO or combat purposes then reloading needs to be rapid and accuracy is preferable. Furthermore, financially speaking I’d rather visit the range and make 100 well placed goodly distance shots than fire off 500 rounds just kicking up dirt - it looks great in movies or on youtube but personally I can’t afford that kind of fun. 

To combat the potential inaccuracy of semi-autos, firepower has taken big precedence in the last few years and high-cap mags and drums are all the rage meaning the shooter just fires a whole lot of rounds increasing the chance of a hit. Unfortunately this hasn’t made anyone a better shot, AND it’s led to ammo shortages, AND it’s brought down a whole lot of flack from the anti-gunners, some of which has made law (hence Troy’s offering). And it’s not just a domestic issue, during the height of the war in Irag/Afghanistan there were an average of 250,000 rounds fired per insurgent killed whereas for snipers that round-to-kill ration was 1.6 (or thereabouts). I’m all for excess but it’s nice to have alternatives when shooting dollars are tight.

Back to the pistol cartridge. I had a Marlin Camp Carbine that was as reliable as stone but couldn’t be trusted over 20 yards and at 50 yards I’d be lucky to hit a 14” plate after allowing for a 12” drop - now that may have been my particular rifle but I suspect not. All I’m saying is it’s time for an American manufacturer to come up with a new pump carbine in configurations for hunters, LEO and home defenders that utilize all our advancements in armament technology to revive the venerable Browning design for pistol calibers. I venture to say the market would be considerable.
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