Just Right Carbine 10mm Auto

Defined as a “lightweight, short-barreled variation of an existing rifle model,” the carbine was first employed by cavalry. Fighting in a very confined area, they needed something much shorter than an infantry rifle. Shorter barrels affect muzzle velocity negatively, as did the recoil on the shoulders with a standard cartridge in a trimmed down rifle — sometimes to the point where different ammo had to be loaded for the carbines. Still, the newer versions were shorter, lighter, easier to manipulate and carry on horseback.

Now we’re seeing a completely different class of carbines in which barrels are lengthened, thus making them more powerful, easier to control, and shoot accurately. This new class is starting with pistols instead of battle rifles, adding a shoulder stock, plenty of real estate for a fore end and a light, if desired, as well as providing for the easy mounting of an optic. Stretching the barrels from 4 or 5 inches out to 16 (or just a hair more) often yields a higher muzzle velocity and greatly approved energy delivered from what is still a very compact firearm. We think most will agree that a good Marlin Model 94 in 357 Magnum or 44 Magnum constitutes a serious defensive firearm.

We wanted to know if the same thing would happen with lighter, pistol-caliber carbines. We’ve recorded some longer-barreled 9mms that demonstrated very little velocity increase. Recoil was almost nonexistent, and they were easier to shoot accurately at distance, but we weren’t impressed enough with the hitting power to carry those out into the woods. Could a pistol cartridge that packed a bit more powder and worked at a higher pressure be a solution? We wanted to find out and grabbed a selection of 10mm carbines for you, including Ruger’s new rifle chambered in 10mm Auto, the LC10 carbine with a 16.25-inch barrel. It ships complete with a side-charging handle, lots of real estate for mounting optics, and is compatible with extended Glock-type magazines with a street price around $800 (No. 19307). It’s sad, but that sounds reasonably inexpensive these days — until you compare it to the Hi-Point 1095. Also with a Picatinny rail, iron sight, and adjustable buttstock, the street price on this semi-auto 10mm is around $350. The next selection in this test group is the Aero Survival Rifle from TNW Firearms. Much more reminiscent of an AR-15 — and some of the parts in the buffer system are compatible — the ASR is actually a blowback-operated take-down rifle originally designed as a survival tool for bush pilots. Street prices run as low as $575. Last we tested the latest model from Just Right Carbines. Sporting a 16.25-inch barrel, as do the other rifles in our test, the Just Right Carbine offers some additional versatility that can make this rifle very easy to operate for left-handers. It is also in the sub-$700 range.

Bearing in mind the anticipated use of these carbines, we mounted one of the Holosun AEMS enclosed red-dot sights (Brownells.com, $400). We shot multiple weights of ammunition to look for energy improvements versus a pistol. That selection included Hornady 155-grain XTPs, Federal 180-grain VHPs (Versatile Hollow Point designed to “Train & Protect”), along with the Doubletap 200-grain Controlled Expansion JHPs. We used a SIG P320 XTen for the pistol baseline velocities, all of which were measured by a new Garmin Xero C1 Pro Chronograph (MidwayUSA.com, $600).

Part of our stated goal was to find out if the longer barrels on these carbines developed more velocity and, therefore, more energy, than the same rounds launched from a 5-inch pistol barrel. The increases, as hoped, were substantial. The average for the Hornady 155-grain loads generated 1380 fps from the SIG Sauer X10 pistol and averaged 1669 fps from the carbines. That’s a 21% increase in velocity and an almost 35% increase in muzzle energy. The Federal 180-grain loads showed an 18% velocity increase and 39% energy increase, while the Doubletap 200-grainers yielded 11% and 23%. Some of these loads were pushing 1000 foot pounds of energy — not too shabby from a pistol cartridge. Here’s what we thought of the rifles individually.

Just Right Carbine 10mm Auto

$668

Gun Tests grade: A-

The Just Right Carbine was the top shooter in this test, and it handled easily. We think it is also very well designed for use by left- or right-handed users.

Coming to us from upstate New York, the Just Right Carbine merges another blowback action into an AR-15-style profile. The grips, trigger, safety, buttstock, and, it looks like, the fore end might well have come from your spare parts bin. The beveled magazine well is in front of the trigger guard, as would be expected. The magazine release, however, is mounted on the left side in front of the mag well.

The back half of the carbine contains the same buffer tube, end plate, and castle nut you would expect in an AR, along with a minimalist adjustable stock. Rest assured the buffer has been tailored to work with the heavy bolt required for this system. The fore end is pure M-Lok with slots at 3, 6, and 9 o’clock. There is a continuous Picatinny rail running from the rear of the upper receiver to the front of the fore end.

The receiver had some nice surprises for us. It is made from 6061-T6 aluminum alloy and is hardcoat anodized. Disassembly occurs via the removal of three screws. Then you get to see some of the magic. The operating handle arrived on the left side for proper manipulation by a right-handed shooter. It is easily reversed for lefties. Ejection came from the factory set to exit from the right and is also easily reversed, though the manual states that a bit of minor fitting may be required to bevel the edge of the extractor face. The safety is left-side-only, but it is an AR-style and is easily replaced. The mag release is left-side-only. Required trigger compression was a smooth 4.5 pounds. With a 17-inch barrel, Parkerized and threaded 9⁄16×24, we think all of these carbines would be good candidates for a muzzle brake. But then, this group likes to shoot fast.

The Just Right Carbine comes with a few warnings. The front cover of the manual warns users not to use aluminum- or steel-case ammo. Inside, you also learn not to use lead bullets, and to only shoot 180-grain 10mm ammo. We missed that one somehow and shot all three bullet weights with no issues and good accuracy.

We should also note that the JRC is available in Standard, California, Restricted, S.A.F.E. Act, and Canadian models. A lot of folks in less-permissive environments might want to look at this carbine if they need legal firepower.

The JRC was the top performer in this group, averaging 1.78-inch groups. Recoil was comfortable, and the rifle was easy to handle and shoot.

Our Team Said: We had some trouble feeding this carbine, which led us to look closely at magazines instead of firearms. Except for the Hi-Point, our test rifles all were designed to work with Glock-style magazines — something we thought was a great idea. The Glock 16-rounder worked as expected, as did an SGM Tactical 28-round extended mag. The two ETS Group mags gave us consistent grief. Those did not want to latch properly when inserted, especially when loaded in the Just Right Carbine or the Aero Survival Rifle. And the ETS mags did not always want to feed after they did latch. It appears that the mating grooves, on our samples at least, were shallow and might have been too low to match with the mag catches. The easy solution was to feed from an open bolt, but that is not always possible. The Ruger LC ate anything we fed it. 

We tested at American Shooting Centers (AmericanShootingCenters.com) in west Houston. We used a Garmin Xero C1 Pro chronograph (Garmin.com, $600) to determine muzzle velocities. We shot the rifles using a Caldwell TackDriver Pro (Brownells 100-027-023, $49), further supported by a large rear bag, heavy from Tab Gear(TabGear.com, $34). We calculated averages from five-shot groups fired at 50 yards. 

Written and photographed by Joe Woolley, using evaluations from Gun Tests Team members. GT