Other advantages to the UC-9 besides the compact size include the blowback action, which on one hand makes it heavy for its size, but on the other makes it extremely simple in terms of construction. There simply isn’t much to break, and what is in there is rather massive. It is also easy to clean and maintain. Downsides besides weight and the sights? If you did want to add things like sights and optics, it would be hard to do, as there simply isn’t much out there for it. You can pretty much forget rails, other than something you could clamp on the barrel. Then again, that’s not what you want, right?
The final downside I can see is simply limited effective range, due to the 9mm cartridge. You are probably effective, at the most, out to 150 yards. The 9mm might surprise you though. I can stand with my Glock 17 at 100 yards, fire two-handed, and put six for six rounds in the qualification zone of a state silhouette target, without holding over at that range. With full-power duty ammo, it’s a flatter shooting round than it’s usually given credit for. I can highly recommend the UC-9 as part of your survival armory.
Another pistol-caliber carbine (sort of) still in production that I can recommend, one that gives greater range than a standard pistol round, one that is far more compact and lightweight than an M4 with the stock collapsed, and one whose design is stellar in terms of having truly ambidextrous ability, is the 5.7×28 FN PS90 carbine.
According to the FN manual, the PS90 is a blowback-operated bullpup carbine firing from a closed breach. It weighs 6.61 pounds (which is really deceiving, since it seems much lighter, undoubtedly due to its small size), and has a maximum width of 2.3 inches and an overall length of only 26.3 inches. The basic/original version has a fixed optical sight integrally mounted. There are many advantages to this carbine and only a couple disadvantages.
The PS90 is the only firearm I’ve worked with that is truly and naturally ambidextrous in operation, with the disk-shaped safety capable of being operated by the trigger finger of either hand, pulling it toward you to fire if you are right-handed, and pushing it away from you if you are left-handed.
Cartridges are fed through a translucent, amber colored polymer magazine that sits flush on top of the stock, but underneath the sighting module, parallel with the bore and chamber. Release the magazine by operating either of the two magazine releases on either side of the magazine at the chamber. This keeps the weapon very compact, with no protrusions to catch on anything, and allows the shooter to keep track of the status of the 30 to 50 rounds in the magazine (depending on the version you have). Reloads are slower than with an M4 or a weapon with a box magazine in standard position, but with a full 50 rounds on deck, you may not need a quick reload at all. Ejection is downward through the large ejection port, located aft of the pistol grip portion of the weapon. No empty casings will hit your face, no matter which way you hold the weapon while firing, so no case deflector is required.
The weapon is charged by grasping one of the identical, ambidextrous cocking handles located on either side of the barrel assembly and pulling directly backward. There are two separate sets of backup iron sights on either side of the optical sight, one for right-hand shooting, one for left-hand.
The blowback system of the PS90 is totally reliable. There is zero recoil and very little muzzle blast, due to the 5.7 cartridge and the PS90’s integral flash hider. There is nothing else like it out there.
The disadvantages of the PS90 are few and can be gotten used to with a bit of experience. The fixed Optical Ring Sights sighting system on the base model, for one, isn’t adjustable—at least there’s no adjustment method described in the manual or visible on the sight. Upgraded models now have a Picatinny rail system that allows the user to mount an optic. I did find the ORS sighting system effective after working with it long enough.
I also found the trigger to be spongy, but that’s typical of a semi-automatic bullpup long gun. It did, however, work well enough for defensive purposes.
Originally, ammo availability and price were issues, as only FN (FNH USA here stateside) provided civilian-legal sporting loads. That has changed, FN production is at full tilt, and other manufactures market this capable little round now, too. In ballistic testing, it proved to be as effective in test medium, in terms of width and depth of the permanent wound channel, as the 127-grain +P+ Winchester Ranger 9mm ammunition fired from a pistol.
Another drawback is that the PS90 is pricey, with online prices running from $1,700 to $1,900 from various sources. You will have to decide if the price is worth the needs you feel this weapon will meet.
A fellow cop friend of mine, a guy who is so committed to his preparation that I consider him a real expert in the overall picture, discussed with me his preference for the Kel-Tec SUB-2000 Carbine, a gun he carries in a basic backpack with several magazines. A 9mm or .40 Smith & Wesson carbine that folds in half for extremely compact storage, the SUB-2000 can be configured to use various types of magazines, therefore making it compatible with your primary handgun. My buddy has his set up to run off of 9mm Glock 19 or 17 magazines (he has some 18-rounders), but the 9mm version is also able to utilize S&W Model 59, Beretta 92, and SIG P226 magazines. The .40-caliber version can be purchased to run off of Glock 22 or 23, Beretta 96, S&W 4006, and SIG P226 magazines. The magazine well is located in the pistol grip, like the UZI weapons family.
Weighing only four pounds unloaded, the SUB-2000 folds from an overall length of 29.5 inches down to 16 inches. Note that this is an “out of service” storage length, i.e., the weapon cannot be fired from its folded position. This is because the gun is, in a manner of speaking, partially disassembled when folded, that is, it is out of battery and cannot fire until it is locked open again. If it could fire while folded, its overall length would be longer than 16 inches. By comparison, the Auto-Ordnance M1A1 Paratrooper folding stock carbine, which will fire with the stock folded, is 25.75 inches long overall. Considering that the SUB-2000 is only 4.74 inches longer when locked open (and it locks open very quickly), the inoperative folded condition really doesn’t pose much of an operational issue in an emergency.
