NOTE: THE FOLLOWING REVIEW IS COPYRIGHT 2011 BY James Bell Jr.
ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED.
Mech-Tech Systems, Inc.
3243 US Hwy 93 South
Kalispell, MT 59901
406-756-9309 [VOICE]
406-756-9133 [FAX]
One of the fundamental facts about handguns is that they do have a limited effective range for most shooters. Most defensive shooting is limited to well within 21 feet. Most folks can make good hits out to 25 or more yards, and some can hit effectively at or over 100 yards, but most folks find 25 to 50 yards to be about their maximum effective range with a handgun. This is primarily due to the short sight radius (which makes fine sighting more difficult at longer ranges) and the slower velocities that you encounter from a pistol-length barrel, plus the lack of additional stabilization (such as a true buttstock pressed into your shoulder).
If you can get a longer sight radius, you can improve your ability to make hits at distances. Hence many target guns having much greater sight radii, such as the Glock 34 or the Ruger MKII-678G. Sighting can be improved even more with the addition of an optic. This is difficult - sometimes almost impossible - on many handguns that are not factory-built to accept an external optic. It also, generally makes holster selection much more difficult.
Longer barrels also give a generally higher velocity to the round. This improves your ability to make hits at longer ranges. But even a 6 7/8" bull barrel has its limits. Wearing one in a conventional belt holster you will find that you need to dislocate your shoulder to clear the holster when drawing it.
Shoulder-stabilization is something that you can't legally put on a handgun in the USA - unless you use something like the product in this review. You can't legally attach a shoulder stock to a handgun without getting it registered as a short-barreled rifle.
Many folks will get into pistol caliber carbines if they are looking for something like a SHTF gun that shares common ammunition with their sidearm. This isn't a bad idea, since they can offer enhancements in both areas. They are also popular in some bowling-pin shooting events. There are a few carbines out there in 5.7x28mm, 9mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP, but the selection is relatively narrow, since a few manufacturers (notably Ruger) have exited that field.
With with their advantages, pistol caliber carbines come at a price - often a higher one than a pistol in the same chambering. The FNH USA Five-seveN runs about $400 to $800 less than the PS90 carbine.
I located a solution to this issue that comes at a significantly lower cost. It gives you a longer sight radius, longer barrel for greater velocities, and shoulder stabilization. The disadvantage is that it temporarily takes your sidearm out of the fight. Actually, it converts it from a sidearm to a long gun.
The Mech Tech Carbine Conversion Unit (CCU) retails for around $450 with the recommended options. What you get is a pre-assembled unit that replaces the slide on your sidearm. It has a 16.25" barrel, optics mounting rail (optional), and a buttstock all in one system, plus a little piece you don't want to lose called a Glock Block. It measures just under 34" overall length. You can legally use the buttstock on this product because it's attached to the CCU (technically the slide), not to the lower receiver of the handgun, which is registered as a handgun.
The unit we tested included the buttstock inserts for the fixed stock. Without them it's more of a skeletonized appearance.
They are presently available for many models of Glock pistols in a variety of calibers, as well as for standard 1911's. Some years ago I had the chance to test the Mech Tech CCU for the Glock 17 while working for another publication, and was able to get permission to re-work that review for the JeepGunner.com family.
Here's how it works.
To start with, remove the slide from your Glock 17 and put it in a safe place.
The CCU comes with a very important piece of hardware called a Glock Block. This is a little piece of machined metal that you place over the locking block in your Glock prior to attaching the CCU. It's a very simple procedure, but it's absolutely necessary to the proper feeding of ammunition into the CCU. It becomes a feed ramp.
Frame Before Glock Block Installed
Frame With Glock Block Installed - It Becomes A Feed Ramp
Once the Glock Block is in place, you can then attach the CCU to the Glock frame. You do this just like you do a slide.
Mech Tech CCU And Glock 17 Frame Mated - With 33rd Glock 9mm Magazine and a BSA Red-Dot Optic
In this configuration you have a carbine with a 16.25" barrel, a buttstock, and up to 34 rounds ready to go - with an overall length just under 34 inches. Keep in mind that this configuration retains the Glock trigger safety, but the drop safety and firing pin safety are not used. There are no other safeties on the Mech Tech CCU.
You will also note a few other operational changes. The bolt lever is on the left side, which is not a bad thing. It will NOT lock back after the last round has been fired, but it does have a manual bolt hold open feature which is employed by pushing the bolt handle IN once the bolt is pulled back.
There is also an optional, factory-installed flash-hider/muzzle brake. This isn't a bad feature as it will protect the crown of the muzzle, but didn't do much in terms of actual muzzle-flip reduction. .
The Factory Installed Muzzle Brake/Flash-Hider
The 16.25" barrel gives you enhanced velocities - especially when using +P rounds, and there is an iron-sight kit available with a much longer sight radius than you get on the standard Glock 17. With the ability to put an optic on (the optional optic rail isn't quite a true picatinny but will work with EOTech and just about any other optic) and the fact that you are then shoulder-stabilized, you can expect to get hits out as far as the round can be effective.
In our testing I put about 300 rounds through the initial run, and then another 100 over time. We had the occasional FTF in the beginning, but later in the testing it was quite reliable. Someone expressed some concern after we noted an occasional failure to cock during some dry fire testing - but we never encountered that in live-fire testing. In fact, we fired it sideways and upside down just to see how it would handle, and it was quite reliable in any orientation.
It's fun to shoot, and if you are looking for a lightweight method of carrying a pistol-caliber carbine, this is about as good as it gets. It does take your sidearm out of the fight, but it converts it into a pistol that you can hit with at far greater distances. At the price as of the original time of this article several years ago, it couldn't be beaten, and it was far more reliable than the Kel-Tec carbines we tested. It's not a bad option.
I'm hoping we will get a chance to check out some of their newer products in the next year or two
-- James Bell Jr. - Editor - JeepGunner / ATVGunner / HondaGunner