UPDATE!
It has been over four years now since I
reviewed the dandy little Thureon Defense carbine, and with the
improvements that have been made to the weapon over that time, I
figured than an update was long overdue. As good as the original
Thureon defense pistol-caliber carbine was, the new one is
better. Much better. There was nothing really wrong with the
original, but the new carbine will now accept AR accessories,
such as handguards (including the popular Magpul), pistol grips,
and will even accept the extremely fun Slide Fire buttstock. The
feature that I really like with the newest version of the
Thureon carbine is that it will accept other popular magazines.
There are variations available that will accept S&W, Sig,
and Springfield pistol magazines, to make the carbine compatible
with most popular pistols. There is also a version that will run
with 1911 magazines, but the one shown here will run with the
excellent, cheap, and plentiful Glock magazines.
The GA model shown here runs with Glock
magazines, and this 9mm version arrived with one 33-round Glock
mag. It also runs perfectly with some 33-round and 17-round
Asian Glock magazines, which are readily available and less than
half the cost of the already-affordable Glock magazines.
Another good thing about these little
carbines is that in addition to the 9x19mm, 40 S&W, and 45
ACP versions, these are also available chambered for the 10mm
Auto cartridge.
The Thureon Defense carbines have been in
production for six years now, and this latest version is just as
reliable and accurate as the one that I tested four years ago,
with the added benefit of using modern, readily-available
magazines.
Check
out the latest versions of the Thureon Defense Carbine online at
www.thureondefense.com.
Jeff Quinn



At the 2010 SHOT
Show in Las Vegas, I spotted an interesting
little carbine that was unlike the rest of the crowd of
modified ARs and such. Thureon Defense personnel were manning
the booth, and gladly allowed me to fondle the sample carbines
on display. What first caught my attention was the svelte lines
of the trim little carbine, and that from the looks of the
magazine, it was obviously chambered for a pistol class
cartridge. The carbine, while having a solid feel, handled
quickly, and I immediately placed an order for one. Now, the
Thureon Defense carbine is in full production, and I received
one for review a few weeks ago.
Removing the production weapon from its box,
I was as impressed with it as I was with the display models
shown at SHOT. This carbine is chambered for the 9mm Luger
cartridge, and uses modified thirty-two round Uzi magazines. The
magazine and ventilated tubular hand guard are a matte finished
black steel. The hand guard measures just 1.38 inches in
diameter, and feels really good in the hand. The barrel on my
sample carbine measures slightly over sixteen inches in length,
is .685 inch in diameter, and has a flash suppressor attached.
The barrel is a satin blued steel, matching the same finish
applied to the steel bolt. The Thureon Defense carbine has a
straight blowback action. The upper and lower halves of the
receiver are machined from bar stock aluminum, and are also
finished in a satin black. At the thickest part, the receiver is
only 1.38 inches thick. The fitting of the receiver halves is
superb. They match up flawlessly, and the machining of the
receiver is as near to perfect as I have seen on any rifle. The
lower receiver contains an AR-15 style trigger mechanism, and my
sample carbine has the optional ambidextrous safety lever. The
upper receiver has an integral Picatinny rail, which contains
the adjustable retractable backup sights. The magazine release
is well-protected, and is also of the AR-15 style. The bolt is
retracted to load by pulling rearward on a knob attached
directly to the bolt, and is released to chamber a cartridge
from the magazine. The magazine is a double-row style, and
loading is much easier with the use of a magazine loading tool,
either a Uzi mag tool, or preferably, a MagLula.
The trigger pull on the Thureon Defense
carbine has a typical AR feel to it, and released with an
average of five pounds, six ounces of pressure. The carbine
weighs in at just over six and three-quarters pounds with empty
magazine in place. The buttstock is of the six-position type,
and the overall length varies between 31.5 and 35.5 inches,
depending upon the position of the buttstock. The pistol grip is
also an AR-15 unit, and is very comfortable to use.
I mounted a Leupold Deltapoint sight atop the
Thureon Defense carbine. The Deltapoint is an ideal sight for
such a weapon that is intended to be used at short to moderate
range. The Deltapoint has a triangular dot that subtends 7.5
minutes-of-angle (MOA). This means that the size of the triangle
covers roughly 7.5 inches at 100 yards, 15 inches at 200 yards,
etc. This would totally cover the chest area of a man-sized
target at about 150 yards. However, unlike a round dot sight,
the upper point of the Deltapoint dot can be used as the aiming
point, allowing for a lot more precision than when just covering
the target with a round dot. The Deltapoint turns itself “ON”
automatically. No switches to flip, no buttons to push. The
slightest movement activates the sight, and it turns off
automatically, to extend battery life. To turn the Deltapoint
completely off, a cover is provided, which also protects the
sight from damage. The brightness of the Deltapoint reticle
adjusts automatically to existing light conditions. It is plenty
bright in a dark basement without being excessively so, and
instantly adjusts to bright sunlight. I took the carbine with
the Deltapoint mounted outside at noon on a bright, sunny day,
and the reticle never disappeared, even when aiming at the sky.
The Deltapoint Reflex sight is very natural to use. Keep both
eyes open, and look at the target, placing the image of the
reticle where you want the bullet go, and press the trigger.
Simple. The Deltapoint uses one readily available, low cost
CR2032 battery. Adjusting the aiming point is also very easy.
Loosen the two lock screws, and turn the adjustment screws
according to the arrows on the sight, then tighten the lock
screws. The Deltapoint has 60 MOA of adjustment in each
direction, both height and windage, so it should work on just
about any handheld weapon made, and was very easy to set up on
this Thureon Defense carbine. The Deltapoint is also available
with a smaller, 3.5 MOA dot, but for social work, I prefer this
7.5 MOA Delta reticle model. The housing of the Deltapoint is
made of magnesium, and the lens is coated to resist scratching.
The Deltapoint weighs only about one-half ounce. With the cover
and the cross slot mount, which is compatible with Picatinny or
Weaver-style bases, the whole thing only weighs a couple of
ounces. The Deltapoint sight comes with everything needed to
mount atop a rail, including the CR2032 battery and Torx
wrenches.
To test the accuracy and reliability of the
Thureon Defense carbine, I gathered together several types and
brands of 9mm Luger ammunition, from NATO-spec WCC ball to high
performance Plus P hollowpoints. Reliability was excellent, with
only one failure to eject with one round of International
Cartridge 100 grain ball ammo. This ammunition is pretty weak,
and failed to fully retract the bolt for a clean ejection. Every
other cartridge, including some more of the International load,
cycled perfectly. Even the blunt-nose hollowpoint ammo fed
perfectly from the magazine. Velocities were, for the most part,
much higher than typical velocities from a service handgun
barrel. With most loads, the carbine added from 100 to 200
feet-per-second (fps) more velocity over what is expected from a
handgun barrel. Recoil was very light. Both the Cor-Bon and
Buffalo Bore 115 grain jacketed hollowpoint loads clocked in the
1550 fps range at twelve feet from the muzzle of the Thureon
Defense carbine. Either would be a fine choice for defense work
or for hunting small to medium game.
I was really surprised by the accuracy of
this carbine. I was expecting three inch groups at fifty yards,
but was hoping for two in groups. Settling down to the bench
after mounting a scope atop the Thureon Defense carbine, I
proceeded to shoot group after group of sub-one-inch groups at
fifty yards. This was while shooting high performance, Plus P
ammunition. Even the military WCC ball ammo grouped into one
inch at fifty yards. Two different Cor-Bon loads and one Buffalo
Bore load grouped well under one inch, consistently, at fifty
yards. This is excellent accuracy, and would make for some very
good varmint and target loads, as well as for the quick
resolution of unpleasant social encounters.
This is a carbine that could be used by just
about any member of the family. It is extremely easy to shoot,
and to shoot well. It balances well, and is quick-handling, even
in tight quarters. The buttstock adjusts to fit almost anyone,
and again, the felt recoil, even from the Plus P ammunition, is
negligible. For a weapon that is easy to use and effective out
to at least 150 yards, the Thureon Defense carbine would be an
excellent choice for home protection from either vermin and
predators around the homestead, or from social misfits bent upon
doing harm, and the Leupold Deltapoint is likely the ideal sight
for such a weapon.
Check out the Thureon Defense carbine online
at www.thureondefense.com.
For a closer look at the Deltapoint and other
fine optics, go to www.leupold.com.
To order any of the high performance
ammunition shown here, go to www.cor-bon.com
and www.buffalobore.com.
Jeff Quinn