This is a great list. Nice.
To the OP. Some thoughts on your assumptions then some thoughts on guns.
I've got several pre-ban ARs and can run any flash hider I want, but prefer to use brakes. With a brake it is inconceivable that a .223 AR has too much recoil. In fact, it recoils less than a 9mm AR with a plain barrel.
What it has is noise and concussion. I resolved that with my wife by making her a set of custom earplugs with a Radans kit ($20) and then covering them up with a set of inexpensive amplified Peltor muffs. Doubling up really knocks down the noise.
Re the High Point. I get your point. (no pun intended) but it really is one of the best working 9mm carbines out there. And the customer service is FANTASTIC. I have a friend who owns a range in Guilford, CT. Chris' Indoor Gun Range. He has 2 Hi-Points that he rents out. After several years and many many thousands of rounds of ammo through them they were starting to get a little cranky. So he sent them back to HiPoint for an estimate of the cost to replace all the worn parts.
He was getting a little annoyed because after a couple of weeks he had not heard back from them. Then a couple of days later the guns arrived. Completely rebuilt with new springs, extractor, sear, and a whole bunch of other small internal parts replaced. No charge. Wow. Now if it wasn't so freaking UGLY.
I used to own a Keltec Sub2000. At the time I owned a MP5 SBR and the Sub2000. Amazingly I found that in our little local monthly pistol cal carbine matches at Chris' range that I shot better with the Sub2K than with the MP5. The front sight on the KelTec was canted and it annoyed me, so I sent it back in to be fixed. Prior to sending it in I spoke to a guy in service and told him that I used it to compete agains more expensive guns and asked if they could bring the trigger down in weight. He said their minimum spec was 3 lbs and that he would have them do what they could.
I got the gun back, no charge for the trigger work, and the trigger was great. I used it until after Sandy Hook the prices went full retard. I sold it for $950 on GB, having paid 250 for it several years earllier. Thats enough to buy me everything I need to make a 9mm AR out of one of my pre-ban lowers.
Of course, I still haven't built the AR and I've sold the MP5. So I'm carbineless. That hasn't been an issue because I don't have the opportunity to shoot at Chris' anymore and I've found .22 LR ARs to be loads of fun.
JP Rifles has jsut come out with a 9mm carbine and also sells the uppers. Its the cats a55, but you pay. Thats always the case with JP Rifles.
A couple of other thoughts. The Ruger 9mm carbine runs great. Chris also rents them and he has no trouble with them. One nice thing about the Ruger is it does take pre-ban mags.
I"ve shot a Just Right and it is just right. Its probably the nicest shooting 9mm carbine out there short of a full custom 9mm AR. (And much less ammo, magazine and general setup sensitive) I think its a nice balance between the ugly and functional HiPoint and a 9mm AR.
