Military Armament Corporation -
MAC IX PCC Review
Everyone is making 9mm Pistol Caliber Carbines (PCC) these days. Not to be outdone, Military Armament Corporation (MAC) came out with their MAC IX 9mm PCC. This is a direct blowback “pistol” that is compatible with MP5 magazines. It is not one of the MP5 clones, instead it is more like an AR PCC with MP5 features.
My first thoughts on the MAC IX. It is a nice looking PCC. It comes with a few extras that other companies do not do. The main one is removable iron sights. These sights have large side protectors to keep the sights safe in case they get banged around. Inside them are a standard AR post front sight and an A2 style rear. MAC also includes an adjustment tool for the front sight. The other included items are a single point sling and a flash hider. I believe the sling is included because this version does not come with an attached brace.
Let me describe the MAC IX a little. It looks very much like an AR, but it is definitely not. It does have a separate upper and lower, like an AR, but these parts have different spacing, or at least the pins to take the upper and lower apart are spaced differently. There are only 2 main parts on the MAC IX that are interchangeable with an AR. Those are the trigger and safety selector. It also uses any standard AR grip.
The upper of the MAC IX is very similar to the PCC you are used to. There is a standard port door covering the bolt, it flops open once the bolt is cycled. To charge the MAC IX, it has an ambidextrous rear charging handle. The upper also has a M-Lok rail up front. It is short, so don’t expect to mount much to it. On top is a standard full length picatinny rail for mounting the included iron sights, or an optic.
Again, the lower portion of the MAC IX resembles an AR’s lower receiver. So the trigger and safety are in the same position. It has an ambidextrous safety with short levers on both sides. The safety is very stiff, even after a lot of use. Moving to the front of the lower, is the MP5 magwell. There are 2 different ways to drop the magazines on the MAC IX. First is with a button on the right side of the magwell, very similar to the AR mag release you are used to. However, this mag button is farther away from the trigger than a normal AR. This makes the button hard to get to unless you have long fingers. But, MAC also gives you an ambidextrous paddle mag release. This mag release is like a better MP5 paddle release, it has large paddles on both sides. The only problem with the paddle release is that it is not easy to use. The spring pressure is way too much to reliably push the paddle with your trigger finger. So you end up using your thumb, grabbing the mag and the paddle, and pulling the mag out. On the left side of the receiver is a bolt catch, this is typical AR style. When using the MAC magazines, the bolt will lock back when empty. When using actual MP5 magazines, the bolt will not lock back. The MAC magazines are cheaper anyhow and work great.
At the very rear of the MAC IX’s receiver is a vertical pic rail. This rail is for mounting various braces and stocks (assuming you have your Form 1 in hand). On a 45 degree angle, at the bottom of this pic rail, is a QD mounting spot. This is where you install the supplied single point sling. That way you can push out on the pistol, with the sling wrapped around you, to stabilize the pistol. Single point slings work well for this, and the supplied one worked as intended.
The MAC IX has a 6.5 inch barrel. It is a good size for this type of 9mm PCC. This barrel has two different ways of attaching muzzle devices or suppressors. The first is with a tri lug quick detach mount. So if you have a tri lug suppressor, you won't need to add anything to the MAC IX to mount it. The other mounting option is ½-28 threads. Which is what I used. The MAC IX also comes with a flash hider that screws onto the barrel. It reminds me of an A1 style flash hider. The accuracy of the barrel was fine. I only ran cheap 9mm ammunition through it. Federal 124gr gave me the best 5 shot group at 15 yards, it was a little under an inch. The other cheap stuff ran between 1-2 inches at that range.
Notice the metal nub sticking up, a quick file fixed it
I like the MAC IX. But, it did have a few issues. None of them were functional issues as the IX ran great. The trigger is not good, even for a mil-spec AR style trigger. It's gritty and has lots of creep, even after 900 rounds. It has a pull weight of 6.5 pounds now, it started out heavier. But, you can always change the trigger. Next up, one of the iron sights had a nub on the bottom, inside, almost directly in the middle. This made it so the iron sight would not slide on the pic rail like it should. The sights come in the box, not on the gun. I filed the metal nub off and the sight slid right on. I would say that was a quality control problem. Speaking of QC problems, the IX is also supposed to come with 2 magazines in the box. Well, this one didn't have any in the box. Luckily, SDS Arms had sent me 3 extra mags. These 3 were separate line items, so I know they weren't part of the 2 “not” in the box. I contacted my rep (not at SDS or MAC). SDS told them they would ship me a couple when they were restocked, I still haven't seen them.
Now the good. The MAC IX is a super fun PCC. The small size makes it very maneuverable. I put a Strike Industries dual folding brace on this one. It mounted up on the rear pic rail without a hitch and fits the PCC well. The MAC IX will even fit in a backpack with the brace folded and a full 30 round magazine inserted. So if you want something small to carry, that has a little more firepower than a carry pistol, the MAC IX might help. I also installed a 1x prism from ZeroTech. Most of the testing was done with the prism. I only used the irons with a few mags, just to see if they worked. In the 900+ rounds I have shot, I only had 1 failure to feed. The IX was also dirty when that happened. Recoil on the IX had a typical PCC blowback feel to it. I do think the recoil felt less than my old AR PCC. I really like the MAC magazines because they hold the bolt back on the last round. I didn’t notice much difference running the IX with or without a suppressor. Granted, there was a little more gas blowback in my face, but not as much as I expected. The MAC IX just works. All I can say is that the MAC IX surprised me with how much fun it is to shoot.
The MAC IX is a fun little PCC. It uses those great MP5 style magazines, comes with iron sights, and is ready for you to install a suppressor. Being a Turkish import, the MAC IX is built really nice. It does everything you might need, or want, it to. The Mac IX is also super portable due to its small package size. The MAC series of firearms are distributed through SDS Arms and can be found on the Military Armament Corporation's website.
Firearms Insider Reviews - Key Points
Claim to Fame:
Blowback operated Pistol Caliber Carbine that uses MP5 magazines and some AR parts
Target Market:
Anyone wanting a small PCC
Features, Benefits, and Specifications of this product:
Action Type: Direct Blow Back Semi-Auto
Caliber: 9MM
Adjustable Sights - AR/M4 BUIS Style
Top picatinny rail
Capacity (w/ Included Mags): 30 + 1
Barrel Length: 6.5"
Barrel threaded 1/2-28 TPI and tri-lug
OAL: 15.97"
Height: 8"
Width: 1.75"
Weight (Unloaded): 5.10 lbs.
Rear picatinny for mounting braces
Rear QD attachment point
MAC-5/MP5 Magazine Compatibility
Paddle and Button Magazine Release
Includes: Hard case, 2 magazines, Cleaning kit, Sling, & Flash hider
What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?
None
What others are saying?:
4 out 5 stars at PSA
I love this thing.
Only complaint I got is mine will not feed hollow points. I’ve run maybe 400 rounds of fmj flawlessly but it won’t fire two consecutive hollow points without failing to feed. Didn’t buy it for hollow points so I’m ok with it. Other than that, I have no regrets.
Link to other reviews:
Price point:
MSRP = $797.00
Retail = Around $700.00
I need it now! Availability:
Guns.com, MidwayUSA, PSA, Battle Hawk Armory, and many others
Our Rating:
Pros:
Compact
Uses some AR parts
Uses MP5 Magazines
Tri-lug adaptor and threaded barrel
Comes with iron sights that are decent
Rear picatinny rail with QD point
SDS mags lock bolt open
Cons:
Did not have supplied magazines in box
Recoil due to blowback action
Stiff safety selector
Stiff paddle magazine release
Hard to reach button mag release
Score: 7.50 Good
Favorite Link: AimWin PE320 red dot review
