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Those who know Lone Wolf Distributors know
the LWD carbine is fed by standard Glock 17 magazines
them as a one-stop shopping center for all things
or, of course, the 33-round G18 magazines. I’ve tested
Glock. While that is certainly true, Lone Wolf fans might
numerous AR carbines chambered for 9mm cartridges
be surprised to learn that they are now in the carbine
over the years. The Achilles’ heel for most has been the
business, having developed an AR-pattern carbine that
magazine. Glock magazines, since their introduction,
should prove to be ideal as a light and handy law en-
have been historically reliable and less expensive
forcement patrol carbine. Despite dipping into the long
than similar steel magazines.
gun market, Lone Wolf has stayed true to their roots.
Beginning with the base of the gun, you will notice
Just released is the new Lone Wolf Distributors
that that lower receiver was purpose-built to accept
9mm Carbine. As you might expect, this new long
a 9mm pistol magazine. Other manufacturers have
gun shares many similarities to the original M4
attempted to modify standard AR lowers by using maga-
Carbine, but it has unique features as well. The
zine blocks, etc. with limited results. Although it shares a
most noticeable is the
fact that
similar silhouette with other black rifles, the LWD lower is
a bit unique. This is particularly apparent when you get a
look at the magazine release button and the triggerguard.
For the sake of commonality,
the manual controls on
Lone Wolf Distributor’s new 9mm carbine
offers the familiarity of the AR with the
added benefit of being able to use your
Glock 17/18 magazines. Shown here
with a Burris FastFire II red dot sight.
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NOVEMber 2011 • GUNS & WEAPONS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT 19
LONE WOLF 9mm CARBINE
PERFORMANCE
P E R F O R M A N C E
LONE WOLF CARBINE 9mm
Load
Lone Wolf Carbine controls are all standard
AR-style, even though it’s chambered in 9mm.
Accuracy
1,368
1,386
1,280
1,047
1,197
2.27
2.31
2.14
1.85
3.07
Bullet weight measured in grains, velocity in
feet per second (fps) by PACT Chrono, and accuracy
in inches for best 5-shot groups from 50 yards.
sight affixed to a riser base. I was pleased
to find that an LWD gunsmith had zeroed
the optic prior to shipping it. This fast-toacquire sight would surely come in handy
for steel plate drills.
Range Time
The 9mm barrel uses a NATO-spec
flash suppressor/muzzle brake.
To give the LWD carbine a thorough
workout, I decided to enlist several factoryfresh 9mm loads from American Eagle,
Photo courtesy Paul Markel
American Eagle 115 FMJ
Black Hills 115 FMJ
Hornady 115 XTP Winchester 147 SXT
Wolf 115 FMJ
Velocity
Black Hills, Hornady, Winchester and Wolf
Ammunition. A mix of full metal jacket and
controlled-expansion rounds were included, with bullet weights varying from 115
grains to 147 grains.
Chronographing and benched accuracy
chores were knocked out first. No major
surprises were encountered. After all, this is
a carbine chambered for a pistol cartridge.
I was expecting velocities to be about 10
percent higher than from a handgun and
The Lone Wolf upper is similar to a standard
AR’s with a forward assist and brass deflector.
A four-way aluminum rail system surrounds
the barrel. It is free-floated from the barrel and
allows plenty of space for installing accessories.
the LWD carbine are essentially identical to
the Mil-Spec M4 and located in the same
place. The manual safety lever, bolt-catch
and charging handle are all of traditional
AR design. The lower receiver furniture is
traditional M4-style with an old-school retractable stock in CAR-15 fashion and a
Mil-Spec pistol grip.
You’ll also notice a flattop upper receiver.
Surrounding the 16-inch 9mm barrel is an
aluminum four-way rail system. A Mil-Spec
flash suppressor/muzzle brake (of course,
larger in internal diameter for the 9mm projectile) is fitted to the business end of the gun.
Internally, the standard bolt carrier
group has been replaced by a 9mm bolt.
This component houses the firing pin and
extractor but functions without the rotating
bolt that most black rifle folks are used to.
The ejector is a separate part that is actually affixed to the lower receiver frame as it
would be on a pistol.
Unlike the traditional direct gas impingement operating system, the LWD 9mm Carbine uses a recoil-operated configuration.
The recoil from the 9mm cartridge drives
the bolt back into a standard AR-type buffer/spring combination housed in the buffer
tube. A combination of bolt mass and recoil
spring tension keep the action closed long
enough for chamber pressure to drop to
safe levels before the action opens.
The rifle that I had on hand to test came
from LWD with a Burris FastFire II red dot
20 GUNS & WEAPONS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT • NOVEMber 2011
guns-weapons.com
guns-weapons.com
NOVEMber 2011 • GUNS & WEAPONS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT 21
LONE WOLF 9mm CARBINE
SPECIFICATIONS
S P E C I F I C A T I O N S
LONE WOLF CARBINE
Caliber: 9mm • Barrel: 16 inches • OA Length: 35.5 inches (stock extended), 32.25 inches (stock closed)
Weight: 6.5 pounds (empty) • Stock: 4-position adjustable
Sights: None • Action: Blowback-operated, semi-auto
Finish: Parkerized • Capacity: 17+1, 33+1 (Glock mags) • Price: N/A
accuracy to be very good. From the bench,
I used a G17 magazine because it allowed
me to rest the gun on a range pack.
My first outing with the carbine was conducted at my home range in Mississippi the
week prior to scheduled trip to Ohio. Longtime readers will know that one my favorite
organizations is the National 4-H Shooting
Sports program. Since 2000, I’ve been fortunate to work as a 4-H Shooting Sports in-
LMT QUICK FIRE
SIGHTING SYSTEM
By Paul Markel
Two phenomena have driven the sales of mini red-dot
sights to heretofore unheard of levels: the Global War on Terror
and 3-Gun competitions. Naturally, the war is the more serious
of the two applications for these small optical gun sights. During both applications, these compact red-dot sights are being
used in up-close-and-personal, fast and furious shooting.
Combining both a magnified optic for distant/precision tar- The QFSS platform mounts the
get engagement and a compact red dot to quickly take on close red-dot at a 45-degree angle,
which is still relatively close
targets has become the preferred set up. The old method of
to the bore of the rifle.
combining a magnified optic with a mini red dot was to place
the mini directly on top of the large model. This situation, however, had limited practical applications, as it placed the mini red dot several inches, 4 to 5 in some cases, above the bore of the rifle.
The “offset” issue has always been a concern and, up until recently, it was one shooters just had
to live with. A compact red-dot optic 4 to 5 inches above the centerline of the bore required shooters
to make on-the-fly offset calculations during stressful engagements. Also, the long offset required
shooters to fire from an unnatural shooting position, lifting their heads high off of the rifle stock.
The Answer
Considering all the aforementioned issues with mini red-dot optics and long off-sets, Lewis
Machine and Tool, better known as LMT, has come up with a solution. LMT calls their kit the
“Quick Fire Sight System” or QFSS.
The QFSS is a complete hardware kit that allows the end user to mount one of several styles
of mini red-dot optics to their rifle and use them in conjunction with a magnified optical sight.
The centerpiece of the kit is a platform that mounts to any Mil-Std-1913 rail, right or left side.
This platform has a 45-degree cant to allow the mini red dot to be angled away from
the magnified optic but still be in relative close proximity to the bore of the rifle.
Options
This mounting kit includes a platform and adapters to install the most popular mini red-dot
optics currently available. With the QFSS, you
can mount the Insight Technologies MRDS, the
Leupold Delta Point, the Trijicon RMR, the Burris
FastFire II or Docter Reflex, and the Aimpoint
Micro T-1 to your black rifle.
In addition to the adapters, LMT includes all
the screws and hardware you need to mount the red
dot sights. They also provide protective shrouds to
guard/shield the mini red-dot sights from damagLMT’s QFSS kit allows the shooter to mount
ing impact during use. The entire QFSS kit comes
a number of popular mini red-dot optics to
in a padded hard case. For more information, visit
their rifle. (Left to right) Trijicon RMR,
Leupold Delta Point, and Burris FastFire II.
lmtdefense.com or call 309-732-9527.
22 GUNS & WEAPONS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT • NOVEMber 2011
guns-weapons.com
LONE WOLF 9mm CARBINE
The four-position retractable stock is styled
after the traditional CAR-15 stock.
The Burris FastFire II mated to a riser mount
allowed for quick, both-eyes-open shooting.
structor. One event that I look forward to all
year is the Shooting Education Camp held
outside of Jackson, Ohio. My duties have
kept me from the camp the past few years,
but this summer I would return and the LWD
9mm Carbine would accompany me.
Steel Challenge
Although a 4-H shooting event might
not seem like the best test for an LEOstyle carbine, don’t judge too quickly. The
Steel Challenge has become the Super
Bowl of speed shooting events, drawing
action shooters from all over the world to
participate. Recently, Scott Moore modified the adult Steel Challenge competition and created the Scholastic Steel
Challenge (SSC), a team event for young
shooters. The 4-H Shooting Sports program has embraced the SSC, and when
I arrived at camp, I found that the pistol
range was arrayed with steel targets set
up for several different stages.
As a pistol event, the angled steel plate
targets from Action Target are designed for
pistol-caliber firearms and can be safely engaged at relatively close distances.The SSC
shooting stages (Please turn to page 104)
24 GUNS & WEAPONS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT • NOVEMber 2011
guns-weapons.com
LONE WOLF 9mm CARBINE
Continued from page 24
model that I had received for testing purposes. That said, the trigger and hammer
pins in the AR platform are relatively easy
to replace and can be done so in a matter of minutes. Apart from the pin breaking, which, as noted above, can be easily replaced, the LWD 9mm Carbine ran
without a hitch. I suspect that with a new,
hardened pin in place, the gun will continue to run like a champ.
would provide an excellent proving ground
for the LWD 9mm Carbine.
The five-target “Speed Option” and
“Smoke and Hope” stages allowed me to
run the 9mm Carbine fast and furious, and
truly get a feel for the handling characterFinal Notes
istics of gun as well as the red dot optic
While it may at first seem like an anfrom Burris Optics.
Beginning each session with a full swer to an unasked question, the LWD
33-round Glock 18 magazine, I moved 9mm Carbine has a number of positive atfrom stage to stage clanging steel. As tributes. The most obvious is the savings
long as I did my part and held the little red you will appreciate from firing 9mm ammunition versus .223 or genuaiming dot on the steel as the
ine 5.56mm. The cost of 9mm
trigger broke, I was rewarded For more
by the joyful metallic sounds. information: training ammunition hovers a
bit less than 50 percent of
Aluminum rail systems, re.223. The LWD Carbine mimics
gardless of the manufacturer,
Lone Wolf Distributors
208-437-0612
the standard M4 style as far as
will get hot during protracted
lonewolfdist.com
handling and manual controls,
shooting sessions. I found
so you can appreciate the
that a short vertical foregrip
Burris Optics
training and practice value.
offered a solid hold point for
970-356-1670
Another benefit to using a
my support hand.
burrisoptics.com
pistol-caliber M4 is that it would
Somewhere between 300
National 4-H
make an ideal companion to
and 350 rounds into the evaluShooting Sports
an LEO’s 9mm Glock pistol.
ation, the hammer pin sheared
410-228-8800
With the ability to share magaon one side and broke. How4-hshootingsports.org
zines between the two, and the
ever, this carbine is an early
104 GUNS & WEAPONS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT • NOVEMber 2011
While it appears at first to be a standard 5.56 carbine, a closer look at the mag release button and
triggerguard show the uniqueness of the design.
Rather than employing a traditional lower with
an adapter, the Lone Wolf 9mm AR employs
a dedicated magazine well in its lower.
handy size and capable performance of
the LWD Carbine, this could be an ideal
patrol combo team.
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