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Pistol caliber carbines are the bee’s knees days. There are now tons of great options for purpose-built PDWs, but the most obvious solution — retrofitting your existing handgun to meet the need — has been frustratingly difficult. That might all be changing with CAA’s introduction of the RONI pistol carbine conversion kit, designed to turn your GLOCK 17 into a full featured 9mm carbine for $625 . . .

From the presser:

CAA, developers and manufacturers of advanced battle-tested firearms accessories, is proud to announce the RONI® Civilian pistol carbine conversion for the GLOCK® 17*, the only RONI® model that is available to the public without NFA control.

The new RONI® Civilian has a sleek “bullpup” look and has many of the features that RONI® fans have come to know and appreciate, such as easy-to-install and quick lock, four rails for lights, lasers and NVD. The Civilian also features an innovative muzzle shroud and a 16″ threaded barrel. The trigger guard provides additional safety, especially during tactical moves. The collapsible buttstock has an adjustable cheek piece and a magazine holder that allows the user to quickly access and make a tactical magazine change effortlessly. Optional flip up backup sights are also available (FRS/FFS). The RONI® Civilian is available in black for an MSRP of $625.00.

*The RONI® Civilian fits the GLOCK® 17 9mm using 124 gr. +P ammo only.

The requirement for using only +P ammunition is very interesting — probably to ensure that the gun cycles with that hilarious barrel shroud tacked to the front. It’s cool to see companies offering cheaper upgrade options for those with 9mm firearms and I wish these guys luck, but to me, it still seems like they haven’t exactly hit the nail on the head just yet with the design.

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68 COMMENTS

    • Just goes to show how colossally stupid Glock is for not making a carbine.

      Apparently the demand is large enough for a Glock carbine that abortions like this occur.

      Unfortunately it’s going to take the old geezer to croak before the company makes another billion dollars with a carbine. Same way that it took old man Ruger to die before a 25rd 10-22 magazine to appear. Both cases indicate that the old coots were surrounded by yes men.

  4. $500 Glock + $625 for this + expensive +p ammo. WTF? You would be better with just about any carbine (even a hi point) and a few cases of ammunition to practice.
    This would make sense if you could turn your pistol to rifle and back, but ATF would say no to that.

    • Nope. ATF has specifically said that you can do that — that adding a “parts kit” to a pistol, does not permanently reclassify it as a rifle, and that removing the parts kit doesn’t somehow make the pistol something other than what it has always been, a pistol. A link from MechTech’s FAQ page: https://www.atf.gov/file/55526/download

      • I am sorry you are correct. As I have read the contender ruling I thought there was an exception for that pistol. Other firearms that aren’t including a complete kit to readily change back and forth. Since this would be a kit applied to a pistolit is good to go. So many ATF rules can make one puke.

        • Were you referring to the sheer quantity of rules, or what they actually say?

          Kind of reminds me of the tax code, either way … Making something that should be pretty straightforward, as complex and as much of a PITA as possible.

    • Jeff,

      I am almost certain that TTaG touched upon how the ATF views pistol -> rifle -> pistol in a previous post about another carbine conversion kit. As far as I recall, our “friends” at the ATF don’t care if you apply a carbine conversion kit to your pistol and later remove the carbine conversion kit.

      Remember, a major objective of gun-control laws was to prevent people from owning/carrying handguns. Thus NFA 1934 specified sanctions for converting a rifle into an “improvised handgun” … what we officially call a “short barreled rifle”. Of course no disincentives are necessary if you already own a handgun.

      Sooooo … you legally acquire a handgun which was born a handgun (in the eyes of the ATF). ATF doesn’t care if you convert it into a larger and harder to conceal “rifle”. And when you remove the carbine conversion kit and once again have a “handgun”, ATF doesn’t care because you already have a handgun as far as they are concerned.

      I think the only way you can run afoul of the ATF is if you ONLY attach a butt stock without the 16+ inch barrel … because ATF would consider that a “short barreled rifle” for which they require you to purchase a $200 tax stamp.

      Do a little more research to confirm or disprove this since I am not a lawyer and my commentary above is not legal advice.

      • My understanding of NFA rules are spot on with your assessment Uncommon but, I agree with the posters above. I just can’t get past the look of this thing. It’s truly hideous, even for a safe queen / range toy. I’m all about my modern sporting rifles. I love my Tavor and Vector. Lots of guys on here hate the look of them but, this thing is ugly on a whole other level. Combine that with the fact that it serves no real (good) purpose and is expensive leaves you with a non-starter IMO. No thanks.

        • “… this thing is ugly on a whole other level.”

          Agreed.

          At least the MechTech carbine conversion actually looks pretty decent. And while Kel-Tec carbines are not conversions, they are pistol caliber carbines and they look decent as well.

  5. Oh. My. God.
    That is wrong on many different levels.
    I’m a fan of the MechTech conversion, but this thing is an abomination.

    • Speaking of MechTech, do you know whether one can attach a Lone Wolf lower to the CCU, or does it have to be an actual Glock lower? Not really a fan of disassembling my EDC gun just to turn it into a carbine.

      • I’m 99% sure the Timberwolf frame is compatible with the MT kit. For the price though, I’d just get a CX-4 Storm. Being able to use Glock mags for both your carry gun and carbine is nice, but not twice the price nice, even with Magpul getting into the game.

  6. Just NFA a regular glock and pick up the normal SBR RONI contraption. It’s much better looking, and works out cheaper/same as the long barrel RONI contraption.

    • You can’t. There is no place on a Glock frame to engrave for the form 1. Do a little googling and see what I’m talking about.

      • You can, champ. You might want to rethink your statement. Do a little googling and see what I’m talking about.

  7. I don’t usually comment on cosmetic issues (since I am a heathen who mangles my veprs), but that is just…bad.

  8. Not much interest since I have a Glock 19, but wondering how this compares to the MechTech CCU? Aside from the fact that the MechTech is cheaper and looks more like an AR…

    • My buddy went with a Just Right Carbine. Glock mags. $500 including the red dot he bought with it. Still cheaper than this thing, and still better looking.

      • The JRC is nice to shoot, but no gun should require the use of an allen key and a castle nut wrench to do a basic field strip. I really wish I had bought a storm or a proper 9mm lower.

  10. Can I get one in chrome with spinners and a subwoofer mount… 🙂

    Not my cup-a-joe but I know some Mall Ninjas that’ll be all over it…

  11. It’s like some designers sat down and tried to design the ugliest (and most useless) pistol carbine possible.

    The ammo requirement says right off the bat that this thing has cycling issues and +p was the easy fix. Instead of fixing the problem, they require the user to employ a workaround. Let that sink in, and then think of what other corners they may have cut.

    • They’re TACTICAL!!
      Oh wait… no, no they’re not. They’re just very, very stupid.
      Oodles of Picatinny and edgy molded geometry does not, an operator make.

  13. Prettiest pistol-caliber carbine? Beretta CX4 Storm.
    Most practical? Marlin Camp Carbine. Someone tell those dingbats at Remington to bring it back to get themselves out of the red again.

    • Another vote to resurrect the Camp Carbine. Drop the crappy wood stock, and add a simple injection-molded synthetic. Maybe a side-folder, like the old Ram-Line, but without the rad/futuristic looks. Have it use bolt-on AR pistol grips, so users can upgrade their grip to whatever they’d like.

      And sell the New, Improved Camp Carbine with interchangeable $20 replaceable magazine well adapters, so it can use 9mm pistol mags from any major company. If you can do this and keep the price below $400, you’ll need to use dump trucks to make your bank deposits.

  17. “The new RONI® Civilian has a sleek ‘bullpup’ look…”

    Note to RONI’s PR team: you might want to learn what words like “sleek” and “bullpup” mean before you use them.

    By the time you buy a Glock to stuff in it, you could get a just-as-ugly Hi-Point carbine for a third of the price, or a Kel-Tec for half. I really like pistol caliber carbines (though my preference tends toward ones that are lever-operated), but this just seems like a really dumb way to get there.

    I’m sure they’ll sell a few to prop houses for use in SyFy channel movies, though.

    • There’s also a 16″ barrel buried in there somewhere, so add a few bucks for that. But yeah, it’s overpriced.

  20. This thing has been vaporware for over 5 years. Good luck finding one, assuming that they’re really releasing this time.

  22. I love how misleading the title is that it says custom carbine chasis for your Glocks’ , ……and it’s only for one Glock model

    • Their website has a bunch of different models. I don’t know why they’re so specific, but most of their chassis fit all the 9mm and .40 S&W Glocks.

  25. I’m seeing a lot of hate about how this thing looks, so am I the only person here who thinks this thing looks pretty cool?

      • Seriously? I’m alone on this? I’m not even a “tacticool” guy, I find more interest in lever action rifles and single action revolvers, but this thing looks like it should be firing plasma bolts, not measly 9mm bullets.

  28. I know a guy with a RONI for his Beretta 92, I’ve fired it and I think its kinda dumb. There is no barrel extension, you just open the Roni, and place the 92 inside. A charging handle “grabs” the slide, allowing you to charge your firearm. I know there’s a steel shroud the bullet passes through after it leaves the barrel, but its still unsettling to fire the pistol knowing full well your hand is forward of the muzzle. There are no benefits to this product IMO, its just a tacti-cool wrapper for a pistol.

  30. I have the Mechtec. Bought a g17 sans barrel and slide for $190. Takes all my 17 and 34 mags, fun to shoot. This one is not for me, but why complain or be an elitist about looks? Sometimes I think I’m reading or listening to a bunch of jack knobs at a golf club review the newest gortex rain suit. If you don’t like it, don’t buy it. We have other fights to pick with the liberals.

    • Sometimes it’s just nice to take a break from all the political horseshit and make fun of a stupid product.

  31. Taurus CT-9. MSRP $650. Bought mine for $400. Or you can build a 9mm AR for less than 1K.

    This looks like a piece of junk. No idea why anyone would want to buy this “product”.

    • While didn’t like the Roni, I wouldn’t call it a piece of junk. It’s actually pretty well built, and very solid. It’s just dumb.

  34. Meanwhile, in Australia, RONI kits are surprisingly legal.

    One man’s trash is another man’s [closest thing to a self loading carbine]

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