I am considering a carbine in 9 mm or . 40, probably Kel Tec or Hi Point as these are in my price range. Of these which has a better out of the box reliability. I live in hurricane prone Florida and the scenes of the post Katrina mayhem that NO endured are burned into my mind. My home defense firearms consist of a Mossberg 500 shotgun and a Romanian, AK as well as several handguns. What would be the advantages of a carbine added to these?

If you are married, your wife, or if you have teenage kids, can easily use the Hi Point or Kel-Tec for self-defense. They are both relatively small, lightweight weapons, that fire rounds which produce virtually no recoil and are yet still deadly effective at short ranges. In a post-Katrina type home defense situation, I believe every family member should be able to add to the collective defense by taking up arms. The Hi Point and Kel-Tec are ideal for your "Second Echelon."

If you are trying to select one or the other, I would recommend the Hi Point.

Second the Hi-Point because I'm biased cause I have one.

However, the Hi-point sucks on one major feature. Capacity! 10 rounds max.

Whereas the Kel-Tec can use Glock hi-cap mags. So if you can afford it, you'd probably be better off with the kel-tec.

I can't say anything about the kel-tec reliability. The Hi-Point has been flawless until I started messing with it. It's had a couple hiccups since, but it's not the guns fault, it's because I'm hacking it apart...

It's a sickness... don't judge me.

With some real world information, over on HPFF one of the members over there shot the Beretta CX4 Storm and he said it was a good weapon, but the trigger pull SUCKS. Just an FYI. Of course, with the Storm priced the way it is, I know I can't afford it, I don't know many that can. As far as the trigger is concerned, he said he thought the safety was on as he pulled his first shot.... Not good if you ask me.

I have a buddy with the storm, and the trigger feels fine. Maybe the safety WAS on?

I dunno, but he also added that when he engaged the safety after shooting that mag, it took both hands to work the safety on and off.

This guy is an Army CQC weapons instructor, so if he said that the safety was off, I tend to believe him. I have also met the guy and he's a hell of a shooter. Maybe there is just something with that particular weapon that makes the trigger pull really hard. Who knows?

I dunno. Could just be that particular weapon he was using.

Next time I'm over at his house, I'll play with it and see if there are any issues, but I don't recall anything being difficult to operate.

Sweet! Thanks Ijit!

I own all three carbines and each has its strengths and weakness,

The Storm is a good carbine but its just so damed expensive for what your getting. Its a pistol caliber carbine but its priced like a M-4 5.56! It magazines are still expensive and are prone to problems but I do like the ability to reconfigure for right or left hand shooters, the sights and the top rail for optics. Accuracy is decent with the right ammunition.

Kel-Tec's Sub-2000 seems very flimsy to me with a hard trigger and very poor sights, it does accept Glock and other Hi-Cap magazines and folds for compact travel but accuracy is not up to par when compared to the Hi-Point or Storm.

The Hi-Point is a very good carbine which could be made great with two changes, Hi-Cap magazines and a better stock. Hi-Point is designing a better stock which offers molded in rails for optics and lights but I doubt that they will ever build a version which accepts Hi-cap magazines unless it is for a Law Enforcement or military contract. Hi-Points are very accurate carbines with excellent sights and a so-so trigger. The current factory stock fits me well and it appears the latest versions are some what stiffer with a more solid feel. I'M waiting for a chance to view the new stock and someone to market a magazine or drum which offers greater capacity.

I would buy the Hi-Point $189.99 and with the money saved from the cost of buying a Kel-Tec $300.00 or the Storm $600.00 buy extra magazines and some ammo to shoot or store.

Glockman,

I know you’re not a great fan of “Gun Tests” but you’ve just tangentially agreed with them. In the July 2007 Firing Line a guy asks for “pistol & carbine combo” test, suggesting Beretta, Ruger and Hi-Point as possible combos. The response of Ray Ordorica (Senior Technical Editor) is: “I’m tempted to say, get the Hi-Point carbine and a Glock.”

Like some of the others said, I don't have any personal experience with the Kel-Tec, I've handled them and the sights do seem a little crappy.
I wouldn't mind having a Beretta Storm, if I had 600 bucks that I just wanted to toss around.
I'll have to be biased and say the Hi-Point. Inexpensive and reliable.
If it ends up being you back-up gun during SHTF or a hand out to a family member, then the 10 round limitation wouldn't really be a problem.

Wouldn't be a problem for whom?

Not a problem for me, cuz my butt will be packing 30rounds of 7.62x39mm They better make their 10 rounds count.
But seriously what I meant was that most will grab something like an AK, or an AR....something with a little more capacity and knockdown power than a 995.
But if a family member who isn't that familiar with a gun like they might feel more comfortable with a little carbine with 10 rounds of 9mm.
My wife prefers the 995 since it's small and she says she doesn't like the mag hanging out of my AK. Whatever her logic may be, she just feels comfortable with the 995.

Yeah, I was just joking. If I was the guy who ended up with the 10 round carbine, vs. a 30 round AR or AK, I would be glad I had something, but I'd sure wish I had a few more rounds at my disposal.

Seriously though, the 10 round mag limit is the ONLY thing I don't like about my Hi-Point. If there were hi-cap mags available for it, I would probably have bought two or three, instead of building the 9mm AR15.

you guys are making me want an AK or an AR thanks alot lol.

Rightly so. Everybody should at least have an AK

And at the prices that you can get one right now, whether it be a Romanian WASR, A Saiga,
or build your own, no one should hesitate to pick up an AK.
Of course no one should hesitate to buy a 995 if at all possible.

My mom uses a ole school M-1 carbine with 30 round clip and 110 grain Hp ammo.

That maybe a 15rd magazine, but the set-up is a excellent choice as long as she knows her back stops.

For the cost and reliability I would go with the Hi-Point in either 9mm or 40 . As someone said , take the extra $$$ that you save and get extre Hi-Point mags and ammo then congratulate yourself on makeing a wise decision.
BTW I have both the 995 and 4095 and they have been flawless and I would use either when TSHTF .
Spot