Description
The Smith Wesson Response 9mm Carbine is a 9mm pistol caliber carbine built around one genuinely clever idea: interchangeable magazine well adapters. Rather than locking you into a proprietary magazine, the FLEXMAG system lets the same rifle run M&P double stack magazines or Glock 17 and 19 magazines, so it feeds from whatever you already own.
Smith Wesson Response 9mm Carbine The FLEXMAG System
Pistol caliber carbines have always had a magazine problem. Buy the rifle, then buy an entirely separate stock of magazines that fit nothing else you own. The Smith Wesson Response 9mm Carbine ships with two magazine well adapters, one for M&P double stack magazines already installed and one for Glock 17 and 19 magazines, and swapping between them is a user-level job.
That matters more than it sounds. If you already carry a Glock, this rifle feeds from your carry magazines. If you carry an M&P, same story. One stock of magazines covers your pistol and your carbine, and a spare magazine in your pocket works in both.
Two ten round magazines come in the box, which keeps the rifle usable in capacity-restricted states out of the carton. Higher capacity magazines from either family drop straight in where the law allows.
Controls, Barrel and Furniture
The controls are familiar MSR controls, so anyone who has run an AR-pattern rifle already knows where everything is. The same applies to accessories: standard MSR parts fit, which makes optimizing the rifle a matter of buying off the shelf rather than hunting for proprietary components.
The barrel is 16.5 inches with a 1:10 twist and a 1/2-28 threaded muzzle with a thread protector fitted. That is the standard 9mm thread pitch, so a suppressor or muzzle device mounts directly. Sixteen and a half inches keeps the rifle legal without an SBR stamp while wringing meaningful extra velocity out of 9mm compared with a pistol barrel.
The handguard carries M-LOK slots on the sides and bottom with a Picatinny-style rail on top, so lights, sling mounts, hand stops and optics all mount without adapters. A collapsible stock gives 32 and one eighth inches collapsed and 35 and three eighths extended.
The trigger is a flat face unit with a crisp break, which is a meaningful upgrade over the mil-spec trigger that usually comes in a rifle at this price.
Setting Up the Smith Wesson Response 9mm Carbine
Because the rifle ships with iron-sight-free rails, an optic is the first purchase most owners make. A red dot suits the ranges a 9mm carbine actually works at, and the flat-top Picatinny rail takes any standard mount. A low power variable is overkill on a cartridge that runs out of steam past a hundred yards, though it costs nothing but weight if you want one.
A light is the second. This is a rifle a lot of people buy for home defense, and identifying a target before pressing a trigger is not optional. The M-LOK slots on the handguard take a light mount directly, and the bottom slots keep it out of the way of a support hand.
Sling mounting deserves thought too. M-LOK sling mounts are inexpensive and let you set the attachment point where it suits your build rather than where a factory decided. A two point sling on a house gun is worth the twenty dollars.
Ammunition and Maintenance
Blowback pistol caliber carbines are generally not fussy about ammunition, but they do reward using the same load consistently. If you plan to shoot suppressed, subsonic 147 grain loads are quieter but sometimes cycle less reliably in a rifle tuned around standard pressure ammunition. Confirm your chosen load before you rely on it.
Cleaning is straightforward but frequent. Blowback actions run dirtier than a gas-operated AR because unburned powder and carbon get pushed straight back into the receiver. Expect to wipe out the bolt and receiver more often than you would with a 223 rifle, particularly if you shoot suppressed, which increases fouling considerably.
Finally, check your state law on both magazine capacity and any features on this rifle before ordering. Rules on collapsible stocks, threaded muzzles and magazine capacity vary considerably, and the Smith Wesson Response 9mm Carbine is offered in several configurations for exactly that reason.
Smith Wesson Response 9mm Carbine Specifications
- Manufacturer part number: 13800
- UPC: 022188896756
- Caliber: 9mm Luger
- Capacity: 10 rounds, two magazines included
- Barrel: 16.5 inches, 1:10 twist
- Muzzle: 1/2-28 threaded with thread protector
- Length: 32.125 inches collapsed, 35.375 inches extended
- Trigger: flat face
- Handguard: M-LOK slots with Picatinny-style top rail
- Magazine compatibility: M&P double stack and Glock 17/19 via FLEXMAG adapters
- Adapters included: M&P double stack installed, G17/G19 spare
Why Buyers Choose the Smith Wesson Response 9mm Carbine
Nine millimeter out of a 16.5 inch barrel is quieter, cheaper and far softer shooting than 223, which makes this an excellent home defense and training rifle. Recoil is essentially nonexistent, so new shooters can learn rifle fundamentals without flinching.
It is also an outstanding suppressor host. Nine millimeter is subsonic in many common loadings, and a threaded muzzle plus a pistol cartridge is about as quiet as a rifle gets. Suppressors require a federal tax stamp and a wait, so plan accordingly.
A pistol caliber carbine is not a substitute for a rifle cartridge at distance. Nine millimeter loses effectiveness quickly past a hundred yards or so, and barrier performance is not comparable to 223. Inside a house or on a range under fifty yards, none of that matters.
Who Should Buy It
The Smith Wesson Response 9mm Carbine suits shooters who want a soft-shooting, inexpensive-to-feed carbine that uses magazines they already own: home defense users, new shooters learning rifle fundamentals, suppressor owners, and anyone who shoots enough that 9mm ammunition costs matter.
Learn more from Smith and Wesson, or browse the rest of our firearms selection.
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