Review: Extar EP9 Carbine

Founded in 1995, Extar Firearms is an American gunmaker operating out of Lake Havasu City, Ariz. The company’s flagship offering is the EP9, a 9 mm Luger-chambered semi-automatic originally available as a large-format pistol. Toward the end of 2023, however, the company released the first pistol-caliber carbine (PCC) configuration of the platform. We decided that the EP9 Carbine—sporting lightweight polymer construction, some AR-15 component compatibility, a unique bolt assembly and a no-lubricant-required design—deserved a closer look.

The EP9 platform was designed to be as lightweight as possible. The company founder, who had an extensive background with high-performance polymers, drew upon his experience to utilize as much polymer as was practical while incorporating steel and aluminum components where needed. The result is a carbine that weighs just 5 lbs., 4 ozs., with an empty magazine. Nearly all the components, except for a few small springs and the like, are made in-house by the Extar team. This allows the company to manage production costs while keeping a close eye on quality control.

Although the EP9 has a vaguely AR-style profile, and shares some interchangeable components with the AR-15, the polymer upper and lower receivers are proprietary designs. The upper can be separated from the lower much like an AR, thanks to the rear takedown pin; however, the forward pivot pin has been replaced with a fixed hinge pin and the rear of the lower has a tall, curved extension to support the upper. The 16.25″, thin-profile, carbon-steel barrel features a 1/2×28 TPI threaded muzzle and a black-nitride finish. A polymer thread protector is provided. The 8″ textured polymer handguard has a total of 12 M-Lok accessory slots. It is topped with an aluminum Picatinny rail that aligns with the upper’s integral polymer rail.

Extar developed its own “mass-delayed” blowback action. The Dynamic Mass Bolt Assembly features a spring-loaded weight located above the bolt’s face. The weight fits within the hollow of the upper receiver’s raised integral sight rail. This forward mass allowed the gun’s designers to tune its action to reduce felt recoil and cancel out bolt bounce for a softer and easier-to-control shooting experience. The reciprocating charging handle is mounted directly to the bolt on the left side of the receiver.

The polymer receiver’s layout is inspired by dedicated 9 mm AR lowers configured to accept Glock pistol magazines. Rather than outsource the magazines, Extar makes its own. Dubbed the EMP, the magazine is patterned after the standard G17 magazine, but it holds up to 18 rounds. The flared magazine well and the oversize trigger guard are integral to the lower. Although patterned after the AR, the right-side magazine release is a proprietary design. However, the remaining controls—including the bolt stop, safety selector and trigger group—are mil-spec parts; and the trigger group and safety selector can be traded out for aftermarket upgrades. In this case, the single-stage trigger exhibited a clean, but typical, 5-lb., 7-oz., pull.

The removable AR pistol grip features the same texturing as the handguard. An aluminum cap is mounted to the rear of the lower receiver to support a polymer buffer tube. The buffer’s weight and spring have been modified for use with 9 mm ammunition. A Mission First Tactical Battlelink Minimalist six-position shoulder stock is installed to complete the carbine. This lightweight stock features ports for QD and strap-style slings along with a rubber buttpad.

Among its most notable features, the EP9’s action should be operated without any lubricants, according to the owner’s manual. The booklet states clearly that, “Your EP9 Carbine has been designed implementing advanced materials that eliminate the need for oil lubrication.” No gun oils should be applied to the moving parts since it will simply make the cleaning process more complicated. Instead, when cleaning, simply skip the lubrication steps. For those who feel uncomfortable with using this carbine completely lubricant-free, a light coating of silicone spray can be applied to the bolt assembly despite it not being necessary to do so. The bore of the barrel, however, still requires routine cleaning like other PCC platforms.

For our range evaluation, the EP9 was fitted with a Riton 1 TACTIX ARD red-dot attached using the provided AR-height, quick-release scope mount. The proprietary bolt configuration provided for a soft-shooting experience comparable to a rimfire carbine. Generally speaking, steel- or aluminum-case 9 mm ammunition is not recommended for this platform, so it was evaluated using brass-case, standard-pressure loads ranging from practice to defense grade. The magazines used included a mix of Extar EMP, Glock and other aftermarket options. Accuracy was similar to that of other off-the-rack PCCs, with five-shot groups ranging from 1.49″ to 3.08″, depending on the quality of the ammunition used.

Despite the diversity of ammunition and magazines used, the test gun operated reliably, sans lubrication, during our 300-round evaluation, and a post-range examination found that the lack of lubricant had caused no deleterious effects to the gun. There were no firearm-, ammunition- or magazine-related malfunctions throughout the course of testing.

The EP9 carbine is sold directly from the manufacturer through your local FFL for a listed price of $499. For a rifle at that price point, we found it to be a very capable performer.