Another neat firearm from the “Modern” side of EMF
by J. B. Wood
Contributing Editor
As regular readers will know, I like pistol-cartridge semi-auto carbines. Matched with your handgun round, they offer longer-range accuracy and increased magazine capacity. And, as I often say, the fact that most of them look like SMGs can be a definite advantage in some situations.
Once again, the EMF (Early & Modern Firearms) Company has stepped away from the “Early” part of their name, and into the “Modern” category, with the JR Carbine. It is made for them by two machine tool firms in New York, and the “JR” initials stand for “Just Right.” In several ways, this carbine definitely lives up to this designation.
The initial chambering is for 9x19mm, but there will be other versions offered later. ‘The gun that I tried out uses a 17-round Glock magazine. The magazine housing is easily changed to accommodate other types. Another notable design feature is that the bolt handle can be switched to operate on either side of the receiver. There is a detent recess to lock the bolt open for cleaning.
In addition to this, it is possible to have ejection to the right or left side. The ejector is an integral part of a cover-plate that can be moved to the opposite side. Note, though, that to do this you must order an optional bolt-head that will match this change.
The extractor arrangement is unusual. There isn’t one. Instead, there is an integral flange on the face of the bolt that performs this function. Thus, as the well written manual points out, you must never put a round directly into the chamber. Cartridges must be fed only from the magazine. One advantage of this system is that you will never have a broken extractor.
The JR Carbine is not striker-fired; it has a pivoting internal hammer. This gives it a nice trigger-pull, with no take-up, a crisp 4-pound let-off, and minimal over-travel. The manual safety is perfectly located, on the left side just above the AR-15-style hand-grip. Horizontal is the on-safe position, and it is easily flipped down to vertical for firing. The pointer on the lever indicates “Fire” and “Safe.”
The magazine release button is on the left side at the forward lower edge of the housing, a convenient location. 
The well-designed buttstock has three intermediate adjustment stops, giving it five positions in all. It is controlled by an easily-operated lever on its underside. The barrel has a three-inch round section at the muzzle, but the rest of it is attractively milled in a triangular shape.
The forward hand-grip has rails on top, bottom, and sides, and a rail extends the full length of the receiver top. So, you can attach lights, lasers, and your choice of sight or a scope. I chose to use a nice little economical red-dot from ADCO that has served me well on other guns. (ADCO Arms, Inc., 4 Draper St., Dept. GWK, Woburn, MA 01801; phone: 800-775-3687; online: adcosales.com).
At 25 yards, kneeling position, the JR Carbine turned in consistently good five-shot groups, all well-centered on the Champion VisiColor target. One measured just 2.5 inches. Well, I may have cheated a little—the 9mm cartridges that I used were the most accurate load I have ever found, a 147-grain FMJ Subsonic from Black Hills.
The JR Carbine weighs 6.5 pounds. With the stock fully extended, the over-all length is 33.5 inches. Barrel length is 16.25 inches, of course, because of a stupid US law. The finish is a nice matte black, hard-coat anodized on the aluminum parts, black oxide on the steel. Suggested retail price is a reasonable $599. For any other questions: EMF Company Inc., Dep. GWK, 1900 E. Warner Ave., Suite 1-D, Santa Ana, CA 92705; phone: 800-430-1310; web: emf-company.com.
ON THE COVER: J.B. Wood at the range with the JR Carbine.
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