Chrome
Firefox
Edge
In the video above, we discuss the definition and history of the PDW (Personal Defense Weapon). What makes a firearm a PDW? Is it even a real thing? Is there a defining characteristic that can determine if a firearm is technically a PDW, or is it strictly an intent-based definition? The article below is a summary of this conversation, though, as always, we encourage you to watch the video for the full experience.
When most people think of a PDW, they’re most likely imagining a P90 or MP5-type firearm. On our main channel, 9-Hole Reviews, we've done an extensive amount of publication on the PDW, but we still see a lot of discussion out there about whether the term “PDW” is even a real thing. Even with the robust classification system Henry outlined in his video “What is a PDW? [The 4 types of Personal Defense Weapons]” a few years back, there are still no obvious and exclusive defining attributes you can locate on a firearm that distinctly make it a PDW. We think this comes down to the fact that “PDW” is predominantly an intent-based classification.
A sniper rifle or a designated marksman rifle is an intent-based classification of a rifle. What differentiates a sniper rifle from a hunting rifle? It's used by a sniper. So, when you're talking about a PDW, the intention for this item is to bridge the difference between a rifle and a pistol, and it does a lot of the things in between these two well in its own way.
The M1 Carbine is considered by many to be one of the first PDWs. It is longer than the M4, so why is it considered a PDW? Because the intent for the M1 Carbine initially was to equip rear line soldiers who needed to defend themselves if the enemy reached within a couple hundred yards of the rear line. Put beside today’s carbines and rifles, the M1 Carbine may appear to fall into the rifle category, at least in terms of length. But if you consider its contemporaries, it was employed next to the M1 Garand rifle, sniper rifles, and machine guns. By contrast, the M1 Carbine was absolutely in between rifles and pistols in terms of size, functionality and intent. The cartridge was effective out to at least 200 meters and the accuracy was greater than that of a pistol.
Before the M1 Carbine was the Mauser C96 broom handle pistol in 1896 – made famous by Winston Churchill and also by its modified Han Solo blaster adaptation in the 70s. The holster for this pistol was wood and doubled as a quick-attach stock. The internal magazine held 10 rounds. The rear sight was (unrealistically) calibrated to 1,000 yards. Similarly, the artillery Luger had a long barrel, detachable wooden stock, 32-round drum, and rear sight calibrated out to 800 yards. These pistols could be used as handguns or as a sort of sub machine gun and were intended for artillerymen whose primary weapon was the artillery cannon, not the rifle. If a situation called for close-quarters combat, these semi-automatic pistols could be quite effective when configured like a sub machine gun. Of course, there were sub machine guns used during the same period, such as the MP 18, but they were too large and heavy to be issued to artillery men and pilots, whose hands were already full managing their primary equipment. There were pistols too, of course, but semi-auto pistols were in their infancy and most pistols were revolvers and not as effective when a position had been compromised. Bolt action rifles were what most soldiers carried, but, again, impractical for artillery men and pilots. So, if a PDW is intended to bridge the difference between a pistol and a rifle, the C96 broom handle and the artillery Luger, among other stocked pistols of the era, can most certainly be considered early PDWs.
One issue with some early PDWs was that they used a different cartridge than the standard issue rifles or pistols, which causes more strain on logistics. The Soviets came up with the approach of using the same rifle cartridge as their main rifle but chambering it for a much smaller package. Their AKS-74U, affectionately known as the "Krinkov” was essentially cutting the rifle barrel in half, while still retaining the rifle’s reliability. This shorter barrel length made a dramatic difference in mobility and the AKS-74U isn’t much longer than an MP5K. With such a short barrel comes a lot of unburned powder, but as far as the Krinkov goes, the muzzle device takes care of a lot of that flash and concussion. The AKS-74U was used by a lot of their tanker units / radio men—basically what you would think secondary units would be. Somewhere along the line, Spetsnaz (Soviet special ops) started looking at these things, seeing how they brought a decent 200-meter capability in a small package and decided these would be ideal for airdrops and amphibious assaults, boarding vessels and doing VBSS operations.
Spetsnaz was trying to experiment with the AKS-74U and noted that, while it is very compact, the lack of distance was disconcerting in Afghanistan in a location where distance is king. But it still carried over and a lot of Russian law enforcement units ended up using the AKS-74U all the way through the fall of the Soviet Union into the Russian Federation, and it’s still being used a lot these days by a lot of the more specialized units out there in the former Eastern blocks.
On the Western side, we had a lot of development towards a new type of PDW system that really differed between two classes. The P90 class used its own specialized cartridge, the 5.7x28 cartridge that FN had developed in the nineties. The other side of it would be the H&K MP5K. The MP5K was already a thing back in the day, but H&K USA wanted to get some SOCOM contracts for the special operations forces, so they added a suppressor compatible muzzle and a folding stock to make the MP5K more versatile. The MP5K fits inside a small laptop case, but it can quickly drop doubles onto a reduced C Zone-sized target at 30 yards.
This is where we arrive at the current day PDW doctrine. Nothing has changed in terms of the intent to bridge between a pistol and a rifle. But the idea of the rifle certainly has changed a lot, and when the rifle spans a broader range of use cases than ever, the line between rifle and PDW gets fuzzier. In some very specific instances, it simply may be advantageous to have more than just the basic subcompact-style concealed carry pistol—but less than a conspicuous high-profile machine gun or rifle. Something concealable that brings a lot of defensive firepower capability out to 200 meters or more, while maintaining a low impact to your overall signature. If the firearm meets those criteria, it just might be a PDW.
--9-Hole Reviews
