I had the pleasure of being introduced to the Nordic Components peeps at Range Day by “Lefty” (of Talking Lead). They had a pretty interesting innovation–their NCPCC (Nordic Components Pistol Caliber Carbine) which is modular lower receiver.
How it works, if you are not familiar with their setup, is by changing out the magwell. Basically the entire magwell all the way to the chamber is interchangable, allowing you the use of more than one style of magazine. Right now, they offer the ability to swap between Glock or M&P magazines (9mm), with additional calibers and supported magazines coming soon. You don’t need any special tools to swap out the magwells–they are held in place via the forward pin (think of the pin on a standard AR platformed rifle).
The lowers are constructed of 7075 Billet with the bolt catch and fire controls all being Mil-Spec. The upper is also 7075 Billet, and features a stainless steel bolt, with a 1:10 twist barrel threaded 1/2-28 with their custom flash hider.
They currently have three models, a 16″, an 8.5″ SBR, and, yes, an 8.5″ Pistol version. At first I was like, huh, why would you get a pistol caliber and then convert your PCC to a pistol form factor …?!? But then my SHOT fogged brain (already) got it. It is still a longer barrel AND you can swap to different magazine types depending on what you already run. Clever.
The base price for the full weapon is $1599, and the additional magwells appear to run $150.
You can find out more information at: https://nordiccomp.com/product-category/firearms/9mm/