[The Wierd It]

Originally Posted by Mazryonh

I'll be the first to admit that the PDW label is overused in some cases, but it can be narrowed down for the purposes of this wiki. For the sake of argument, the HK MP7A1 and the FN P90 will be used as baselines for this.

1. A true PDW round is an SCHV (Small Caliber, High Velocity) round, usually based on a miniaturized assault rifle round, that was developed from the ground up for PDW usage. This allows for the compactness considered key to a PDW's niche, which is CQB, while retaining the ability to pierce armour rated Level IIIA or lower.
2. A true PDW, and not just a weapon that fires PDW rounds, has both a stock and a dedicated place to put your off-hand, straight out of the box. This can be a vertical foregrip or a sufficiently-long handguard. This is important since both of those features simplify aiming, an important trait when it comes to CQB or a defensive situation.
3. A true PDW must be select-fire, or otherwise capable of fully-automatic fire.

A firearm must meet all three requirements to be considered an actual PDW. With these in mind, it's much easier to determine what is an actual PDW and what isn't. Some examples follow.

• The MP5K-PDW doesn't fit because it doesn't meet requirement 1, despite fulfilling requirements 2 and 3.
• The G36C, CQBR, HK53, Magpul PDR and other ultracompact 5.56mm NATO carbines don't meet requirement 1 either since the 5.56mm NATO wasn't designed from the ground up for use in a PDW role, and isn't a miniaturized assault rifle round.
• The PS90 doesn't meet requirement 3, and is just a bullpup SCHV carbine.
• The AS Val, Groza, and other 9x39mm firearms don't count because they don't use SCHV rounds, therefore not meeting requirement 1. The 9x39mm round was also first used in the VSS Vintorez, definitely not a CQB weapon. Instead, the 9x39mm round is just a specialized assault rifle round that was enlarged from the original 7.62x39mm round.
• (Machine) pistols firing PDW ammunition don't count because they don't meet requirements 2 and 3.
• By the same token, the PP-2000 and its armour-piercing configuration of 9x19mm bullets don't meet requirement 1 either because the 9x19mm round wasn't designed from the ground up for the PDW niche, nor is it an SCHV round.

From these premises I would conclude that the the QCW-05 and its variants, along with the MINSAS (chambered for 5.56x30mm ammunition), are in fact PDWs. The QCW-05 uses 5.8x21mm ammunition, which is a miniaturized version of the Chinese 5.8x42mm assault rifle round. This allows it to meet requirement 1, while the rest of the QCW-05's design (along with its variants) allows it to meet the other requirements. Similarly, the MINSAS also meets requirement 1, as it uses a shortened version of 5.56mm NATO ammunition.

Don't get me wrong; if the mods decide to remove the PDW label entirely and lump its entries into the Carbine or SMG categories I'm all for it. I still believe, however, with the tightening of the definition on this site the PDW label could be useful for a specific niche of weaponry, just narrower than some firearm manufacturers would have us believe.

Surely the PS90 isn't a PDW anyway by dint of being a civilian rifle?