Your #1 source for blades and firearms news and updates…

  • Home
  • Knives
  • News
  • Hunting
  • Tactical
  • Prepping & Survival
  • Videos
Subscribe
Font ResizerAa
Blade ShopperBlade Shopper
  • News
  • Knives
  • Prepping & Survival
  • Tactical
  • Hunting
  • Videos
Search
  • Home
  • Knives
  • News
  • Hunting
  • Tactical
  • Prepping & Survival
  • Videos
banner
Create an Amazing Newspaper
Discover thousands of options, easy to customize layouts, one-click to import demo and much more.
Learn More

Stay Updated

Get the latest headlines, discounts for the military community, and guides to maximizing your benefits
Subscribe

Explore

  • Photo of The Day
  • Opinion
  • Today's Epaper
  • Trending News
  • Weekly Newsletter
  • Special Deals
Home » Nemo Arms Mongoose Review | Outdoor Life

Nemo Arms Mongoose Review | Outdoor Life

Adam Green By Adam Green July 1, 2025 19 Min Read
Share
Nemo Arms Mongoose Review | Outdoor Life

Sign up for the On The Gun Newsletter

The latest for gun hunters and competitive shooters.

The Nemo Arms Mongoose is a handy 9mm PCC that is cleverly engineered, well made, and — most important — accurate and fun to shoot. I’ve put just over 300 rounds through my sample, and it lives up to its scrappy and fierce pint-sized namesake.

The design incorporates many AR-platform features but does so with a few unique twists. For me, these under-the-hood elements, which I’ll expound on in a bit, add to the Mongoose’s charm. Its main appeal, however, is how it recoils so softly despite its light weight and compact dimensions.



John B. Snow


Pros

  • Compact, lightweight, and portable
  • Ergonomic and ambidextrous controls
  • Easy to operate, mild felt recoil

Specs

  • Pricey
  • Folder stiff to open and close
  • No sling attachment

Specs


  • Action:


    Semi-auto, Browning short recoil


  • Cartridge:


    9mm


  • Capacity:


    35


  • Barrel:


    5.88 inches, 1:10 twist, threaded 1/2-28


  • Weight:


    4 pounds, 3.8 ounces


  • Trigger:


    4 pounds, 12 ounces


  • Length:


    23 1/4 inches (14 1/2 inches folded)


  • Price:


    $2699

Key Features


  • Aluminum upper and lower


  • SB Tactical FS1913 brace


  • Magpul 35-round CZ Scorpion EV9 magazine


  • Full-length Pic rail


  • Multiple M-Lok attachment points


  • Captured takedown pins

Where the Nemo Mongoose Fits In

The world of pistol caliber carbines (PCCs) is sharply divided by price. The majority cost less than $1,000 and include many appealing options for plinking, home defense, and competition. Among these are the Ruger PC Carbine, Extar EP9, Smith & Wesson FPC, KelTec Sub2000, and the love-it-or-hate-it Highpoint Carbine.

There are a lot of well-known PCCs in the $1000 to $1800 range, too, such as the Sig MPX, CZ Scorpion, CMMG Banshee, and the recently released Springfield Armory Kuna. (Some of these will go for more depending on the specific model.)

And lastly, we have the premium PCCs, the high-performance superstars of the category with price tags to match. The B&T APC9 G, Angstadt Arms MDP-9 Gen 2, H&K SP5, and the JP5 are among the standouts. At just under $2700, the Mongoose seeks to elbow its way into this crowd.

Nemo Arms Mongoose field stripped
Field stripping the Mongoose can be done without tools and takes about a minute. John B. Snow

Nemo Mongoose’s Short Recoil Action

As a premium-priced PCC, fans of the category are going to pick apart the Mongoose to see how it stacks up against its peer group. The first thing that might raise eyebrows is the Mongoose’s operating system, which uses Browning’s short recoil tilt-barrel design that’s ubiquitous with semi-auto handguns. While this is an utterly reliable and time-tested system, most of the top PCCs (and many of the mid-priced ones as well) have delayed-roller blowback actions, which is considered the gold standard. The reason for this is the H&K MP5 is a delayed-roller blowback and, as the world’s most esteemed submachine gun, it’s what every PCC wants to be when it grows up.

More specifically, delayed-roller blowback actions are known for their smoother recoil cycle, better accuracy potential, being more suppressor friendly, and being lighter than direct blowback systems, which is the most common type of the many submachine gun actions.

(As a side note, direct blowback actions have no bolt lockup or recoil dampening system, so they rely only on the recoil spring and mass of the bolt, which generates heavier felt recoil.)

nemo arms mongoose
A steel shell deflector (on the left edge of the ejection port) protects the aluminum upper from damage during shell ejection. The stout extractor can be seen inside the receiver running through the grove in the bolt face. John B. Snow

While delayed-roller blowbacks have a great track record and undeniable street cred, a short recoil semi-auto has some advantages: they are simpler (fewer parts), less expensive to make, and can weigh even less than a delayed-roller blowback action. The reasonable concern is whether this design can manage recoil as well as a delayed-roller blowback action. In the case of the Mongoose, the answer to that is yes. Despite being one of the lightest PCCs on the market, the recoil impulse is mild, with no sensation of bolt-slap or much muzzle rise.

If you want to run the Nemo Mongoose suppressed (and who wouldn’t), just be aware that you’ll need a can with a recoil booster for reliable operation. All things being equal, a delayed-roller blowback gun will be more forgiving with a silencer. 

nemo arms mongoose
The Mongoose employs and A2-style grip and has a two-position AR-style safety. John B. Snow

AR Design Elements

The Mongoose has an upper and lower joined by two retaining pins, just as you’d see on an AR-style rifle. Both the upper and lower are made of aluminum — the lower is machined from a billet, while the upper is an extruded piece. Many PCCs have polymer lowers, and not that there’s anything wrong with that, but the billet-machined lower is one reason it costs more.

Other elements borrowed from ARs include the ambidextrous bolt release tabs, the ambi two-position 90-degree safety, and the Magpul A2 style grip. A notable departure is the magazine release, which is a large tab surrounding the forward part of the trigger guard.

I really like the oversized magazine release, which is well-positioned and shaped for easy activation by either the trigger finger or the support hand thumb. The Nemo Mongoose runs CZ Scorpion style magazines, which are double stack sticks that hold 35 rounds. They are easy to load (though I was glad for my Lulu loader for rounds 30 to 35, because the follower spring does get stiff) and readily available. One complaint I had was that it only comes with a single Magpul 35 EV magazine, which cuts down on the fun, but you can buy extras for $20 each.

nemo arms mongoose
The AR-style hammer has reduced mass and a lightened spring for enhanced reliability. John B. Snow

Modified AR Trigger

The trigger is also an AR-type and, in theory, you can drop any AR-compatible trigger into the gun. But Nemo did modify the trigger slightly, cutting some weight from the hammer mass and going with a lighter spring to improve reliability. So, if you do put in another trigger, you’ll want to thoroughly test it with whatever ammo you plan to use. The trigger pull on my sample measured 4 pounds 12 ounces, which is a reasonable weight for a PCC. The trigger has a hint of mush — I wouldn’t go so far as to say creep — that would be distracting on a precision rifle but is acceptable for this type of PDW (personal defense weapon).

Nemo Arms Mongoose with ammo boxes
Accuracy data was obtained with Staccato Match 136-grain OTM and Hornady Steel Match 125-grain HAP ammunition. John B. Snow

Nemo Mongoose Accuracy

I don’t think the trigger held the Mongoose back in the accuracy department. I tested the PCC with two types of ammo, gathering 20-shot groups at 15 yards using a bag on a tripod for support. Of the two loads, the Staccato Match 136-gr. OTM performed best, but the Hornady Steel Match 125-gr. HAP did fine as well.

Ammo Distance 5-Shot Group Avg. MV (fps) ES (fps) SD (fps)
Staccato 136-gr OTM 15 yd. 1.232 in. 1037 29.7 6.7
Hornady 125-gr HAP 15 yd. 1.457 in. 1198 70.8 18.2

Reliability

One appeal of any 9mm firearm is the broad, readily available, and often affordable, selection of ammunition. I put around 10 different loads through the Mongoose, covering everything from 115- to 147-grain bullets. This included +P loads, premium defensive rounds, cheap aluminum cased stuff, FMJs, polymer-coated ammunition — the works. The Mongoose ran everything like a champ with one exception: Staccato’s 136-grain Match Ammunition, which is one of our baseline selections for testing accuracy, as you saw in the chart above.

The Staccato ammo is good stuff, which is why we use it to assess accuracy. The rounds are a bit longer than most, both in terms of overall length (OAL) and case length. The spec for 9mm case length is .744 to .754 inches, and this matters because the case neck is what the round headspaces off. The cases on my Staccato ammo measure .750 inches, .004 inches shorter than the max allowable length, so they are still within the SAAMI standard. That said, that’s longer than the cases on all the other ammo I used, which measured from .7395 to .748 inches, with most being .746 or .747 inches.

Nemo Mongoose charging handle
The non-reciprocating charging handle can be swapped to either side. John B. Snow

When I tried to chamber the Staccato ammo manually by racking the charging handle or using the bolt release tab the bolt would close but evidently not enough as the hammer didn’t generate enough energy to fire the round. To me this indicates a potential headspace issue where the necks are getting crammed into the front of the chamber.

That said, if I loaded a magazine with the Staccato ammo, and topped it off with a different type of ammo, the gun would cycle and run fine. The movement of the bolt under recoil was enough to allow the Staccato ammo to work, which is how I was able to aggregate the accuracy data.

Another tell-tale sign in support of my hypothesis is that whenever I went to clear the gun with a live round of the Staccato ammo in the chamber, the charging handle required a lot of extra force to extract the round. It didn’t exhibit the same behavior with the other ammo I shot.

nemo arms mongoose
The cylindrical stainless buffer has a small plunger under spring tension that cushions the rearward motion of the bolt and then helps propel it forward. John B. Snow

Running the Nemo Arms Mongoose

This is an amazingly fun gun to shoot. As I mentioned, the felt recoil is super soft and I found it easy to control. I could place single shots on steel at 50 to 100 yards with reasonable accuracy, and, when I wanted to turn up the heat, was able to dump rounds quickly at closer ranges while keeping the dot on my Trijicon MRO steady. The layout of the AR controls made running the Mongoose as comfortable as slipping into a pair of favorite shoes.

The empties cleared the action without fail, thanks to the stout ejector. And inserting and removing the magazine couldn’t have been smoother or more intuitive.

Nemo Arms Mongoose hinge detail
The brace attaches to the Picatinny rail on the rear of the Mongoose. John B. Snow

The folding brace attaches to a small Pic rail on the rear of the upper. It took a little while for me to break in the hinge, which locks up tight but was sometimes difficult to open and close at first. I’m not sure how many cycles I put the brace through, but it operates more smoothly now.

One thing not included in the Mongoose’s feature set is a sling attachment point. That’s not a huge deal, but it would be nice to have a QD cup somewhere on the rear half of the gun.

nemo arms mongoose
The flared magazine helps make for smooth mag changes. John B. Snow

Nemo Mongoose’s Cool Features

The flared magwell is one of the many cool features incorporated into this PCC and, coupled with the ergonomic mag release, lets you run the Mongoose like a pro. The magwell has a small window machined on either side that aligns with the 10-round indicator on the Magpul magazine.  This is a nice touch to show you know at a glance when there are more (or less) than 10 rounds remaining.

Another smart design element is the steel shell deflector located at the rear of the ejection port. This insert, held in place by a Torx fastener, protects the aluminum upper from getting dinged by the ejected brass.

nemo arms mongoose
The oval bolt face encapsulates the case head and aids with extraction and ejection. John B. Snow

A close look at the bolt face on the Mongoose shows that it is a recessed oval surrounding the case head. Nemo uses an EDM process to machine that shape, which is more complex and costly to make than the bolt on a typical semi-auto handgun. It offers more surface area for the case head to bear against, augmenting reliability.

If you want to mount any accessories to the Mongoose, the upper has two M-Lok slots on each side and the bottom for six total giving plenty of options for a forward grip, lights, lasers, or whatever your heart desires.

In addition to the aforementioned ambidextrous controls, the non-reciprocating charging handle can be swapped from one side to the other easily, so the gun is lefty-friendly in that aspect too.

Nemo Arms Mongoose End Caps
Interchangeable end caps allow you to run the Mongoose compensated or with the muzzle exposed. John B. Snow

A final cool feature I’ll highlight are the swappable front caps the Mongoose comes with. One sits flush against the upper, leaving the threaded muzzle on the barrel exposed to easily attach a suppressor. The other looks like a compensator of sorts, enclosing the muzzle. They are held in place by spring-loaded tabs on either side. To remove them just press down on the tabs while letting the bolt fly forward to dislodge the cap. Note that the caps are ornamental and not integral to the Mongoose’s ability to operate.

From a visual and functional standpoint, I prefer the flat-faced cap. With the compensator attached the gun is a bit louder and I don’t think it looks as good, though it does give the Mongoose a space gun vibe.

Nemo Arms Mongoose in folded position

Compact and Portable

With the brace closed the Nemo Arms Mongoose measures just 14.5 inches and it tips the scales at 4 pounds, 10 ounces with the Trijicon MRO aboard. In its folded configuration it is easy to transport in a bag or stash in a vehicle. For a portable PDW and truck gun it is an excellent option.

nemo arms mongoose
All the takedown pins on the pins on the Mongoose are captured. John B. Snow

Final Thoughts

I’ve really taken a shine to the Nemo Mongoose. It’s premium-priced but I think it has the quality and functionality to justify the cost. One thing that differentiates from its peers is that it doesn’t have a combat SMG variant — like B&T APC9 and H&K SP5 — nor is it a competition race gun, like the JP5. In any event it has carved out a spot in the high-end PCC market and gives shooters another option when looking for a top-end PDW.

Read the full article here

Share This Article
Facebook X Copy Link Print
Previous Article PRÓIS® TORAI MID-WEIGHT APPAREL SET DESIGNED FOR PEAK PERFORMANCE DURING COOL-WEATHER PURSUITS PRÓIS® TORAI MID-WEIGHT APPAREL SET DESIGNED FOR PEAK PERFORMANCE DURING COOL-WEATHER PURSUITS
Next Article Houston Safari Club Foundation Welcomes Taylor Shell as Membership and Youth Education Programs Houston Safari Club Foundation Welcomes Taylor Shell as Membership and Youth Education Programs
Leave a Comment Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Wake up with our popular morning roundup of the day's top blades, firearms and survavial news and updates.

Sharp edges with little effort

July 2, 2025

Paris Olympic Silver Medalist Highlights CMP’s 2025 First Shot Ceremony

July 2, 2025

GREAT NEWS: BIG 2A WIN AS FEDERAL APPEALS COURT WITHDRAWS TERRIBLE ANTI GUN OPINION!

July 2, 2025

7 New QSP Knives & One Serious Issue “Why is it Always My Favorites”?

July 2, 2025

DNR Announces Sharp-Tailed Grouse Hunting Season For Fall 2025

July 2, 2025

You Might Also Like

Sig Sauer P365, Tested and Reviewed

Sig Sauer P365, Tested and Reviewed

Hunting
WarBird Protection Announces New Concealable Soft Body Armor Line

WarBird Protection Announces New Concealable Soft Body Armor Line

Hunting
Hawaiian Hunters Help Turn in Hog-Contest Cheaters Who Stole a Pet Pig

Hawaiian Hunters Help Turn in Hog-Contest Cheaters Who Stole a Pet Pig

Hunting
SK Customs Launches Second Edition of “Conquerors Series”: Hernán Cortés

SK Customs Launches Second Edition of “Conquerors Series”: Hernán Cortés

Hunting

2025 © Blade Shopper. All rights reserved.

Helpful Links

  • News
  • Knives
  • Prepping & Survival
  • Tactical
  • Hunting
  • Videos

Resources

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Press Release
  • Advertise
  • Contact

Popuplar

Sharp edges with little effort
Everything You Need to Know About Joining the Air Force
Bournemouth Air Festival: The UK’s Largest Air Festival
We provide daily defense news, benefits information, veteran employment resources, spouse and family resources.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?