In 2014, Colt announced a new variant of its CM901 line of convertible 7.62×51/5.56×45 AR-pattern rifles, the CK901. Designed for orders coming from the Middle East and other areas where AKs are plentiful, the CK901 feeds from existing surplus AK magazines, while – in the paraphrased words of the Colt representative I spoke to – “introducing that market to the AR platform without disturbing what they’re used to”.

At the 2015 SHOT Show, the CK901 was conspicuously absent, but this year the rifle was present at the Defense side of the Colt booth, opposite the Colt Canada products. Contrary to initial reports quoting a weight of 4.5 kg (9.92 lbs), the CK901 was listed at the 2016 SHOT Show as weighing 7.9lbs (3.58 kg), and after handling the rifle I wholeheartedly favor the latter figure as being the correct one.

The first order for the CK901 came from Yemen, and the gun present at the Show was serialized as a Yemeni contract item, but lacked any accessories besides sights. It’s likely that the 4.5kg figure was either a shipping weight, or the weight of the rifle plus contracted accessories.

During the 2015 SHOT Show, I ran an article on the newly announced CMMG Mutant – itself very similar to the CK901 in concept – discussing an essential feature the Mutant possesses that other non-AK rifles feeding from AK magazines do not: Proper magazine support. Does the CK901 have this feature, too?

Yep.

Now for the real question: Will the CK901 come to the US market? The Colt representative I spoke to at the Show said “absolutely yes”. When and how, though, remains up in the air, as the company has more pressing concerns to attend to before that happens.