The Firearm Blog

Very cool.

Hat Tip: SayUncle

S&W have announced the M&P15R, an AR-15 chambered for the 5.45×39mm. The idea being you can save costs by shooting the cheaper round instead of 5.56mm.

The product spec sheet says the launch date was “May 1, 2008″, yet the website says coming soon.

M&P15R. No surprises if you have seen an AR before

It will also be available as a complete upper.

It ships with one 30 round 5.45×39mm magazine.
Specs:

Model: M&P15R

Caliber: 5.45 x 39 mm
Capacity: 30 Rounds
Action: Semi-Auto
Barrel Length: 16”
Barrel Twist: 1 in 8”
Front Sight: M4 Post
Overall Length: 35” Extended ,32” Collapsed
Stock: 6-Position Collapsible
Weight: 6.5 lbs.
Barrel Material: 4140 Steel
Receiver Material: 7075 T6 Aluminum
Finish: Hard Coat Black Anodized
Chromed Comp: Barrel Bore, Gas Key
Bolt Carrier, Chamber

Another photo:

When I interviewed Magpul they were planning on releasing a 5.45×39mm conversion kit for the Masada so that trips to the range would cost less. I wonder if Bushmaster is going to follow through with this with the ACR.

Press release after the jump

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John Snow has the latest:

This gorgeous beast won’t be ready for some months yet according to Skip Patel, Bushmaster’s executive vice president for research and development. Among other thing, Skip told me, was the need to trim some weight from the rifle, which tips the scales at about 15 pound right now.

Not surprising since Bushmaster acquired Cobb Mfg. last year but still cool.

Cobb MCR 400 .338 Lapua. Photo from SecArms.

John also says that a .416 Rigby may be on the way!

More @ The Gun Shots

Later this year Remington will be selling the Model R-25, an AR-10 type rifle chambered in .243, 7mm-08 and .308.

Click to expand all images.

With the hunter in mind, the new R-25 modular repeating rifle boasts the most advanced design aspects of AR 308 Win. style rifles available today. For peak accuracy, the R-25 features a precision-crafted 20 inch barrel with recessed hunting crown that’s free-floated within a machined-aluminum fore-end tube for the ultimate in shot-to-shot consistency. Six longitudinal flutes forward of the gas block provide increased rigidity and weight reduction while promoting rapid barrel cooling.

Koelbl Single-Rail Gas Block

Specs:

- Free-floated button-rifled 0.680″ Muzzle OD ChroMoly barrels with recessed hunting crown

- Fluted barrel design (fluted ahead of gas block)

- Koelbl Single-Rail Gas Block

- Single-stage hunting trigger set to 4.5-5lbs

- Receiver-length Picatinny rail

- Ergonomic pistol grip

- Front and rear sling swivel studs

- Full Mossy Oak® Treestand™ coverage

- Includes 4-round magazine

- Compatible with aftermarket AR 308 Win. type magazines (AR-10 I assume)

- Comes with a lockable hard case

All three models have a 20″ barrel, 10″ rate of twist and weight 8.75 lbs and carry a MSRP of $1532.

According to John Snow @ Gun Shots Remington have already sold out this years quota!

More at Remington.com and Gun Shots

The POF-USA P-308 is a interesting rifle. It is a gas piston operated rifle, based on the AR-10/AR-15 design and requires no lubrication.

14.5″ version

They achieve this by plating the upper receiver with silicon nickel and chroming and heat treating the bolt and carrier.

Upper receiver

Here is a video of it in action

In spite of its name, it is chambered in 7.62X51mm, not .308 (yes, there is a difference).

More info at POF-USA and Defense Review.

I have been getting quite a lot of visits from people searching google for M16 / M4 / AR-15 manuals. So I decided to post some of them.
US Army M16 / M4 operators manual

This covers Disassembly, Cleaning, Reassembly, Magazine, Operation and Ammunition and more.

Click here to download it.

Bushmaster: Operating and Safety Instruction Manual.

Uses the diagrams from the US Army manual and covers the same content but is not as detailed.

Click here to download it.

Olympic Arms: OWNER’S MANUAL FOR PCR/AR RIFLES

Covers the same content as the above manuals.

Click here to download it.