Modern Weapon Systems is a Missouri based firm that originally was exclusively involved in dealing firearms. Its Owner, Ian McFarland is a product of the automotive industry and his knowledge of machining and the principles of torque, recoil, and combustion led to him deciding to develop a firearm of his own. I met Ian completely by coincidence at SHOT as we were on the same bus to an event put on by KRISS, and a month ago he gave me a call letting me know about a gun he has designed… which I think is radical.

Ian’s product is called the ION and it will be available in the second quarter of 2015, however there will be examples at SHOT and we should be able to test one as soon as the good people at MWS have one for us to use.

The Ion is fully designed around the 22TCM round and utilizes a gas piston for optimal reliability. It will be available in several lengths, and also in select fire:

This means there will be a dedicated SMG, pistol, SBR, and rifle in the ION line.

Click here for full size.

Some features of the ION:

• All billet, high tolerance construction
• Patented, honed barrels
• Side charging
• Integral sliding stock system or option for AR buffer tube attachment
• Integral PDQ lever
• Nickel boron carrier system
• Nickel boron ~3lb trigger
• Carbon fiber handguard
• 35rd magazine capacity
• Round capable of defeating body armor… that you can make yourself
• Inherently low recoil
• Melonite coating on barrel and miscellaneous components

With an MSRP of $1,699 this could make for one hell of a fun little gun. Unlike 5.7x28mm, you can make and reload .22TCM which is a definite plus for this gun.

Ian has been teasing us along the way with some photos of the gun in developmental stages, making Phil and I all too eager to see what the boys at MWS bring along with them to SHOT:

MWS also has a conversion kit for an AR15 to .22TCM that will be available very soon as well, and I for one look forward to giving it a try. You can view a video of it running here:

Look for our article on the MWS booth during SHOT!