Big news for tactical and precision rifle fans: Justin J, the designer of the prototype 7.62x51mm rifle companion to the 5.56mm Masada – called “Massoud” – has kept his idea for a semiautomatic 7.62mm rifle alive in Kinetic Research Group’s prototype FOX-42 precision rifle.

The Massoud was not simply an enlarged Magpul Masada, despite its outward similarities. It differed in using a four-lug bolt and a hybrid direct impingement/tappet method of operation. The new KRG FOX-42, in turn, is not simply a rebranded Massoud; the tappet gas system has been dropped in favor of a fixed piston fed from a DI-esque tube, akin to the gas system on the Tavor.

KRG also had on display their Remington 700 chassis, designed with light weight, low cost, and precision in mind. They had on display their two current chassis, the Whiskey-3 and the X-Ray, as well as their new 180-Alpha chassis, expected to ship in the first quarter of this year.

Further, they featured a new magnesium and carbon-fiber chassis, the Habu:

The FOX-42 is for now just a prototype; many of the components of the rifle on display were made via rapid prototyping, including the lower receiver. KRG is hoping to bring the rifle to market first as a precision semiautomatic sniper rifle, and then expand into tactical rifles. However, they were very keen to receive feedback on the product, and expressed a lot of flexibility in how they might bring the product to market.