MAC Shoots the Daewoo K2
Tim from Military Arms Channel was able to get his hands on a Daewoo K2, an interesting derivative of the base AR-15 that has some features reminiscent of the venerable AK platform.
The rifle itself has an interesting history, which ends with it still being in service as the primary service rifle of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) today. Although its replacement is in the works, the weapon serves well to this day.
In terms of function, the rifle is a hybrid rifle of the AR and the AK-47. The bolt is similar to the AR, but rather than the use a sprung ejector, it uses a sprung “fixed” ejector that moves up on a spring to eject the shell. From there, the bolt has a fixed charging handle on the right hand side of the receiver.
Back to the AR, it uses an AR-style trigger system, uses STANAG magazines, and an AR-style bolt catch. Magazine release is only on the right-hand. The sights are fixed like an FNC, with fixed front sight on the gas block and the rear built directly in the receiver.
Unlike many modern firearms designs, the rifles do not typically have a picatinny rail or provision for optics (hence the upcoming replacement). Enjoy the video below on an interesting weapons design!
We’ve covered some of Tim’s other great videos like the M9A3 or the testing of pull and release triggers.
One of TFB's resident Jarheads, Nathan now works within the firearms industry. A consecutive Marine rifle and pistol expert, he enjoys local 3-gun, NFA, gunsmithing, MSR's, & high-speed gear. Nathan has traveled to over 30 countries working with US DoD & foreign MoDs.The above post is my opinion and does not reflect the views of any company or organization.
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K2 was one of my service rifles back in the days while serving in the ROK military. While it was a great rifle but had some issues like any other weapon platforms. I'm sure it's all improved by now. The problems were not the mechanical design itself but some minor QA issues.
I also contacted LH industry about new K2 versions for the US market and received similar response as M. My wild guess, LH is not proving themselves in terms of generating revenue for S&T Motiv to develop and release another civilian product. There are 922R rules to comply and LH needs much more manufacturing/assembly capability to produce 922R compliant rifles. If LH9 sold well enough, I see no reason S&T Motiv to jointly venture the new sales channel for K2s. I think K-series rifles will sell better than K5 variant pistols. After all, S&T Motiv is a civilian company and they exist to generate profit. I guess the investment VS profitability equation does not add up as of yet. Also not to mention the current political climate with gun control issues (sigh....)
I would personally love to see S&T Motiv invest and open a branch like IWI did.
To Korean at the bottom, Average american shooters know much more than you'd ever imagine. I'm sure they don't know as much of the history of the K2 platforms but they have been handling and firing much more rounds down the range than your entire service time in the ROK military. We go through thousands of rounds a year and we actually purchase thousands rounds a year. How many rounds did you shoot during your entire service in the military? If you were to say you've served in Marine Force Recon, 070 or any other cool special forces, show us a proof. FYI I was a KATUSA assigned to 2nd battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment. And Yes I was an infantry man.
Average Korean military personnel is well trained but in my personal opinion, they simply do not shoot enough. But then S Korea is just a small country to boot with. It's approximately 1/5 size of the state of California which also makes it to be about the size of KY (KY being slightly larger) and need to maintain 600,000 active troops and being 6-7th (or 7-8th depending on source) strongest military in the world. I know it will not be easy to train every soldier like US military does. I've also heard that average PRC soldier shoots even less than ROK soldiers.
Bottom line, I would love to see new K2 returned to the market. I should have sold my DR200 =(
K2 is when an AR-15 wants to become an AK-47.