So while walking the floor I saw a booth filled with Bullpup Rifles. I dislike bullpups, and I really handled these just so I could Mock. The Tavor is such a heavily marketed rifle, and it’s all sizzle but no steak…I assumed a small manufacturer would be even worse.
Oh no! The trigger on this gun was awesome! Not awesome for a Bullpup, like the Styer Aug, but AWESOME for a RIFLE! This trigger was better than many of the AR-15s on the market, let alone bullpups.
The controls are still bullpup, but it uses an AR-15 magazine release and bolt release, so while not as easy as the control suite on a standard AR, you can easily do all the necessary work with a mag change by simply releasing your support hand and bringing it to the action in the stock.
The safety is a standard cross-bolt that operates similar to many hunting guns and shotguns.
Then the proprietor Ken, while talking to me mentioned that the rifle I was holding was his new .308 Platform.
I was suddenly in love! So much that I came by the next day and conducted this interview.
Ken said he can pin a brake or in my case an end cap onto the muzzle threads and with a 10 round magazine, I will have a Mass legal rifle.
I’d been looking at an AR-10 type rifle for a while because I really wanted to get an optics-ready gun with rails that I could mount accessories on, but the lack of pre-ban magazines had been holding me back.
This gun is unique and interesting enough that I’m willing to forgo that. Also I’ve been desiring a rifle with a folding or collapsible stock so I could have a gun that fit into a small range bag…given that folding stocks near unanimously make a gun an “Assault Weapon” under Mass law, this is one way to circumvent that.
So yeah, stay tuned, because I really want one of these rifles.
Is there no end to human ingenuity? I hope not. A good trigger, better than many ARs. Be still my beating heart!
Much better camera work in this one. :p
This appears to be an update of the Bushmaster M17, what have they done to deal with the overheating issues?
Not sure what the issues were. He did say the front hand guard can get warm under extended fire, and he recommends a vertical hand grip.
I don’t know the details, but the things that always comes up with the original Bushmaster design is that there was too much heat transfer to the hand guard causing it to very quickly heat up to the point that it could not be held comfortably.
I suspect it’s a direct result of the hand guard and upper receiver being one continuous aluminum extrusion, though I don’t know what the front trunion looks like or how that could be improved.
The Leader T2 style bolt is pretty cool.
I got to see these at the Manticore Arms Bullpup Shoot last year, and they looked nice then.
According to one of the Hank Strange vids I saw when this was first coming on the market, there is quite a bit of heat transfer to the handguard with sustained shooting.