This publicity photo popped up last night on Colt’s Facebook page and has started an uproar. That’s Texas Governor Rick Perry shooting a rifle at the Colt factory that has an AK mag sticking out of it and by the looks of it, a US Palm mag. And, it looks like it is going into a magwell (yes, a magwell). And, that looks like a monolithic upper maybe? Maybe were looking at a piston AR-AK hybrid? And, maybe it was purpose built for a foreign client? Ok, there no “maybe” on that last part (as in, “you can count on it.”) And yes, I know, it’s not really an AK, more of an AR in 7.62×39. I hear Gov Perry took one of these handful of prototypes home.
I don’t care if Colt banged your sister and left town when she came up pregnant, this is an interesting development. Sometimes you have to spell things out for people, otherwise they’ll wax all poetic about stuff they don’t understand. Magwells and AK magazines do not play well together. That is one of many reasons why this is remarkable.
Tags: Colt
Looks like a variant of the CM901 receiver.
Could very well be. It’s kind of boxy.
Look at the ADCOR BEAR. They have had a great 7.62 x 39 AR platform for a few years. It is a great gun to shoot!
Amazing, I show you something no one outside of Colt has seen and you talk about another company’s product. I don’t understand some people’s thought process.
Really? No one?
So you’re telling me that you’ve seen this rifle before?
“Amazing, I show you something no one outside of Colt has seen”
Well, it seems that Rick Perry has seen one. Does he work for Colt? No? Then someone outside of Colt has seen it.
Did your buddy Rick Perry tell you about it? If he did, why didn’t you post it on your website?
That’s exactly what I thought, haha.
Here’s the latest venture from a mega weapons company. Could they have refined the X39-AR? Is Colt going to offer us this rifle? Could we expect to see this as a part of the CM901 suite? Does this mean that we are going to see more 762×39 ARs hit the market? So many questions…
None of these questions have anything to do with ADCOR.
Colt sucks anyway. They are the Microsoft of arms companies. Late in the game and we’re all supposed to act wowed. Fact is there are other manufacturers who have met consumer needs while colt turned out over priced AR’s.
I would love to be the “Microsoft of arms companies”…worth billions of dollars and responsible for revolutionizing an industry. Sign me up.
Well when you’re talking about one lower receiver that will do 5.56 up to and including 7.62×51, that is fairly new.
Other manufacturers have met consumer needs, Colt has been a little busy meeting US Government needs maybe that’s why theirs are a little higher priced and a bit better quality. And no, I don’t own a Colt.
What I was saying is that AR 7.62 X 39 platforms are nothing new
Looks like it’s built on the CM901 lower.
Actually – it is VERY common for arms makers (or manufacturer’s of ANYTHING) to obtain examples of competitors products for testing and comparison. After all, how can one be expected to come up with a better mousetrap if you don’t fully understand every other mousetrap in the market?
Yup. But what kind of sample would this be? Looks to be 100% Colt styling.
So you’re saying this isn’t a Colt gun?
That’s an SP901 (CM901) style for sure. Should be a lot of fun if it makes it to market. I still hope for the .300 Blk to get more dominance, though.
Never been done before
Sincerely
Will Hayden
I was told by some of the key players at Colt awhile back they might be looking at 7.62 x 39mm – looks like maybe they are on track !
Kudos SSD for the scoop
Seriously? Scoop? It was posted on their facebook account. Its a repost.
Hey there brainiac, some one in their PR shop put up the picture. They didn’t say what it was and I’m pretty sure they weren’t ready for the story to get out.
Maybe you think that this business is like you see on TV, some super sneaky reporter crap, running sources like a HUMINT collector. Instead, it’s like real intel work where you pour over open source stuff all day and piece together a story.
So how about you just stick to whatever it is you do, because you don’t seem to know shit about this business.
That is awesome. Way to go Colt. A fully developed, quality, AK mag accepting 7.62X39 AR platform is like a show where Van Halen opens for AC/DC and Motley Crue plays the intermission. It is all rock’n’roll and you’re gonna have fun with it no matter what.
The bonus is that it isn’t made by some bubba or shoestring outfit, but a company that can actually do it right. This is revolutionary for Colt.
Not to dump on the “scoop”, but the White House may or may not have seen the Facebook post or any emails about this first. No, really congrats on the scoop.
Awesome imagery, but is that Van Halen with or without Sammy Hagar? That makes a difference in performance.
Van Halen, not Van Hagar. Diamond Dave in all his spandex glory.
The rounds in the mag on the table look bigger than 7.62×39 to me, maybe not.
Yes I agree. And US Palm does not make a mag for a bigger round.
You can tell those are different mags by the way they stand on the table. The mag in the gun wouldnt be able to stand straight up like that if placed on a horizontal surface.
if that is the Colt 901 lower, I’d bet the larger magazine is for a different upper. What better way to show how modular their rifle is then to pull out the 7.62×39 upper and magazine adapter and swap in a 308 upper and the magazine just locks in, no further mag adapter?
Pure speculation, but that SURE does look like a 901 upper and lower. The light coming off the angles by the fire control pins really sell me on the idea.
While MGI and *shudder* Special Weapons have had AK mag compatible AR lowers for a while, it’s interesting to see other companies jump on this.
RRA announced one a few years back, Knight’s apparently was toying with public release of the SR47 up until the “great panic of aught-12”, and now Colt? Interesting times.
And to Mr. Payne up there, 7.62×39 ARs are not new, correct. But AR pattern rifles that take AK mags are a rarity, especially outside of the R&D shops of major gun companies and discontinued hobby rifles.
Those other mags are probably .308 for a convenient caliber conversion on that 901. They were probably demonstrating how easy it is to switch cailbers, if I were to guess.
Def not short, fat 7.62 x 39 rounds. Hey, wait a sec. I just realized something. I am the 7.62 x 39 version of a gun writer.
You are that tall and you waist is that big? I think not. You are popular and cheap? I’ll agree on the first part, no clue on the second. SSD what a feces mixer, show some new cool and watch the kids spin, lol. Then you say the Gov took one home? This is fun. SSD is the best. If he took one do you think it could be on the market soon? That’s not normal behaviour for a gun co to give away prototypes I would think.
Am I the only who looked at this and thought “And why is Gov. Perry shooting it?”
On a note about the gun – it is kind of funny how AK’s are becoming more like AR’s, and AR’s are becoming more like AK’s…. One of these days they’ll just merge into one another…
Good observation on the rifles.
Gov Perry was shooting it during a visit. Pure conjecture but I’m guessing he is trying to entice the Connecticut company to move to the Republic of Texas.
That’s what I figured – its pretty much open knowledge that he’s been courting several gun makers from anti-2A states to move to Texas. I just thought it was even more interesting that he got his hands on this particular rifle while he was there…
Hopefully this won’t go the way of the SR-47.
I think it’s really cool, but unless you’re deep behind enemy lines, or have quite a bit of x39, I don’t really know what this does over a normal AR.
LAR47?
[…] Soldier Systems has the goods. […]
Is it better to AK an AR or to AR an AK. I would think the later.
http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2013/06/18/colt-le901-7-62x39mm-accidentally-revealed/
Fucking sweet. They got it from Rob Curtis who found out from my Facebook feed.
LOL – its a small world.
That’s one way to put it.
Nice, I like but.. I’ll stick with my BCM.
Knight Armament did those some time back.
They made a handful. they’ve moved on and aren’t looking back.
On M4Carbine.net Kevin from KAC stated they had planned on releasing an SR47 up until the post sandy rush. I’m sure it won’t be any time soon at this point, but it is interesting they were planning a civilian release.
RRA makes a AR with a modified lower than takes standard AK-47 mags could be something similar. I believe its called the LAR-47 if you want a comparison photo check they’re website.
Nothing new, checkout this ad:
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/8659_10151696106891967_1569355045_n.jpg
Nice try, that rifle took AR mags, not AK mags…
Not the same…
WOW! That would be like Ferrrari building a truck.
You know they can do it, but you have to ask “Why?!”
Because someone came to them and said, “build this and we will buy it.” It’s called business.
Ferrari building trucks? Lamborghini was a tractor manufacturer first. So what’s your point? Colt is a company that wants to stay in business and run at a profit, so they do what someone asks them to do. If you ever deal with contracts, you know that getting someone to foot the bill for development, tooling, and R&D costs associated with a new product is gold. The civilian/LE sales domestically is then viable and can be done. If Colt had to develop this without a contract to help cover costs, they may not have done it.
Given all the shit that has been crammed down the throats of Blue State arms companies and the extra regulatory costs these days, a customer with cash in hand to help keep the business viable is nothing to scoff at. Beretta did the same thing with the ARX160 for Kazakhstan’s military. No one is dumping on them for doing so.
If you’re a weapons manufacturer, with today’s political climate, you are dealing with a mountain of shit every day. Some good news should be celebrated.
Let’s all say *modularity*. That was the intention with the 901 model from the get go two plus years ago. 7.62×51…5.56…7.62×39…300Blk…6.5…etc, etc
Are then are rounds besides 7.62×39 that would feed better from an AK style magazine?