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By David Crane
david (at) defensereview (dot) com
February 25, 2015
Last modified on 2/26/15.
The M+M M10X wasn’t the only interesting 7.62x39mm Russian-caliber tactical rifle/carbine DefenseReview (DR) saw at SHOT Show 2015, no sir. The brand new and very interesting CMMG Mk47 MUTANT T/AKM/AKM2 AK/AR (AR-15) hybrid tactical carbine appeared to be a big hit at the company’s booth, as it seemed to generate a lot of organic interest and excitement while we were there. AND, CMMG seemed pretty excited about showing it off, using a BIG (very) red Russian-style graphic background for the MUTANT display to attract as much attention for it as possible. Well, we’re very glad it caught our attention, because we here at DR love AR’s and AK’s, and really like the 7.62x39mm cartridge, especially for short-to-medium engagements within 300 yards, provided the ammo and barrel work well together to provide good combat accuracy out to that distance.
While an AR-platform designed around the curved Kalashnikov AK-47/AKM 7.62x39mm magazine is of course interesting and cool in and of itself, the most interesting additional aspect of the CMMG Mk47 MUTANT for Defense Review is its lower and upper (billet) receiver design towards the back (behind the ejection port), which looks really beefy and strong, like it’s really designed to take a pounding. You can see us point this aspect out in the video below, to which Tyson Bradshaw of CMMG replied that they basically “added the girth of the .308 [CMMG 7.62mm NATO (7.62x51mm NATO)/.308 Win. upper and lower receivers] but we shortened it down to a mid-sized receiver, so it’s about the length of an AR-15.” When DR commented on how strong it looks, Bradshaw added, “You betcha’. Yeah, that’s what we’ve done. We’ve tried to engineer it so it’s built for the round, as upposed to stuffing it in a platform where it doesn’t belong.” Anyway, the engineering on it just looks really solid, and results in a nice external design aesthetic for that section of the receivers (upper and lower).
The receivers aren’t the only robust component, either. The MUTANT’s bolt is reportedly a modified AR-10 bolt, so it should be more than strong enough to handle the 7.62x39mm cartridge.
DR also liked the MUTANT’s nice, big ambidextrous mag-release push lever that was easy to engange.
CMMG is looking at some potential additional calibers for the Mk47 MUTANT, including the 5.45x39mm Russian cartridge, of which DR is a big fan for its shootability, flat shooting and range aspects, and its relatively low cost.
There are currently three variants of the CMMG Mk-47 MUTANT; the entry-level Mk47 MUTANT T, the middle-child Mk47 MUTANT AKM, and the deluxe model Mk47 MUTANT AKM2. The AKM2 variant sports a Geissele SSA two-stage trigger, among other features. The heaviest of them comes in at approximately 7.2 lbs.
This one’s definitely worth checking out. We just hope it’s as reliable and durable as an actual AK, while exhibiting the accuracy of an AR. DR’s assuming the MUTANT’s barrel is free-floating, but we’re not sure, as of this writing. We’ll try to find out, and modify this article accordingly. So, stay tuned.
Company Contact Info:
CMMG Inc.
P.O. Box 369
Fayette, MO. 65248
Retail Phone: 660-248-2293
Dealer Phone: 573-875-2821
Sales Email: sales@cmmginc.com
Tech Support Email: techsupport@cmmginc.com
NFA Email: nfa@cmmginc.com
Website: http://www.cmmginc.com
CMMG Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/CMMGInc
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All photos and the first/top video contained in this article were shot by DefenseReview.com, and is copyrighted. DefenseReview.com owns the copyright on all original photo and video content. All DR photos and videos were shot with a Sony Cyber-shot RX100 (DSC-RX100/B) Digital Camera with 20.2 MP (20.2-megapixel) still camera and 1080p HD video camera capability.
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