Of all the impressive guns that have hit the market this year, we have selected CMMG’s MkGs GUARD as The Arms Guide Gun of the Year for 2107. The Arms Guide writers at looked at three broad areas in selecting the gun of the year: Innovation, Value and Function,
Innovation: The Guard’s patented Radial Delayed Blowback design with a weight adjustable bolt is big step forward from direct blow back Colt clones. Simple and elegant, the bolt key is forced to rotate and unlock slowing down the BCG just enough to safely cycle while simultaneously keeping the BCG and buffer lighter than Colt pattern. As a bonus, it works with .45 ACP
Value: While the Guard costs more than its base line competitors, it delivers high quality features. The MagPul stock, CMMG muzzle break and Geissele Automatics SSA trigger make it shoot like a dream. The last round bolt hold open let’s you run it like an AR. These features combine to produce an up graded match or defense capable gun. You don’ t need accessorize the Guard, it complete from the box.
Function: The Guard is ultra-reliable. We have fired over 4,000 rounds of varied 9mm from our test gun with no cleaning. Â It ran everything we fed it. It ran every after market glock type magazine we could find and it liked all but one. The bolt hold open works every time with Glock OEM magazines. Accuracy? While not designed for long range, we were shooting skeet (stationary) at 100 yards and steel at 200 yards.
We have had a 9mm Guard for six weeks now and fired over 4000 rounds of various ball and hollow point ammunition. The Guard is a mature design which shoots like AR. The Colt pattern mags used by other guns had more than their share of problems. The Guard ran great with Glock factory magazines of all capacities and (surprisingly) functioned well with some aftermarket magazines of questionable origin as well.
Many current AR PCCs (even the expensive ones) lack a bolt hold open. This slows your reloads and conflicts with habits formed shooting conventional ARs. The Guard has a full functional last round open with a dual-pinned, fully machined bolt catch linkage, using a standard bolt catch spring. It works every time with Glock OEM magazines.
One huge training benefit of the PCC is shooting pistol steel. You can do drills with plate racks, Texas Stars and other targets that rifle caliber safety would never allow and boy is it fun. Something you quickly figure out when you shoot the same drills with handgun then a PCC is how much faster the PCC is. On most drills the time is cut in half. This translates directly into the real world. The CTS steel targets took most of this 4000 rounds from 10 to 50 yards with no wear and tear.
Precision is also a benefit. We put a SIG Sauer® ROMEO3 Mini Reflex Sight on my Guard. Taking a head sized target at 25 yards is simple with the guard. Shooting 3 inch groups standing unsupported was easy. At 50 and 100 yards there were a couple of inches of drop and the groups grew to 6 inches. With magnified optics and good ammo you could get small groups at 200 yards.
With the Geissele Automatics SSA trigger, we got .15 second splits while staying on target at 25 yards on demand. The gun has low felt recoil even with +P loads. It handles well and shoots fast. When 5 or 6 rounds hit steel .15 seconds apart it is pretty cool.
CMMG developed the Radial Delayed Blowback to handle .45 ACP, the first caliber introduced in the GUARD platform. The recoil impulse of .45 ACP didn’t lend itself to merely adding additional weight to the carrier and buffer. While it appears to have a standard AR15 bolt carrier group, the Guard bolt is different in some important ways. The bolt key doesn’t pass gas, it is there to grab the charging handle. As blowback pressure pushes, it unlocks the bolt, delaying opening just enough to allow the bolt to reliably cycle.
In a straight blowback system, only the weight of the bolt and buffer mitigate the recoil impulse, the Guard bolt and buffer weight are much lighter which means less felt recoil as those masses move. The combined difference in weight of the bolt carrier group and buffer when comparing straight blowback versus Radial Delayed Blowback can be as much as 6.5 ounces.There is an Action Tuning Kit (bolt weight set), sold separately, which allows the user to change the weight of the bolt to precisely match the recoil impulse. This is going to come in handy for suppressor users and short barreled pistols.
The MkGs GUARD comes with one 33-round factory Glock magazine. Bolt weight kits will be sold separately for those who wish to fine-tune the GUARD for suppressor usage.
The Guard does everything well and the quality is among the best in the industry. It is fun and effective in any role. Get can your very own Guard HERE
CMMG Lifetime Quality Guarantee
CMMG, Inc. will guarantee its products against defects in material or workmanship. CMMG, Inc. will repair, replace or substitute part(s) (at CMMG, Inc. discretion) at no charge to the customer if a defect of material or workmanship is found. All service work must be carried out by CMMG, Inc.
About CMMG:
CMMG began in central Missouri in 2002 and quickly developed into a full-time business because of its group of knowledgeable and passionate firearms enthusiasts committed to quality and service. Its reputation was built on attention to detail, cutting edge innovation and the superior craftsmanship that comes from sourcing all their own parts. By offering high quality AR rifles, parts and accessories, CMMG’s commitment to top-quality products and professional service is as deep today as it was when it began.
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