SOCOM seems to be adopting new rifles left and right, but it has a diverse mission set, so multiple tools make sense. The Command’s most recent award was for the Combat Assault Rifle (CAR) program. The CAR program aimed to provide SOCOM’s warfighters with a compact rifle designed to handle extreme environments. The winner of the program was Sons of Liberty Gun Works with its Mk 1 rifle.
If you aren’t a firearms nerd, that name might not ring many bells. American military contracts typically go to big international companies like SIG, FN, Colt, Barrett, etc and it’s rare to see a fairly small company like Sons of Liberty Gun Works make such a big splash.
Sons of Liberty Gun Works isn’t a new company; it has made its bones producing extremely high-quality rifles derived from Eugene Stoner’s original AR-15 platform. The company has seen a lot of success in the police and military market and quickly rose to prominence amongst AR enthusiasts. Its designs emphasize quality, and it strives to push the AR platform forward by simply excelling at the basics. The company ensures rigid quality control; it makes rifles that are accurate, reliable, ergonomic, and work well when suppressed.
While Sons of Liberty Gun Works might not be an international conglomerate, they are lean and mean. The CAR is their first military contract, but I doubt it will be their last.
Inside the Mk 1
The Mk 1, or the CAR as it will likely come to be called, is a direct-impingement, select-fire assault rifle. (Sons of Liberty Gun Works also makes a semi-auto-only option.)
The rifle has a short 11.5-inch barrel, which means it excels at close-quarters combat like that operators might encounter in urban environments and ships.
A 11.5-inch barrel has become fairly popular amongst elite forces worldwide. The length is short enough to make the gun maneuverable, even when equipped with a suppressor. Further, the small gun keeps things light and helps prioritize free movement.
The Mk 1 comes with what Sons Liberty calls “P3 rifling” which is a polygonal rifling designed to help ensure consistent accuracy and precision. The trigger guard is integral to the receiver. The magazine release fencing is enlarged, as is the bolt-catch fencing, for greater protection.
The company enlarged the magazine well to allow for faster reloads, and it altered the position of the forward assist for charging handle clearance. The trigger is a Liberty two-stage design that’s 4.5 pounds total. The stock has nine positions instead of the standard six for continuous refinement. To top it all off, the Mk 1 has and ambidextrous safety and enlarged bolt lock.
The weapon’s rail
Without a doubt, the rail system must have been a big part of why SOCOM chose Sons of Liberty’s entry.
Modern warfighters are using laser aiming devices, and modern free-floating M-LOK rails have a fair bit of rail deflection. Rail deflection is movement of the rail under a load, and as you’d imagine, if you have a laser aiming unit, that deflection can affect the zero. So, minimal rail deflection helps mitigate the issue.
The MK1’s rail is designed for stability, this is partly accomplished by presence of a Drive Lock rail system that uses dual stainless steel anti-rotation dowels and machined tabs to lock the rail into the upper receiver.
The rail offers seven sides of M-LOK slots for operators to place their accessories where they are needed.
The rifle’s A5 buffer system aims to help with recoil management and optimal function across a wider range of ammo. This becomes increasingly valuable with suppressed use, which is the norm for special operations.
While SOCOM’s exact testing procedure hasn’t been made public, we know that it was strenuous and candidate weapons were subject to extreme environments. The weapons had to function in the heat, the cold, mud, and through salt exposure. MK1’s NP3-coated bolt carrier group, increase the rifle’s reliability in extreme environments.
SOCOM’s new Combat Assault Rifle isn’t a radical departure from the M4. It shares the same core design, but Sons of Liberty’s advancements have propelled the old warhorse forward, making it more capable for special operation use than comparative platforms.
The Mk 1 rifle is the culmination of numerous small advancements on the AR platform that drive the weapon forward.
Feature Image: The Mk 1 rifle. (Sons of Liberty Gun Works)
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