Magpul Comments: Bushmaster ACR

[DrDrake]

Bushmaster Firearms International, LLC (BFI) announced today that it has signed an exclusive license deal with Magpul Industries Corp. for the production, future development, and sales of Magpul’s prototype MASADA weapon system.

The Bushmaster ACR (Adaptive Combat Rifle) will initially be offered in 5.56 NATO, available for law enforcement and civilian purchase second quarter 2008. This release will be followed by military ACR versions in the 3rd quarter of 2008.

Without government funding or outside influence of any kind, the Masada concept was developed from scratch in Boulder, Colorado by Magpul’s Design Group. The Masada concept was first shown publicly at the 2007 Shot Show and its success prompted Magpul to spend a year redesigning the system for production.

The result is the ACR (Adaptive Combat Rifle) which keeps the fundamentals of the Masada concept with added advanced features such as firing pin block and true ambidextrous charging handle.

Among the ACR’s key features are a gas piston operating system, tool-less quick change barrel, multi-adjustable folding stock with integrated storage, and backward compatibility with a number of AR15/M16 parts. Due to similar operating controls, user transition from the M16 series of weapons is easily facilitated with minimal re-training.

The Bushmaster ACR will initially be available in 3 SKUS: Standard Carbine with fixed stock, Entry Carbine with folding stock, and Special Purpose Rifle with Precision Rifle Stock. Live fire demonstration and test and evaluations beginning in the end of March to qualified law enforcement, federal government agencies.

Okay guys, first things first – just to clear this up, the Bushmaster ACR (Adaptive Combat Rifle) is the final production version of the Masada prototype that we debuted at SHOT Show last year. Like the press release says, we’ve spent the last 12 months refining and re-designing the Masada, but I will not be posting any updates yet. The ACR will officially be unveiled at SHOT Show starting on Saturday, so do us a favor and have patience until then. If you happen to be in Vegas, swing by the Magpul and Bushmaster booths – there will be plenty of ACRs to play with. Photos welcome - just ask before you snap. Post 'em if you got 'em.

Next, I need to address some of the things I've been reading on the forums lately. From the get go, the idea behind the Masada was go big or go bust, no middle ground. We're going big. We designed the best rifle we could with the ultimate goal of putting it in civilian, law enforcement, and military hands. Licensing the design to a well-established American firearms manufacturer offered the best opportunity to achieve these original goals. Enter Bushmaster and the ACR.

We've spent a lot of time with the Bushmaster guys over the last few months. I have personally been impressed with them. Down to earth and and down to business, very stand up. We jived right off the bat. The tolerances and specs Magpul laid out for the original Masada were tight, and the Bushmaster guys didn't blink. Both sides of the table have kept open minds about the project, and Bushmaster will be building the ACR to the same quality and material standards as the original Magpul concept. The lines of communication on the ACR remain open between Bushmaster and Magpul.

As far as Magpul's direct involvement goes, we'll be designing and manufacturing all polymer ACR parts including, but not limited to, handguards, lowers, and stocks. The bottom line: you get high-end Magpul kit straight from the factory on your Bushmaster ACR.

A couple of things in closing - for those of you who are wondering, Magpul is still an independently owned and operated company. We will also continue to expand our product line. In the following days at SHOT we plan to release several new products. These are fast and exciting times for those in our industry.

I'll make an effort to answer questions. Some of questions I won't know and some I can't answer due to confidential info. Don't trash the thread with silly antics.

Teaser eye candy for you.

Bushmaster ACR Entry Carbine (12.5" barrel):


Bushmaster ACR Standard Carbine (16" barrel):


Bushmaster ACR SPR Rifle (18" barrel):

[Hawkeye]

Brilliant move Rich, Drake, and crew. Cant wait.

[recon]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoa-rJkHReM

[Jeffy]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoa-rJkHReM

That's a nice presentation. Lots of interesting features.

[mactastic]

squared away. Interesting features.


I do however note that seemingly everyone on this site would not have pissed on a Bushmaster rifle to put it out if it was on fire.

And now no one has any problem with magpul pairing with what everyone would have called a sub par company that put out sub par rifles before this happened.

Funny how that works.

[Hawkeye]

The main issues that I have seen, for the most part, with Bushmasters has been since 2004. All of my previous Bushmasters were fine though. I do admit that the past few years there have been some problems, but I never quite bought into the same level of animosity that some did.
As for Magpuls choice, Bushmaster is under new ownership now, and combine that with the fact that I trust Rich's (and the rest of the Magpu crew) judgement. If they did not feel that Bushmaster could, and would, get this weapon to market at the level of quality that Rich wants, they would not have went with them.

[Stickman]

Mactastic,


Bushmaster AR15s and Bushmaster ACRs are two different beasts. There are a lot of comments out there which are being made by people who have zero knowledge base on the topic.

Bushmaster makes AR15s based on their specs. Bushmaster will be making the ACR based on Magpuls specs. Its something which seems to get overlooked by certain crowds.

[Hawkeye]

Bushmaster makes AR15s based on their specs. Bushmaster will be making the ACR based on Magpuls specs. Its something which seems to get overlooked by certain crowds.

I have been repeating this so much it makes my head spin sometimes. For the life of me I dont understand why this is such a hard thing to understand. Its almost like there are people who just have a vendetta against Magpul, Bushmaster, or both.....

[carbinero]

How could such a small group (the anti-BM naysayers) impact marketing efforts THAT much? BM has presidential-level name recognition unlike, for example, LMT. You rarely hear anything but good said about LMT, but I'm curious if their public sales numbers are of the same magnitude as BM. Get these ACRs into the hands of as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, without sacrificing specs/standards. If BM can do that, I'll jump in line.

[DrDrake]

Get these ACRs in the hands into as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, without sacrificing specs/standards. If BM can do that, I'll jump in line.

Ahhhh, refreshing. Tip of the hat to you Sir.