Rifles

Given the hot market for “black guns” and the apparent eagerness for everyone who makes a rifled tube to jump in, we have to give Benelli a lot of credit for trying a different path. And it’s an interesting one, too. Rather than simply making another AR from parts--or building it from scratch--the company took what it had and adapted it.

The MR1 is a gas-operated, magazine-fed .223 rifle that looks a lot like some enterprising Benelli engineer had too much time on his hands one day and an open line to the company CAD-CAM server. Now, this is not the first rifle from Benelli. The R1 has that distinction. However, it is quite a ways to go from a three- or four-round .30-06 or .300 Win Mag to a hi-cap .223.

Externally, the MR1 is pretty racy-looking. From the trigger back, it might be any of their tactical shotguns The pistol grip and stock appear to be the M4 Tactical parts, a good choice. I’m not an easy fit in clothes, shoes or guns, but the MR1 and the M4 stocks fit me. The pull is long enough, but not too long, and the pistol grip is filling without being a handful. The receiver looks much like the R1, and except for the magazine well, it looks much the same as the receiver for many of the Benelli shotguns. I imagine it was quite the afternoon, doing the preliminary CAD/CAM work to make the receiver accept an AR magazine. The handguard is the different part and, at first glance, seems a bit odd. Not like the shotgun forearms, which are comfortable and easy to get a grip on.

In fact, when I first saw a photograph of the MR1, my reaction was, “Oh, that handguard’s going to be porky.” Well, I was wrong. The MR1 is compact enough that you really can’t eyeball the proportions and get it right. You have to handle one.

Inside the handguard, which is simply a polymer shell, the Benelli ARGO (Auto Regulating Gas Operated) system runs the rifle. The piston is a stainless steel cup that drives the bolt/carrier with a single intermediate piece, and as a result, you don’t get gas in the receiver. You also don’t have a lot of extra parts. The gas drives the piston, which acts through the transfer bolt onto the bolt/carrier. It is the same setup that Benelli uses on the M-1014 shotgun it supplies to our military.

The controls are obvious, but you’ll need some practice. On the right side is the magazine-release button. To up the ante, Benelli puts an even bigger button on the left side that also releases the magazine. The bolt hold-open and release is the wedge-shaped block on the front of the triggerguard. Up locks the bolt open, down releases it. The only change from ambidextrous unity is the safety, which is a plain and simple cross-bolt button. However, the crossbolt safety design is so common that every left-handed shooter out there instinctively knows how to deal with it.

Those of you who live in restricted states may find some joy here The MR1 lacks a flash-hider, bayonet lug and any connection by name to the AR system. It is entirely possible that (with the correct magazine) you can acquire one without having to move to a Free State.

The flash-hider’s absence is a necessity, as disassembly would not allow it. First, make sure the MR1 is unloaded. Lock the bolt open. On the front of the handguard you’ll see a knobbed wheel. Unscrew it. Once it’s loose, take it off and the handguard right behind it. See the gas system nut, the one with two holes in it? Use the spring-loaded plunger that’s in the front of the handguard to loosen the nut, then unscrew the gas system nut. The nut and spring are a contained assembly--you can’t lose the spring. You can now ease the upper assembly off the lower, keeping the bolt under control.