Army Times Sr. Writer Lance M. Bacon puts lead on targets as he shoots the Colt CM901 7.62mm on full auto. The shoot was part of a range day that kicked off the 2011 Shot Show.
We kicked off the 2011 Shot Show by sending hundreds of rounds down range. We’ll be sharing the nitty-gritty on the latest and greatest weapons we were able to fire. But a highlight had to be the opportunity to shoot Colt’s CM901 — and do so minutes after firing the FNH SCAR.
While these are only two of the many potential competitors lining up for the Army’s carbine competition, Colt and FNH are without question among the front runners. Both weapons come in multiple barrel lengths and calibers. In addition, FNH has successfully navigated the spaghetti mess that ends with the DoD stamp of approval. Colt, on the other hand, has decades of experience in military carbines and the weapon’s familiarity is a definite advantage.
We’ve fired the SCAR many times, and it gets sweeter each time. But this was our first chance to shoot the CM901.Colt was cool enough to let us fire the 5.56mm and the 7.62mm in full auto. First and foremost, the recoil is far smoother than you might expect while accuracy is everything you would expect. The new bolt release (hit with the right index finger) is far more user friendly and the ambidextrous selector switch enables the right-handed shooter to flip to “safe” with a lift of the straight trigger finger.
It’s way too early to pick a winner. Millions of rounds will be fired in hundreds of scenarios before we draw near that conclusion. But this much is sure — this carbine competition is going to be awesome.
