Clay’s Love for the MK 47 Mutant (w/Mag Tests)

You may remember my initial review of the CMMG Mk 47 in August of 2020, which was a lesson for yours truly in not prejudging rifles. What I didn’t say in the review was how said Mk 47 even came into our hands. I had not touched a CMMG product in the better part of a decade and was I will say “underwhelmed” with that previous foray. CMMG didn’t suck in 2013, but they also didn’t exactly blow my socks off. Oh neat, a black AR-15? Please, do go on….

So I took on the original Mk 47 as a favor to CMMG’s marketing team. I actually wanted to review the CMMG Banshee 10mm, they didn’t have a loaner in stock, but they did have a Mk 47 mutant. Which is code for, if you cover this Mk 47 we will find a 10mm for you next month. And since I am the High Priest of the Cult of the 10, I really really wanted to shoot a 10mm subgun AR pistol. Which meant I was willing to make that deal.

Now, to be honest, I did not expect the Mk 47 to even work. I have been sold this bill of goods before and had yet to see an AR/AK hybrid that did anything besides look hideous. Eugene Stoner controls and feels, combined with feeding of Uncle Mikhail’s magazines is like the Holy Grail of soldier weapons. While the AR-15 is in most ways the superior weapon, the lethality of the 7.62×39 round and the toughness of the AK-47 magazine are both points in the Soviet peasant rifle’s favor. Not to mention, a stunning simplification of logistics. Not only would a blaster that feeds off enemy magazines make battlefield recovery a possibility, but it would also mean you could supply your own guerrilla force with all the same mags/ bullets. While having a first-rate gun yourself. If your job description said things like Unconventional Warfare.

That being said, I fully expected to go to the range, have the Mk 47 not work, send it home with a naughty boy note, and probably not get the 10mm after I gave it the Remington treatment. I will also admit that given that mission statement, I perhaps did not go to the range prepared to give the Mk 47 my all. I actually started with an accuracy test at 50m, because my previous experience with x39 predisposed me to believe I would need a barn door-sized sheet of paper if we went to 100m. And then the surprises started.

The Mk 47 not only worked but it was also AR-15 accurate. Our original test sample printed around 1.5 MOA consistently, with a 1.2 MOA best using Hornady American Gunner. Then it ran all the trash I could find to feed it. And after we were done, CMMG showed me the video of the “Beast”, a Mk 47 pistol they have been using as a demo gun since 2015. It has taken over 100,000 rounds of steel case garbage, much of it full auto. Which speaks volumes about the durability of this gun.

I don’t buy review guns often, but I had to have one. I saved up my pennies, robbed the couch cushions, and put an order in. And here we are today, with my personal Mk 47 on deck in slate blue. This is my favorite gun of the last year, by far. And it was well worth the wait.

What do you get with your Mk 47 Mutant? I bought the 300 series, which comes with all the goodies mentioned in our previous review. Geisselle trigger, unique Mk 47 sized receiver and bolt, CMMG unique charging handle, CMMG RipStock, and a color choice. No point in rehashing all of that. Really, with my personal gun on deck, I wanted to answer questions that I kind of left hanging from last time.

Chief among them, what magazines will run in the Mk47 Mutant? I’m not really an AK guy, being from a developed country with a non conscript army and all. But I do know that some brands run better in some guns, not all magazines are created equal, etc. So I teamed up with our buddies over at Gun Mag Warehouse, who sent me a dazzling array of commie feeders. Big ones, little ones, plastic ones, ones from before the Berlin wall fell…. We got all the goods. And once again to my shock, all but one of them ran flawlessly.

KCI- I really didn’t think this would be a go, having had a bad experience with KCI Glock magazines years ago. That was the last time I bought Korean. Except for bulgogi, I love that stuff. And I guess Samsung and LG. Okay, the last time I bought Korean gun parts. KCI test samples in 10, 20, and 40 rounds all worked fine.

Bulgarian- Not a real shock here, as the Bulgarians make other fantastic products. They also have a first-rate military and are NATO members, so of course, their rifle magazines work. At $16.99, these are probably my favorite of the lot.

US Palm- We opted for the banana mag not only because it looks cool, but it complements the slate blue of our test rifle nicely. I’m not a slave to fashion, but I do work for it cheap. I was wary of the US Palm brand because it seems illogical that a US-made product would work well for a Soviet blaster. However, I found the reputation of US Palm to be well deserved. This steel-lined polymer magazine has excellent tolerance standards and is a great magazine for the Mk 47.

Arsenal Circle 10- No surprise here, as the Circle 10 is regarded by many in AK circles as the best of the best. It ran flawlessly, like a blood-doped Russian Olympic Sprinter. This is odd since they are also made in Bulgaria. We included the Circle 10 not only knowing it would very likely work, but so we had some for my personal Mk 47. For, you know, science. For the next 30 years or so. Probably longer, since my kids won’t want to sell this gun either.

TAPCO- I don’t know about AK parts, but TAPCO isn’t exactly synonymous with quality in the AR world. So I was pleasantly surprised that the TAPCO ran smooth like butter, not a flaw to be found. At $14.99, not a bad choice.

Magpul- Magpul has made a couple of magazines, you may have heard of them. Considering the Mk-47 ships with a Magpul brand, of course, it works. But we did have to include them, as a relatively new player in the AK space. Yes, it works, though at $25.99, it is on the pricier end of mags for this gun.

Pro Mag- We asked, specifically, for the clear Pro Mag version. And this was our only loser of the Mk47 mag shoot off. The Pro Mag inexplicably fired one round, then would not pick up another. Not when I unloaded another round manually, so I could feed off the same side, not when I fully loaded the magazine and tried again. Further investigation revealed that loading the Pro Mag in the Mk 47 ONCE had damaged the front latch catch. These might work fine in real AKs, but not so good in the Mk47.

All in all, I was rather surprised by how many brands of magazines did feed. Chalk that up, once again, to the reliability of the Mk 47 Mutant. As blasters go, this one is a hybrid that really does deliver. Excellent fit and finish, AR-style controls, AR feeling recoil, and it eats cheap steel case without a hiccup. Paired with any of the above very competitively priced magazines from Gun Mag Warehouse, you have a surefire winner on your hands. I am very happy to have mine on hand and recommend it highly if you want something a little off the beaten path.  

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