Another new .22LR upper coming.. ctxt

[amphibian]

Well I'm personally holding out for the new Lakeside Machine LM7 Beltfed .22LR upper but I spoke to someone that is extremely credible about another 22LR upper at the shot show.

Craig Wheatley had an AR/M16 upper that accepts unmodified American 180 drums. I didn't see it on his website. Did anyone see that? Is it closed bolt? Does it eject through the mag well?

 

[Z06]

I saw it and tried to take a picture. Was told no (I'm in the Press) because they had a lot to iron out with ATF before production. They CNC mill a new upper to join with the AR/M16 lower. The barrel and wood forearm of the American 180 were on the prototype, but since they had no connection to Val and E&L, the final would be more "tactical" and less phoney Thompson-like. Since it will take the 275 rnd E&L drums, this would be cool in FA. I was told they are starting slow with semi-auto to ease the ATF process. If all goes well the FA version could be done a few months after that. We'll see.

Damn, the walletdectomy continues.

 

[rustyolddog]

I'm holding out for a belt fed LM7, more appealing to me than a drum fed. I figure I can buy 100 yards of belt, load up 7200 rounds and put it on a garden hose reel and caddy it to the line and load up. Bwahahaha. BTW that would be 12 minutes approx of continuous fire if the gun didn't lead up of course.

 

[subgunner]

I saw the proto at the SHOT show. Their current plan is to release it as a semi only. They told me it would fire from a closed bolt. It wouldn't be difficult to change an AR type bolt from semi to full but it could need an anti bounce weight to work reliably full auto.

The gent I spoke to did not know about Val at E&L. According to him the upper would not include a drum or winder and he did not know where they could be obtained.

Since I own an AM180 it would be an attractive option as I already have drums, winders etc. On the other hand I already have a subgun that uses the drums so the LM7 is more interesting as it operates with belts. I'll wait for the LM7.