This CMMG piston rifle is special to me because much of it was designed by my friend Bernie White — the same man who designed the original Desert Eagle pistol. When Bernie designs something, it usually works well because he has a rare degree of understanding of things mechanical. He knows rather than guesses what happens inside the gun. The Desert Eagle as originally designed was a whole pound lighter than the current version and meant to be a carry pistol for hunters. The original chamberings were .357, .44 and .41 Magnum, with .50AE appearing later along with the beefier slide.
The main sight is the illuminated Nightforce 1-4x compact. It can be used with both eyes open at 1-1.5x power and as a conventional scope at higher magnification. I also want all my serious rifles to have backup iron sights, but it’s not possible to co-witness a scope and irons. This rifle has offset Dueck Defense sights that go around the scope on the right (but can be reversed to go on the left also).
Since I hope to suppress all my rifles eventually, having an adjustable gas regulator is a big help in reducing the amount of blowback and eliminating overpressure.
Like most things designed by Bernie, this piston assembly is robust and fairly simple. I am looking forward to getting more rounds through this gun with less cleaning than usual.
Well you can tell your buddy he did good! The cmmg piston was my first Ar-15 and ill never buy a DI ever. I also bought the 7.5 upper and put it on my pistol ar, yeah im in california 😛 Out of all the issues I hear people complaining about DI, I have yet to have a single failure, I have never had to clean my lower, and every shot is crisp.
Because of this I will only buy uppers from cmmg, as long as i can get the caliburs i want! Haha!
Thanks Mr. white.
Needs a bottle opener too. 😉
http://jtdistributing.net/store/product1448.html
Rail mounted bottle opener. FTW.
Out of curiosity, what is Mr. White’s educational background? I ask because your remarks about his talent for understanding of things mechanical calls to mind an article I read about the development of the M-1 and its experimental progeny (which led, of course, to the M-14). The author describes the drudgery of kinematics and other engineering disciplines that, diligently applied, lead to a better design and final product. Is Mr. White an engineer by training, or is he one of those people who, through a combination of practical experience and native talent, simply understand how machines work?
I am not sure, but (like Ron Barrett) he was a professional photographer at the time he began designing guns. I think he had a formal engineering background as well. He’s not just a designer but also a high-class gunsmith.
Thank you. Great pics of the rifle, BTW; now I want one but (dang it!) haven’t got the money to spare just now.
What’s with the Ichiro Nagata red tint in the last two photos, Oleg?
(I remember when all of the American Handgunner issues had at least one Ichiro Nagata photo of a gun with either a red background or a red tint reflecting off the piece)
You’re an acquaintance of Bernie White? I think about his intentions when I take my small-frame .357 Desert Eagle Mk I out for range time, and how great a gun it is for hunting and IHMSA Field Pistol Category silhouette work out to 200 meters. To me, the large-frame Desert Eagle XIX acquired a serious case of bloat.
Love the gun, but it the clarity of your pictures that is awsome. Talk about a glamore shot.
Mozart
Oleg – I have this same upper and love it. Do you know how the gas switch works? How do you use it? For suppresor use I imagine??
An amazing job of engineering. You can see the quality in the work because of your excellent photography.