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Read more at Kel-Tec: https://www.keltecweapons.com/our-guns/rifle/cmr-30

Buy one on GunsAmerica: https://www.gunsamerica.com/Search.aspx?T=cmr%2030

The Kel-Tec CMR-30 is truly original. I don’t get to write that everyday. The first time I saw this gun, back in January of 2015, I fell for it. The CMR-30 seems to me to be purpose built for serious plinking. The hopped up .22 WMR is a great round and offers more punch than the typical rimfire roundup. And that extra power gives the CMR-30 a edge for those looking for a lightweight gun for a pack or bugout bag. It is a serious fun-gun. Or maybe a fun-gun with a serious side. Either way, I’ve found this gun to be exceptionally fun to shoot, and capable enough to trust with some more serious responsibilities.

Specifications

• Caliber.22WMR
• Barrel length 16.1″
• Barrel threads 1/2″-28 TPI
• Barrel twist rate 1:16″
• Total capacity 30+1
• Weight empty 3.8lbs
• Length (Stock collapsed)22.7″
• Length (Stock fully extended)30.6″
• Length of pull (Stock to trigger)10.3″-14.2″
• Height 6.6″
• Max width (Across operating handles) 2.9″
• Width across majority 1.2″
• MSRP $630.00

Kel-Tec makes a pistol version of the platform, too–the Pmr-30–which has been winning fans for a few years now. The odd looking pistol also shoots the .22 WMR–which makes a loud fireball from the pistol length barrel.

Ergonomics

The design  of the CMR-30 is all Kel-Tec. Fans of the brand will be familiar with the minimalist aesthetic, and the bolted together parts. There is an element of this specific Kel-Tec, though, that feels almost fragile. The struts for the stock, for example, are thin. The barrel is thin, and it extends out from the front of the frame, unguarded. That fragile or delicate feel disappears on the range. There’s nothing here in the CMR-30 that needs to be babied.

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The controls are something you’ll have to learn through practice. While this is true for any gun, the CMR-30 handles some basic elements in unique ways. The lever in front of the trigger guard releases the stock and allows it to slide back up the frame. The space on the grip where most Americans reach when they want magazines out of their pistols is not a button, but a bolt and a nut. The magazine release is actually on the bottom of the grip, at the back, like some of the old John Moses Browning designs.

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While this isn’t really the most ideal place, at least not for me, it actually works great. The only reason I don’t consider it optimal is that we’re creatures of habit. I reach for the old thumb release, and it isn’t there. But if you approach the mag as you would with a stuck mag in a pistol, it will spring free. I found that a stripping motion worked flawlessly. I simply removed my support hand as I was angling the gun into that prime work-area in front of my chest and brought that free hand to the base of the grip. My thumb lines up with the mag release every time. Before I can even get to the full-on stripping motion, the mag has shot into the palm of my left hand.

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Still, it is a motion that is executed entirely with the support hand, which takes some getting used to. If there is one detriment here, it is that a one handed drop is more complex than I’d like. When everything is functioning perfectly, I like to have the next mag on the way up to the mag well as the empty mag drops free. With the CMR-30, I find myself reaching for the mag release, then taking that same hand back down for another magazine. It is just one extra step.

So much about the CMR-30 feels like a pistol that I keep defaulting to the pistol skill-set, and almost everything there can be done one handed. It has crossed my mind that it would be possible to inadvertently drop the mag with misplaced pressure from the shooting hand, but I’ve not managed to do it–even when I tried to do it purposefully.

My only real gripe is that the ambidextrous charging handle sits right where I want to put my hand. The frame doesn’t extend far enough forward for me to hold onto the rifle like I would on my AR, which has an extraordinarily long forend. Instead, I’m having to tuck up like I would on most small rimfire rifles. Hardly a deal breaker for my new infatuation with this thing. But it the charging hadle weren’t angled toward the muzzle, I’d hook my thumb behind it and call it good.

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But how does it feel?

There are two ways of answering this. The first, as I just mentioned, is that the CMR-30 feels distinctly pistol-like. It is very light. At under four pounds, it moves like a pistol. The grip, without the mag well in front of it, is reminiscent of a pistol. And it even loads through the grip–like most traditional pistol designs. Yet, and this is going to sound strange, it doesn’t feel anything like the PMR-30 (even with the same grip shape). That gun, with 30 rounds in the grip, has a noticeably different balance.

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There is another set of sensory experiences Kel-Tec owners should be familiar with. The CMR-30 is a gun built of plastic and steel–mostly. Most of the places where you, as the shooter, come in contact with the gun are plastic. From the grip, to the controls, to the charging handle and the trigger, you have to be accepting of polymer. But the rails are aluminum.

Magazines

There are two things to consider when discussing the CMR-30 mags. The first is the positive. This is a great magazine design with what would appear to be a long life span. Plastiphobics will still decry Kel-Tec’s reliance on plastic, while jamming PMAGs into their ARs.

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That said, it is a proprietary design–one that would be hard to replace without the ready availability of our current supply chain. What I’m implying with that statement is this: if this is your bug-out gun, you need to plan accordingly. A friend, when he heard that I was working on a CMR-30 review, got all glassy-eyed and said it was his dream SHTF pack-gun. I can clearly see the appeal, but the availability of magazines isn’t something you can take for granted.

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Kel-Tec sells extra mags for $31. While the gun comes with two, I’d set aside money for at least four more if you plan on using this gun as a pack-gun, or for any kind of survival scenario. And $31 is about what you’ll pay for a good box of 50 .22 WMR, so keep it in perspective.

Ballistics

The .22 WMR, or .22 Winchester Magnnum, or .22 Win Mag, or .22 Magnum, or whatever you might call it, is an interesting little round. The early benchmark for the caliber was the 40 grain bullet with a muzzle velocity around 2,000 fps (from an 18″ barrel). Lighter rounds with better designs have added speed and greatly increased the rounds terminal performance.

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There are a variety of loads for the caliber, and they can be harder to find that you’d expect. Back int the great .22 LR shortage of 2014, I could find the occasional box of .22 WMR for sale in my local shop. But now that things have reversed, I’m left with the same limited options. An occasional box or two. If you shop online, you can keep your eyes peeled for the deals and availability from some of better performers. Today I’m working with these Remingtons, the only rounds available locally. They’re 33 grain jacketed hollowpoints with a hard insert to help with feeding. From the 16″ barrel, they’re putting up speeds in the 2,100 FPS neighborhood.

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Accuracy should be better at longer distances than you’d expect from a .22 LR. As there’s a significant increase in the speed, the round will cover more ground before you have to account for much drop–at least in comparison to your typical rimfire rounds. Conversely, you’d get much more distance from any of the .22 caliber necked rifle cartridges. There’s a Master’s thesis in there, somewhere–if any of you are looking for a subject: Comparative Ballistics of the .22 Caliber Projectile

Shooting The CMR-30

This thing is a blast to shoot. It is dead-on accurate, and easy on the hands. There’s so recoil to speak of. The gun runs fast, and the trigger (3 pounds!) is light with a short reset.

Check out these images for more details.

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Problems with the gun?

I’ve shot very few reviews in which something didn’t go wrong. This one is no exception. The first mag I ran through the CMR-30 had a rough start. I had two stove-pipes, and then three failures to feed. After those five rounds, the next 25 ran flawlessly. As I progressed through the day, I would have the occasional failure to feed, but only if the mags were topped off. When there were 30 rounds in the mag, or 29, 28, I was more likely to get an empty click when I pulled the trigger. So I stopped topping off the mags, and the gun ran flawlessly.

That was it, though. There wasn’t anything else about the whole experience that didn’t put a smile on my face.

What’s next for the CMR-30?

The CMR-30 has me thinking. I’d love to have an SBR built from one of these. Or I’d like to see one with an integrally suppressed barrel. But those are aftermarket revisions. I think the biggest opportunity for Kel-Tec to perfect this design would be to make a CMR-30 take-down. The point here is that I want to take this already minuscule gun and make it even that much more compact.

The holy-grail for me would be a CMR-30 that folds like the Sub-2000. That’s going to be almost impossible with a telescoping stock. But imagine the beauty of a CMR-30 that folds at the breech, with an under-folding stock. It would be the perfect pack-gun.

Price and availability?

Well, that part is up for some debate. The MSRP of $630 should have these hovering in the $500 price range, retail, but the supply and demand hasn’t leveled off yet, so the gun is commanding a premium. I’ve seen them listed for some outrageous prices. Truly outrageous. Almost twice the MSRP? Indeed. But these are early days.

Is the CMR-30 worth the asking price of $630. Most definitely.

So what is it?

Is it the ultimate bugout gun? No. The limited availability of .22 WMR should be a big clue as to why I feel that way. Is it a great camp gun? Hell yes. A solid pack gun? For sure. A great option for a survival rifle. Yes. If you are looking for a versatile rifle, and you aren’t defining the parameters of your existence with fantastic apocalyptic societal collapse, than the CMR-30 would be a great choice. Think bush pilots. Back-country guides. Hikers. Campers. Canoers.

As for the rest of us, I bet this is a gun that will find its way into pickup trucks across America. It would be a great way to introduce new shooters to black rifles. And it would be ideal for a responsible kid.

Read more at Kel-Tec: https://www.keltecweapons.com/our-guns/rifle/cmr-30

Buy one on GunsAmerica: https://www.gunsamerica.com/Search.aspx?T=cmr%2030

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