The lightest and smallest short-barreled rifles and AR pistols CMMG offers, the Banshee line is fightingly nimble.
What the compact Banshee line brings to the game:
- The Banshee line is composed of short-barreled rifles and AR pistols.
- As expected, the SBRs require NFA registration and tax stamp.
- The guns are among the smallest and lightest in CMMG’s catalog.
- The pistol-caliber Banshees weighs in at just over 4.5 pounds, while the rifle caliber is just over 5 pounds.
- The Banshee is available in four calibers: .22LR, 9mm, .45 ACP and .300 Blackout.
- The SBR configurations come with CMMG’s innovative Fastback stock.
- The 9mm and .45 ACP feature the company’s pioneering Radial Delayed Blowback operating system.
- The Banshee runs from $1,449 to $1,499.
Ominously, CMMG’s Mk4 Banshee made its appearance on the national stage this past Friday the 13Th. But the only thing that could prove to be unlucky about the Missouri gunmaker’s wicked new guns are the hoops shooters have to go through to put most in their safe.
Yup, the Banshee line is nearly top to bottom NFA regulated — registration, tax, stamps, the whole nine yards. That’s the breaks (illogical as they might be) in the short-barreled rifle world. The company has taken some mercy on the hearts of those who refuse to jump when the ATF says frog, releasing complementary AR pistols in the line’s four calibers. Even so, CMMG gives ample reasons to contemplate doing the Fed’s paper dance; by all accounts, the backpack-portable carbines are sound as oak joists and light as a morning breeze.
That latter facet isn’t all re-written press release hyperbole either. The guns are plum featherweight. The pistol-caliber Banshees just trips over the 4.5-pound mark, while the rifle-caliber configurations are well within a rounding error of a flat 5 pounds. As those who shoot magnum revolvers know, this is tantalizingly tickling handgun heft — with the benefit of a stock (or brace).
CMMG offers the Banshees in .22LR, 9mm, .45 ACP and 300 Blackout, each boasting the shortest barrel the company bores for the calibers. In the case of pistol-calibers that snaps the tape at a nimble 5-inches, while the Blackout measures out at 8 inches. In both cases, the Banshee should prove not only portable, but also as fast handling as they come — particularly in a close-quarters application.
The Banshee come decked out, as those familiar with CMMG would suppose. Each version of the Banshee sports the company’s new ambidextrous charging handle, as well as sling plate and safety selector. They come standard with a Cerakote finish, an RML M-LOK Hand Guard and a Magpul MOE Pistol Grip. The AR Pistol versions each come with a Tailhook Mod 2 Brace.
The SBR versions come equipped with a Magpul MVG Foregrip and feature CMMG's new RipStock — a new compact buttstock, fully machined out of 6061-T6 aluminum and Cerakoted at the factory. The stock features two of CMMG's patent-pending technologies: Fastback and P3. The former does away with a lever release to deploy the stock and the latter presets the length the stock extends. Handy.
The 9mm and .45 ACP BANSHEEs feed from factory Glock magazines. Additionally, they utilize CMMG's patent-pending Radial Delayed Blowback operating system, which uses a lighter buffer and carrier than the typical straight blowback design.
There is a little matter of cost and the Banshee line demands considerably more than the everyday sporter AR. But at a range of $1,449 to $1,499, the guns aren’t relegated to pipe-dream status — even with Uncle Sam expecting his cut on the SBR configurations.
For more information on the Mk4 Banshee please check out: www.cmmginc.com
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