CMMG Banshee Mk4 300Blk

Introduction

Some folks might tell you that the AR15 market has become somewhat stale, as many manufacturers struggle for attention. Today we are looking at a rifle from CMMG, a company who has done well at making their AR platforms stand out from the rest. Our subject for review is the CMMG Banshee Mk4 chambered in 300 Blackout. This isn’t my first encounter with a Banshee, so I was piqued to see what made this next Banshee scream.

The CMMG Banshee

The Banshee line of rifles and pistols has a breathtaking variety. They are divided into basically two groups, one using a fixed ejector to expel pistol cases and similar, and the other using a traditional bolt-face ejector. Many of the pistol caliber Banshees use pistol magazines, but the Mk4 9mm models use an altered P-Mag to run 9mm cartridges and others.

An incredible assortment of firearms can be had within the Banshee line. Whether it be a .22Lr or the heavy hitting 8.6 Blackout, you can find a model that fits your purposes. And configurations vary widely as well, with both short-barreled rifle and pistol options with and without the bureaucratically incorporated arm brace.

Aside from all the different configurations, CMMG has an interesting color palette as well. With a half dozen or more Cerakote colors you can pick something pretty standard or make a statement yourself. But colors and configurations aren’t the only thing that sets the Banshee apart.

CMMG Banshee Features

The Banshee comes with additional features that put it above other competitors. Some very useful things such as ambidextrous magazine release will be very nice for left-handed shooters. And an enlarged right side mag button also makes it easy to smash when you’re moving quickly. I actually like the 45-degree safety and the semi-low-profile selector, though some of my carbine comrades felt it was too low-profile. CMMG’s own Zeroed charging handle provides a dual locking feature, much like popular aftermarket models.

The lightweight handguard is M-Lok compatible and offers a variety of accessory mounting. The Fastback buttstock is quickly deployed when you want to extend it, more on that later.

The 300 Blackout

The 300 Blackout has become a very popular chambering, particularly in AR pattern rifles. Perhaps the most important draw of the cartridge is its utility in subsonic shooting. Subsonic cartridges operate below the speed of sound, and when suppressed it makes them movie quiet. Because of their low velocity when shooting subsonic, the 300BLK does very well with short barrels. This makes it a great choice for AR pistols and SBR’s like the many you will see in the Banshee lineup.

The model we are looking at today however, uses a full-length sixteen-inch barrel. This is likely due to nanny-state overreach from clowns in government. Using shorter than sixteen-inch barrels in conjunction with a stock is so dangerous it can only be made safe by paying extra money to the aforementioned government clowns.

My personal feelings for the 300 Blackout are pretty simple; the whole point of the cartridge was to shoot heavy bullets at subsonic speeds from a suppressed AR style rifle. Once you deviate from that specific purpose, it seems to lose a lot of its novelty. As shooting the cartridge without a suppressor or in its supersonic configuration, it has few advantages over ballistically superior options.

Prepping the CMMG Banshee for the range

Since the 300 Blackout isn’t what I would consider a long-range cartridge, and few people would, I would set the rifle up for short-range shooting. With a likely maximum shooting distance of two-hundred or less yards, I decided that mounting my Eotech Vudu 1-6 riflescope would be more than enough scope for the Banshee. I mounted it with a cantilevered mount for proper alignment.

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As I mentioned, this gun would shine only with a suppressor involved. For that duty I grabbed my Anechoic 35 suppressor, despite its different shade of green I knew it would do a great job of diffusing the 300 Blackout gasses quietly. I threaded a 5/8-24 thread-cap into the breech of the suppressor and screwed the assembly onto the muzzle of the Banshee.

All that was left was to grab a few boxes of ammunition, for that I went with some Hornady selections of both super and subsonic. I know I mentioned that sub sonic is king, but there are some people out there who simply must know so I’m duty bound to try some supersonic ammo as well.