Let’s
face it, the gun industry is amazingly incestuous from a manufacturing perspective and very few folks actually make their own parts. Generally I am not a big fan of most “me too” AR15 companies that are popping up lately. Most are just screwing together parts from boxes, however some offer something unique and/or have deep machining backgrounds and are actually making their own parts. In the case of MMC they have both. They have been running AR15 parts for sometime as an OEM manufacturer, so offering completely in-house made rifles was not a stretch. I picked up a lightweight MMC Tactical C16.1 AR15 for something light and handy and to see what this newer firearm manufacturer was delivering.
ABOUT MMC MENNIE MACHINE COMPANY

FIT, FINISH, FEEL, & FEATURES


MMC own combat muzzle brake design on the Tactical C16.1 AR15 is excellent. It is basically the size of a standard A2 birdcage flash hider but still delivers excellent performance keeping overall length to a minimum. The compensator even includes a wire cutting notch. I am sure MMC will sell these $60 comps by the truckload.
Mennie
Machine includes their own Enhanced Trigger kit which is nitride coated
and tuned to deliver a 5lb brake with minimal take up and a shorter
reset. It is not a match trigger, but considerably smoother, crisper and
lighter than typical stock triggers. It reminds me of an ALG Defense
trigger which are probably the best stock triggers around. With the
nitride coating the trigger does take up smoothly and break cleanly.


The gas block is a clean standard melonited unit with a stainless gas tube mounted up to MMC’s own tapered 16.1” pencil profile. The tapered barrel design drops a lot of weight even over a standard M4 design. To maintain accuracy MMC has extended and tapered the barrel near the receiver to deliver a bit more stiffness and heat tolerance at the highest stress area on the barrel. This longer extension seemed to enhance accuracy a bit during sustained fire or may be is was the all the high tech gadgetry MMC uses to chamber the barrels. They use four coordinate measuring machines and contour inspection machines to select the optimal chambering position instead of just ramming a reamer into chamber the barrel like a lot of companies do. Its a process that maximizes chamber to bore alignment on the barrel and improves accuracy.

MMC
is starting to do some of their own molding such as the and extended polymer
trigger guard. I think they did a great job on the trigger guard as well. All cool touches made in house which I hope they will
expand to develop their own grip. A smooth fatter finger-grooveless grip
similar to the Magpul grip would be my vote.
Overall
quality from part to part was excellent for good reason. MMC
environmentally stabilizes all parts prior to measurement in a lab
environment on top of tool, machine inspection schedule intervals and
post part inspection and quality control of parts rolling out of
machines.
Each rifle is assembled in a precision jig to assure alignment of each part and minimize damage to the rifle.
FUNCTIONS & ACCURACY
In
these days of ammo shortage, I simply cannot toss 1000 rounds at a gun
to test it like I used to, however I did run a couple hundred rounds of
reloads and factory ammo through the MMC Tactical C16.1 AR15. A Eotech 512 was mounted up and I went to work killing paper and steel. What I
found was a very consistent shooting AR with surprising accuracy and
zero functional issues. Everything worked as it should and the
compensator delivered a noticeable reduction in both recoil and muzzle
rise. As equipped the C16.1 is a nice light and fast shooting gun.

FINAL THOUGHTS
MMC
is definitely going head to head with high quality/high value brand
name companies. The $1600 MMC Tactical C16.1 AR15 adds Nibo BCG, Nitrided
trigger, Troy Alpha rail, ambi-charging handle, and of course the Rogers
Super-Stoc over the equivalent $1500 Daniel Defense DDM4LV.
Mennie Machine does have more high tech machining capabilities at its disposal to assure very high tolerances
between all components. The result is a very good deal on a base rifle
with the solid base upgrades that deliver a premium high grade
military-spec rifle. The premium
battle rifle market MMC is targeting is a tough space to be in and requires a deep
investment in machining, technology, quality, and as we know from Bravo
Company and Daniel Defense “Branding”. MMC’s featured, machining
technology, quality, and prices are all in line, but I think their next
hurdle will be getting the word out in a very crowded space… maybe this
article will help.
The
MMC Tactical C16.1 AR15 shot well, functioned perfectly, delivered
surprisingly good accuracy for a lightweight barrel profile, and the
compensator was excellent. If you see an MMC AR on the shelf, pick one
up. I think you will be impressed with the overall fit, finish, and
quality of this new rifle company. If you see Mennie on the side, you
can be assured you are getting a very good quality rifle.
SPECS
UPPER RECEIVER - Machined from 7075 T6 to Mil-Spec, Indexing Marks, M4 Feed Ramps, hard coat anodize
LOWER RECEIVER - Machined from 7075 T6 to Mil-Spec, Flared Magazine Well, hard coat anodized
BARREL - 16.1" 4150 CrMV Steel 1:8 twist, Mid-length Gas System, nitride treated, M4 extension, modified Pencil Barrel
CHAMBER - 5.56 NATO
TRIGGER - Enhanced nitride treated Mil Spec single stage trigger, creep adjusted, polished engagement surfaces, crisp 5 lb break
MUZZLE - Compensator
BOLT CARRIER GROUP - Nickel Boron coated (lubeless operation), full auto rated, MPI test, staked gas key
GAS BLOCK - MMC Armory Low Profile Gas Block
CHARGING HANDLE - Ambidextrous, hard coat anodize
HANDGUARD - TROY 13" Alpha Handguard
BUTTSTOCK - Rogers Superstoc & 6 position Mil-Spec Polished Buffer Tube
MAGAZINE - 30 round polymer in black
PISTOL GRIP - Polymer A2 Style Grip
TRIGGER GUARD - Flat trigger guard
MSRP $1639
SOURCES
MMC Armory - https://www.mmcarmory.com/
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