Fire! Is This the World’s Best Close Quarters Rifle?

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It doesn’t come cheap.

byCharlie Gao

Key point: LMT describes the CSW as an ideal rifle for close-quarters battle, due to its compact dimensions, powerful subsonic .300 Blackout chambering, and shrouded suppressor.

While Sig Sauer, Inc. won the U.S. SOCOM’s Suppressed Upper Receiver Group (SURG) trials, we are starting to see some of the other weapons that competed against it. One of them is LMT’s Confined Space Weapon (CSW), a futuristic-looking rifle that utilizes unique design elements. But how does the CSW solve the SURG problems differently from Sig Sauer, Inc.’s submission? Could it go on to serve elsewhere?

The standout feature on LMT’s CSW is the handguard. As with many other of LMT’s rifles, it’s monolithic, with the rail being mated to the upper receiver in one piece for increased strength. But it also extends all the way to the tip of the suppressor, completely shrouding both the weapon and the suppressor. The reason for this is heat mitigation.

Anyone who has shot a suppressed weapon knows that suppressors heat up, fast. This is due to what they do: they manage and control the release of hot combustion gases. In doing that, a lot of the temperature in the gas is transferred to the suppressor itself.