Gun Pr0n – BAG Day V: Percussion Instruments

Pump Action percussion on Rogers trap set with Zildjian cymbals. Made in the USA.

April 15 – Buy a Gun Day V !

Crossfire Mk-1, Commando Edition:
(5) 3″ magnum ( or 2 3/4″ ) 12 Ga. over (40) 5.56 NATO (.223 Rem) = Something for everyone!

This rare combination gun was engineered and manufactured by Saco Defense from 1999 to 2001 until the business unit was purchased by General Electric. Since then, production has ended and consequently, parts are rare.

The Crossfire was a weapon designed for compliance with the infamous Assault Weapons Ban (the supplied AR-15 magazine only held five rounds).

The combination of 12 Ga. on the top barrel and .223 through the bottom barrel is changed by a single switch on the receiver’s left side. Prior to the introduction of the Crossfire, combination guns were mostly break-action, breech-loading rifle / shotguns with a two-round capacity. The Crossfire was revolutionary in that (as configured above) it had a capacity for five (4 + 1) 12 Ga. rounds and 40 + 1 rounds of .223 Rem (depending on magazine capacity).

The (also rare) Crossfire MK-1 Manual, scanned in 600 dpi resolution is down-loadable here. (Warning File Large – 14 MB file).

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Wall of Sound.

From an advertisement appearing in the May ’99 “Guns & Weapons for Law Enforcement” (Page 12):

Crossfire Mk-1

With the simple movement of your finger you have a choice of shotgun or rifle…# 6’s or .223 Rem…any type of shotgun ammunition available including less-lethal rubber pellets, bean bags, CS/CN tear gas, or 00 Buck and slugs..the rifle is designed with at 1-9 twist to use the advanced cartridge design in .223 cal ammunition.

Manufactured in the United States of America under ISO 9001 quality control standards, using the best mil-spec features, the Crossfire® has everything the sportsman, hunter or law enforcement officer wants, such as: pump action for both firing systems, optional Meprolite® Tritium adjustable night sights, Invector®-style choke tubes (Browning Invector choke tubes interchange with Winchester, Mossberg 500, Weatherby, Maverick 88, Smith and Wesson and Savage Guns style threads – Ed.), single trigger, single fire control selector, Picatenny style optical rail on the receiver and under the forearm, 4 round removable shotgun magazine, AR-15 type 5-round rifle magazine, composite stock and forearm, and is available in black oxide or camo finish. To have all of these features available in on compact package could only add up to one thing, Crossfire, the ultimate 21st century firearm

The Crossfire MK-1 will be available in the Spring of 1999 from your local firearms dealer.

From Guns Magazine, Oct, 2000 by Holt Bodinson, we have this:

The CrossfireDesigned as a tactical weapon, this unique part-rifle, part-shotgun is great for turkey and varmint hunting as well.

Designed by Crossfire and engineered by Saco Defense, the Crossfire MK-1 is a .223/12 gauge over/under, selective fire, repeating, pump action rifle/shotgun. We first heard about the Crossfire last year, but as is often the case with new designs, production was delayed.

Staying in communication with Bob Gates, Crossfire’s National Sales Manager, we waited over a year while the firearm was slightly re-engineered at Saco Defense for ease of production.

Saco, by the way, manufactures all the Weatherby rifle lines, as well as the MK-19 automatic 40mm grenade launcher and the M2 and M60 machine guns. As might be expected, this defense contractor produces firearms under strict ISO-9001 quality control standards.

The production models are now flowing and available for purchase, and we were pleased to get one of the first production units available.

Birth Of A Fighter

As might be expected, the origins of the Crossfire lie in the law enforcement and military communities. Here is a dual caliber, repeating firearm system that has obvious applications for executive protection, SWAT operations, prison or embassy security, close-quarter urban combat and routine police patrol duties. These are all operations that could benefit from giving the participants an immediate choice of either a rifle or a shotgun or, in the case of the shotgun, a choice between lethal or non-lethal ammunition.

As a hunter, I was interested in the sporting attributes of the Crossfire. Sportsmen have enjoyed combination rifle/shotguns for at least two centuries. SxS or O/U combination guns were not uncommon throughout the muzzleloading period, and more recently, sporting models like the Germanic drillings or our own Savage O/Us go to the field daily.

Having the choice of either a rifle or a shotgun with the push of a button is a real plus in many types of hunting. Having a repeating shotgun and a repeating rifle at your command with a flick of the switch is simply revolutionary.

Beyond The Limits
The greatest limitations of our traditional crop of combination sporting guns are that they offer only one or two shots with a particular caliber and they’re typically built on hinged, break-open type frames. Not so with the Crossfire.

Fully loaded, the Crossfire carries a four-round, removable, 12 gauge rubber-coated magazine that forms the comb of the stock. The magazine and chamber accept either 2 3/4″ or 3″ shells. The magazine well of the .223 rifle portion of the Crossfire can accommodate any AR-15 or M-16 style magazine, although the factory-supplied sporting magazine, that seats flush with the magazine well, holds only five rounds.

The action of the Crossfire is actually two independent actions with separate, reciprocating, multi-lugged bolts, fired by a single trigger. The selector switch on the left side of the action has three clearly marked positions. In the center, which is a raised, tactile type tab, the Crossfire is on “safe”. Depressing and pushing the switch up activates the shotgun mechanism and moving it all the way down engages the rifle.

Movement of the selector switch is firm enough to minimize the possibility that the switch could be accidentally moved from the desired setting, whether during carry or handling. There is also an action release tab housed within the front sight band between the two barrels. Pushing forward on the tab releases the slide, thereby allowing the action to be cycled for loading, firing and unloading.

The shotgun barrel is 18″ long and is supplied with three “Invector” style choke tubes — F, M and IC or Skeet. The Crossfire choke tube wrench is rather interesting. It’s a simple flat piece of black-oxidized metal with the relevant choke tube “notch” codes clearly engraved into it. What a great idea! The little wrench also carries a handy key-chain ring at one end.

The rifle barrel is 16″ long and is chambered to NATO 5.56mm standards, The twist is 1:9 and will stabilize the standard NATO SS109 bullet as well as some heavier hunting bullets. Both barrels are hammer forged by Saco.

All The Extras

The top of the Crossfire receiver carries an integral — and increasingly universal — Picatinny rail that can accommodate open sights, scopes, red dots, night vision devices and frankly, any optical device that can be secured by Weaver-type mounts. As supplied by the factory, the Crossfire comes with a detachable, ghost ring aperture rear sight that is adjustable for windage with the help of a screwdriver. The M-16 type, post front sight is adjustable for elevation by depressing the pin lock with the point of a bullet and rotating the post up or down.

The composite stock of the Crossfire actually wraps around the receiver and makes up the butt stock, pistol grip, trigger guard and magazine well. The composite forearm features an accessory rail that could carry white light or laser devices as well as a forward assist handle that we found indispensable to the operation of the gun. The Crossfire carries quick-detachable swivel bases and is supplied with a nylon sling. And, ah yes, a trigger lock.

The astute reader may notice that the term ‘Commando Edition’ quoted above, does not appear in any of the original references to this rifle.

Compare the previous pictures in this post to the ‘stock’ configuration with the thumb-hole stock. The ‘Commando Edition’ moniker was born when I removed the pistol grip connector. … My tribute to the expiration of the Assault Weapons Ban.

One other interesting Crossfire fact is that they were also built in 12 Ga. over .308 Win. Sweet.

Any readers with 12 Ga Crossfire Mag’s are encouraged to send them to me! Thanks.