For years now, when it comes to pistol caliber carbines, 9mm ruled the roost. Manufacturers both big and small have come out with their takes on the 9mm AR-pattern carbine. One of the few caliber exceptions to this rule has been CMMG with the company's .45 ACP pistol-caliber carbine, reviewed here by Shooting Illustrated.
CMMG is now taking the next logical step and is coming out with AR-pattern pistols and carbines in the still-popular .40 S&W caliber. The .40 S&W Banshee pistol/short barreled rifle (SBR) and .40 S&W Resolute carbine both feature CMMG’s patent pending Radial Delayed Blowback (RDB) operating system, which offers gun owners reliability with a wide variety of ammunition types while reducing felt recoil and better use with a suppressor, such as more gas directed down the barrel and less gas forced out the ejection port and into your face.
One of the nice features of both the Banshee and Resolute firearms is that while they feed from standard Glock magazines, and unlike similar AR pistols, they hold the bolt open after the last round, thanks to CMMG’s engineering wizardry, which incorporates a more-reliable last-round bolt hold-open feature.
Because they both use the .40 S&W cartridge, a round that’s very popular with law enforcement, both the Banshee and the Resolute allow you to shoot the same cartridge you use in your sidearm in a platform that allows for greater accuracy.
Barrel lengths for both the Banshee pistol and SBR’s are 5 inches, 8 inches and the barrel length for the Resolute carbine is 16 inches. Weights for these firearms start at 4 pounds 12 ounces and they have an overall length starting at just 19.2 inches. One 22-round factory Glock .40 S&W magazine is included where allowed by law..
Suggested retail price on the CMMG Banshee in .40 S&W starts at $1,249.95 for the company's Series 100 pistol and ends at $1,799.95 for the company's 300 Series rifle. More information on both the Banshee pistol and Resolute carbine in .40 S&W can be found at cmmginc.com.