It Lives! KE Arms to Produce MK3 Polymer Receiver

Many of you know that I am a fan of the CAV Arms and later GWACS Armory MKII AR-15 Lowers. These are one of the only (maybe THE only) viable polymer receivers ever produced. The status of GWACS Armory, the last company to produce the MKII, is unclear at this point and that left the status of the receivers in limbo.

Russell Phagan, Sales and Marketing Director at KE Arms and one of those who has been a common thread in the development of all iterations of this receiver, has long said that as long as he is around, there will always be hope for the MKII (and now MKIII) receivers. As of this morning, it looks like there is more than just hope…

KE Arms sends the following:

KE Arms is pleased to announce development of the MK3 Polymer Receiver. Molds and tooling are currently in production and we anticipate to start shipping receivers in Quarter 2 2020.

The MK3 receiver is the heart of InRange TV’s What Would Stoner Do 2020 Rifle Project. WWSD2020 Rifles will be exclusively available at Brownell’s

The MK3 is an AR15 style receiver made from injection molded glass filled nylon incorporating the buttstock, buffer tube, pistol grip, and trigger into the receiver design as integral components. 

The MK3 Receiver draws inspiration and experience from earlier monolithic polymer receiver designs while incorporating modern manufacturing techniques and features for the current marketplace.

This manufacturing process offers several advantages

  • Lighter weight compared to similarly configured receivers
  • Lower cost to similarly configured receivers
  • Increased production speed and elimination of sub components through integration; especially important during high demand cycles in the market.

Features Include:

  • Compatibility with most common AR15 uppers and lower parts kits
  • Flared magwell to make reloads under stress easier to perform.
  • A1 Length 13” Length of Pull (LOP) Buttstock to fit a wide range of shooters
  • MLOK Slots at rear of stock for sling attachement points or run a strap through it for simple sling attachment
  • Holes at the front of the stock for QD socket inserts for more sling attachment options
  • Improved grip for comfortable use

“Winter” Trigger Guard

Product Link: http://www.kearms.com/mk3-polymer-receiver.aspx

Updates on the MK3 receiver and WWSD2020 development can be found at KEArms.com, Brownells.com, and InRange Media Distribution Points.

InRange sends the following:

InRangeTV launched the What Would Stoner Do (WWSD) project in 2017 with the goal of revisiting the intentions of Eugene Stoner when he developed the AR10, ultimately scaled down to the AR15 with Jim Sullivan, wherein Stoner leveraged aerospace technologies, concepts and materials in regards to designing the world’s most modern rifle.    He succeeded in these goals but he was initially ahead of his time – an inline design composed of aluminum and fiberglass was something foreign & weird, certainly not a fighting man’s rifle, right?

Ultimately the AR15 became the world’s best, most reliable, handy and capable fighting rifle against all odds of existing bias and even sabotage.   However, over time, the AR15 has gradually be modified by “one good idea at a time” and the AR/M16 of today has dramatically deviated from the original vision of Eugene Stoner.     We aimed to bring the AR15 back to its roots, but with modern materials and concepts in 2017, and feel that we succeeded well beyond our expectations.  The 2017 WWSD rifle turned into a wonderfully well balanced, accurate and durable gun that did indeed capture the spirit of those goals from the late 1950’s.  

Unfortunately, the only good and viable polymer lower on the market become nearly inaccessible.  The company that manufactured them went dark and the remaining inventory of those on the market went up in value and became difficult to obtain.   This lower was one of the most quintessential elements of what made the WWSD rifle what it is. 

We are  *very* excited to announce today that we’re launching WWSD2020 in which we’re going to revisit all of what we did in 2017, but now with a brand new Mk3 Lower that is being manufactured by KE Arms, under the watchful eye of Russell Phagan (Sinistal Rifleman), who has a superb and institutional knowledge of the previous lowers and can incorporate lessons learned into the manufacture of this new MK3 and WWSD2020 rifle.

Ultimately this effort will culminate in not only having a truly improved Mk3 version of this polymer lower on the market, but with also with *complete WWSD rifles* available through a partnership with Brownells!

Brownells has provided a landing page for this project and we plan to provide videos all the nitty gritty of the revisit of WWSD in 2020 on that page, including content that can’t be published to YouTube. 

You can find more information here:
http://www.inrange.tv/wwsd2020

2 Responses to It Lives! KE Arms to Produce MK3 Polymer Receiver

  1. MK November 22, 2019 at 17:17 #

    Should make it a 12” lop and have the butt accept Magpul replacement buttpads, spacers, etc..

  2. Robert Solla November 23, 2019 at 01:14 #

    They should have incorporated different interchangeable pistol grips like Magpul.

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