LR9 Southern Gun Co

There’s little doubt that Southern Gun Co’s Lever Release (LR) series of rifles caused quite a stir in the shooting world – then as now. Yes they look like black rifles (AR15s) hardly surprising given that’s how owner Bob Clark makes his living, by producing some of the best straight-pull ARs (Speedmasters) around. However, The LRs went a stage further, as they have transcended the Section 1, manually operated mechanism with something that sits in-between it and full self-loading function.

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That might seem improbable, if not downright impossible, in a country that has banned all semi-automatic/self-loading centrefire rifles and handguns. For those who don’t understand, I will explain. The law defines a self loading mechanism as one that will fire at a pull of the trigger, then go on to automatically eject, reload and re-set itself ready for the next shot. SGC’s concept literally made this a 50/50 split!

Bob started off with a pistol calibre system that used an unlocked, blow-back bolt. As the gun fires, the bolt moves rearwards and ejects, then is caught and held by a specially designed sear at the furthest point of its travel. Now, to reverse the movement and reload, a separate release catch is operated, which closes the bolt and re-sets the hammer, then a pull of the trigger starts the process again. In doing so the LR is not a self-loading system, so cannot be considered a Section 5 firearm!

I tested the original LR 9 (9mm Parabellum) a few years ago and it was interesting. It operated as described and once understood, there’s less disturbance of the shooting position, as you don’t have to let go of anything to cycle the action as you would with a straight-pull. It did however look a bit ugly, as it used Uzi magazines and that thin stick hanging out of that big AR mag well just didn’t cut it for me!

NIP & TUCK

Bob was telling me that he was thinking of switching to Glock magazines, as they are more readily available, lighter and compact. At the time the LR was in 9mm only, but now includes 45ACP and I was told other calibres might be possible too, as mags are available with capacities between 13 and 17-rounds given the calibre. This coincided with a design re-think that sees what I now call the Mk II version in my hands and it’s a lot better looking and for that matter practical!

The major change has been the totally, re-designed mag well area, which is reduced in length and pleasingly angled back to conform to the Glock magazine’s dimensions. To accomplish this, the mag catch had to be moved forward and to the left to conform to the existing locking cutout. However, Glock mags use double-sided cut so Bob has integrated the ability to fit an ambi mag catch to suit. The basic carbine does not come with this.

STANDARD ISSUE

The heart of the gun is the LR lever located rear/left of the lower receiver above the pistol grip, which necessitated moving the safety to the left. Operation is by the firing hand thumb and you just ‘tromp’ down on it to release the bolt forward to chamber prior to pulling the trigger. The barrel is a 13”, heavy/fluted build and threaded ¾ x 16 UNF as standard, over this sits a simple, alloy, free-float round forend, chequered for grip. The upper receiver is a flat top with Picatinny rail with initial charging by a standard, rear-mounted, AR15 T-handle.

Personally I’d have gone for a reciprocating handle on the left, which would be a bit slicker to use!

The ejection port has no cover but is drilled back and front to accept a case deflector system. This is not done for left handers but to put the brass near the shooter for ease of collection! Furniture consists of an A2 pistol grip and a standard CAR15 (Rock River style) telescopic stock on a 6-position carbine-length buffer tube. The LR weighs 7lbs un-scoped and is 31.5” long and feels a bit nose heavy, which is no bad thing.

MOVABLE FEAST

As with any SGC product, the LR family is a movable feast, as you can uses their ‘gun builder’ programme and design your dream rifle. Bob also sent down a more customised LR9, which incorporated both practical and cosmetic features, but the end result is a definite improvement in handling and shootability. It also addresses some of my issues with the basic controls, which will become apparent!

I consider 9x19mm (9mm Parabellum) a great choice of calibre for general use. Ammo is not expensive and is readily available and recoil is modest; certainly in a carbine format. Yes 45ACP might have more street cred but do you really need it? As an ex-Glock shooter I’d forgotten how hard new mags are to fill to their 17-round capacity in any calibre. In the early days these polymer sticks used to bulge when loaded and caused hard insertion and ejection. Glock solved this by incorporating a steel insert to increase rigidity.

OPEN/CLOSED BOLT DRILLS

On an open-bolt load it goes like this; pull back on the T-handle and the bolt will lock open, set the safety, slap in the mag, press down on the LR lever and the action closes and chambers. On a closed-bolt reload, a full mag needs some pushing in to engage the catch, as that 17-round payload takes a bit of compressing. On firing, the bolt will stay open after each shot and you just press the LR each time. It’s an odd feeling at first, as your natural instinct is to pull the trigger again; I found it took me a bit of time to work out a cadence. I also found that in the firing position my thumb was really only pressing the rear corner of the lever. It worked fine but I would have liked a bit more surface.

Mag changes are easy – the supporting hand thumb presses the catch and the hand pulls the empty free. The downside is that this wastes time due to the location of the release catch. Reloads are super practical, as you use your index finger to locate the front of the mag well and slide the full one in. Speaking from my Practical Pistol (PP) perspective; a well placed mag pouch will shave seconds of your drills!

CLUNK!

An aspect of the design is that heavy bolt slamming forward tends to pull the rifle forward and down a tad, which does influence sight acquisition and alignment. The trigger was a bit mushy, with noticeable take up before a sluggish break and needs some TLC! Reliability was good and I used some old British Aero Space 93-grain jacketed soft point, along with CBC/MagTech 123-grain FMJ. Accuracy was good too; benched at 50 yards the LR was shooting into the inch and around two at 100. There’s little doubt it’s a fun and addictive gun to use with a deal of potential, it felt almost like shooting Practical again, such was the facility of reloads etc.

As I mentioned, the tricked up version addresses most of the issues I had with the standard LR and some I would consider mandatory if you are of a competitive nature. The Magpul MOE butt is lockable, so does not rattle about so much, likewise their rubber-covered pistol grip is fuller and a far better handle. With more back strap, it positions the hand/finger better too! The ambidextrous mag catch allows for a trigger finger release, so your supporting hand can go straight for the reload as the empty falls free.

NEW WAVE

Bob also fitted a larger/wider LR lever, which is rubber-covered and a rolling wave shape; giving a lot more for your thumb to act on; again mandatory for me. Not such an advantage is the QD, free-float forend with top and bottom rails. Yep it looks cools and does what it says on the tin, but is not that comfortable and needs rail guards and why would you need to take it off anyway? Finally, the muzzle brake is a huge, multi-port thing! Again cool looking but recoil control in 9mm, on what is already a heavy rifle, is not a big issue! The case deflector; well good if you reload and the magazine showed a +2 base plate.

So what would you use the gun for? Gallery Rifle at all distances certainly and a bit of Practical Carbine perhaps; because it sure kicks butt over a lever-action. Being threaded, it could make a useful shorter-range foxer too but that’s just a thought.

PRICE: £1639.80, Custom version £2374.83
CONTACT: Southern Gun Co, 01208 851074, www.southern-gun.co.uk