Colt’s New M2012-CLR Competition Bolt Gun with Cooper Action
At the NRA Annual Meeting in St. Louis, Colt Firearms introduced a new bolt-action “Competition Rifle”, the M2012-CLR. Assembled by Cooper Firearms for Colt, the M2012 features a Colt metal chassis with tubular forearm, and a Cooper Arms repeater action. The M2012 rifles on display were chambered in .308 Winchester with fluted 1:10″ twist stainless barrels fitted with Surefire muzzle brakes. The bolt is a three-lug design with a Sako-style extractor. Trigger is a Timney set at 3 pounds — pretty high for a “competition” rifle. Though the barrel is only 22″, the M2012 is fairly heavy. Weight without optics is 13.2 pounds. Given the weight and short barrel, we think Colt is marketing this more for tactical shooters, rather than actual High Power or F-TR competitors.
Photo by Nick Leghorn, courtesy Nick Leghorn and TheTruthAboutGuns.com.
MORE PHOTOS — Large Size
Large photo showing two M2012 rifles (full view) (From Military Arms Channel Blog.)
Large photo showing right side of receiver (close-up) (From Military Arms Channel Blog.)
Large photo showing left side of Receiver with Colt and Cooper Firearms markings (close-up)
According to the GDI Engineering website, Colt’s M2012 “appear[s] to have been built on Cooper’s Model 54 action, which features a two-position safety to the right of the bolt. [Features] include an integral 25-MOA Picatinny base and the Colt-specific chassis and stock. The single-stack detachable magazines are from Accuracy International.”
Hefty Price for Colt’s M2012-CLR
MSRP for the new M2012-CLR is $3799.00. Colt’s asking price is approximately $1300.00 more than the price of an Eliseo RTS Tubegun Chassis ($1020.00) with a Rem-clone custom action ($900.00) and a Krieger barrel ($550.00 chambered). The RTS features a 5-way adjustable buttstock, easily removed without tools. The Colt M2012 offers adjustable Length of Pull (LOP) and adjustable cheekpiece height. The M2012’s skeleton buttstock is bolted to the main chassis, requiring an Allen wrench to remove.
