South African CR-21 rifle

[Ady]

The Vektor CR-21 rifle was developed to replace the R4 rifle. The CR-21 is a R4 on the inside that has been reconfigured in a bullpup design. The internals are mostly the same as the R series of rifles with a few subtle differences.

CR stand for Combar Rifle and 21 for 21st century, hence the CR-21. The rifle is chambered in 5.56x45 and uses the standard R series magazine.

The CR-21 is fitted with a 1:1 Vektor optical sight and a 1:9 barrel twist (unlike the 1:12 barrel twist of the R series rifles) allowing both M855 and M193 ammunition to be used in the rifle. Like the R4, the CR-21 is equiped to fire rifle grenades.

Right hand side of the rifle. Note the keyhole shaped hole toward the rear of the rifle. The firing selector is not fitted.



Left hand side of the rifle. Note the picatinny rail where the optic mounts.



CR-21 with a polymer R series magazine fitted



CR-21 with 12 round steel R series magazine fitted

 

[lcastillo]

Ady, is that your CR-21 that finally arrived? Have you brought it home yet or are you waiting for paperwork to clear?

 

[lcastillo]

Let's see some close-ups. I would like to see that flash hider a little closer. Great score!

 

[Ady]

Close up of the ejector port with the bolt carrier in battery.



Close up of the ejector port with the bolt open

 

[Ady]

Ady, is that your CR-21 that finally arrived? Have you brought it home yet or are you waiting for paperwork to clear?

Hi Lou. Yes thats my CR-21, she is finally home. The license was finally granted, but they made it tough for me.

Let's see some close-ups. I would like to see that flash hider a little closer. Great score!

It has taken a while, i stripped the rifle for a good clean. It also gave me a chance to take some pics for you which i will add over the next while. Please be a little patient with me.

I hope you enjoy.

 

[Ady]

The receiver is a R4 receiver, but the internals are all semi-automatic. You can see how the receiver has worn against the synthetic body. The body & butt fixing pin holds the plastic end piece where the rifle stock would go in place as well as a body buffer.



Left and right hand side of the stripped receiver. Note the low profile R series gas block. The gas block has been modified to fit into the synthetic body.





The alluminium housing holds the gas tube in position with the optic attached to the picatinny rails above. The alluminium block gets clamped onto the barrel of the rifle and must be press fitted into the receiver. I tried to remove it, but it was tightly fitted so i left it in place.

 

[Ady]

The rifle with the top part of the synthetic body removed. This is where the dust cover would go on the R series rifles. You can see the bolt carrier and recoil spring. I will show the bolt carrier in more detail later.

 

[Ady]

I have tried rotating my photogrpahs, but i'm not winning. I'm sorry some of them are upside down.

You can see that the synthetic body of the rifle is worn smooth. This rifle came from a game park and was used in anti poaching operations. The internals look very good and don't show much wear.

 

[Ady]

According to the brochure the flash hider gives zero flash signature at night.





Note the spring on the flash hider similar to the R4 flash hider. This allows rifle grenades to be fired from the CR-21

 

[Ady]

The bolt carrier is the same as the R4 type bolt carrier with one difference. The cocking lever on the right has been replaced with a cocking lever attachment on the left of the bolt carrier. You will see the attached piece has a recess to accept the rod from the cocking lever which is now on the left hand side of the rifle.

 

[Ady]

The silver rod pointed out is attached to the cocking lever. This rod runs through the alluminium block shown in post 6 above and presses against the attachment on the bolt carrier as shown above.



The cocking lever rod passing through the alluminium block



The cocking lever rod seated onto the attachment on the bolt carrier.

 

[Ady]

The gas block is a low profile to fit into the synthetic body. The bushing you see on the barrel presses up against the inside of the synthetic body.



The gas block. Unlike my LM5 the rifle serial number is not stamped onto the gas block, but is engraved onto the bottom side of the barrel just forward of the gas block. This is the only serial number i could find on the rifle. I am not sure what the "C" on the side of the gas block is for. Perhaps it designates the gas block is for the CR-21.

 

[DustCovered]

Terrific pics, and very interesting stuff. Thanks for taking the time to post that up.

 

[Ady]

Terrific pics, and very interesting stuff. Thanks for taking the time to post that up.

Thank you, Lou taught me how to take good close up pics of rifles. I will keep adding stuff, i have a ton more pics to come.

 

[Ady]

The gas tube below is a straight gas tube with no flared ends to hold it in place. Instead there is a pin that goes through the alluminium block shown above. That pin fits into the recess on the gas tube shown below and that holds the gas tube in place.





The gas tube only has 3 ports unlike the R series gas tube which has 6. The 3 ports are positioned below a vent system in the synthetic body to allow the escaping gas to blow upward. This can be seen in later pics when the rifle is assembled.

 

[nhgunnut]

I am curious about the sight . if you have time at some point would you mind reviewing it a bit for this old dubber from the states?

 

[Ady]

This is the view looking from the muzzle end of the rifle back toward the receiver. You can see the clamp i mentioned earlier which clamps the alluminium block onto the barrel. The large hole in the centre is where the gas tube feeds through and the smaller hole in the top right is where the cocking lever rod mentioned in post 11 feeds through to the bolt carrier.



The picture below is the same as above but looking toward the muzzle end of the rifle.



Left hand side view of the gas block installed. You can see the pin in the alluminium block holding the gas tube in place.



Right hand side view.

 

[Ady]

I am curious about the sight . if you have time at some point would you mind reviewing it a bit for this old dubber from the states?

I have some close up pictures of the sight for you. I will post them next.

 

[Ady]

According to Vektor the concept of the reflex optical sight is the collection of light using an optical fibre which is reflected from a reflex lens to give a triangular image. The optic is fitted with a light source which means no batteries are needed to enable night firing. The optic can also be used with passive night vision equipment and has zero magnification.

I received the rifle with 3 parts missing. I have managed to source 2 parts, but the front height adjustment setting screw in the optic is proving to be a challenge. I found a spare screw but it seems that the 2 rear adjustment screws are bigger than the front screw.

The optic i received looks different to the one i have seen in the Vektor CR-21 brochure. I don't have any information about different models at this time.

This is the front view of the optic, you will see my missing height adjustment screw. The lens has some form of coating on, i'm not sure what.



The rear view of the optic which appears to have no coating on the lens. Note the two adjustment screws.



Top view of the optic showing the fibre optic light source.



Side view of the optic. The optic is housed in the same synthetic material as the rifle body.



Looking through the optic. You can see the reflective sight posts.

 

[Ady]

Picatinny rail seen from the left hand side. You can see the clamp has been removed as well as the pin which holds the gas tube in place.



Picatinny rail seen from the left hand side showing the clamp around the barrel.



The clamp seen from below. Four cap screws hold the clamp in place. You can see the proof mark stamped into the barrel. "P" in an oval.



Picatinny rail seen from above. Note the "T" piece at the receiver end of the alluminium block. This "T" is a stop point when mounting the optic and fits into the optic body. This ensures the optic is correctly fitted after removal. It also lines the cap screws in the optic to the holes in the alluminium body.