Let me say that as we arrived, there was a gentleman there, who travels the world for business and paid cash for his weapon, that we spoke to for a number of minutes. He didn’t own a semi-automatic rifle, just handguns and hunting rifles. I asked him why he was purchasing this particular weapon. His response was simple, “I’m buying it because the government doesn’t want me to!” I really liked this guy, needless to say, but I digress.
So while there have been attempts at getting a hybrid AR/AK rifle, nothing comes close to this model, says General Manager Tom Wise This weapon will fire anything from a .22 caliber to a .50 caliber Beowulf, provided you make the necessary barrel change and internal changes. Plans are to provide kits for various calibers that should take about two minutes to alter the rifle for.
The semi-automatic rifle will have an ergonomic feel to it like the AR-15 and will accept all AR-15 magazines. However, the technology will be AK. It will be using the internal parts of an AK weapon (bolt, trigger. This means parts can be interchangeable with the AR and the AK. The trigger will be smooth, not somewhat rough like the AK-47, making it much easier to control the shot.
While I was not allowed to see the finished product, I was allowed to see the previous version of the Joshua MK5, the MK1. Externally it appeared like an AK-47, but the MK5, due out in March, will have a similar, yet distinctive appearance to that of an AR-15. Below is a test of the MK1:
Ryan Croft is the CEO of Amendment Arms, as well as, the engineer and designer of the Joshua MK5. He was recently featured on an episode of Doomsday Preppers. You can pick up Ryan’s prepping advice at around the 30:00 minute mark in the video I linked to.
Croft believes there has been nothing like the Joshua MK5 that has ever been put out and is confident that customers will be happy with their firearm. He says that with the vast supply of .223 ammunition that gun owners will not be lacking in ammo and with a quick conversion, something that Croft says will take about 2 minutes. One can easily switch to any caliber that the weapon will fire, including the popular 7.62×39, by simply purchasing future kits that will accommodate those calibers. In fact, the company plans to also manufacture a barrel for firing the 7.62 along with the internal parts for that conversion.
Croft’s design even took him by surprise as he did not start with an AR frame and just “throw in AK parts.” Rather he developed it from scratch and soon discovered it would even accommodate a .50 caliber Beowulf! Though it will not fire a .308, the Joshua MK5 is a highly impressive weapon.
According to Amendment Arms’ Blog, the specs on the Joshua MK5 are amazing:
Ammunition
The Joshua MK5 uses 5.56 NATO ammunition as its standard, accommodating also .223, but the receiver is multi-caliber, meaning you can use everything from 50 Beowulf down to .22 long rifle, including AK 7.62×39! If you want to use anything larger, .308 for example, you will have to wait until we manufacture our next product.
Cleaning
VERY easy to clean.
Joshua MK5
Regarding the name, yes, it is Biblical, and yes, we are believers in the Lord.
Magazine
The magazine will be AR-15, and we include a standard AR-15 USGI mag with every Joshua MK5.
Materials
Using 4140 steel and 6061 aluminum, we are top-of-the-line in standard materials. The parts we make are milled. Barrels are chrome-moly 1:7 twist, heavy-taper.
Modular
Amendment Arms General Manager Tom Wise with the Joshua MK1 prototype.As to modularity, certain of our parts will be AK- and AR-interchangeable, but we at this time can’t disclose which, due to secrecy restrictions for a little while yet.
The rifle will come with standard Picatinny-compliant quad rails that are Croft’s own design and he believes they are superior to anything on the market. The stock will be a standard under-folder stock, Eastern bloe, removable.
I can say that having both and AR-15 and an AK-47, that the AR style rifle is great, except for the fussiness of cleaning, but my AK really doesn’t have to be babied. The Joshua MK5 will combine the best of both worlds in its ergonomics, accuracy, and reliability.
The rifles are set to hit the market and ship to customers in March of this year. (UPDATED see below) They are looking to start contracts with customers for as little as $20. According to Tom Wise, if a person signs a contract and gives him $20, it will secure a Joshua MK5 no matter what Washington does, because by law they must fulfill their contracts. Also, that person will get a $100 rebate. If you want to put $100 down on a Joshua, the rebate jumps to $200. You can take as long to pay as you like or you can pay in full up front.
The guys are looking to get 200 contracts. Currently they have about 50 contracts.
So what does a Joshua MK5 cost you? The total comes to $895, but remember, you’ll be helping a company get established and also produce a high quality, dependable firearm, not to mention you’ll be getting money back in a rebate. I’ll be putting in my order with my next paycheck this week. I suggest giving the guys at Amendment Arms a call at 828-676-0225 or email Tom at [email protected] and tell them Tim at Freedom Outpost sent you. He’ll be happy to answer any questions you have. They are also throwing in a free T-Shirt to the first 200 customers who purchase the Joshua MK5.
For more from Ryan Croft on the Joshua MK5, check out Fox Carolina’s report on his new hybrid semi-automatic rifle.
UPDATE: Some have asked about Amendment Arms FFL. Here’s the information you need to know according to their website:
Does Amendment Arms Inc. have an FFL?
Yes. Our license number is 1-56-021-07-5K-07736, expiring October 1, 2015.
This can be checked at the website https://www.atfonline.gov/fflezcheck/
UPDATE February 23, 2013: No more contracts will be honored with the previous rebates. They have far surpassed that. In order to contract for a new Joshua MK5, simply download the new contract, fill it out and send in your payment. You can download the contract here.
Here’s the latest from them on the rebate issue. The price may also increase shortly by $100 to $995.
UPDATE: Due to several manufacturers who were providing parts for the Joshua MK5, new manufacturers had to be obtained. This has set the Joshua MK5 hitting the market around the first of June. I’ll be covering that once it does and providing a bit of video coverage firing the weapon as well. Stay tuned.
UPDATE May 6, 2013: Joshua MK5 is basically waiting on new rails to be made. This can take 6-8 weeks once they are approved. Tom told me today they are in talks with manufacturers for the rails and hopefully will finalize those shortly.
UPDATE June 29, 2013: Amendment Arms is keeping you up to date via their recently revamped site on what’s going on with the Joshua MK5. Things seem to be back on track and hopefully we will be seeing the new Joshua MK5 very soon. Source
UPDATE: June 29, 2014. The new price for the Joshua is $1545, plus tax and shipping. Check out the new contract and rebate offers. Download the contract here.
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