BATTLE RIFLE BELT-FED DMR CARBINES
FAMAE/ TAURUS CT-30 CARBINE
No-frills gun to meet basic LE requirements in mission-specific niches! by RONALDO OLIVE
T
he reasons behind the creation of the .30 M1 carbine and its corresponding cartridge in World War II are generally well known, but let’s very briefly remind them to newcomers. At the time, the U.S. military needed a kind of intermediate weapon, something between the .45 ACP M1911A1 pistol and the .30-06 M1 Garand rifle, to arm so-called secondline troops (drivers, communications and artillery crews and so forth). The final result was a lightweight gun-and-ammunition combination that proved so popular that front-line troops often used the light and handy semiauto M1 and its selective-fire version, the M2, as their primary weapons—no wonder that over 6.5 million examples were produced by a dozen or so manufacturers. The weapon was in action in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, not to mention in countless smaller conflicts worldwide to this day. The M1 and its dedicated .30 Carbine round (the 7.62x33mm) also found their way into the law enforcement world, mainly due to the comparatively low ballistic performance of the caliber’s moderate-velocity, moderaterange, jacketed 110-grain bullet, which minimizes over-penetration in human targets, a major consideration for public security. Israel’s police was (and still is) an early user of the “ol’ reliable” M1. In the late 1990s, Israel even went ahead and designed a local carbine chambered to the .30 Carbine round, the IWI Magal (see the March 2013 issue of Tactical Weapons).
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The author fires the CT-30 at an indoor range in Porto Alegre, Brazil, where Taurus has its main production facilities. The .30 Carbine cartridge (and the author) is over 70 years old and still in action.
SPECIFICATIONS:
TAURUS CT-30
CALIBER: .30 Carbine BARREL: 10.24 inches OA LENGTH: 19.88 inches (stock folded), 30.91 inches (stock unfolded) WEIGHT: 7.05 pounds (empty) STOCK: Side-folding SIGHTS: Protected blade front, U-notch rear ACTION: Gas-operated, rotating bolt, semi-auto FINISH: Matte black CAPACITY: 30+1
The Taurus FAMAE’s design lineage can be traced back to the SIG SG 540 family of assault rifles, whose stamped receiver can be recognized in the CT-30. The carbine’s side-folding stock, however, is sturdier than the original Swiss model’s.
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battle rifle In a quick flashback, the Dominican Republic’s Armeria San Cristobal produced around 200,000 examples of the Pistola Ametralladora Cristobal Modelo 1 (foldable metal stock) and Modelo 2 (fixed wooden stock) selective-fire carbines in this caliber in the 1950s and 1960s. The guns were generally based on the Hungarian Danuvia series of 9x25mm Mauser (or Mauser Export) submachine guns, sharing with them a common designer, Pál M. Király. Besides using the .30-caliber carbine, the Dominican Republic also obtained some export orders for the weapon from countries such as Colombia and pre-Castro Cuba. In the 1960s, the Brazilian bolt-action Chapina carbine, normally chambered for loads such as the .32-20 Win, was reportedly tested in .30 Carbine fed from a 15-round magazine. This cartridge has also been used in handguns, such as
An optional flash suppressor is available for the gun, this adding 25mm to the overall length and 2.29 ounces to the weight.
The ParaFAL-style tubular stock folds neatly to the right side and allows the gun to be used in this configuration.
the AMT AutoMag III semi-auto, and in revolvers, such as the Ruger Blackhawk and the discontinued Taurus Model 30C Raging Thirty. Well, so much for history.
Swiss & South American
Considering that the .30 Carbine cartridge (mainly with expanding bullets) had been well accepted by law enforcement, some South American countries in mid2002 decided to make a modern weapon chambered to fire it. It was a joint venture between Chile’s Fábricas y Maestranzas del Ejército (FAMAE) and Brazil’s Forjas Taurus S.A. (Taurus).
The 30-round, steel magazine has small observation holes on both sides to show full and 20-round capacities.
It should be remembered that the state-owned FAMAE had long acquired manufacturing rights and tools to produce the Swiss SIG SG 540 series of assault rifles (the SG 542-1 in 7.62x51mm and the SG 540-1 and SG 543-1 in 5.56x45mm), whose short-stroke gas-piston action and firing mechanism proved entirely adequate for the task at hand. With the necessary dimensional changes to chamber and fire the new .30 Carbine round, the CT-30 carbine emerged. The “CT” designation signified both Carabina Táctica (tactical carbine) and Carabina Taurus (Taurus Carbine),
“In the 1960s, the Brazilian bolt-action Chapina carbine, normally chambered for loads such as the .32-20 Win, was reportedly tested in .30 Carbine fed from a 15-round magazine.”
The iron sights of the bi-national, South American carbine. The rear drum-type sight is in the “5” position, a U-notch for the 50-meter range.
The CT-30 carbine partially disassembled for maintenance.
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business-like. The CT-30’s method of operation is a conventional, lockedbreech, gas-piston system by way of a rotating bolt housed in a trapezoidshaped bolt carrier. The upper and lower receivers are made from stamped steel, and the removal of two push pins allows the gun to be fully opened for disassembly or cleaning. As does the SG 540, the CT-30 has two reinforcing ribs that are stamped on each side of the lower receiver, in the area above A trooper of the Brigada Militar do Rio Grande do Sul (the the magazine housing. Rio Grande do Sul State Military Brigade) trains with a The mag release lever is a CT-30. Note the plain barrel sans flash suppressor. sturdy metal blade located at the rear of the housing The Taurus CT-30 is pretty straightforand is pushed forward to carry out its ward to handle and shoot. Its 7.72-pound function, while the triggerguard can be Gun Details weight with a loaded, 30-round magazine side-folded to allow the operator to use As highly subjective as this subject is, helped mitigate felt recoil—a real plus for the gun while wearing thick gloves. I will venture to say that the bi-national accuracy. The foldable, tubular stock is The fire selector lever, within easy CT-30 immediately comes across as reminiscent of the ParaFAL’s and, when reach of the firing hand’s thumb, is in the closed position, reduces the gun’s duplicated on both sides, with the overall length from 30.91 to 19.88 inches up-position (“S”) for safe and the while still allowing all the basic fire operadown-position (“1”) for semi-auto. tions to be carried out. The reciprocating, curved chargBoth the two-piece handguard and ing handle is located to the right the pistol grip are polymer, with the latter and detachable from the bolt when featuring a hollow space where cleaning disassembling the gun. material is stored. An optional flash supThe iron sights are all Sig. They pressor adds about an inch to the gun’s consist of a rotating, drum-type rear length and 2.29 ounces to its weight. The unit that’s adjustable for windage cocking piece reciprocates during firing, and has a U-notch for 50 meters and the bolt remains open after the last (marked “5”) and apertures for 100 round is fired. With a fresh magazine reand 150 meters (marked “10” and placing the empty one, you just press the “15” respectively), and a blade-type small bolt release button on the left side front unit that’s adjustable for elevaThe fire selector is in the semi-auto (“1”) and you’re ready to go. All in all, the smart tion and well protected by V-shaped, position. Also shown are the push-forward Taurus CT-30 carbine is a no-frills gun that side ears. This is mounted on top magazine-release lever, the stamped appears to meet basic LE requirements of the three-position gas regulator, reinforcing ribs above the magazine housing, in mission-specific niches. For more on which enables the user to adjust for the foldable triggerguard and the button FAMAE, visit famae.cl. For more on Forjas different types of ammunition. The that unlocks the stock for side-folding. SW sight radius is a comfortable 350mm. Taurus, visit taurus.com.br. but the marketing efforts eventually concentrated on Taurus. Following the CT-30’s local product certification (RETEX No. 1923/04) issued by the Brazilian army’s Secretaria de Ciência e Tecnologia (Science and Technology Secretary) on June 4, 2004, the gun was placed in production and commercialized that same year. FAMAE supplies the stamped receiver and firing-mechanism components, while Taurus makes the 10.24-inch barrel, which has four grooves, a 1-in-16.5-inch, right-hand twist and a muzzle velocity of about 1,640 fps, the dedicated 15- and 30-round steel magazines, and the tubular, metal, folding stocks, which are based on the SG 540’s. Final weapon assembly takes place at Taurus’ Brazil facility, so Brazil is responsible for over 70 percent of the CT-30’s final value. Confirmed users of the carbine today include several Brazilian civil and military police agencies.
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