M+M Industries M10X+: Swiss Soviet Shooter

We’re all gun nerds at heart here at RECOIL. So while it’s neat to check out the latest and greatest AR or the umpteenth refinement of a Glock, we love seeing weapon systems that stray off the beaten path.

M+M Industries is based in Colorado and was started by two fellows named Mike, hence the company name. One of the original Mikes, Mike Meier, now runs M+M. Born in Switzerland, he also lived in Venezuela before moving to America. Meier saw firsthand the economic and political upheaval there, including the new government disarming citizens and instituting changes, one after another, that harmed the populace. 

This solidified his belief in the importance of firearms ownership. M+M got started in 2005 importing guns, parts kits, and accessories, building a particular expertise in the FN FAL space.

In 2010, the company graduated to building their own guns. Working with Romarm/Cugir in Romania, they designed the M10-762 AK-pattern rifle. Starting with the Romanian PD MK63 AKM design, they incorporated a 90-degree gas block reminiscent of the East German Wieger rifles and made other modifications for regulatory compliance. 

Rather than using surplus parts, M+M began installing new-production parts as well as modern furniture and accessories, creating a more modernized AK build.

It did well, and M+M started working on its own design for a new rifle that it would manufacture itself, entirely in America. Back in Switzerland, Meier had worked on numerous projects related to the SIG SG 550 and SG 553 rifles. Combined with his experience over the years with the FAL and AK platforms, Meier was inspired to create a simple design incorporating aspects of all of these great weapon systems. 

SPECS:

M+M Industries M10X+

• Caliber: 7.62x39mm
• Capacity: 30 rounds
• Weight: 7.72 pounds
• Barrel Length: 16.5 inches
• Overall Length: 35.75 to 38.25 inches (28.5 inches with stock folded)
• MSRP: $2,245

Accessories:

• Vortex Optics Razor HD Gen II-E
• 1-6×24 scope: $2,400
• ADM AD-RECON-SL scope
• mount: $227
• Rugged Suppressors Razor762: $894
• SureFire Mini Scout Light Pro: $369

SIG-FAL-AK MASHUP

Thus, the M10X was born. M+M chose to base the gun around 7.62x39mm and AK magazines, due to their ubiquity and affordability in the U.S. and abroad. At first glance, you might think the rifle’s some sort of an AK variant, but the long-stroke gas piston operating system is actually inspired by the SIG 55X family. 

Gas bleeds off through the gas block on the barrel and through a five-position adjustable gas valve. The piston is fixed to the bolt carrier group by the charging handle and sits inside the gas cylinder, reciprocating as the action cycles. The recoil spring actually wraps around the gas piston, using it as a guide rod. 

The monolithic aluminum handguard contains a billet steel insert that’s the actual receiver of the gun, again with a SIG 55X-type design. The bolt group rides on rails in the steel receiver, which is milled from 4150 steel. The breech locks via a rotating bolt.

Like a 55X or FAL, and unlike an AK, the barrel is threaded, head spaced, and torqued into place. It’s topped off with M+M’s own muzzle brake design, a single chamber brake with tines that also function as wire cutters, if you don’t mind expending one round per wire, like a boss. 

The center pin is similar to a FAL, with three major components — the handguard, upper, and lower — mating up with the screw pin. It has several rows of M-LOK slots on the sides and bottom, as well as 18 uninterrupted inches of top rail. 

The lower trigger housing is stamped steel and uses an AK-style fire control group inspired by the AKM. It takes any AKM pistol grip; the included grip is ribbed with storage inside. A typical AK paddle magazine release is at the front of the trigger guard, while a SIG- or AR-like ambidextrous rotating safety selector sits above the grip. As you’d expect with an AK magazine-based system, there’s no bolt-hold-open when the gun runs dry. Just wait for that frightening click.

The buttstock mounts to the rear trunnion; M+M affixes Magpul’s folding Zhukov stock, since the operating system doesn’t extend to the rear. The length of pull is adjustable, and the stock folds to the right side. Of course, you can fire the gun with the stock folded, for maximum Hollywood tacticoolness.

M10X+

Shown here is the third generation in the M10X line, the M10X+ that launched last year. The gas piston has been modified from prior versions with a heat shield and bushing to help it stay cooler and cleaner, and the headspace, gas valve, and gas port have been tweaked to boost accuracy potential. 

Also, a new rubberized recoil buffer was added at the rear of the upper to prolong the service life of the rear trunnion and recoil spring. The steel receiver is now milled for tighter tolerances; the first generation was also milled but the second was cast.

New for the M10X+ is a cold-hammer-forged, chrome-lined barrel, so you can feel better about bimetal and corrosive ammo if so inclined. Previous iterations were button-rifled and nitrided. The handguard is new, skeletonized to reduce weight and increase cooling. It also has additional fasteners securing it to the receiver and barrel assembly for more support.

The trigger group features a new braided hammer spring that hits with an additional pound of force for more reliable ignition on hard primers in surplus ammo.

FIELDSTRIPPING

One thing we love about Glocks is how few parts there are. Similarly, M+M aimed for simplicity, impressively managing to reduce the total number of parts in the rifle to 63 — roughly half of that in an AK or AR. Not only is it clever, but no tools are required to tear it down.

To disassemble the M10X, first remove the magazine and ensure the gun is unloaded. Then, fold the buttstock, revealing the receiver latch. Push it in while pulling up on the upper, and the two pieces will open up on the hinge pin. Push on the end of the charging handle and turn it clockwise 90 degrees, which will rotate a spring-loaded hook on the opposite side that secures it to the bolt group. 

Then, pull it out. Now, you can slide the bolt carrier group out of the receiver; since the recoil spring is on the gas piston, there’s no spring tension to overcome and the BCG comes right out with no fuss. To separate the bolt from the carrier, push it in and rotate it to release the bolt’s lug from the corresponding track in the carrier. 

To work on the gas system, turn your attention to the muzzle end. On the right side of the gun next to the gas valve is a spring-loaded pin. Partially depress it to release the gas valve, which you can rotate to remove from the gas cylinder. To remove the gas cylinder, fully depress the pin, rotate the cylinder to release its lugs from the upper receiver, and pull it out. The gas piston will come out with it. Reassembly is the reverse of the above steps, taking care to properly align the parts.

FIFTY SHADES OF BRONZE

The M10X+ has a funky Swiss-Soviet aesthetic to it, and our sample gun was Cerakoted in a handsome burnt bronze color. Naturally, Vortex’s bronze Razor line was a great match. The Razor HD Gen II-E 1-6x scope has long been a favorite of both top 3-gunners as well as top-tier operators. Its great glass, incredible field of view, thin bezel, blazing bright illumination, generous eye relief, and Mil-scale reticle make it a delight to use at either 1x or 6x.

Due to the position of the buttstock relative to the top rail, typical AR scope mounts will be very high on the M10X. ADM’s super-low AD-RECON-SL mount worked perfectly, placing the Vortex just above the top rail and providing a comfortable cheek weld. The mount features ADM’s time-tested quick detach levers and is available for 1-inch to 40mm scopes. Alternately, you could procure a cheek riser for the Zhukov stock.

Of course, every rifle needs a weapon light, so we affixed a SureFire Mini Scout Light Pro in tan. The color’s a bit off of the bronze, but still works well for our fifty-shades-of-bronze theme. The compact torch is a good match with the medium-length handguard on the M10X+ but outputs plenty of light, and the swiveling Picatinny rail mount keeps the light tucked tight against the handguard.

Finally, Rugged Suppressors’ Razor762 silencer keeps things civilized. At just 6.4 inches in length, it’s compact and effective with reduced gas blowback. It’s belt-fed rated, made of 17-4 stainless steel, and is very robust.

GOING HOT

As always, we started on the bench to group and chrono the M10X+. It certainly liked some ammo better than others. American Eagle 124-grain FMJ chrono’d at 2,361 fps and posted five-shot groups from 3.5 to 4.8 MOA. Double Tap’s 123-grain Rifle Defense JSP averaged 2,150 fps with groups from 3.7 to 5 MOA. 

Hornady 123-grain SST was more consistent, with velocity of 2,235 fps and groups between 2.9 to 3.3 MOA. Igman 123-grain FMJ and Red Army 122-grain FMJ turned in the best groups of the day at 1.9 and 2 MOA, respectively, but we also had some flyers pushing some other groups out to 3.5 MOA. Igman averaged 2,335 fps, and Red Army flew at 2,306 fps.

The M10X+ is fun to shoot, with a pleasant, smooth recoil impulse. M+M’s Chaos muzzle brake worked well, keeping the rifle pretty neutral for follow-up shots. As far as AK triggers go, the trigger is excellent, breaking at around 23/4 pounds. It’s light and pretty smooth but a little mushy with a fair amount of travel.

Handling is intuitive if you’re familiar with running AK mags. The safety selector is much more ergonomic than AK safeties, but not nearly as smooth and easy to actuate as an AR, especially to put back on safe. M+M offers optional extended safety levers that would probably help with this. You can swap the charging handle to either side of the gun within seconds. We positioned ours on the right side for the full AK experience, also saving our knuckles from banging on the scope mount on the left side. 

The buttstock folds conveniently and is comfortable, though we found the length adjustment to be fiddly. There are QD sling sockets built-in to the front of the handguard and the rear trunnion; the rear one was a bit too tight for some of our QD swivels, perhaps due to the Cerakote. For the price of the rifle, we’d like to have seen Magpul’s optional QD sling socket accessory included with the Zhukov buttstock.

Looking online, there’s chatter on the Internet about previous iterations of the M10X — some folks encountering reliability and accuracy issues, while others have been problem free. We asked M+M about it, and they acknowledged some growing pains, especially during the pandemic; for instance, they had some issues with some coatings applied at that time. 

The list of updates for the third generation of the platform is squarely aimed at addressing these potential concerns, from the premium barrel to the numerous revisions to boost reliability and consistency. M+M also emphasized that their guns come with a lifetime warranty and upgrades are designed to be backward-compatible, so you can always update your older-generation guns.

In our testing, we tried several types of magazines, including steel Bulgarian mags provided by M+M, Magpul PMAGs, X-Tech Tactical mags, and ancient Chinese steel mags. We also ran five different types of ammo, as described above. We experienced no malfunctions, stoppages, or light primer strikes. The M10X+ ran 100-percent through all of our range sessions.

As for accuracy, it felt like getting a new rimfire gun and looking for a load that works well without any clue as to which it’ll be. But we figure based on our results that you should be able to find a load that’ll deliver 2 to 3 MOA accuracy, respectable for a 7.62x39mm carbine.

LOOSE ROUNDS

The M10X+ is an expensive gun, no doubt about it. Its unique SIG-FAL-AK mashup has to speak to you. If it does, you’ll really enjoy its clever design touches and shootability. Just look below at the rifle fully kitted out — that’s pretty damn sexy. If you can live without the lightened handguard and hammer-forged chrome-lined barrel, M+M configured their new M10X-M models to save some money; they’re about $350 less. 

Alternately, there are also M10X+ variants with short handguards and exposed gas tubes that give off serious funky AK vibes for $145 less.