This Haenel CR223 is chambered in .223 Remington and carries serial BTCR001xx, marked HAENEL alongside the German proof code DE21. It is sold as a short barreled rifle and is an NFA item. The rifle follows the AR-15 pattern, with an M-LOK handguard running under a full length top rail, an A2 pattern flash hider, a forward assist and brass deflector, and a selector marked SAFE and SEMI. The sights are Yankee Hill Machine folding front and rear irons. It wears a Magpul MOE SL collapsible stock and a BCM angled fore grip, and the finish is black throughout.
C.G. Haenel has been making arms at Suhl in Thuringia since 1840, and the name runs through a good deal of German small arms history: Hugo Schmeisser joined the firm in 1921 and worked there for decades. The company passed through the East German state industry as part of the Ernst Thaelmann works, was re-established under its own name in 2008, and now belongs to Merkel, itself part of Caracal International of the United Arab Emirates. The CR223 is Haenel’s civilian rifle in the AR-15 class, built on the M4 and AR-15 system and compatible with that pattern’s accessories and magazines, and it runs an indirect gas system of Haenel’s own design. The factory rifle is built around a toolless removable handguard carrying NAR and M-Lok rails, a six position adjustable stock made to AR-15 mil spec dimensions, an ambidextrous firing pin safety and a folding mechanical sight. Haenel also builds the MK556, the service rifle the Bundeswehr selected in September 2020 before the ministry withdrew the award the following month.
Specifications
Manufacturer: C.G. Haenel, Suhl
Country of origin: Germany
Model: CR223
Action: Semi-automatic, indirect gas
Caliber: .223 Remington
Serial: BTCR001xx
NFA classification: Short barreled rifle
Sights: Yankee Hill Machine folding front and rear irons
Handguard: M-LOK with full length top rail
Muzzle: A2 pattern flash hider
Stock: Magpul MOE SL, collapsible
Fore grip: BCM angled
Finish: Black
Markings: HAENEL, DE21
