The C30R was developed hastily and an out-of-battery ignition resulted in a prototype exploding during a high-profile demonstration.

The BATF approved a version with a longer barrel sleeve which covered more of the muzzle thread.

This made it impossible to securely attach the M16-style "Birdcage" flash hider without modification of the barrel sleeve.

The design takes the operating system of the Armalite AR-18 and moves the pistol grip forward in a manner similar to the British SA80.

The main drawback of the subsequent modified design, reported by some users, was the tendency of its aluminum hand guard to become hot after one or two magazines were emptied in rapid fire.