While Bushmaster has yet to offer any significant aftermarket accessories for the M17S, Kurt's Kustom Firearms specializes in developing custom versions of the Bushmaster Bullpup.
In the picture on the left, note the KKF integrated optics rail, folding charging handle, and shortened rifle receiver. Other popular custom options are an under barrel accessory rail, a verticle hand grip mounted under the rifle barrel, addition of various types of muzzle breaks, and a trap door style pistol grip. For more information check out their website at http://www.kurtskustomfirearms.citymax.com
Magazine: Uses AR15 magazines
Shipped from factory w/ 10 Rd. Magazine
Overall Length 30 inches
Barrel Length 21.5 inches
Rifling R.H. twist;1 turn in 9"
Weight w/o Magazine 8.2 Lbs.
Mode of Operation Gas Operated Semi-Automatic
When I first took the used rifle to the range, there was an issue with the disconnector. Occasionally the rifle would double tap when firing semi-automatic - perhaps 10% of the time. When I contacted Bushmaster concerning this issue, they told me to send the rifle in for repairs.
Despite this being a used rifle, Bushmaster fixed the M17S rifle for free. My only cost was UPS shipping back to Quality Parts Company in Maine. From a customer service perspective, I give Bushmaster Firearms a high rating in this instance - few US firearm manufacturers would cover a used rifle under the standard factory warranty.
Since this repair, the rifle has been very reliable. It works well with a variety of .223 commercial and surplus ammunition without a hitch. The only issue has been deciding the type of optics to mount.
So far I've tried installing the following optics:
1- ATN 5x33LU Scope - Heavy duty Russian scope with fixed 5x power and integrated bullet drop sighting for 5.56mm round. Found several problems with the scope testing at 100 yards. The BDC wasn't accurate (bullet impact about 2 inches low using 55 grain Winchester 3131 ammo), the scope experienced significant parallax at 100 + degree temperatures, and I really wanted more magnification that the standard fixed 5x power.
2- Aimpoint Comp M red dot scope - Heavy duty electronic red dot scope with optional night vision settings. The weaver base on the M17s seemed to mount the Aimpoint scope too close for easy target acquisition. Otherwise very impressed with the Aimpoint scope. In the future may attempt to reinstall an Aimpoint red dot scope on the rifle in the scout configuation - after having KKF install a slotted 1913 rail along the entire top length of the receiver.
3- Blaser Optics (Simmons) 42mm Red Dot sight - had this inexpensive sight mounted on the M17S but was not very impressed with the unit performance. Bullet impact changed significantly at different ranges tested.
4-Chinese 4x20 rifle scope with flat top riser type mount - Tested using an inexpensive copy of the Colt 4x20 BDC scope. Actually got the idea by watching Stargate SG-1 - this is how rifle scopes are mounted on their HK MP5 SMGs. This has proved to be a fairly successful mounting, with only one significant problem. After zeroing the scope at 25m, the bullet impact is significantly different at 100 yards. As in the point of impact is 12 inches higher. Otherwise I'm happy with this scope configuration. Plan to retest this after installing full length KKF rail on M17S.