Harrington & Richardson has rolled out the 636 CLET, a modern pistol patterned after one of the stranger but more interesting corners of DEA weapons history.
As someone who grew up in the 80s and 90s watching Miami Vice, action movies, and everything else that showcased the guns of that era, this style of firearm hits a very familiar vibe.
I trained on the M16A2 in the Marine Corps, complete with the carry handle and clamshell guards, so this setup immediately feels like a time capsule for anyone in Gen X who remembers when law-enforcement firearms still had some personality.
Where the Colt DEA SMG Came From
Before the M4 took over everything, agencies experimented with compact subguns based on the AR platform. Colt’s answer was a direct-blowback 9mm SMG. It looked like an AR but ran like a pistol-caliber carbine.
The DEA eventually requested their own version—now known in collector circles as the Colt DEA Model or RO636.
The DEA’s Clandestine Laboratory Enforcement Teams were dealing with meth, fentanyl, crack labs, volatile chemicals, and cramped working spaces. The idea behind the Colt DEA SMG was to cut down on flash and noise in environments where ignitable fumes might be present, or, depending on who you ask, where bureaucrats needed a justification for issuing suppressed weapons to agents who weren’t running clandestine ops but still needed functional tools in tight quarters.
Regardless of the logic, the gun existed. It worked. And it wore one of the most distinctive silhouettes of any U.S. agency weapon of its era: long handguards hiding an integral suppressor, with that unmistakable extended nose.
H&R’s 636 CLET: A Modern Interpretation
H&R wasn’t trying to reinvent anything here. The 636 CLET is a modern pistol configured to look and handle like the old Colt DEA SMG—minus the NFA baggage and integral suppressor.
The basic layout stays loyal to the original concept:
- Long, modified M16A2 clamshell handguards
- A barrel that runs deep under the forend
- A front support cap holding everything in place
- A slickside 9mm upper, just like the old SMG pattern
- AR-style controls that anyone from the A2 generation will recognize
Instead of focusing on modern lights, rails, or accessories, H&R kept the gun visually accurate to the original.
Features and Build
Upper
- 9mm NATO
- 13″ 4150 CMV medium-profile barrel
- Nitride finish
- 1/10 twist
- 5/8×24 muzzle threads
- Slickside 9mm upper receiver
- Modified M16A2 handguards with heat shields
- 9mm blowback BCG
- Black anodized finish
Lower
- 7075-T6 forged aluminum
- Type III hardcoat anodized
- HAR-15 brace
- A2 grip
- Mil-spec trigger
- 9mm carbine buffer
- Six-hole receiver extension and CAR lock nut
- Accepts Colt-pattern 32-round magazines
How Close Is It to the Real Colt DEA SMG?
Visually, extremely close. Functionally, it is still a blowback 9mm AR, just like the original. The major difference is the lack of an integral suppressor—understandable, since the 636 CLET is meant to be a non-NFA firearm.
But the long handguards, barrel placement, and slickside upper immediately echo the Colt DEA SMG design. In a market full of modernized PCCs and accessorized AR builds, the CLET stands out precisely because it doesn’t try to be modern. It keeps the strange charm and agency-specific quirks that made the original so recognizable.
The Colt DEA setup was one of those “only the government would order this” guns. It didn’t become famous. It didn’t become widespread. But for the shooters who pay attention to oddball LE variants, it’s a fascinating piece of American SMG history.
The H&R 636 CLET brings that history back to regular shooters without requiring a tax stamp, agency credentials, or access to a museum collection. It fills a gap that no mainstream manufacturer has bothered with—and that alone will attract collectors, retro AR fans, and anyone who remembers when subguns still had character.
Closing
The H&R 636 CLET isn’t trying to compete with today’s PCCs. It’s a respectful homage to the Colt DEA SMG, built for shooters who remember the era it came from or who simply appreciate unique agency-driven designs.
It brings back a piece of DEA history that never got the spotlight it deserved, and H&R recreated it with enough accuracy for enthusiasts to finally own a version of a gun most could previously only read about.
If you want something different—something with roots in a very specific slice of American law-enforcement history—the 636 CLET is one of the most interesting recent retro releases.
Where To Buy
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