Primary Weapon Systems (PWS) is known for making a long stroke piston AR rifles. What sets them apart from other AR manufacturers is their ability to run internals modeled after the AK platform; while still maintaining the ergonomics and last round bolt hold open benefits of an AR. The long stroke piston system reduces the amount of metal on metal impact, thus reducing reliability issues and parts breakage.

The sanctions on Russian companies have hit the American AK enthusiast hard – no longer can we import inexpensive Izhevsk Kalashnikovs to feed the beast. Yet, there is a silver lining: Domestic AK production is on the rise to meet the demand, and one company in particular is staking its name – the biggest name in the business – on American-made AKs done right. That name being, of course, Kalashnikov USA.

Lyman has released a number of new products this year, but we’ll only be able to get to a few of them that really stand out. First off is the company’s new reloading line, branded in bright orange. In order of weight, they are the Brass Smith Ideal C-Frame Press, the Brass Smith Victory Single Stage Press, and the Brass Smith All-American 8 Turret Press.

There has been some buzz over KNS’ adjustable AK gas piston. Having an adjustable gas block allows you to dial in the amount of gas to drive the gun. Of course the AK gas system is a flawless system when ran as designed. It is only when you try to do things outside its wheelhouse does adjusting the gas make sense. Suppressors have become immensely popular and wide spread. There are dedicated AK suppressors like the Dead Air Wolverine. But the problem with suppressors is often a build up of gas and even gas piston driven guns can experience gas blow back. Here is an alternative approach to an adjustable gas system for an AK.

At the end of the past month, we reported about the  adoption of AK-12, AK-15, AEK-971, and AEK-973 rifles by the Russian military. Back then it was not clear if they are going to adopt the RPK-16 light machine gun, too. Today,  Kalashnikov Concern and TASS news agency announced that the Kalashnikov Concern and the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation have signed a contract concerning the procurement of RPK-16 LMGs. In other words, Russia has adopted the RPK-16.

Based out of Colorado M+M Industries has most recently announced that their 7.62x39mm M10X “International Defense Rifle” has been officially approved for sale in Canada as a Non-Restricted firearm for civilian sale. The company is working with the Canadian dealer North Slyvia Company to import the rifles, and they are going to be $1999 CAD. The approved version will have an 18-inch barrel instead of the shorter 16.5-inch barrel available in the United States. It will also come shipped with 5-round magazines instead of the usual 30-round versions that are available in the United States. It also appears that the rifle will be configured along a Designated Marksman set up with Harris Bipods, a Hogue overmolded pistol grip and possibly even a carrying handle as featured at the show. We tested the trigger on the show floor with a Lyman trigger gauge and it appeared to be around 2 pounds, 12 ounces over the course of 5 separate pulls ranging from 3 pounds to 2 pounds, 5 ounces.

In today’s episode, we follow Miles to Shot Show 2018 at the Surefire booth.

In today’s episode, we follow Miles to Shot Show 2018 to the High Threat Concealment booth.

Aero Precision had some interesting products for 2018. The company is working on a new line of compensators for 9mm, 5.56, and 7.62 rifles. These have a number of unique features such as the ability to slide a gas block over them while installed. They also have a titanium suppressor which wil MSRP for under $1000.
A very special thanks to BROWNELL’S – check out their new Retro line here:

With the launch of so many new AR15/AR10/PCC firearms and accessories at SHOT Show this year, there’s one company introducing a new accessory that would be easy to overlook…

Kalashnikov USA, orphaned stateside importing partner of Kalashnikov Concern, brought their latest prototype and production guns to the 2018 SHOT Show, and there is good reason to be excited. Chief among them: The KR-9 9mm AK carbine.

The Russian Defense Ministry has made a decision regarding its next infantry rifle: It will adopt everything, it seems. Not only will Russian Army forces receive the improved 5.45x39mm AK-12 ( the new AK-12, not the different previous version), and the 7.62x39mm AK-15, but the 5.45mm Degtyarov AEK-971 and 7.62x39mm AEK-973 will be procured for special units as well. This “two-tiered” rifle mix is not unusual in the modern era, but a formal, simultaneous adoption of two such weapons is quite strange for a major military such as that of the Russian Federation. From Krasnaya Zvezda (Red Star) [machine translated from Russian with corrections]:

Kalashnikov Media shared these pictures of decorated Kalashnikovs.

Since their acquisition DDI, Palmetto State Armory has been cranking out AKs. This year Palmetto State Armory is going to be making AKs chambered in 9mm and 5.56x45mm. They will have firged bolts, trunions and carriers. They had some on display at SHOT Show 2018.

One only needs to spend a minute or two at the Lauer Weaponry/DuraCoat booth to instantly recognize why the company is absolutely thriving.

The Canik TP9 has become a rather popular handgun and part of that is due to Century’s involvement with its evolution for the US market. The old TP9s were not very good and looked at as a cheap gun and you got what you paid for. In steps Century and they get Canik to make some changes. The TP9 went through some significant changes such as the removal of the decocker button at the top of the slide to assist in safely field stripping the gun without having to pull the trigger like on a Glock.

Last year Wolf announced the they were bringing in a somewhat rare cartridge, 9X39. For the longest time the 9X39 round was somewhat shrouded in mystery. It is supposedly armor piercing and so banned from importation. Well last November they started to import the commercial version of 9X39 into the US. They originally imported older steel cased versions of 9×39 but those will be phased out for brass cased ammo as seen in the photo above.

Palmetto State Armory debuted their new AK-47 chambered in 9mm at the 2018 SHOT Show. They’re calling it the PSAK-9. The model they had on display was using MP5 mags but they are also going to release a model that uses Glock mags as well. They also have plans for a version with a folding rifle stock as well as a pistol version that will probably make use of one of the various pistol braces on the market.

The 2018 Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoors Show is upon us! Over the next week, the TFB Team consisting of over 16 writers, and 4 videographers will be working our hardest (and fastest) to try and bring to you, our readership, some of the broadest coverage of SHOT Show 2018 that we hope we can provide the internet. We’ll be shooting new firearms at lanes on Media Day at the Range, climbing all over booths on the show floor, and quizzing sales representatives left and right about the latest and greatest for 2018. Days will be long, shoes will get worn through, gratuitous amounts of photos and videos will be taken.

Safety and marksmanship all begin somewhere for many of us. We at TFB believe it is extremely important to give back to the next generation of shooters, hunters, and collectors that will influence our passions long after we are dead and gone. In this episode of TFB TV, we look at a rifle club that Miles started in 2009 at his old high school, Valley Forge Military Academy & College. That was almost a decade ago and since then the club has grown dramatically in size to what it once was. Thanks to the efforts of the current faculty advisor, Christopher Bechtel. Today the rifle club is extremely well organized, taking cadets to various competitions, tactical shooting, and even historical small arms familiarization. But most importantly is passing the ability to teach cadets safety and marksmanship, skills that they can use for the rest of their lives.

KNS Precision has a different approach in making the AK gas system adjustable. The most frequently seen way is to design an adjustable gas block. What makes the KNS Precision solution different is that they have incorporated the gas system adjustability into the gas piston design!

The Gun Owners Action League (GOAL) based in Northborough, Massachusetts, recently uncovered a letter set to be sent from the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security to all Massachusetts License To Carry (LTC) permit holders. The letter explains that “Retention of a prohibited item [bump stock or trigger crank] beyond the 90 day grace period will expose the owner to criminal prosecution”. The letter also states that possession is illegal even a private home. Essentially, residents are being forced to surrender bump stocks without exception.

Last week we saw a rather DOPE tattoo. While the DOPE tattoo has its issues, it is functional and on the forearm. Here is a tattoo of an AK47 a guy’s face. He already has brass knuckles on his neck. The tattoo was done by Chris Young Stathakis, a Florida tattoo artist at 3LD Tattoo. This image was posted on their Instagram page.

SR1 is a balanced action rifle made by Kalashnikov Concern for the competition shooting market. We have earlier reported about this rifle which was shown during the Arms & Hunting 2017 exhibition. A couple of days ago, Kalashnikov Media released a video showing the pre-production prototype and revealing more details about this gun. To watch that video, click the link below:

NorthPolar Photography posted these photos on Facebook. He shot an RPD in sub-zero temperatures and in low light. Looks like a lot of fun.

Matt Rittman, a 3D motion designer from Waukee, Iowa, has recently published a beautiful 3D animation demonstrating how the mechanism of a typical AK rifle works. Animations of the AK mechanism has been around for a while. Nevertheless, this one is rather well executed. Without further ado, let’s watch the video.

Circle 10 AK, with the permission from  Century Arms, has published on their social media pages the announcement of a new Century Arms AK-based 9x19mm pistol called Draco NAK9. This gun is made in Nova Modul in Cugir, Romania and imported to the USA by Century Arms.

Conflict Armament Research has released a report featuring the results of in-person findings of what the so-called Islamic State has been using in the past three years. These findings (40,000 items, 845 small arms) have resulted from personal visits to the frontlines and carefully scrutinizing captured weapons caches. If you can, I would highly recommend  reading it yourself over on the organization’s website in the PDF form. We are going to summarize some of the more relevant findings of the report when it comes to small arms use and development here in this essay.

Ian and Karl of Forgotten Weapons lore have recently announced a two gun competition open to the public, based in Arizona. Desert Brutality will take place in early February is based on the theme that Forgotten Weapons has always been known for, championing historic small arms. The focus of the match will be on creating a competition where it will be “physically, mentally and shooting challenging” while using historic small arms in a 2 gun match (rifle and sidearm). In this case, rifles allowed are pre-1970s configurations. They can be modern reproductions built today as long as their basic layouts, magazines, scopes, etc… match the weapons they are reproducing. There are five divisions that shooters will be scored against. They are Classic, Scout, Armored, Armored+P, and Sport. To read more about the specific divisions, check out the match rulebook created. The portion of their website has other sections about scoring and match rules as well. There will be random prizes as well, with the match being co-sponsored by Varusteleka.com, a surplus outfitter.

Ukroboronprom, the state-owned Ukrainian defence concern, has confirmed the first deliveries of its M4-WAC-47 rifle to Ukrainian troops for evaluation. The rifle, based on the M4, is chambered in 7.62x39mm, earlier information had referred to the weapon as the M16-WAC-47.