JMac Customs has released the shotgun version of their RRD-4C series of muzzle brakes/muzzle rise compensators. The versions for AK-style rifles have gained a fairly good reputation among AK enthusiasts. The success of the general design has eventually lead to designing the scaled-up version for Vepr 12 and Saiga 12 shotguns.

Kalashnikov Concern have shown off a rare example of Mikhail Kalashnikov’s automatic pistol developed in the late 1940s. Kalashnikov’s pistol was beaten by Igor Stechkin’s entry into the trials, the APS.

The Arsenal ARS30-1 made it’s public/dealer debut this week at the NASGW Wholesaler Expo in San Antonio, Texas. Made by Gemtech, the ARS30 is obviously purpose-built for the AK47/AK74 platform but is capable of withstanding a variety of calibers and barrel lengths. Constructed of titanium it weighs in at 19.5 ounces and features a quick disconnect system.

In an ongoing national conference where the top Indian Army generals are convening to discuss issues and ways to improve the military, one of the top issues is small arms program reform, especially in regards to the 5.56x45mm INSAS infantry rifle currently in use by most Indian Infantrymen. Secondarily, leaders are looking towards ways to improve or adopt better machine guns and light support weapons for the troops. One news report stated that the service is in dire need of at least 200,000 replacement rifles for the INSAS, which was adopted in 1988.

Before we all go crazy let us make this clear, the online ordering does NOT include any real, working firearms.

Molot has introduced four new rifles during the Arms & Hunting 2017 exhibition. All the new rifles are chambered in recently introduced 9.6x53mm Lancaster caliber and have oval bore rifling. According to Molot officials, these rifles are neither concept guns nor ones being developed but finished models which are already in production and will become available in the Russian market by the end of the year.

FAB Defense has introduced a couple of new product prototypes during Arms & Hunting 2017 exhibition held in Moscow, Russia. One of them is a new handguard for the AK-47 type rifles and the second one is an SKS chassis. Both products are still in development and only the 3D printed prototypes were shown during the expo.

TFB is attending the Arms & Hunting 2017 exhibition held in Moscow, Russia. We’ll be publishing the most interesting news seen during that event. In this article, we’ll take a look at Kalashnikov Concern’s rifle and PCC news and talk about some details of earlier released firearms.

Thanks to d_grey for sharing these pics of some custom guns he came across in Pakistan.

Don’t get me wrong. You have the right to pay whatever you want and vendors have the right to charge whatever the traffic will bear. Capitalism is awesome and there is no such thing as price gouging. But it’s beyond foolish to pay inflated prices in anticipation of a ban. There isn’t any likely scenario that plays out where your “investment” pays off.

Scott of RS Regulate has been working closely with IWI to develop an upgraded handguard for the Galil. The handguard is machined aluminum. It has three supports along the top to prevent crushing the U shaped handguard. The scalloped indentations allow for positive thumb control and the fence allows heat to dissipate while protecting you from touching the gas tube. There are QD sling mounts at the ends of the handguard. The handguards will be available in keymod and MLOK. They will be avalable in 10″ and 14″ lengths. He will make a shorter version for the Galil pistols. The 10″ handguard weighs a mere 6.5oz. It will cost about $225 MSRP but will probably be under $200.

According to Russian news agency TASS, as a result of the official visit of King Salman of Saudi Arabia to Russia, a memorandum was signed between Saudi Arabian Military Industries and Russian Rosoboronexport State Corporation. The memorandum is about the purchasing of Russian arms and arranging licensed manufacturing of AK-103 rifles and various types of ammunition in Saudi Arabia.

Malfunctions are a given when using semi automatic firearms. Some guns run better than others and there are a variety of reasons why they stop working. In many cases it comes down to maintenance, ammo and or magazine. Often those malfunctions are usually fail to feed and fail to eject. Sure there are other odd hiccups that can occur but this is definitely a new one to me. From the photo it appears the round has escaped and is trying to squeeze its way between the receiver and the dust cover. Perhaps this is a fail to feed? I imagine a failure to extract or a round is already chambered and a second round tried to be loaded. Since it has no where to go it took the path of least resistance. Is there another explanation besides the possibility it was staged?

Pioneer Arms Corps USA will be bringing in PPS43 pistol into the US. It will be chambered in 7.62×25. According to Vice President CJ Johnson, the PPS43 will come with a permanently affixed stock. It is welded shut however they have plans down the road for a brace. The best ammo to use is Wolf Gold 7.62×25.

This is a Molot Vepr 1V Semi Auto Hunting Rifle in .223 Remington, from IWA 2017. There’s a Falke II red dot on top. If you look at the butt stock and the handguard you notice it looks much more modern than usual.

Polish small arms company  Wytwornia Broni Popinski (Popinski’s Weapon Manufacturing), has brought to market a short barrel (10.2 inch barrel, compared to the 16.3 inch full length Jack from WBP) Kalashnikov chambered in 7.62x39mm, called the “Mini Jack”. Apart from the barrel length, the rifle differs from the companies Jack rifle with a non standard Kalashnikov rear sight base (incorporating a Picatinny rail at 12 o’clock), a folding Egyptian “Maadi” style stock (folds to the right, locks at swivel point), a receiver cover that has a Picatinny optics rail which connects to the rear sight base (appears to be similar to a swivel Krinkov design), and folding iron sights affixed to the Picatinny rail segment. The handguards are the same as those found on the full size Jack rifle.

With the recent push for small arms ammunition with increased range, power and capability, are military customers in danger of being taken for a ride by industry marketeers working to sell rifles in new calibers? Is the primary driving force behind new infantry calibers not in fact a need to be addressed, but a desire to sell weapons in a stagnant small arms market?

Kalashnikov has implemented a development and investment strategy until 2020 with a target to broaden the range of competitive products as well as increasing the overall production process efficiency.

The following is an article that was originally written in Russian by TFB contributor Maxim Popenker, and Andrey Ulanov, and translated to English by Peter Samsonov. With their permission, I have replicated the text here, and edited it, for the enrichment of you, our readers!

Circle 10 AK manufactures an aluminum grip for AK family of rifles. It is called Aluminum Pistol Grip (APG) V1. This grip is the result of Circle 10 AK’s collaboration with KM3 Solutions.

In this article Kalashnikov concern takes the opportunity to answer some of the Frequently Asked Questions about the production and development of Kalashnikov rifles.

Thanks to this blog I’ve heard of the KGB Rectal gun (the comments are hilarious), but KGB’s “Escort Operational briefcase” is new to me.

Sanctions aside, things seem to be going well for Russian firearms export.

It’s a blunder so bad it makes you look twice: On the new sculpture dedicated to Russia’s most famous small arms designer, there is an unintentional homage to a weapon of Russia’s hated adversaries during the Great Patriotic War. Behind the tasteful statue unveiled last Tuesday of Mikhail “Mikhtim” Kalashnikov cradling his invention like a fine instrument, there lies a sculpture panel dedicated to his inventions themselves – and, by accident, the Nazi Sturmgewehr of World War II. While the majority of the panel is filled with models of Kalashnikov’s inventions and derivatives, nestled in the backdrop of the representation of the AKS-74U compact assault rifle is a slab depicting an exploded view of the MKb42(H),, a World War II German assault rifle which helped serve as the inspiration for the program Kalashnikov’s rifle was designed to satisfy.

The current US administration is looking to release many of the restrictions on weapons exports, according to a recent article at Reuters. Currently, International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) limit the ability for US arms companies to sell weapons overseas. However, the Trump administration is reportedly planning to change the jurisdiction for most arms exports from the State Department to the Commerce Department, which would likely make such exports substantially easier. The State Department’s focus is primarily on security and stability, which means they generally err on the side of less exports rather than more, but the Commerce Department is primarily focused on facilitating international trade. This strongly suggests that arms exports as handled by the Commerce Department would be facilitated by the agency, rather than obstructed, as the trend has been under the State Department.

In the the constantly expanding category of ‘things I didn’t know existed’, TFB reader “ ABKThereal” sent me these pictures of Zastava 7.62×39 AK magazines made specifically for the Serbian Special Forces. These mags are made with a combination of polymer and steel, feature a heavy duty baseplate and are “available” in 30 and 40 round capacities. Has anyone seen these for sale in the U.S. or abroad?

Back in June, we reported that the US Department of Treasury had added Molot-Oruzhie to the sanctions list. As a result, further import of the 12 gauge shotgun based on Kalashnikov’s design as well as any other product that Molot might produce is no longer importable. FIME Group is the sole US importer of Molot-Oruzhie firearms and have reported that their inventory is rather low. They say that only 400 Vepr 12 shotguns remain. After the 400 are sold, FIME says there will not be any more in the foreseeable future due to the sanctions.

If you’re a gun guy, odds are pretty good that non-gun people often ask your opinion on things. At least, People often make the mistake of asking my opinion, anyway. I guess they figure that just because I write about and make videos about guns, that my opinion is worth listening to. Of course you, dear reader, know that my opinion is worth every cent you paid for it. Still, I should probably indulge these poor, misguided souls. To that end, I’m going to answer some of these more common questions in a series of articles. Today, we’re going to cover the ever popular “best” home defense gun.

In one of its recent news releases, Kalashnikov Concern has announced that the Russian government will start testing the new AM-17 and AMB-17 compact assault rifles in 2018. Several Russian special service agencies including the Federal Protective Service (FSO) and Federal Security Service (FSB) as well as the Russian National Guard have expressed a high interest in these two firearms.

The effort to deregulate of silencers has reached an important milestone: The Hearing Protection Act has made it out of committee, and been incorporated as part of another larger bill. House Resolution 3668 – the Sportsmen Heritage and Recreational Enhancement (SHARE) Act – has been introduced to the House floor with a new subsection, Title XV, Hearing Protection. The new subsection provides for the change in classification of silencers from NFA items to standard firearms such as long guns, just like the HPA. Its text is reproduced at the bottom of this post.