The US Department Of Treasury released an update to the sanction list in connection to the Russian – Ukranian conflict today and it appears that as a result of the change to sanctions the US has banned VEPR rifles and shotguns from further import. Well not really banned, but United States based businesses are prohibited from doing business with Molot-Oruzhie going forward. I imagine that any products that have been purchased already and are in the process of import will be available for purchase, but anything past that will become very scarce like the Saiga rifles and shotguns several years ago.

Safe Intelligent Products (Saintpro) is a Swedish security products company that was founded in 2012 by a Swedish security professional. At ISDEF 2017 in Tel Aviv the company displayed some of their new products (out for almost a year now, but currently spotlighted), and mainly of interest to TFB is their forearm ballistic shield within the Saint Shield X3 series, specifically the DX3 (NIJ standard IIIA TT 7,62×25 MSC Flat) and DX3+ (NIJ III plus AK 7,62×39 MSC Flat) systems. These ballistic shields take a different approach to shield systems in general, being able to be attached to a user’s forearm or kept in a nylon holster that can be mounted to a belt. To be deployed, one attaches the folded panels to their forearm and then rips a velcro latch that instantly deploys the two panels around the center one that is attached. With this system, a user can gain ballistic protection up to 7.62x39mm, within a somewhat more mobile and configurable platform than a full ballistic shield. Similar concepts have been experimented with, but none focusing on such a mobile platform as this one.

Safe Intelligent Products (Saintpro) is a Swedish security products company that was founded in 2012 by a Swedish security professional. At ISDEF 2017 in Tel Aviv the company displayed some of their new products (out for almost a year now, but currently spotlighted), and mainly of interest to TFB is their forearm ballistic shield within the Saint Shield X3 series, specifically the DX3 (NIJ standard IIIA TT 7,62×25 MSC Flat) and DX3+ (NIJ III plus AK 7,62×39 MSC Flat) systems. These ballistic shields take a different approach to shield systems in general, being able to be attached to a user’s forearm or kept in a nylon holster that can be mounted to a belt. To be deployed, one attaches the folded panels to their forearm and then rips a velcro latch that instantly deploys the two panels around the center one that is attached. With this system, a user can gain ballistic protection up to 7.62x39mm, within a somewhat more mobile and configurable platform than a full ballistic shield. Similar concepts have been experimented with, but none focusing on such a mobile platform as this one.

Safe Intelligent Products (Saintpro) is a Swedish security products company that was founded in 2012 by a Swedish security professional. At ISDEF 2017 in Tel Aviv the company displayed some of their new products (out for almost a year now, but currently spotlighted), and mainly of interest to TFB is their forearm ballistic shield within the Saint Shield X3 series, specifically the DX3 (NIJ standard IIIA TT 7,62×25 MSC Flat) and DX3+ (NIJ III plus AK 7,62×39 MSC Flat) systems. These ballistic shields take a different approach to shield systems in general, being able to be attached to a user’s forearm or kept in a nylon holster that can be mounted to a belt. To be deployed, one attaches the folded panels to their forearm and then rips a velcro latch that instantly deploys the two panels around the center one that is attached. With this system, a user can gain ballistic protection up to 7.62x39mm, within a somewhat more mobile and configurable platform than a full ballistic shield. Similar concepts have been experimented with, but none focusing on such a mobile platform as this one.

The Indian Ministry of Defense has reissued an RFI for 44,000 5.56x45mm rifles due by July 15th, and to be completed by this August. We say “reissued” because this is actually based on a previous tender for a similar amount of rifles that has received negative public attention since December 2016 because of severe bureaucratic hurdles between the Ministry of Defense and the Government itself (similar to issues surrounding the INSAS debacle). Specifically, the Indian Army is looking for a Close Quarters Battle rifle, chambered in 5.56x45mm, weighing less than 3 Kg, have an effective range of 200 meters, and outfitted with MIL-STD-1913 Picatinny rails. The overall objective of this is to replace the 9x19mm Sterling submachine gun that much of the Indian Army is still using today, especially in the Kashmir area of operations.

The elusive Tokar-2 5.45mm belt-fed machine gun made an appearance at the recent Rosgvardia Open House event late last month. The event demonstrated weapons and equipment being used by the Russian National Guard (Rosgvardia), and was open to the public. Russian media outlet Armytex posted pictures of the event to their page on the social media site VK.com, including photos of the Tokar-2:

In our final installment of looking at the handmade wonders of the gunmaking village of Darra Adam Khel, we finish it off with an in-depth examination of the Krinkov patterned Kalashnikovs produced in the village. Some of them display an excellent resemblance to the original AKS74Us, however others leave much to be desired. As is shown with the final Krinkov that was very ornately designed in regards to the plastic furniture and the finish on the outside metal, the primary importance of these very short Kalashnikovs is that they serve as a status symbol among Afghans, Pakistanis and numerous other countries in Central Asia and the MENA region. We’ll be covering this, in addition to the actual history behind the name “Krinkov” in a future TFB TV episode, in much detail.

The Kalashnikov Museum and Exhibition Complex of Small Arms has released another video showcasing a pair of rare trial rifles. These are balanced action rifles which took part in “Abakan” trials and were AN-94 rifle’s competitors. The guns are called AKB (АКБ) and AKB-1 (АКБ-1) and both are designed by a group of designers lead by Victor Kalashnikov (Mikhail Kalashnikov’s son). Below is the mentioned video. Although it is in Russian, you’ll find the explanation of the content below the video:

Is it possible to convert someone into an AK fanatic, or do you have to be born one? Can the comfort zone of aircraft-grade aluminum and nitro-injected ergonomics be overcome by the simple elegance and robustness of the Kalashnikov? This question is one I’ve found myself asking a number of times after I published my love letter to the AK back in early 2015.

In our third episode about the handmade small arms from the gunsmiths of Darra Adam Khel in the FATA region of northwestern Pakistan, Miles takes a look at some of the Kalashnikov variants produced by these talented craftsmen. With the Kalashnikovs some of the copying begins to show because of the more modern production techniques that stamping involves. However even with this challenge, villagers are able to put together almost exact copies of these rifles.

We have here at TFB given occasional news of different guns being seized by local authorities in Brazil. Weapons of all kinds have fallen into the hands of police agencies on a nationwide basis, but the concentration of such events in the Rio de Janeiro area is certainly evident, as shown by the recent record of 200 rifles seized from criminals by PMERJ – Polícia Militar do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro State Military Police) in the January to June 1, 2017 period, 72 of them in May alone. Last year, the total reached the 328-guns mark. However, what actually triggered this article happened just now: on June 1,  60 rifles, (45 7.62x39mm AK types, 14 7.62x51mm Smith & Wesson M&P 10s and a solitary 7.62x51mm G3, plus magazines for everybody), were found at Rio’s International Airport hidden in a shipment of swimming pool heaters (!) coming from Miami, Florida. Part of the intercepted shipment is shown in the featured image above shortly after being found.

I love me some Rob Ski. Outside personifying the spirit of Americanism by immigrating and serving in the military, he’s a stand-up no-BS kind of content creator. I mean, just for the fun of it (and on his own dime) he has been putting 5,000 rounds through guns just to see their long-term usage.

Which would you choose? The SCAR or Galil in .308? Well George S. didn’t bother with that question and just got both.

It’s been about three years since Brandon Herrera, also known as The AK Guy, came up with the idea of designing a scaled up AK-47 chambered in .50 BMG. He has recently finished some initial assembly of the AK-50. The gun was assembled just enough to see whether it will be able to fire or not. And the first test fire was successful!

Russian presenter Sergey Badyuk has partaken in a very informative discussion on Kalashnikov rifles in use by various Syrian groups within Assad controlled portions of Syria. He is a prior Russian serviceman himself and certainly knows his rifles. Now obviously, we can’t accept the information portrayed here as complete truth when it comes to small arms in use by Assad’s SAA. However, this is a somewhat legitimate open source outlet that allows us to peer into Assad’s forces.

Kalashnikov Concern has announced about a new upgrade/modernization kit for AK style rifles. It is a drop-in kit which allows converting any stock AK-47/AKM or AK-74 rifle into a bit more modern weapon making it more adjustable and suitable for accessorizing.

Looking for an easy and affordable way to mount a weapon light to your AK-47? CDM Gear’s new BC47 light mounts will do the trick. CDM Gear, makers of the improved Mossberg shotgun safety and the AR style safety selectors for shotguns have a new mount that makes it easy to install a 1″ diameter light onto your AK’s barrel.

Last year we had the pleasure of an extended interview with Mike Pappas and Gary Hughes of MOD Outfitters – a creative outlet for the pair’s public facing silencer company Dead Air Armament. Along with designer/engineer Todd Magee, they have brought sought after features and attachments to the rapidly growing silencer market. Besides our talk about suppressors and AKs, we discussed the business relationship with powerhouse NFA distributor Silencer Shop.

IWI’s Galil ACE series of firearms was highly anticipated by many throughout the firearms world.  A series of unfortunate events with the introduction of the platform to the US market most cruelly resulted in pistols being recalled due to noncompliance of regulations.  Though elusive for a long time, pistols and rifles are now in regular supply, and I was nicely surprised to find examples of both while stopping by one of my favorite brick and mortar gun stores.  The Galil ACE GAP39SB was designed to be a more controllable version of the GAP39II pistol, yet is just as compact due to the folding nature of its brace.  Chambered in the affordable and widely available 7.62×39 and using AK47 magazines, the GAP39SB is as close as the US civilian market can get to the compact Galil ACE 31 carbine without NFA paperwork.

The first practical shooting Rifle World Championship will take place in “Patriot” park in Russia from May 25 to June 11, 2017. It is going to be a pretty large event with 850 shooters from 45 countries participating. However, some shooters faced a problem of not being able to bring their guns into Russia, because of sanctions against this country. That pretty much excludes these shooters from the competition and risks to ruin the event.

California is a pretty big market for gun companies, but the state of California is making it harder for their citizens to own firearms. New laws have passed recently targeting AR-15 and AK-47 variants which will require Californians to either register their rifles as “assault rifles” or force them to change out the scary assault rifle features, one of them being the pistol grip. Thank Odin there are companies stepping up to help those in California, one of them is AK H.A.M.M.R. who just released their Battle Fin for AK rifles. AK H.A.M.M.R. also makes a handy bullet button tool for AKs.

Let me be up front, there is no looming ban and we don’t cover political issues anyhow.

Thanks to a recent leak exclusively to The Firearm Blog, we have now become aware of a new tender for rifles issued by the Pakistani government. According to the tender document, the Pakistani Army is looking for 75,000 “modern 7.62x39mm caliber weapons”, presumably as part of the program to replace their aging fleet of G3 and Type 56 assault rifles. The specifications for the tender are given below:

The one-of-a-kind LiNQ flashlight/laser system from Crimson Trace is now available for your AK-47 or similar firearms. This new offering will fit any stamped receiver AK-47, but no milled receivers. It also will interestingly enough fit the Springfield Armory M1A Socom 16 CQB. You will also need a section of Picatinny rail (at least 2 3/4″ in length) to accommodate the flashlight/laser unit near the front of the rifle.

At the Security & Counter Terror Expo outside of London EFAFLEX introduced their EFAPROTECT Ballistic shutter. The shutter is a sort of garage door opener that rolls up into a box above an entrance and deploys extremely quickly to shield an entrance from various small arms threats up to 7.62x51mm NATO. The dimensions appear to be that of an oversized door, allowing the device to be fitted into existing entryways with various modifications. How the device is controlled was not mentioned but it most likely has a remote control station where it can be operated, in addition to possibly a manual override at the physical doorway (most likely on the inside of the entry). I’d imagine that the device comes with significant safety precautions and warnings because being caught in it might end up in a bad way.

In what perhaps many fanboys of the two platforms are viewing as the ultimate sacrilege, photos of a proposed design incorporating an AK-style safety onto an AR-15 have been setting the forums ablaze with voices of dissent the loudest while those of reason are largely ignored due to the passions aroused.

Recent photographic evidence has shown that Assad’s Syrian Arab Army (SAA) is equipped with DNS-1 Day & Night Vision Sights from the Belarusian company “Belarusian Optical & Mechanical Association”. These optics have been seen mounted on both AK74Ms and PKMs using a Picatinny rail on a standard Kalashnikov optic mounting platform in use on many Soviet small arms designs. Although these optics haven’t been seen in large quantities, their presence in two photographs signifies at least a small order of such DNS-1 optics. The DNS-1 appears to have an infrared capability in addition to a standard daytime usage mode, very similar to the U.S. Army’s discontinued Day/Night AN/PVS-10 of the 1990s and early OIF/OEF eras. Although these sights were cutting edge technology when they were introduced, today they tend to be overweight compared to numerous other equivalent optics available. For the Syrian Army, these optics would be a tremendous advantage over the rebels they are fighting, especially during periods of low light.

I was planning to write about this firearm in the near future but it always was the last one in the list of such firearms (rare, experimental Soviet/Russian guns) to write an in-depth article about. And the reason is the extremely scarce information available about this firearm. This gun is literally something mysterious. However, recently Russian “ Kalashnikov Museum and Exhibition Complex of Small Arms” has released a short video on a Russian social media website, which shows this extremely interesting firearm and some of its parts. To my knowledge, this the first time internal parts of this firearm are being shown. Actually, it may be the first time this rifle appears on the internet at all.

In an unprecedented turn of events, the Indian government has approved the building of a private sector small arms factory at Malanpur in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Previously, the Indian small arms industry has been entirely nationalized, with the Ministry of Defence-run Ordnance Factories Board overseeing the production of everything from armored vehicles to the somewhat notorious Nirbheek revolver designed for sale to Indian civilian women. Now, however, the Indian engineering group Punji Lloyd are partnering with Israeli Weapons Industries to open the very first private sector small arms factory in the nation. The factory is part of a new effort to meet the long-unfulfilled needs of the Indian military for modern, quality small arms in the wake of the government’s decision to scale back issuance of the troubled INSAS assault rifle in favor of older models like the AKM.

Thanks to Hrachya H. for sharing this photo. The rifle appears to be an AK74. But it is the customized paint job that interests me. It looks a lot like the the Petrykivka painting style from the Ukraine. This style of painting is very colorful and flowery. It is used to decorate house walls and everyday household items. In that case an AK74 fits the bill. According to wikipedia, Petrykivka is typically painted on a white background, however contemporary painters are now painting on darker backgrounds such as black.