AK platform firearms are pretty ubiquitous, with variants coming from all over the world.  Despite its popularity in the United States, for a long time there was no major production of a 100% U.S. made model.  Century Arms International changed that dynamic with the Centurion 39.  Recently, a major improvement of the Centurion 39 came out, the C39v2.  For those of you readers that may be leery due to the producer, I get it. If you’ve been burned by a substandard Century product in the past, no need to worry, I can directly empathize with you.  I once had an extremely shoddy Golani and fortunately was able to sell it for pretty much what I paid for it.  I also have a Centurion 39 that I acquired for use as a test platform for various parts that my customers might have wanted during my tenure as a gunsmith.  That being said, I assessed the C39v2 extremely closely for any defects, while trying to put aside my past prejudices in order to be as objective as possible.  I urge you to read on, as I was pleasantly surprised by this rifle.

The State Department and Department of Defense have announced a planned sale of almost $300 million of defense materials through the Republic of Iraq to the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Ministry of Peshmerga. The article specifically states that the deal is to equip two infantry battalions and two supporting artillery battalions of Peshmerga troops. Although this isn’t a U.S. Army T/O complete Brigade Combat Team (Or U.S. Marine equivalent Battalion Landing Team), the equipment numbers marry up perfectly with similar amounts in the U.S. Army, practically stripping this Peshmerga unit of anything other than Infantry and supporting artillery assets. Case in point is the amount of Colt M16A4s (Colt mentioned as being one of the suppliers) being ordered with a number of 4,400 rifles. A T/O complete U.S. Army Brigade Combat Team has an authorized strength of 4,413 soldiers, essentially on the dot of what the Peshmerga one will be. In addition the M16A4s, the planned order also specifies 46 .50 BMG M2s, and 186 M240B medium machine guns as far as small arms are concerned. I’m sure there are handgun allotments, possibly Glock 19s thrown in but too insignificant to be mentioned in the article. Of course, a number of armored vehicles and 105mm howitzers are within the bounds of the sale as well.

North Korea recently celebrated its national holiday, the Day of the Sun, commemorating the birth of the founder of the communist hermit-nation, Kim Il-Sung. In true communist fashion, the holiday was marked by a large military parade where all the latest North Korean hardware was on display, including several new ballistic missiles, the latest North Korean tanks and artillery pieces, and of course small arms as well. Notably, the North Korean People’s Army brought a new combined assault rifle/grenade launcher to the parade, in the style of the cancelled US Objective Individual Combat Weapon.

During the “Day Of The Sun” celebration North Korean soldiers were shown wearing night vision goggles and “grenade launchers”

If one goes according to legend, the AK-47 would never need fixing. By reputation, the weapon functions under the whole gamut of most unpleasant conditions. Various weapons have been pulled out of mud after decades of submersion to fire again. If that’s the case, why would Crosstac, which touts “Advanced Thinking – Superior Gear” even look to offering their AK-47 Armorer Block?

The Firearm Blog would like to extend its thanks to reader and contributor Giorgio, who lent his journalistic services to us at this years IDEX conference in Abu Dhabi in February. Thanks, Giorgio!

Aeroknox released on their Facebook page some images of a new product which is still in development and isn’t yet available on their website. They are developing a rear trunnion for AK-47 type rifles, which provides a Picatinny rail section as shown in the picture below. That feature allows attaching SIG MPX/MCX stocks to AK rifles.

Living in a state like California and New York as a gun owner really sucks. Leaders in those states are doing everything they can to take away their resident’s Second Amendment rights, but it seems whenever a new idiotic law is passed the market finds a way to create new accessories that allows shooters to still enjoy their rifles. Those in free states would scoff at parts like the Patriot Pin or a side feed stripper clip loader for the AR-15, but I’m just glad companies are making compliant parts for the people behind enemy lines.

French Counter-Terrorism group National Gendarmerie Intervention Group (GIGN) recently announced at SOFINS 2017 that it would be adopting CZ’s 806 Bren 2 in 7.62x39mm with a 9 inch barrel. So far 68 carbines have been ordered for the roughly 400 man counter-terrorist force, resulting from extensive testing of various platforms in 7.62x39mm since 2015. CZ was apparently a late comer to the testing and evaluation but appears to have come out on top amongst the others involved. Currently, GIGN is stipulating that the carbine must be modified to accept a suppressor and an accompanying gas system to assist with shooting subsonic ammunition reliably. In addition to the carbine CZ is also trying to push the P-10 for adoption as well, but this appears to be a no go at present.

No, not that Arsenal, the other Arsenal. At SHOT 2017, I briefly swung through the Arsenal Firearms/ Salient Arms International (SAI) booth looking at Glocks, but I must have missed the bigger news. DefenseReview.com is reporting on the company’s new rifle the ‘Switch’. The AR/AK-patterned gun is piston-driven, accepts AK magazines and utilizes a reciprocating side charging handle. Currently the Switch is chambered in either 7.62x39mm or 5.45x39mm.

The first ever IPSC Rifle World Shoot in Russia is less than two months away.

As an update to Miles V’s post from last September, Polish arms manufacturer Fabryka Broni has recently debuted their previously announced polymer magazines for the MSBS rifle. Originally reported on the MilMag Facebook page, the new mags appear to come in both black and semi transparent versions and have the ability to run in other AR-patterned rifles.

According to Russian newspaper “ Izvestia“, Kalashnikov Concern has registered the shape of the AK-47 rifle. The company was recently granted exclusive rights for the 3D shape of the iconic AK-47. They’ve registered the rights for 21 product categories out of 45 possible. The mentioned categories include such products as firearms, paintball guns, airsoft guns, knives, perfume, keychains, night lights, toys etc.

Thanks to you friend at North Sylva for sharing these pictures. This is a Norinco M1A chambered in 7.62×39. It was imported into Canada where Dickson lives. This seems like a great idea. I would love to get these in the US. Sadly we can’t.

There can be many reasons why one might be looking for blueprints or technical drawings of any particular gun or gun part. It can be for learning and educational purposes or to compare if their parts are within specs and many other reasons. If the legislation of your state or country allows, you can even make parts yourself (sounds like a nice project) to replace them on your guns or make custom ones.

I know that I am not going to make any friends by writing this, but that never stopped me before, so why not? Here goes: Pistol caliber carbines don’t make a whole lot of sense for the American rifle buyer, or at least not most of the offerings on the market right now.

Within the Leeds based Royal Armouries small arms collection in the United Kingdom there is a particular Soviet AK47 that is kept amongst the collection of other AKs. The serial number is ГЛ4027, in addition to a date stamp of 1953 with an Izhmash arms plant logo. Although the Armouries house a huge collection of Kalashnikovs, this exact one has a rather fascinating history attached to it. The rifle itself is nothing mind blowing, it just being one of several million Kalashnikov pattern rifles produced in the Soviet Union. It has a milled receiver which makes it slightly more interesting than the stamped AKMs that were to replace it in the 1960s, almost being a “Type 2” instead of the earlier Type 1 variant of the early Kalashnikov designs.

Hrachya H. shared this photo with me. It is a bullpup AK made here in the US. It is made by Utah Custom Gunstocks.

The VSK-94 is a rarely seen Russian semi-automatic precision rifle firing a 9x39mm cartridge from a heavily modified Kalashnikov receiver with an integral suppressor. The rifle was an attempt to make a cheaper version of the VSS Vintorez chambered in the same 9x39mm cartridge. Currently, only law enforcement within Russia uses it, while Russia’s Special Operations forces use the the higher quality Vintorez rifle while on operations.

Firearms accessory maker Sureshot Armament Group recently debuted their new AK sidemounts on their Facebook page. Their CNC machined sidemounts weight in at just 167 grams (5.89 ounces or .368 lbs). Sureshot Armament Group’s new AK sidemount is going to retail for $135.

During the beginning of the year the SBU ( The Security Service of Ukraine) managed to discover and stop channel smuggling of some very powerful illegal firearms.

The High Speed Shooting Stabilizer Fang is a neat product that we first reported on some months ago. We got our hands on one to test it in person. The device was pioneered by a fellow named James Renteria, a former Marine himself (aren’t we everywhere?), who developed the concept using 3D printers at home in Florida. Currently, his website offers the Fang in addition to the HABU cheek rest/charging handle.

Showing that they are indeed the Bee’s Knees, Beez Combat Systems has announced and released their latest chest rig for the AK platform. Designed for lightweight performance, the rather plainly named “AK47 Chest Rig GRID” is an advanced take on the chest rig concept, use the latest thin and light materials to great effect.

Reid Henrichs, formerly of Tactical Response and known for his down-to-earth style has posted a video doing the testing that we all wish we could do through our own home. Using common calibers and ammunition, Reid and his training cohort from Valor Ridge put rounds through an actual house. Color me absolutely and insanely jealous.

Rifle Dynamics owner Jim Fuller took to Facebook to announce that he was approached by a ‘group of long time friends’ to sell the company and that he has accepted the offer. Fuller has not yet disclosed the buyers nor the sale price and only offers that more information will be available soon.

CMC AK Elite triggers are already available on CMC Triggers website. They come in three different trigger shoe types: flat, curved (AR-style) and traditional AK type. All the three versions are offered either with 3.5 lb or 4.5 lb trigger pull weights. These options don’t affect the price. No matter what configuration you choose, the MSRP is $225.

When I started the Modern Intermediate Calibers series, I did not expect it to grow as large as it has. The initial plan was for 7 major calibers, which grew into well over 20, and the spinoff Modern Personal Defense Weapon Calibers, which itself will have at least 20 entries.

This photo is by @6pennies. I’ve heard of pencil barrels but now pencil ammo?  I did not know #2 pencils could be so deadly. Just think, they can probably pass through most metal detectors and they can be found at any school. Think of the children! Ok that’s enough of that. I find it amusing that pencils fit in an AK magazine. I wonder if they chamber?

Recent social media activity has indicated at least one Chinese 7.62x39mm Type 74 for sale through the online gun markets of Baghdad. At a casual first glance the light machine gun appears to be an RPK. But upon closer inspection one will notice the oddly shaped carry handle, the SKS-like bolt, uncovered upper receiver, and pistol grip. In fact the Type 81 series of small arms is much more of a modern SKS in an assault rifle issued role than a Chinese take on the Kalashnikov. For more information on the Type 81 and other Chinese LMG designs, Small Arms Defense Journal has an excellent article published on the subject.

My friend J.W. Ramp just built his first AK47.