We received a nice email from Caleb Rogers, founder of Smokies Leather, about their custom leatherwork that includes wraps for various AK rifle variants, slings, patches and other accessories. The kits are very reasonably priced, well made, and are manufactured in Athens, Tennessee. If you are looking for high-quality leather accessories for your rifle, take a look at the offerings from SmokiesLeather.com. I have included a few examples of their work below.

In this episode of TFBTV, James Reeves is at Rifle Dynamics to talk about the “Thumper” – a gun that started life as an RPK light machine gun and somehow ended up in the hands of Rifle Dynamics. The boys at Rifle Dynamics converted this former LMG into an AKM-type carbine and tweaked it to be supremely reliable and extremely shootable. Watch today’s video for the deets.

Kalashnikov USA have added two new aluminum AK stocks to their KUSA Premium K-Series line of AK parts and accessories. One of the new stocks is telescoping and is compatible with fixed-stock rear trunnions. The second one has no length of pull adjustment mechanism and is designed for side folding rear trunnions. Let’s take a look at the specs and features of the new KUSA Premium K-Series aluminum AK stocks.

In this episode, James visits Timney Triggers at GunCon 2023 to see Timney’s new AK trigger, which *may* be the best AK trigger ever made? It isn’t just because Timney’s new AK trigger is light and crisp at 3.5 pounds of pull with a super-short 2mm tactile reset, but because Timney claims to have vigorously tested this trigger with many different brands and types of AK to ensure compatibility and reliable function. This even includes Zastava’s M70 – Zastava recommends against changing the trigger in their all-Serbian-internal guns because of the impact in can have on the firing control group and operating system, but Timney sounds confident in its ability to make their new trigger work in every well-known platform.

TFBTV and James Reeves are at Brownells covering GunCon 2023. In this episode, James is disgusted. Upstart company, Stuff and Things, is making a well-made and well-thought out AK bullpup conversion kit that starts at just $300. This kit will work with Zastava AK-type 5.56mm and 7.62x39mm pistols like the M85 and M92, and they even make a 9mm version that will work with CZ Scorpion magazine-compatible AK-9 pistols. Are you ready to get grossed out? Click this vid and stay tuned for more GunCon.

In part 1 and part 2 of this article, I talked about the history of Romanian AKs and their most unexpected users. Now it is time to talk about the production of those guns and some of the issues I experienced while inspecting and repairing them.

Adopted by the Russian military in 2018, the AK-12 rifle has since gone through several revisions that resulted in some design changes such as the replacement of the AR15-style stock and the introduction of the one-piece polymer pistol grip/trigger guard. Kalashnikov Concern recently published information about the latest 2023 upgrades of the AK-12 rifle that were requested by the Russian military based on the feedback from the Russo-Ukrainian War. These design changes are apparently not significant enough to give the rifle a new model name, so it’s referred to as the AK-12 model of 2023.

In part 1 of this article, I talked about the first Romanian AKs and the ironic role one Romanian AK had in the dismantling of the Ceausescu dictatorship.

Rifle Dynamics have announced a new series of AK rifles called Mark II which is based on their earlier released Quickhatch AK pistols. The main difference from their older rifle models is that instead of using standard AK lower handguards with UltiMAK railed gas tubes, the new Rifle Dynamics Mark II rifles are built with M-LOK aluminum handguards designed in collaboration with Occam Defense Solutions.

In this video, we’re going to be building the ultimate urban AK type rifle with the help of the gang from Rifle Dynamics. For this video, we’re looking at a .223 caliber AK with a short barrel and some high tech modular features. This is just part 1, part 2 will be coming soon. In part 2, we’ll go over some of the features of the rifle and discuss why we chose each component. We’ll also do a full range session with the rifle and give you our thoughts on it.

Many people in Africa, the Middle East, and the US would have a hard time finding Romania on the map. But there are at least two products originating from Romania that have worldwide acclaim – the stories about Count Dracula from Transilvania and Romanian AKs.

Do you have a PSA AK-V and looking to modify it beyond a simple drop-in handguard? Rifle Dynamics is offering an AK-V Quickhatch conversion service on their website. When I was out with Rifle Dynamics helping to film some of their guns in slow motion, they brought out their post-sample PSA AK-V Quickhatch so we could film some of it and I got to pull the trigger on it a bit.

Palmetto State Armory needs no introduction; they are one of the biggest names in American firearm manufacturing. Though they started out as an AR-15 supplier, their offerings have grown to include Glock clones, large-frame ARs, and AK-pattern rifles. That AK lineup has expanded from basic AKM rifles to more niche items like the AK-105, a shortened and modernized AK-74. Let’s take a closer look at this pistol and how it runs.

Welcome to our Image of the Day feature! Except we call it Photo Of The Day here at TFB. Each day, we showcase at least one (stunning) image that captures the beauty of our world of firearms. Join us as we take a look at Romanian soldiers assigned to the 30th Mountain Battalion, as they provide security during Exercise Combined Resolve 18 at Hohenfels Training Area, Joint Multinational Readiness Center, Germany. These images are relatively fresh, from May 5, 2023. The firearm above looks to be a Romanian Paratrooper RPK chambered in 7.62×39.

Thanks to John aka Mr. Snow Makes for showcasing the Stuff and Things Bullpup Kit (BPK). It is a drop-in kit that converts your AK into a bullpup.

How do you build the best AK-47? Just ask the guys who do it every day. Today, James Reeves will take you on an exclusive tour of the Rifle Dynamics AK rifle factory. In this video, you’ll get an up-close look at how these legendary firearms are made, from start to finish. Austin, the shop manager for Rifle Dynamics, will walk you through the entire manufacturing process, highlighting the craftsmanship and attention to detail that goes into each and every Rifle Dynamics AK-47 rifle.

Photo Of The Day with some fresh and interesting images from the exercise Flintlock 2023 in Volta, Ghana. An AK and an AR captured in the same picture, with soldiers in the water. I don’t know the air temperature, but I have a sense that a swim could offer some refreshment.

Luke is catching up with Ranko from Zastava Arms USA at NRAAM 2023 to check out the new M92 Rifle – the closest thing you can get to a Serbian Krink! The new Zastava M92 rifle is in all actuality an M92 pistol that has been fitted with one of Zastava’s underfolding stocks, as well as a pinned and welded barrel extension to meet the minimum length requirements the ATF currently has outlined for the M92 Rifle to not be considered an SBR. The M92 Rifle will be available within a month or two and will be less than $1,500 MSRP.

While the People’s Republic of China has one of the biggest firearms industries in the world, you rarely see any small arms of China displayed in their booth. Even at the IDEX exhibition, one of the biggest and perhaps the most diverse in the world, you never had a chance to see the newest Chinese rifles. But the world has changed, the demand in the defense industry is growing rapidly and this year, Chinese companies showcased an impressive selection of rifles at the Norinco booth.

This year at NRAAM 2023, Luke C stopped by the CMC Triggers booth to check out their new “Yella Jacket” CCT Single Stage AK47 triggers. These two new improved variants of the near drop-in ready triggers feature stronger hammer pressures to compensate for some of the harder primers found on certain brands of 7.62x39mm ammunition. While some hand fitting may be required, if you mess things up a little bit, no worries! CMC Triggers has you covered with their lifetime warranty.

Photo Of The Day and we have a Cameroonian Rapid Intervention Brigade sniper aiming down the  scope of his Dragunov SVD (more likely Zastava M76 or 77) sniper rifle⁠, as his squad moves through a field during a patrol for Flintlock exercise in Daboya, Ghana, 2023.

Palmetto State Armory was kind enough to send us one of their AK-104s to test out, specifically their 12.5″ barrel model.  The PSA AK-104 is a stamped receiver model with a hammer-forged front trunnion.  Its standout cosmetic features are a folding stock, 90-degree gas block, and extended-length pinned and welded Krink brake to keep customers from having to buy a stamp.  This particular configuration currently has an MSRP of $999.00.

Photo Of The Day – have you ever tried shooting like this? If you’re one of TFB’s readers, you probably own at least 20 firearms, but no skis? We’re in Finland (where else?) where a soldier from Charlie Troop, 3-71 Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, practices the kneeling firing position holding a 7.62mm RK62 assault rifle while kneeling on skis.

As much stuff as we cover during SHOT Show, we somehow always manage to miss something cool that was launched at the show. One thing I just found out about is the new Samson Manufacturing AK-47 RSR2 or Rear Sight Rail. This all-steel mounting solution for the Aimpoint T-1 and T2 red dot sights is a simple direct mount option that allows the user to replace their AK-47 rear sight with an RDS compatible direct mount which also features a co-witness notch so that the front sight post can still be used in case the red dot fails or is off.

Photo Of The Day: The machine gun that was never adopted. The Finnish Valmet M78 light machine gun has a standard RPK-style clubfoot buttstock and either a wooden or black synthetic forearm. It has sometimes been used in movies in place of the original RPK. This one comes from the collection of Dominion Defense LLC.

Many guns are exceedingly serious tools, purpose-built for potential life-or-death situations. Others are made more for fun – entertaining, enjoyable range toys. Today’s examination focuses on a case of the latter. Unless you live under a rock, by now you’ve likely at least heard of the extremely popular television series “The Mandalorian”, launched in 2019, from Disney’s Star Wars universe. One of the titular character’s weapons in the series is a sniper rifle called the Amban Phase-Pulse blaster, noted for its prominent two-pronged forked muzzle. As gun guys often do, some viewers who are also firearms aficionados have geeked out over the show’s prop weapons, looking for real-world guns that the props may be based on. In the case of the Amban rifle, there were none to be found. The blaster was an entirely fabricated prop and not a dressed-up real gun, as many other Star Wars weapons have been. However, the mad AK scientists at a Phoenix-based shop called Lee Armory have at least somewhat changed that.

This article is the final chapter of a 4-part series. In Part 1 I talk about how the production of AK began in China, Part 2 was dedicated to the “golden age” of Chinese AKs, and Part 3 was about the gradual decline in quality and the underlying reasons for it. In Part 4, we will take a look at the latest descendants of the Type 56 rifle, including the Chinese AK 103.

New Hampshire-based Samson Manufacturing produces a healthy list of firearms components and accessories. While the AR-15 features strongly in their lineup, with a variety of handguards, iron sights, and more on offer for it, their catalog touches plenty of other firearm types as well. From folding stocks for Ruger 10/22s and Mini-14s to rails for MP5 clones, to comps for pistols and PCCs, there’s a little bit of something for nearly everyone. AK shooters are no exception, with a smattering of sight rails and other parts available, and now the company has added a new Kalashnikov offering to their arsenal, if you’re into modernizing Mikhail’s classic design. Get the details on their new AK-47 M-LOK handguard in the press release below.

Photo Of The Day: The Mauritanian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. The Mauritanian Armed Forces are composed of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and National Gendarmerie, and they are responsible for defending Mauritania’s borders and protecting its people. Here we see them conducting Dynamic Shooting Drills, in a pretty cool picture with their red berets. In terms of small arms, they use a mixture of AK-47, AKM and the Chinese Type 56.

“If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” That’s probably the most common mistake, but we can’t really complain about the image above? Valmets and Aimpoints in the Winter Warfare Training during Arctic Forge 2023, in our Photo Of The Day.