According to RIA Novosti and TASS (Russian news agencies) Land Forces of Russian Federation started issuing “Ratnik” (Warrior) kits to the troops. As covered earlier on TFB, Ratnik includes a number of upgrades to existing weapons and gear, as well as new equipment. They’ve already issued about 100,000 such kits, which generally receive positive feedback from the soldiers.

It feels like déjà vu: India has once again issued a Request For Information (RFI) for a new rifle, this time in 7.62x51mm NATO caliber. The RFI was reportedly issued on the 27th of September, making it two and a half months between the nation’s government announcing they were preparing the document, and actually issuing it. DefenseWorld reports on the RFI’s contents:

What, no cross section of the cleaning kit? Fail. I’m kidding of course – this bisection of an AK47 is completely awesome. I especially like the split 7.62×39 round seated in the chamber.

When the AK-Alfa rifle was announced at Kalashnikov USA’s booth at the 2016 SHOT Show early in the year, it created an enormous buzz. The rifle’s Kalashnikov heritage, sleek looks, and surprise appearance in association with Kalashnikov’s star-cross’d former US importer led to a firestorm of views and comments on our article.

Mikhail Kalashnikov, the designer of famous AK family of rifles, was born on November 10, 1919. So in 2019 it will be 100 years since M. Kalashnikov was born. To celebrate the 100th birthday of the ingenious firearms designer, Russian president Vladimir Putin has recently (10/4/2016) issued an executive order about organization of celebration of Kalashnikov’s birthday.

Background: You may remember NATO’s “Powered Rail Team”, consisting of 10 nations with the common goal of bringing forward a STANAG (NATO standardization document) for a Powered Accessory Rail for small firearms? Think a Picatinny rail, but with power inside for your lamp, laser, sights etc.

It was late September 2016, and I was again invited to visit I.O. Inc. in Palm Bay, Florida for their 3rd annual Writer’s Event. The event showcased I.O. Inc.’s upcoming products and touring their facility. As seen on the title image, one of those new I.O. products is their new Keymod AR-15 model.

Molot Arms is preparing pull the veil of secrecy off the Vintorez by producing civilian models available for sale to Russians and possibly other countries at a later date. According to one source, 9×39 ammunition is already in production, however Molot is also set to produce a Vintorez in 7.62×39. Of course, sourcing commercial subsonic 7.62×39 may have it’s own challenges.

Intelligent Target Systems has a slogan that neatly summarizes their newest addition to their product line: “We don’t always know what you’re up to…but we know what you’re up against.” And while the premise behind their slogan is simple – and true – not every industry business out there follows it. Basically, it means it takes a gun guy to know what other gun guys need. Keeping this in mind, companies should have experienced shooters designing their products. Furthermore, those shooters should be well-versed in the specific area of shooting they’re working in whether shotguns, handguns, hunting, or self-defense. In the case of Intelligent Target Systems’ new Air Rack ‘Em Up system, if you’re a rifle shooter with an interest in long-range shooting, you should take a closer look at these targets.

ADEX is the Azerbaijan International Defense Exhibition held in the capitol of Baku, Azerbaijan. Ukraine came out with the 7.62x39mm (Also 5.45×39 but not at the show) Malyuk. Essentially the rifle is an AK74 or AKM in the guise of a bullpup, much like many of the experimental bullpup conversions in the United States and Russia, but this one is actually being adopted by certain elements of the Ukrainian military.

The 7.62x39mm Gilboa M43 rifle will soon be coming to the U.S. civilian market, and the American company manufacturing it is currently take pre-orders through McKay Industries. The Gilboa M43 is a 7.62x39mm AR, very similar to the CMMG Mk47 Mutant but with a number of differences. Visually there is a magazine well present on the M43 that isn’t on the Mk47, in addition the M43 has a shorter rail system that connects to the large gas block. There is also a short barrel version of the M43 that would most doubtably be their SBR if it were brought to the U.S.. However currently only the 37 inch length rifle will be introduced. The designation M43 probably comes from the original Soviet designation of the 7.62x39mm M43 cartridge when it was first introduced.

The 6.5 Grendel is in many military small arms enthusiasts’ eyes the ideal military caliber, in theory combining the best characteristics of both 7.62mm and 5.56mm rounds. However, in the thirteen years since the round’s introduction, it has found little if any traction with actual military users – until now. It seems that the Serbian government has quietly adopted the “slow and steady” six five earlier this summer. From Novosti Online:

AK accessory and gear maker US Palm recently debuted their new AK30R magazines for AK variant rifles and pistols. The R stands for Range and their new AK30R mags are a more budget friendly alternative to their current AK30 mags that they’ve had on the market for the past eight years. Their new AK30R mags have the exact same look and feel as the AK30 mags but to reduce cost and the MSRP US Palm left out the metal reinforcements at the front and rear of the locking lugs (see the image below).

Circle 10 AK is a small company based in northern Illinois that designs and manufactures niche products for the Kalashnikov platform in the United States. They have been relatively successful as a reliable company that commits to selling AK accessories at a good price, and coming up with a few innovative ideas of their own. At Bullpup 2016 we saw a couple of items that Circle 10 AK had in the works.

Admitidlty, I am just now returning from a five-year hiatus away from the AK world, but I still think this is awesome news. K-Var is now selling AK-47 patterned rifles built at the Molot factory in Russia. Obviously due to legal issues, these rifles can’t be imported as pictured – they most likely came in as preassembled parts, sporting versions of VEPR rifles or even pistols and then legally reassembled into traditional fighting rifles.

Thanks to Lionel for sending these picture to us.

For several years now Manticore Arms has put on an excellent show and sponsorship of a number of companies and vendors at the annual Bullpup Shoot in northern Illinois. Some of the prominent bullpup rifle companies that were there included JARD Inc, Desert Tech, and Vadum. IWI USA and Steyer weren’t there this year, however they had Class Three FFLs that brought demo guns with them for crowds to line up and shoot.

Leupold is known for manufacturing good quality, reliable optics and now you’ll be able to mount those optics to your guns with an even wider range of rings and bases. The company is expanding their line with their new Mark 4 Integral Mounting System (IMS) mounts which are designed for modern sporting rifles. New options are also being offered for their QRW, PRW,  Dual Dovetail, Quick Release, and Standard bases. Quite simply, if you’re in the market for rings or bases, they have you covered.

Comrade, the time has come. Dead Air Armament’s Wolverine PBS-1 AK suppressor is dropping in to distributors across the US. If you remember from our MOD Outfitter’s story a few months ago, the Wolverine is designed to tame both ejection port and gas port noise as much it supresses the muzzle blast. It also looks pretty awesome.

Earlier we covered the DS Trushot made by Pakistani arms company Daudson, based in Peshawar. In addition to firearms, the same company makes a 40mm high velocity grenade launcher as well. It comes in a standalone variant, as well as a UBGL version to be affixed to an AKM via a set of Philips screws clamping the launcher to the barrel. The UBGL version looks awfully low on the rifle, much lower than many Russian GP30s or even an M203 when mounted to the rifle. Unfortunately the specifications don’t list the weight of the device but looking at the bulk associated with it, in addition to the statement that they are made of steel, I would imagine very heavy compared to European or American grenade launchers. Operation consists of unlatching the breech, pushing it forward, inserted a grenade, closing it, engaging the safety lever that rotates almost 180 degrees to fire, aiming in on the quadrant sight, and firing via a trigger similar to the GP30 design. The company has stated that the launchers have been used in “Anti-terrorist operations” but I can’t find any photographs of use by the Pakistani police or military forces supporting this.

Guns of the Special Forces is a recent publication by Pen & Sword Press written by Leigh Neville, an Australian defense and military author. The book is inspired by Guns of the Elite written by George Markham, an in-depth look at the history and then current (1990s) usage of small arms by special operations units in the world. Neville is essentially bringing the SF narrative of small arms knowledge and development up to date, in an extremely well written, 244 page publication filled with excellent description, discussion, and amazing photographs. In fact, I think the photographs are some of the best to appear in print from this secretive community the world over. I’m very used to being awed and seeing a number of photographs from OIF/OEF of SF weapons, but even for me the book blew it out of the park with the selection of pictures.

This is a the second part of a guest article from our reader Brandon covering the development of synthetic magazines for the AK-47 and AKM rifles. You can read the first part, on metallic magazines, at this link. Thanks, Brandon!

This is a guest article from our reader Brandon covering the development of metallic magazines for the AK-47 and AKM rifles. Thanks, Brandon!

There is always time for gun safety, and Hickok45’s latest YouTube video addresses an important one: shooting steel. This video is well worth watching if you’re not entirely up on gun safety while shooting steel and is also a good one to share with new shooters. After all, the four golden rules of gun safety always apply – treat all guns as though they’re loaded, keep your finger off the trigger until you’re on target, don’t point the gun at anything you’re not willing to destroy, and know your target and what is beyond it – but there are other rules to keep in mind as well.

Fresh, and exclusive to TFB, pictures of the Kalashnikov Group’s Saiga MK 107 at the Army-2016 Expo combined with some history and background.

Our friends at Kalashnikov Concern sent us promotional footage of their new firearms and kindly allowed us to publish it.

Talk about low profile rifles, this AK-47 Kalashnikov is tiny.

Mounting Solutions Plus announced a new device that will allow a shooter to thread typical US made muzzle devices to the typical AK-47/AKM rifle chambered in 7.62×39.

As we ride the shockwaves outward from the epicenter of the explosion which began in 2004 with the expiry of the Assault Weapons Ban, our community of gun owners has rapidly mutated from the set that characterized our parents’ and grandparents’ generations. Many good things have come out of this, including better gun safety practices, wider acceptance of different shooting styles and disciplines, and such a ubiquitous access to reliable information that shooters even a couple decades ago would weep with envy. However, at the same time I’ve seen one change that I’d rather go without: Along with acceptance of the new and different (which is good), it seems many of today’s gun owners have also adopted an insistence on the most and the best.

Kalashnikov Concern’s newest weapon releases have received quite a lot of attention since they were first shown off at the ARMY 2016 military and technology forum in Moscow, and as the conference winds down, I want to take a more thorough pass through four of these new products from the company. Since we published announcements for three of these new weapons, Maxim Popenker, gun expert and TFB contributor, has published more detailed descriptions of the RPK-16, MA, and SVK rifles on his website, Modern Firearms. Let’s take a look at what he has to teach us about these new weapons: