Photo Of The Day: Finnish Lapland, some 130 kilometers (81 miles) north of the Arctic Circle, and we’re visiting the Sodankylä Garrison, in the middle of winter 2023. Above you see a U.S. Army cavalry scout assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 183rd Cavalry Regiment, Virginia Army National Guard. He’s aiming at a target with a Finnish RK62M1 rifle during a foreign weapon familiarization training at Arctic Forge 2023. The red dot is from Aimpoint (dated 2016), and the receiver is stamped with “Valmet” and “1971” – but apparently still going strong! I don’t work for either of those companies, but that seems like a pretty strong sign of quality.

In this episode of TFBTV, James Reeves is at IWA 2023 talking with Polish AK manufacturer, WBP, manufacturers of the famous WBP Jack. WBP has something quite clever up their sleeves for 2023, and that’s the introduction of the (tentatively) WBP “AK-AR”, an AK that accepts AR magazines. There are a number of brilliant features included, so be sure to watch the whole video.

In Part 1 of this article, I wrote about the early days of AK production in China, Part 2 was dedicated to the “golden years” of Type 56 history when it was exported to the US and produced in multiple countries.

With the mad rush on the pistol brace ruling by the ATF, both firearms owners and producers alike are attempting to find ways to salvage their legally possessed firearms without the need to register them under the NFA. Rifle Dynamics is now offering pistol-to-rifle conversions with an additional 20% off select rifle parts as part of their pistol-to-rifle services. This service is for those who don’t want to deal with the NFA and still want to keep their Rifle Dynamics AK without disposing of it or registering it.

In Part 1 of this article, I talked about early Chinese AKs and the humble beginnings of Kalashnikov rifle manufacturing in China. By 1956, China was building new factories and improving old ones with the help of Soviet engineers, and it seemed like nothing can break apart two great comrades – the Soviet Communist party and their Chinese counterparts.

It is hard to find a place on Earth where people wouldn’t know what Kalashnikov is. Some know it through movies, some through video games, but a good portion of the world’s population have some firsthand experience with this rifle, since a Soviet, East European, or Chinese AK can be found almost anywhere.

The India-Russia joint venture to produce AK-203 assault rifles for the Indian Armed Forces has produced the first batch of rifles for the Indian Army. This was announced by  Rosoboronexport on January 17. The Indian Army has a requirement for about 671,000 rifles.

The Ruger American Rifle series has become a popular, affordable line of rifles that include the Ruger American Ranch Rifle, one of which comes chambered for 7.62x39mm. For the American Ranch, Ruger opted to incorporate their own magazine design from the Ruger Mini-30, also chambered for 7.62×39. However, the 7.62×39 cartridge is most synonymous with AKM pattern rifles, thus, many people have been hoping for a Ruger American Ranch Rifle that accepts AK magazines. Enter Firecastle Customs, who recently announced their AK magazine adapter for Ruger American Ranch Rifles chambered in 7.62×39.

Ikon Weapons produces 5.56 Galil variants including the Mirco and ARM. At SHOT Show 2023, they also displayed their new .308 versions. These included wood and polymer furniture models and even one with a California-complaint grip fin.

In this episode of TFBTV, James Reeves is at Kalashnikov USA to see what new releases KUSA has for 2023. AKs in 5.56mm and 5.45mm are on the menu, as well as a few other selections.

At SHOT Show 2023, Midwest Industries unveiled an entire line of AK accessories called the  AK Alpha Series. Currently, there are four main products in this family of Midwest Industries AK accessories: AK Alpha Series M-LOK Handguard, AK Alpha Series Optic Mount, AK Alpha Series Railed Top Cover and AK Alpha Series Folding Stock. Let’s take a closer look at each of these new Midwest Industries products.

New for 2023, Midwest Industries has released a refreshed lineup of AK accessories and upgrades. The new Alpha series parts lineup includes new handguards and optic mounting systems, as well as their new modular folding stock. These parts can be used to fully modernize an AK, or to add a bit of capability to a classic one.

Barwarus and Frontier Armory had a few interesting upgrades for AK-pattern guns at their SHOT Show 2023 booth.

New for 2023 from Palmetto State Armory are AKS-74U (a.k.a. Krinkov) style pistols. PSA brought to SHOT Show 2023 the versions of their new Krinkovs chambered in 5.45x39mm and 5.56x45mm, which will be the first to hit the shelves, however, they will also be offering these pistols chambered in .300 Blackout and 7.62x39mm. The PSA Krinkovs are completely made in-house and will be available in Q1-Q2 2023.

In this episode of TFBTV, @JamesReeves is at SHOT Show 2023 visiting Zastava Arms, the largest importer of AKs in the United States. Zastava has big news: The Zastava Underfolder (yes, with a real underfolder trunnion) is finally here. See today’s video for details.

Zastava USA had all kinds of new things in the works for 2023.  First and most prominent,will be the addition to their catalogue of true underfolding ZPAPM70’s in the M70AB configuration, complete with bayonet lug.  In addition to being a true underfolder integrated into the receiver as opposed to their bolt-on underfolding kit, the new under folders will be the first Zastava USA ZPAP’s to have a bayonet lug as well.

Rifle Dynamics introduced the Quickhatch pistol at the beginning of the past year and until now it was available chambered in 7.62x39mm only. Well, the company has just announced that a version of the Quickhatch chambered in 5.45x39mm is now available too. Let’s take a closer look.

In 2019 this author had a chance to review an AK handguard made by the Ukrainian company KPYK and was really impressed by the quality and design of that product. The company has recently announced an expansion of that AK handguard line with the addition of two new aluminum M-LOK handguards designed for the AKS-74U. Let’s take a closer look at the new KPYK Krinkov handguards.

Fans of exotic AK builds, rejoice!  BarWarus USA is bringing a Zenitco clone handguard and top rail to the US market. It is made in Turkey, so it can still be imported legally (unlike most/all Russian products).

Feeding your AKs and surplus SKS rifles you bought ages ago used to be a pretty affordable affair. Most of the time you could pick up entire spam cans of 7.62x39mm ammunition to go with your freshly purchased rifle. However, a combination of global circumstances has inflated the price of 7.62x39mm ammunition, leading to much more expensive and a lot harder to get imported into the USA. That is why Kalashnikov USA is proud to introduce their new 124-grain lead core steel cased 7.62x39mm ammunition which is available for purchase now directly from KUSA.

The Zastava Arms ZPAP M70 AK rifle is probably the most popular Serbian AK available to us here in the US market. Capable of functioning in virtually any environment and coming from a company that has made literal millions of AK rifles, the M70 is often the first choice for many looking to get into the AK game. Today Zastava has announced two new additions to their AK lineup including a new pistol as well as a new Zastava M70 Extended M-LOK handguard model.

Rifle Dynamics is one of the most well-respected names in the American AK market. In addition to their built-to-order rifles and pistols, Rifle Dynamics also offers custom build classes where you are invited to the Rifle Dynamics Classroom for a full weekend of instruction that culminates with you building your very own Rifle Dynamics firearm. If you have never liked the look of some of the more standard Izhmash Armory or Romanian AKM style dust covers, or just want a better-fitted dust cover for your AK, Rifle Dynamics has just announced the addition of the new RD Smooth Dust Cover.

AR pattern rifles are relatively new on the Russian market but are already presented in a wide variety of configurations, from pistol caliber carbines to AR-10 style rifles and everything inbetween. Most of them are largely just ARs, nothing special. However, one company, Souz-TM, makes pretty interesting AR-15 style rifles that are chambered in 5.45x39mm and take modified AK-74 magazines. The company offers a DI version of their modified AK-74 mag fed AR called STM-545 and a short stroke piston operated one called STM-415.

Special Projects Division of Meridian Defense Corporation has unveiled the fifth rifle in their 7 Sins series of limited edition custom AKs – the  GLUTTONY. You can take a look at the previous four releases via the links below and if you are hungry for learning more about the GLUTTONY, keep on reading this article.

I recently reviewed my American Tactical Imports “Galeo” which is a clone of the original Galil, built from an imported parts kit. That gun has been so much fun that I bought the pistol version to go along with it. Does Galeo pistol keep up with its bigger brother? Let’s find out!

Zastava Arms USA is the exclusive American importer of Serbia’s acclaimed AK-pattern rifles, as well as a number of other firearms models, such as the beastly .50-caliber bolt-action Black Arrow M93. TFB recently covered the teasing of a new M70 underfolder, and it appears that the rumors are true. The company’s social media has now officially announced the addition of a new no-gunsmithing-required underfolder stock kit to their product lineup.

Arizona-based XTech Tactical have introduced their new US-manufactured MAG47 Elite magazines for 7.62x39mm AKs. Building on their MAG47mil, the new magazine is slick-sided for easier removal from pouches. The magazines have an MSRP of $37.95.

In this episode of TFBTV, James Reeves is at Zastava Oruzje in Serbia to try out a number of their most famous (and infamous) small arms. In today’s video, James has the opportunity to shoot the M21. The Zastava M21 is similar to the Zastava M90 but it has a few changes making it something slightly different. However, it might be the lightest recoiling 5.56mm rifle made. James interviews a Zastava engineer to get the details on how the Zastava M21 works the way it does.

Every year Rifle Dynamics does a limited run of magazines to celebrate Halloween. This year the magazine is clearly influenced by the horror/sci-fi movie Aliens. The paint design is heavily based on the iconography of the Colonial Marine Corps. According to Rifle Dynamics, the magazine will give you the added edge when going on a bug hunt. The MagLads Halloween 2022 Drop is priced at $38.99, with only 350 available.

In this episode of TFBTV, James Reeves is personally visiting Zastava headquarters in Serbia to test out the successor to the legendary M70: the brand new Zastava M19 MCS (Modular Combat System).