#AKM

Hidden out of sight at the IWA exhibition in Germany, but TFB got a first exclusive look of the new CQR AR10 stock. Below you can see the first “live” pictures.

The sanctions on Russian companies have hit the American AK enthusiast hard – no longer can we import inexpensive Izhevsk Kalashnikovs to feed the beast. Yet, there is a silver lining: Domestic AK production is on the rise to meet the demand, and one company in particular is staking its name – the biggest name in the business – on American-made AKs done right. That name being, of course, Kalashnikov USA.

KNS Precision has a different approach in making the AK gas system adjustable. The most frequently seen way is to design an adjustable gas block. What makes the KNS Precision solution different is that they have incorporated the gas system adjustability into the gas piston design!

While doing a research for another article I came across a set of photos taken during live firing exercises of Russian Ground Forces’ snipers in Alabino proving grounds. Reportedly, the images are taken in December 2017. Let’s take a look at them and discuss the most interesting aspects.

Matt Rittman, a 3D motion designer from Waukee, Iowa, has recently published a beautiful 3D animation demonstrating how the mechanism of a typical AK rifle works. Animations of the AK mechanism has been around for a while. Nevertheless, this one is rather well executed. Without further ado, let’s watch the video.

Circle 10 AK, with the permission from  Century Arms, has published on their social media pages the announcement of a new Century Arms AK-based 9x19mm pistol called Draco NAK9. This gun is made in Nova Modul in Cugir, Romania and imported to the USA by Century Arms.

Kalashnikov Media has started a video series called “Kalashnikov: Around the World”. The purpose of these videos is to tell about the Kalashnikov rifles made in different countries of the world. This video series consists of short videos briefly teasing separate rifles ( like AMP-69 that we posted about earlier) and more comprehensive ones in a format of an interview where Vladimir Onokoy, the technical consultant of Kalashnikov Concern, is the host and Pavel Pticin, the founder of ak-info.ru website, is the guest.

SK-17 (Semiautomatic Kalashnikov 2017) is a custom AKM-based rifle built by a company called Fire Control Group Manufacturing. Besides being a custom made rifle, it has several design changes which are supposed to increase the efficiency of the rifle.

This is not the average AK we normally see, is it? DNO Firearms DX-7 is an interesting take on redesigning and modernizing the AK platform at the same time keeping the features and parts that don’t need to be changed.

Meridian Defense Corporation offers a new AK build called VOLK. The choice of parts and the overall layout of the rifle is really well thought out. If the AK is the weapon platform of your choice, then something like the VOLK rifle will be an ultimate all-around gun.

Krebs Custom is one of the few companies which name is associated with the highest-end AK rifles on the market. Recently, the company has introduced a new AK pistol called PD-18. These are Polish AKM based builds chambered in 7.62x39mm.

Although the Russian Kalashnikov assault rifle is the one that is most famous, it is arguably the Chinese Type 56 AK that made the bigger impression on the world in the 1960s and 70s. This rifle was initially developed with Russian technical assistance just before the Sino-Soviet split beginning in 1956, but subsequent development took place without Russian input, leading to an entire family of unique AK variants. The name “Type 56” actually refers to this entire family of Chinese AKs, which includes milled receiver variants derived from the Russian Type 2 AK, as well as stamped versions similar to (but distinct from) the AKM. These guns showed up all over the world, and for many they are THE iconic “AK-47”. They were the primary weapon of the North Vietnamese Army in the latter half of the Vietnam War, were exported by the Chinese to Africa, Asia, and South America. It was the most used AK variant by the mujahideen during the Soviet-Afghan War, up against Russian AK-74 rifles. Too this day remains one of the most common if not the most common AK variant, and it’s the Chinese Type 56 with its distinctive integral spike bayonet that is famously depicted as a symbol of liberation on the Flag of Mozambique.

In the mid-2000s, India began looking for a carbine to replace their 9mm L2A3 Sterling submachine guns which they inherited from the United Kingdom. Two weapons were developed, one by the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), and another by the Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), a subdivision of the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO). The Ordnance Factory Board produced the AMOGH carbine, while the DRDO produced the Modern Sub Machine Carbine (MSMC, also known as the Joint Venture Protective Carbine, or JVPC). These weapons reportedly competed against each other, and by the early 2010s, the MSMC had been selected as the Sterling replacement.

In the mid-2000s, India began looking for a carbine to replace their 9mm L2A3 Sterling submachine guns which they inherited from the United Kingdom. Two weapons were developed, one by the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), and another by the Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), a subdivision of the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO). The Ordnance Factory Board produced the AMOGH carbine, while the DRDO produced the MSMC. These weapons reportedly competed against each other, and by the early 2010s, the MSMC had been selected as the Sterling replacement. However, the AMOGH is still being marketed to customers by the OFB, and has reportedly been purchased by the Indian Coast Guard.

Ukrainian arms manufacturers released upgraded versions of AK-47 (AKM), SVD and PKM during Arms and Security 2017 exhibition held in Kiev, Ukraine in October. SVD and AK based rifles were introduced by Stiletto Systems and are called KSO-2008 and KO-016 respectively.