#7.62x39

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 Polish magazine Bron Amunicia TAC has recently made light of Fabryka Broni releasing both a 7.62x39mm version of the MSBS at the International Defense Industry Exhibition MSPO in Poland, and a STANAG compatible 5.56x45mm magazine (separate from the exhibition). Having a 7.62x39mm model or conversion has always been of interest since the early 2000s among a number of firearms manufacturers. It originates from a civilian market that wants to make use of the 7.62x39mm round in firearms other than the AK, in addition to a number of military groups that see potential in the round being used for a battlefield pick up, or allowing the ability of forces to convert their existing battle rifles to fire the enemies ammunition. Of course, this scenario is really only forceable with SF types that encounter enemy munitions, and not your line companies that would probably only be around significant enemy ammunition during a siege or similar situation.

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!

The Galil ACE by IWI is the successor to the classic Israeli Galil that was itself an upgraded Kalashnikov. But is this new design worthy of the name Galil, a rifle that we here at TFB love? Can it redeem the good name of IWI after the Tavor, Uzi Pro, and X95? Well these questions can be answered by an 810 round reliability test and review.

Perhaps the oldest rival of the 5.56mm round is its older brother in the intermediate cartridge world, the 7.62x39mm round developed by the Soviets in the late 1940s from their earlier 7.62×41 M43 cartridge. The 7.62x39mm, despite its age, has maintained a very uniform ballistic profile. The original 8 gram (123gr) boattailed steel-cored bullet, also called “M43” like its predecessor, has become the representative load for the whole caliber, even while lead-cored flat-based incarnations like the Yugoslavian M67 ball round have proliferated.

As AR rifles became more and more popular during the past three decades, adding rails and gear became something akin to a fashion trend. Although it seems to have eased up a bit, there was a time that shooters appeared to see a full length quad rail handguard as a challenge. Every kind of flashlight, laser, forward grip, stop and switch were clamped on wherever one could find the room.

Hot on the success of the CMMG Mutant, Palmetto State Armory released their 7.62×39 AR hybrid, instead opting for compatibility with the AR-15 platform versus its own proprietary system. Originally shown at SHOT 2016 and shot at the Big 3 East in the spring, the KS-47 has begun shipping and now with bare receivers available, is now the subject of some compatibility issues.

Below are four different rifles, in four calibers, from SIG Sauer – Swiss Arms, as presented at the IWA exhibition in Germany 2016. Of course, they had more rifles in their stand but let’s focus on the ones below and the news in particular.

For the prospective civilian AK buyer, there’s nothing quite as helpful as the experience of others. Most reviews (including most of the ones I have done) cover the experiences the reviewer has over tens or hundreds of rounds, as higher round-count reviews are typically too expensive to conduct regularly, for most. Rob Ski of the AK Operator’s Union has, however, undertaken since the beginning of this year a series of 5,000 round reviews, the latest of which – a follow-up on the Century RAS-47 using a brand new rifle ( see previous test here) – he has just completed:

The big name YouTube channels, like Hickok45 and Forgotten Weapons have gotten large followings for a reason, but from time to time I come across smaller channels with just a few followers that really deserve more attention. Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been watching one of these channels, called Bloke on the Range. What makes BotR a channel worth looking at is the Bloke himself’s attention to the detail, and good sense of humor. To see what I’m talking about, take a look at two of his videos below: One on the Lee-Enfield and why it’s a faster action than other bolt guns, and another on some of the tall-tales surrounding the M1 Garand:

Earlier this week, we reported about the Pakistani Army seeking a new rifle to replace its aging license-produced Heckler & Koch G3 and Chinese Type 56 rifles, and now new details – and most excitingly, new images – have come to light.

G2 Research, primarily known for their controversial Radically Invasive Projective or “R.I.P.” ammunition has released their latest loading, the Ripout. The ammunition is loaded with a 124 grain all copper round with a stated muzzle velocity of 2,270 feet per second. G2 research rates the round as suppressor-safe.

One of the lesser-known offspring of the M1 Carbine was designed by Gordon Ingram, ironically also the designer of the world-famous MAC-10 submachine gun. This was the SAM, sometimes also called the Ingram Police Rifle, a rifle designed in the mid-1970s with multiple calibers in mind. Like virtually all of its close relatives, the SAM was a very lightweight weapon, clocking in at just 6.1 pounds for the fixed stock variant, and Ingram planned for there to be versions in .223 Remington, 7.62×39, and 7.62x51mm NATO. Over at GunLab, Chuck has given us an uncommon look at Ingram’s rifle, some of the photos of which are embedded below:

In 2014, Colt announced a new variant of its CM901 line of convertible 7.62×51/5.56×45 AR-pattern rifles, the CK901. Designed for orders coming from the Middle East and other areas where AKs are plentiful, the CK901 feeds from existing surplus AK magazines, while – in the paraphrased words of the Colt representative I spoke to – “introducing that market to the AR platform without disturbing what they’re used to”.