#7.62x39

Hill & Mac Gunworks brought to the show their brand new rifle, the HMG Sturmgewehr, a reproduction of the famous German StG-44 assault rifle of World War II. The company bought prototypes of three different configurations of the new gun, the STG-N, a rifle, the STG-P, a pistol with a short 13″ barrel, and the STG-K, an SBR. All three versions will be made available in four calibers, the company said: 5.56×45, 7.62×39, .300 Blackout, and the original German 7.92×33 Kurz for the purists. The HMG Sturmgewehr is not an entirely faithful reproduction of the StG-44, differing in the location of the recoil spring, the barrel retention system, and the trigger. However, the result is a firearm that resembles an original, in a rifle caliber.

At media range day,  I headed over to CMMG to see what all the noise was about.  I had been shooting a few bays over, when some very loud automatic fire caught my attention.  It was the 10″ barreled Mutant (MK47 K), their AK-47 magazine compatible rifle, with a 10″ upper and their .30cal SV brake, as well as as an upper that had their new Krinkov-style brake attached.  After a break for setting up targets and oiling the bolts (they had been fired constantly for 2 hours at that point), It was my turn to have a go.

We all know the Galil ACE is a descendant of the famous AK series of rifles, but how well does it handle mud? Well, in the interim between the news breaking that IWI was recalling all of its newly released Galil ACE pistols due to the presence of a full auto sear pin hole and shipping the pistol back to IWI, Tim of the Military Arms Channel decided to give the new gun a little mud bath:

Gun blogger superstar Eric of the Iraqveteran8888 YouTube channel is happy to once again get behind a rifle going cyclic until failure. This time, Eric’s victim is a Vepr 7.62×39 AK rifle made by Molot and modified by Copper Custom. Those who watch these videos should know that burnout tests like this are not particularly safe; parts are liable to fail, rounds cooking off are a virtual guarantee, and they are – natrually – a fire hazard, as well. Having said that, Eric will do it so you don’t have to, so enjoy the video below:

The weekend after the Big 3 Media Event at Daytona Beach, FL, I was invited to visit Definitive Arms (DA) in Saint Petersburg, Florida. DA started as a custom builder of doing magazine well conversion for Kalashnikov pattern rifles. Their patented mag-well design allows the use of Magpul PMag and USGI aluminum AR-15 style magazines on their converted 5.56mm caliber AK rifle. Since then, Definitive Arms had expanded to making other custom works and even started production of completed AKs.

While it’s well known that the Germans were the first to field select-fire assault rifles in large numbers during World War II, the Soviets, thoroughly impressed by the idea of an intermediate-power infantry cartridge and intrigued by the idea of the assault rifle, were hot on the Germans’ heels with as many as nine different kinds of prototype assault rifles completed before the end of of the war. Each of these weapons were developed by talented and accomplished Soviet arms designers, and offer a glimpse into the genesis of the Russian assault rifle program that would eventually result in the world-famous Kalashnikov “AK-47” rifle, the most-produced weapon of its kind in history.

To the first-time AK builder, the task in front of him or her can seen daunting, or even impossible. Unlike AR-15s that easily go together virtually like a LEGO set, the Kalashnikov rifle requires a bit more effort – and more expensive tools – to put together. There are some resources available online to aid a new AK builder, but another option is Build Your Own AK, Volumes I and II, by Montag and Nicoroshi.

Another new rifle from the Islamic Republic of Iran was being shown at the 15th IPAS Exhibition. It is a modern-looking weapon, distinct from the very modern looking Fateh announced in 2014. It was developed by the state-owned Iran Defense Industries Organization, and while its name has not yet been announced, it is chambered in either 5.56mm or 7.62×39. The rifle apparently accepts AK-pattern magazines; steel Galil-type magazines are shown in the 5.56mm variant, while polymer AK-100-series magazines are shown with the 7.62x39mm variant. Very little additional information is available, however, photos of both the new rifle and a KPOS-like chassis for what is apparently a Glock handgun or clone, are available at Defence.pk. Some of the photos are embedded below:

The FN-made 7.62×39 SCAR, long rumored to be a dead project, has resurfaced. FNH USA was showing off a variant of the Mk. 17 SCAR Heavy at the 2015 Association of the United States Army annual meeting this week. The rifle is apparently in the earlier stages of development, as it appears to have a rapid prototyped lower receiver. SoldierSystems.net reports:

After the decision to create a new family of infantry weapons for the then-new intermediate 7.62x41mm obr.1943 cartridge (the precursor to 7.62×39), Soviet designers were tasked with creating new kinds of weapons in this chambering, including machine guns, selfloading rifles, assault rifles, and bolt-action carbines. This last category was apparently given a low priority, as it was only after the war had ended that any development in this area becomes evident. By this time, the 7.62x41mm cartridge had been replaced by the now-familiar 7.62x39mm round, which had a slightly shorter neck, longer bullet ogive, and steel bullet core.

Handl representative Fox33 elaborates on the timeline for the SCAR-47 lower over at m4carbine.net:

C Products Defense has released two new 7.62×39 magazines to the market. The new 28 and 20 round magazines are designed to fit in the standard STANAG magazine pouch without issue, unlike previous in-house and competitor designs that were so large they earned the “banana mag” reputation.

The Finnish Commander of the Army has announced that the Nordic country will not be purchasing 5.56mm replacements for their existing 7.62x39mm caliber Rk. 62 rifles, but instead will seek to upgrade the venerable Kalashnikov-based Valmet. Altair.com reports (machine translation below):

A few months ago, I posted to my personal blog a brief evaluation of the ARAK-21 rifle that I conducted at Faxon’s Las Vegas shooting event, and it seems that since then more reviewers are getting the chance to take the rifle out for a spin. The AK Operators’ Union recently posted their review of the rifle to group’s YouTube channel, the video for which is embedded below:

Reader Retiv sent in a photo he found of a Russian soldier posing with his miscellaneous weapons and equipment. Judging by what is present, the soldier is most likely Russian special forces, or spetsnaz. Of the most note is the extremely rare and virtually never photographed 7.62×39 variant of the AN-94, equipped with an equally rare 60-round quad stack 7.62×39 magazine and underbarrel 40mm GP-30 grenade launcher.