Korobov TKB-022 experimental assault rifle
1962 model
guns.ru just posted an article on the Korobov TKB-022, an early bullpup assault rifle designed by Russian gun designer G. A. Korobov.
All weapons were tested by Soviet army, but turned down on unpublished reasons (most probably becuse the gun was simple too advanced for contemporary military thinking, but also possibly because no-one at the time could tell for sure if plastic housing would hold its integrity in extreme weather conditions or during many years of storage or use).
More here.
Hmmmm bullpup rifle, foreward ejection through a tube over the barrel? I wonder if the R&D guys at Kel Tec who designed the RFB might have gotten a few ideas from this gun?
Good point Cowtown! I did not make the connection. This must have been the first, or one of the first, forward ejection assault rifles.
It is a pity that Kel-Tec did not a few more of the design ideas from the rifle. The Kel-Tec RFB magazine sits much further forward that the Korobov.
Never did like bullpup designed. Safety wise it is horrible. If it blow up your face is gone.
I just looks like quick mag changes would be problematic with the magazine located that far back.
Good point JR. Maybe that is why it has the oversized mag well?
it’s ugly!!!
Mr. Dassault said : “a beautiful plane fly better than a ugly plane”
and we can say : “a beatiful gun fire better than a ugly gun”?
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder- I like it. A full length barrel in a package that size? I used to use the L85/SA80 and mag changes are easy enough with a bullpup- the mag well is easy to find even when its dark because it’s in close to you. As with everything, practice makes perfect. Admittedly getting a 30 rd mag into this thing when prone might take a bit of getting used to
My only worry would be the brass falling out above the barrel. Wouldn’t there be a risk during full auto fire of a bullet striking a falling case?
The ejected brass will not travel faster then the bullet, so the bullet will leave the barrel faster than the brass can be extracted and “ejected”. But if firing more than one shot I don’t know. As long as it did not happen frequently, and ruin accuracy, I guess if would be ok.
I think when the kel-tec is released we will see the problem, if any, with forward ejection.
I think the forward ejection might be popular with criminals if it was common. If the end of ejection tube was taped up you you could fire 3/4/5/6/7 shots before the tape was broken and brass thrown out. I should probably not have said that, if a Californian politician reads this they will make forward ejection illegal
[...] So, can someone explain to me why I have not been reading The Firearm Blog? Lots of interesting gun porn and stuff, like this Korobov TKB-022 experimental assault rifle [...]
Looks like FN took a good long look at that puppy while designing the PS90.
Looks like an artist’s mock-up. Where is the bolt? Not enough room for one. Charging handle?
That’s what I was thinking fullautophx. How tiny is the bolt (or some kind of arm attached to a forward bolt mass), and how it is tough enough to withstand FA fire?
A strange design indeed.
Es verdaderamente horrible…
Best gun design ever. On worldguns it clearly states that the bolt is verticaly sliding not tilting so it has to be of cartridge size and moving up and down. When fired the case pushes against the bolt, but the bolt is not free to move backwards as it is blocked horizontaly. The cycle starts with raising the bolt to unlock the fired round, then an extractor/feeder arm that behaves like a traditional bolt though shorter ( no firing pin assembly ) does the rest. The bolt is lowered at the end to lock the round.
The only thing that bothers me is the firing mechanism, but i’m sure it’s not that complicated.
Btw the RFB has little to do with the TKB, being of traditional bullpup design. Where in the traditional the magazine is 12-20cm from the back the TKB has only 2cm. The length difference creates room for a longer barrel/weapon size. The TKB has a 415mm barrel for a 525mm weapon so the whole bolt extractor/ejector arm sub-assemblies have to fit in 110mm or 4 inches. And the forward ejection system doesn’t have to be parallel to the barrel. A slight tilt to the side is enough to project the empty shells out of the line of fire.
very curious indeed. ive often wondered if a rifle like this were possible, an now here’s meh proof. I like wut i see, an i think that this design should at the very least be looked at by gun manufacturers here in the u.s…. i know that i’d like one for mehself xD
so coco let me see if i understand what you are saying, first you slide up the bolt which ejects the fired round then the extractor/feedarm moves underneath grabs a new round then slides back foreward where the bolt having ejected the first case slides into the new one and fires it? i cant seem to wrap my head around the concept but it is extremely innovative.