Malyuk bullpup out of the Ukraine
An older design for an AK bullpup has surfaced from a trade show in the Ukraine, named the “Malyuk” and coming from a company called Interproinvest. Work was started on it in 2005. Essentially it appears to be an AK bullpupized, with the addition of a smoother magazine retention system, charging handle to the front, full length top picatinny rail, magazine release more of an AR type quick release than an AK one, and trigger group moved forward of the magazine. Other than that, the internals are all Kalashnikov. An article came out in the Ukrainian english version of a Defense Review, skip to page 48 here, or if you just want to read the article directly. Currently it is in 5.45x39mm and 7.62x39mm, the company is interested in contracts with the Ukrainian Army. A good summary of the rifle comes from a Reddit post about it–
The rifle is essentially a bullpup AK, though with some obvious modification. It was a private endeavor, with interest from the Ukrainian government but no direct involvement. The rifle is intended to replace soviet AK-variant 5.45 and 7.62 rifles in Ukraine. The company’s main benefit, as they say, is the rifle modifies an existing platform as opposed to the Fort 221(another Ukrainian company manufacturing a Tavor-clone) which relies on foreign-made parts.
- Weight – 7.04lbs
- Overall Length – 27.95″
- Barrel Length – 16.33″
Another description of the rifle comes from Army Recognition–
A quick detachable suppressor is also available. The magazine is mounted within a dedicated shaft, which not only facilitates better fixation, but is designed so that to allow the magazine to fall down under its own weight with a press of the release button located next to the trigger, and it is easy to load into the receiver from whatever position the shooter chooses to take.The weapon’s design makes an optimal use of the energy of the combustion gases. The barrel is cooled by air convection, resulting in a longer barrel life, which is twice that of Kalashnikov rifle.
The Malyuk automatic rifle is designed to be ambidextrous for both right-hand and left-hand shooters. The ergonomic bolt handle doesn’t move when firing to preclude finger or chin injuries.
The Malyuk has had its recoil reduced by almost 50 percent as compared to that in the Kalashnikov rifle, and its design to allow the key operations – unlocking firing, removing and replacing the magazine and reloading – to be done with a single hand.
The Malyuk has a total weight of 3,2 kg without the magazine, it has a maximum range of 500 m and can be adapted for different types of caliber as 5.45, 7.62 x 39mm or 5.56 x 45 mm.
Infantry Marine, based in the Midwest. Specifically interested in small arms history, development, and usage within the MENA region and Central Asia. To that end, I run Silah Report, a website dedicated to analyzing small arms history and news out of MENA and Central Asia.Please feel free to get in touch with me about something I can add to a post, an error I've made, or if you just want to talk guns. I can be reached at miles@tfb.tv
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A FEW THINGS ABOUT UKRAINE - Although handguns are not legal in Ukraine, citizens there can buy any type of semi-auto rifle/MSR including some SBR types, .50 BMG, and there is no limit on magazine capacity (see link to a Gander Mountain type stores in Ukraine called Ibis http://ibis.net.ua/ru/produ... ). Note that the machine-guns offered and modern handguns are deactivated but there are modern handguns that shoot modern ammo except that the projectiles for handguns must be hard rubber. Much better in Ukraine than in still communist Vladimir "sportsman" Putin's Russia where you can only own shotguns and must wait 5 years to buy a rifle (single shot, bolt, or semi) from the time you apply and 10 rounds is the max magazine capacity - real handguns are illegal. Sorry to disappoint you Putin admirers but he is not for more gun freedom. The BS articles that went around the internet last year that said he was for CCW only pertained to the rubber bullet hand guns.
Read why Ukraine (Kyivan-Rus) is older than Russia (Moskovia) - NOT the same people!
How Moscow hijacked the history of Kyivan Rus’
Why Ukraine (Kyivan-Rus) is older than Russia (Moskovia) - NOT the same people.
How Moscow hijacked the history of Kyivan Rus’
Russian governments have long tried to erase the history of the Ukrainian/Kyivan-Rus people long before Stalin murdered 8,000,000 - 12,000,000 Ukrainians in the early 1930s in a forced famine genocide in the bread basket of the world/Ukraine. The Czars made it punishable by death or imprisonment for Ukrainians to even use the Ukrainian language in the 1800s. Ukrainians were the Rusyn people long before the Muskovites (or Muscovites) invaded and took over the Kyivan-Rus empire. After the defeat of the Kyivan-Rus, the Muskovotes announced to the world that they were now the leaders of the Rusyn people. Along with taking many aspects of Rusyn culture as their own, the Muskovites changed their name to something similar to Rusyns later becoming "Russian" in their language. To differentiate themselves from the new Russians, the Rusyn people took the name of Ukrainian. As Paul Harvey used to say; now you know the rest of the story. Ukraine was NEVER the "little brother" of Russia or "Little Russians." Here is a good primer on this history: http://euromaidanpress.com/...
Also, Ukrainians fought both the NAZIs and the communists during WW2 and fought the communists through the early 1960s. Russian propaganda likes to call Ukrainian freedom fighters NAZIs but they never tell you that Hitler killed 2,000,000 Ukrainians and that there were many Jewish Ukrainians in the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. My Ukrainian grandparents and mother had their farm and store confiscated by NAZIs in western Ukraine and they executed many Ukrainian men who they thought were in the resistance/UPA - my mother still remembers. My grandparents even hid their Jewish neighbors under the floor in their home, had they been had they been caught, it would had been instant execution. Thank God they escaped to America. Here you can watch a two part documentary on the Ukrainian Insurgent Army https://m.youtube.com/#/wat... ( they used a mix of German and Russian firearms).
If you are left handed, you catch all shotshell in the face.