Sureshot Armament Group sent us a tip with pictures of a rifle that will soon become the civilian version of AK-12. The new rifle is called SAIGA-AK12. The pictures are from testing of this rifle conducted by George Gubich (six-time IPSC champion of Russia) in the premises of a company called Orengun. George posted on his Facebook page his first impressions saying: “so far, I like almost everything”.

George Gubich holding the SAIGA-AK12 rifle

The SAIGA-AK12 looks exactly like the military AK-12. The only visual difference is the absence of full-auto and two-round burst mode markings on the receiver. The safety selector lever has two positions – safe and fire which are interestingly marked in English (S and F). Reportedly, these rifles will hit the shelves of Russian stores by the summer of the current year.

The Cyrillic model designation on the receiver reads “SAIGA-AK12”. You can also see the caliber marking (5.45x39mm) right below it.

I wonder if they will also introduce the civilian version of the 7.62x39mm sibling of this rifle – the AK-15? I think the civilian editions of shortened versions (AK-12K and AK-15K) of these rifles may also have a high demand in the local Russian market and in the countries to which the civilian products of Kalashnikov Concern are exported. For someone like me who has some experience with the AK platform and considers it as a go-to gun, an AK-15K would be an ultimate all around rifle.

AK-12, along with the AK-15, was adopted by the Russian military at the beginning of the past year. It is the latest iteration of the AK family of rifles sporting a number of upgrades that bring the good old proven action to the 21st century. If you want to learn more about the AK-12/AK-15 platform, read the TFB article dedicated to the features of these latest AKs.

Hat tip to Valentin Vlasenko