Kalashnikov Concern has announced that 2,000 AK-12 rifles will be deactivated and sold to the civilians in Russia. In fact, you can already find these dummy rifles listed on the KC’s website at an MSRP of 19,900 roubles which is about $315.

AK-12 handguard doesn’t come in contact with the barrel.

The model designation of these deactivated AK-12s is a little bit vague. On Kalashnikov Concern’s website, you can see US-AK12 (УС-АК12) or AK-12 SU (АК-12 СУ). At any rate, the U (У) stands for “training” (Учебный) and S (С) stands for “written off” (Списанный).

The deactivation is normally done by altering the main components of the weapon making it impossible to fire cartridges through the gun. It usually involves cutting a slot or drilling holes in the barrel, welding the chamber or the bore, partially milling out the bolt face and other similar changes. The external appearance, however, is unchanged. It is also possible to rack the bolt carrier group and field strip the “gun”.

Although the Kalashnikov Concern is planning to introduce a civilian version of the AK-12, I think these 2,000 dummy guns will be sold really quickly in the local Russian market because these are interesting collector pieces, acquisition of a deactivated firearm doesn’t require any licensing or registration in Russia and they are also really attractively priced.

AK-12 has a 3-piece cleaning rod stored in the stock.

I wonder if such a deactivated gun is still a subject of importing restrictions. Technically, it is not a gun but I am not sure if it will be possible to bring one to stateside. It could be a good addition to any military firearms collection. Also, one could make a replica of an AK-12 using the parts (such as the furniture, receiver cover, muzzle device, etc.) taken from the deactivated gun. Do we have customs law experts among our readers? Let us know what do you think about the possibility of importing deactivated AK-12 rifles into the USA.

Images from www.kalashnikovgroup.ru