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While in most countries firearms development and production are getting more and more restrictive, Turkey seems to effectively expand its gun industry, and the recent IDEF 2021 is a good example. Almost half of the firearms manufacturers at the expo were founded in the last 5 years. Özyurt Arms is one of those new companies and it certainly follows the path typical for many new firearms manufacturers.
Turkish Guns @ TFB:
- [IDEF 2021] Turkish Company System Defence Presents New MFR 56 Light Machine Gun
- MPT-76-MH Passes Turkish Army Qualification
- New SAR 9X Platinum – Turkish Striker-Fired Semi-Automatic 9x19mm Pistol
The company was founded less than a year ago, but since the industry is not over-regulated, after several months, they were ready with multiple products. At the IDEF 2021 exhibition, they presented several bolt-action rifles chambered in different calibers.
The first one is YİĞİT 21 chambered for .308 Win (7.62×51).
YİĞİT 21 sniper rifle
The second one is BMZ-338 chambered for .338 Lapua Magnum.
BMZ-338 sniper rifle
Another product they showcased was a pistol called EFE-19, which looks similar to Springfield XD, which in and of itself is a licensed copy of the Croatian-made HS 2000.
EFE-19 pistol by Özyurt Arms
EFE-19 pistol by Özyurt Arms
Besides bolt action rifles and the pistol, the company also presented their AK variant called ASİ-21. It appears to be a pretty standard AKM derivative with a wire stock that folds to the right side, which is typical for Romanian and East German AK variants.
ASİ-21, AK rifle produced by Özyurt Arms
ASİ-21, AK rifle produced by Özyurt Arms
While at this point ASİ-21 is more of a prototype and some components clearly require further improvement, the coating of the weapon is good, as well as the quality of some of the main parts and rivets. But most importantly, the engineers who introduced me to this project clearly have what it takes to work the bugs out.
Just 10 years ago, the Turkish firearms industry was mostly known for cheap shotguns of questionable quality, and now numerous manufacturers can offer modern pistols, sniper rifles, machineguns, and some companies are considerably improving existing designs. Perhaps, in coming years, Turkey will become one of the world’s leading firearms manufacturers, rivaling well-known European brands globally.
