Vladimir Onokoy is a small arms subject matter expert and firearms instructor. Over the years he worked in 20 different countries as a security contractor, armorer, firearms industry sales representative, product manager, and consultant.
His articles were published in the Recoil magazine, Small Arms Review, Small Arms Defence Journal, and Silah Report. He also contributed chapters to books from the “Vickers Guide: Kalashnikov” series.
► Email: machaksilver at gmail dot com.
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► YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/machaksilver
In part 1 of this article, I wrote about the early development history of Finnish AKs, part 2 was dedicated to RK 60 and RK 62, and Part 3 to less-known Finnish AK variants. In the final chapter, I want to talk about the last Finnish AK, RK 95. AK History @ TFB: [Read More…]
In part 1 of this article, I wrote about the early development history of Finnish AKs, part 2 was dedicated to RK 60 and RK 62. In this article, I will talk about less-known Finnish AKs some of which became truly iconic in the most unexpected way. AK History @ TFB: [Read More…]
In Part 1 of this article, I wrote about the early development history of Finnish AKs and the m/58 prototype. In this article, I will delve into the history of the first mass-produced AK from Finland – Valmet RK 62. In recent years, I had a chance to visit [Read More…]
The small European country of Finland always had a great reputation when it comes to arms production. For collectors, Finnish-made Mosin-Nagants are some of the most desirable Mosin rifles, but there is another rifle design that the Finnish took to a whole other level. [Read More…]
In part 1 of this article, I talked about the history of Egyptian AKs, often called “Maadi” or “Misr”. In the second part of the article, I want to talk about the issues I experienced with Maadi AKs and the current developments related to [Read More…]
If you’ve ever seen a cult classic movie “Red Dawn” (obviously I am talking about the 1984 version, not the 2012 remake), you probably remember that all Soviet soldiers were equipped with authentic Kalashnikov rifles. But the guns they were using were [Read More…]
In Part 1 of this article, I talked about the history of AK rifle production in East Germany, and Part 2 was dedicated to my personal experiences with East Germany AKs. In Part 3, I want to talk about less-known variants of DDR AKs and their destiny after the Berlin [Read More…]
In Part 1 of the article, I talked about the origins of AK production in Hungary. Part 2 and Part 3 were dedicated to the most well-known Hungarian AK – AMD-65. In Part 4 I will talk about less-known Hungarian AKs. One of the least known is the variant created [Read More…]
At the IWA 2024, a European company based in the Czech Republic, Archon Firearms showcased the new version of their handgun – Archon A. Previously, I wrote about the fascinating history of this pistol which started with STRIKE One and continued with Archon B, a [Read More…]
In Part 1 of this article, I talked about the origins of Hungarian AKs. Part 2 is dedicated to AMD 65, its history, and the complaints Afghan police officers had after they were issued those guns. This article is about my own experiences with AMD 65. Apart from [Read More…]
In Part 1 of this article, I talked about the first Hungarian AKs, AK-55 and AKM-63. In this article, I want to talk about perhaps the most famous and controversial Hungarian AK – AMD-65. AMD-65 was developed by Hungarian engineer Karoly Zala. The first prototype [Read More…]
Over 30 countries produced AK rifles. And even if you’re an expert, sometimes the only way to tell them apart is to look at the markings on the receiver. But thankfully that is not the case with Hungarian AKs, most variants from that country look like nothing [Read More…]
I bought my LV 119 in 2019. If I did the review right away, I would probably start the review by explaining why a citizen would feel the need to have a plate carrier. But the times changed. 2020 riots in the US and the horrors of the full-scale war in the middle of [Read More…]
In part one of this series, I wrote about the history of DDR AKs which by many are regarded as the best in the world. In this part of the article, I will describe some experiences I had when I repaired those guns in Iraq and Afghanistan. Primarily I had to deal with [Read More…]
AK rifle is often thought of as something crude and easy to produce with shabby craftsmanship performed by slave laborers in dystopian socialist factories. So many times I heard: “Oh, what do you expect, it is an AK”. That is why it is ever more [Read More…]
Earlier this year in Istanbul, Turkey, the company called TRB Bratunac presented the second generation of their RS 9 Vampir pistol. TFB published photos of the first version of the TRB pistol back in 2017 when it was presented to the public for the first time at the [Read More…]
Last month, PTR Industries Inc., well known for their US-made G3 rifles announced that they imported Archon B Gen 2 and Gen I pistols to the US. PTR will also begin manufacturing those pistols and handle customer service within the US. They already started training [Read More…]
In part 1 of this article, we talked with Larry Zanoff one of the most prominent armorers in Hollywood who works for ISS, the company that provided weapons for “Extraction 2“. Сorrect props and guns are the essential part of creating realistic and memorable [Read More…]
At the end of May, after some careful consideration, I canceled my Netflix subscription, only to find out a few days later that “Extraction 2” is coming out on Netflix on June 16. The first movie was really entertaining, the action and gunfights were [Read More…]
In part 1 and part 2 of this article, I talked about the history of Romanian AKs and their most unexpected users. Now it is time to talk about the production of those guns and some of the issues I experienced while inspecting and repairing them. After the fall of [Read More…]
In part 1 of this article, I talked about the first Romanian AKs and the ironic role one Romanian AK had in the dismantling of the Ceausescu dictatorship. From the very beginning, apart from arming Romanian Army and Patriot Guards, both md 63 (AIM) and md 65 (AIMS) [Read More…]
Many people in Africa, the Middle East, and the US would have a hard time finding Romania on the map. But there are at least two products originating from Romania that have worldwide acclaim – the stories about Count Dracula from Transilvania and Romanian AKs. AK [Read More…]
You can never predict how popular a new firearms design will be. While one Austrian pistol, Glock, became more popular than any handgun in the history of humanity, another Austrian pistol, the Steyr M series has been enjoying limited popularity throughout the years. At [Read More…]
While the People’s Republic of China has one of the biggest firearms industries in the world, you rarely see any small arms of China displayed in their booth. Even at the IDEX exhibition, one of the biggest and perhaps the most diverse in the world, you never had [Read More…]
In the last 30 years, we witnessed how easy it is for a country to lose its firearms manufacturing capability: the UK, France, Portugal, and Spain are prime examples. And building such a capability from scratch is extremely difficult, and UAE and “Caracal” [Read More…]
This article is the final chapter of a 4-part series. In Part 1 I talk about how the production of AK began in China, Part 2 was dedicated to the “golden age” of Chinese AKs, and Part 3 was about the gradual decline in quality and the underlying reasons for [Read More…]
In Part 1 of this article, I wrote about the early days of AK production in China, Part 2 was dedicated to the “golden years” of Type 56 history when it was exported to the US and produced in multiple countries. But the world changes. The fall of communism [Read More…]
In Part 1 of this article, I talked about early Chinese AKs and the humble beginnings of Kalashnikov rifle manufacturing in China. By 1956, China was building new factories and improving old ones with the help of Soviet engineers, and it seemed like nothing can break [Read More…]
It is hard to find a place on Earth where people wouldn’t know what Kalashnikov is. Some know it through movies, some through video games, but a good portion of the world’s population have some firsthand experience with this rifle, since a Soviet, East European, or [Read More…]
In Part 1 of this article, I talked about craft-made guns and how the manufacturing industry of Pakistan is changing these days. Now it is time to talk about the gun laws of Pakistan and some of the most interesting imported guns you can find in Pakistani gun shops. [Read More…]
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