In 1957, the T44E4 rifle was formally adopted by the United States Armed Forces as the United States Rifle, 7.62mm, M14, but this only marked the beginning of the rifle’s troubles. After numerous delays and production crises – including the rejection in [Read More…]
Posted a few days ago, apparently someone accidentally left a solid gold AK-47 behind in a taxi cab in St. Petersburg, Russia. Taxi cab company from St. Petersburg is in search of a customer who has left a solid gold AK-47 in a special slim case that was left behind in [Read More…]
It seems that AK variants are gaining in popularity and gun manufacturers are making their versions. Such as Faxon Firearms ARAK and CMMG’s Mutant. Well Handl Defense is taking a crack at it. Handl Defense makes aluminum lowers for SCAR platforms. Their SCAR25 [Read More…]
An assault rifle has to meet a certain set of criteria: It must be select-fire and use an intermediate cartridge. In this video we explain what our favorites are, factoring in accuracy, controllability, and of course how easy it is to shoot. Also I anticipate this, so let me state it here: The AK is [Read More…]
Previously, we talked about the fleet yaw problem, and the challenges it presents to infantry rifle ammunition developers, and how those challenges have been met with improved projectile designs. However, what we haven’t seen is real-time video of fleet yaw in [Read More…]
Rob Ski puts the new Magpul AK furniture to the test. The results are thought-provoking: Something I have reiterated a few times in the comments section is a basic aphorism about folding stocks that is borne out by this video: “Durability, lightness, cheapness, [Read More…]
Its a sad day when a collection goes up for sale, especially when it is not because of an owner’s death. In this case, some poor soul is getting divorced and its obvious that someone is getting half (or more!). While we get these tips from readers on a fairly [Read More…]
Previously here at TFB we discussed a well-designed and well-manufactured Czech rifle that made a big difference in the early history of selfloading rifles, the ZH-29. Tim of the Military Arms Channel discusses another Czech rifle that was a particular example of good [Read More…]
Ever seen a magazine explode? Lee “The Gun Writer” Williams was greeted by the aftermath of this dramatic failure of a Bulgarian AK magazine, little more than a week ago: I had a surprise last night when I opened my safe. The top of a loaded [Read More…]
Last month, Polenar Tactical set up a Indiegogo Campaign to crowdfund a training DVD on the AK platform. Here is the article we posted about it.. Their original goal was $9k to fund the project and get a 4k resolution DSLR to film the project. They shattered that goal [Read More…]
What rifle influenced Kalashnikov’s famous carbine design more, the Garand M1, or the Haenel MP 43? This question was broached by blogger Jeff of TwistRate in a video posted to the Full30 gun video hosting website recently. Readers can follow the link to watch [Read More…]
The troubled INSAS rifle has met yet another stumbling block. Calling the rifle “defective, the Delhi High Court questioned the Indian Ministry of Defense’s and the Home Ministry’s issuance of the rifles, late last month, Indian Express reports: The [Read More…]
Accu-Grip showed off their adjustable AR-15 grips at the 2014 SHOT Show, well they’ve finally released a version for the AK-47. Like with their AR-15 offerings, their new AK grip is a two piece design. It consists of a base that attaches to the rifle receiver and [Read More…]
Larry Vickers posted a video explaining his attempt and eventual acquisition of Mikahil Kalashnikov’s autograph. It did not go as planned. So he bought one of these limited edition Arsenal AK-74 Gold Edition.
The 2007 Dust Tests have come and gone. The IC Competition has completed. The M4 has remained the standard infantry rifle, and been upgraded to the heavy-barreled M4A1 standard. More upgrades are on the horizon, as part of the US Army’s effort to improve [Read More…]
Rifle Dynamics (RD) is one of the top tier custom AK builder in the USA. They are local to me and I was invited for a factory visit. Unlike the popular AR-15 platform with its lego like modular construction, building an AK properly requires a lot of skills and [Read More…]
Recently, I was interviewed by my friend and gun author Robert Kay for his book on how to buy an AK. Bob asked me for a recommendation on an AK optic mount for one of his books chapters. Without hesitation, I said any of the RS Regulate’s AK-300 series of receiver [Read More…]
When you travel abroad, there’s no telling what you might find. Tim of the Military Arms Channel was visiting the MKE factory in Turkey, when he stumbled upon an extremely rare original Stoner 63 rifle sitting in an arms locker. The very short video he made to [Read More…]
The AK-12 rifle, slated to be adopted by the Russian Army in some capacity late this year, has been delayed in production until 2016. According to Russian news media sources, the rifle will undergo a series of improvements of an unspecified type. From [Read More…]
Law Tactical, the makers of the folding stock adapter, has turned their attention to rear sights for the AK-47. The AKuracy rear sight can use glock and aftermarket glock rear sights. As you can see in the info sheet below, the use of a Glock rear sight give the [Read More…]
Introduced in late 2014, the Hi-Lux Optics MicroMax B-Dot is a mini red-dot sight that’s in the same category as the popular Aimpoint Micro T-1. Since, I have previously reviewed their optics (CMR 1-4x review) for TFB, Hi-Lux Optics asked me for some design [Read More…]
Back in February, I wrote an article about Rob Ski’s unboxing video on the Century Arms RAS-47 stamped American-made AK rifle, as an example of the excellent unboxing videos Rob has been producing for the AK Operators Union. Of course, Rob intended to do more than [Read More…]
There has been a lot of news about the Russian AK-12 rifle to come out this past Winter, and we at TFB have stayed on top of our coverage of the design’s evolution. However, since late January, there are a few things we have learned, so now it’s about [Read More…]
These photos were taken by Youtuber NSZ85 (take a look his channel, he has some really good content on it). The ARAK-21 combines features from the AK and the AR-15. Its upper receiver is compatible with AR-15 lowers and it features a quick change barrel system, [Read More…]
Not being an AK guy, I was surprised to see that it is possible to have a real accidental discharge with an AK-47 (or any number of its variants). The root cause is the possible overtravel of the “full-auto” AK safety/selector when the cover is off, worn, or [Read More…]
I’ve written a lot about the AR-15 and M1 Garand rifles, and after a time I will have written nearly as much about the EM-2, M14, and FAL. One rifle, though, hasn’t been the subject of very much of my writing, in part because reliable historical information [Read More…]
The list of abuses that you can do to an AK just seems to never end. (Mattv2099 goes into detail in that regard) But, Taofledermaus shows how you can get an AK running without its main recoil spring. Turns out all you need is a few rubber bands connected from the front [Read More…]
Last week the AK Operators Union released a teaser video on the new Atlantic Firearms/Definitive Arms AKX-9 9mm blowback-operated rifle. Soon after we ran an article on it, two more videos went up; a new AKOU video and a MAC review, both embedded below: While I [Read More…]
My favorite firearms designer of all time is James Paris Lee, because of his sheer inventiveness and forward-thinking edge that was still grounded in what was practical at the time. My second-favorite firearms designer is David Marshall Williams, because he was totally [Read More…]
An old video posted in 2007. This soldier walks through smoke while wielding a Kord 12.7mm heavy machine gun and firing it. Here is a video by Larry Vickers on the KORD machine gun.