In the late 1950s, after the first public demonstrations of the AR-15 and its new small caliber, high velocity cartridge, the Soviet Union took notice of the radical developments in military .22 caliber rounds in the United States. By 1959, four years before the [Read More…]
It’s no good to discuss how firearms work without also giving the context surrounding the firearms themselves. With that said, let’s talk about the AR-15, its copycats, competitors, and relatives. Together these rifles share space under the loose umbrella [Read More…]
We introduced you to the concept of locking in a previous one of our 201-level posts on how firearms work, and today we’re going to talk about what has become the most common locking mechanism for rifles: Rotary locking. If to lock an action, you need to create [Read More…]
Command Arms and Accessories (CAA) has announced their new AKMAG Ak-47 magazines is now shipping. The new magazine is of polymer construction featuring a round count window and aggressive texturing for easy magazine manipulation. Basically, it’s what the Magpul AK [Read More…]
Recently a number of AK groups on the internet have been abuzz with green AK furniture. At first I thought this might have been various owners painting existing bakelite material dark green, but this was not to be the case. The furniture sets are real and are some of [Read More…]
With a rather coy announcement and single photo teaser-only, Dead Air Armament has announced the upcoming release of a suppressor designed for ComBlock weapons. Designed to look the part, the new can is purported to feature modern baffle design in a communist-design [Read More…]
Yes, yes, yes… We know the eternal debate between the two most popular platforms rages daily and we do try not to fan the flames, but The Wound Channel has an interesting video comparing the two from a completely unique perspective: a complete 100% new to the [Read More…]
So you want to buy an AK, but don’t know where to start, eh? Well, don’t worry about it because as the kids say these days “there’s an app for that”. The famous Soviet Kalashnikov rifle has become something of a redheaded stepchild on the [Read More…]
For the last few months, I have been using Magpul AK polymer furniture on my Kalashnikov rifle. The Magpul polymers transformed my Krebs special edition Early Afgan War pattern AK74 to something a bit more modern looking. My AK74 originally came with orange color [Read More…]
In 2014, Colt announced a new variant of its CM901 line of convertible 7.62×51/5.56×45 AR-pattern rifles, the CK901. Designed for orders coming from the Middle East and other areas where AKs are plentiful, the CK901 feeds from existing surplus AK magazines, [Read More…]
Looking for a Christmas gift for myself, I stumbled on a nice offering from DDI, a stripped stamped AKM by DDI. Basically, its the AK equivalent to Colt’s OEM and similar series of rifles which feature a functional action but little to no furniture. For someone [Read More…]
To the first-time AK builder, the task in front of him or her can seen daunting, or even impossible. Unlike AR-15s that easily go together virtually like a LEGO set, the Kalashnikov rifle requires a bit more effort – and more expensive tools – to put [Read More…]
Gunwebsites has a kickstarter to fund making identification playing cards, similar to the old aircraft identification playing cards, but with AK style rifles printed on them. If you are interested in supporting them, you can go to their kickstarter page.
The famous Avtomat Kalashnikova has been copied and adapted by many nations and organizations, but some shine above the rest. In this episode of TFBTV, we take a look at our 5 favorites and explain why we chose the ones we did. Guns featured: Galil AK74M Yugo M70 Finnish RK 62 76. Serbian Zastava [Read More…]
On the heels of the formal cancellation of the Indian rifle tender that would have selected a foreign arm to replace the problematic indigenous INSAS rifle, the Indian government has announced they will proceed with a newly announced home-grown development, the [Read More…]
The Indian military will have to live for a while longer with the troubled and increasingly dated INSAS, and antique hand-me-down AKM rifles, it seems. Daily Mail India reports: In a setback to the Indian soldier’s quest for a reliable assault rifle, the Army has [Read More…]
Taofledermaus, master of unconventional (and some would argue unsafe) ad-hoc gun modifications has taken the Kalashnikov hobby to a new level. A well-made AK with good magazines is one of the most reliable firearms on the planet. It’s certainly no mystery why [Read More…]
The constant bugbear in Soviet small arms engineers’ sides after 1950 was the poor performance of the AK rifle in fully automatic. The rifle was for decades very inaccurate in fully automatic fire, owing to its vigorous action and relatively (when compared to [Read More…]
Partially as a result of the AK’s success, non-Kalashnikov designs utilizing the magazine of the 7.62x39mm Avtomat were few and far between until very recently. Due in part to civilian demand, in part the needs of special forces, and in part to countries armed [Read More…]
Gibbs Rifle Company, perhaps most famous for their 1903 Springfield rifles, were showing off today a .45-70 conversion of a Fazakerley No. 4 Lee-Enfield: It’s not well-known now, but the original caliber of the Lee design that would become the Lee-Enfield [Read More…]
Coming on the heels of (and surely related to) news that Kalashnikov Concern has decided to launch the AK-12 on the open market, the Russian Army has announced today that both the AK-12 and the A545 (improved AEK-971 variant) have passed state trials and will be [Read More…]
Russian news media today reports that, one year after Mikhail Kalashnikov’s death, the company that bears his name has officially launched the AK-12 rifle on the open market. Russia Today reports: Концерн «Калашников» планирует в [Read More…]
Our own Alex C has already posted a thorough review of the new CMMG dedicated 7.62×39 AR-15, so be sure to go check that out. Meanwhile, CMMG has released model and pricing details, through a press release: Fayette, MO (Dec. 1, 2014)-CMMG Inc. today announced the [Read More…]
Earlier this year we reported that Chile had officially announced the adoption of the IWI GALIL ACE, the 5.56×45 mm version, as the standard service rifle of the Chilean Army. Local defense manufacturer FAMAE will be manufacturing the ACE under license from [Read More…]
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