#PSL

Earlier this summer, James Reeves got to handle and film an unusual and highly intriguing AK-47 rifle chambered in 7.62x54R from Rifle Dynamics. This rifle is not your typical AK-47: It was made from a PSL. As you may know, the PSL rifle is a Romanian military designated marksman rifle that fires the powerful 7.62x54R cartridge. But Rifle Dynamics took this rifle a step further by converting it into an AK-47 platform, resulting in a unique and somewhat functional firearm. The conversion process involved a complete teardown of the PSL rifle, followed by modifications to accommodate AK-47 parts. The end result is a bizarre firearm that is surprisingly shootable while delivering outstanding power.

In our Photo Of The Day, we see an Afghan soldier providing overwatch security with a Romanian PSL rifle on an observation post while U.S. and Afghan soldiers observe rounds fired from Afghan artillery. These pictures are from 2012, almost 10 years ago. The bottom image is even older.

Today’s Photo Of The Day shows a variety of interesting and (relatively) rare firearms.

Circle 10 AK has announced on their social media pages that Century Arms will start importing again the Romanian PSL rifles. The company will offer two versions of the newly imported PSLs that will differ in the scopes they will come with. One version will have a Romanian scope with its serial number matching to that of the rifle and the second version will be available with a Russian made scope with a non-matching serial number. The rifles are manufactured by  ROMARM.

KNS Precision has a different approach in making the AK gas system adjustable. The most frequently seen way is to design an adjustable gas block. What makes the KNS Precision solution different is that they have incorporated the gas system adjustability into the gas piston design!

Kalashnikov Concern’s newest weapon releases have received quite a lot of attention since they were first shown off at the ARMY 2016 military and technology forum in Moscow, and as the conference winds down, I want to take a more thorough pass through four of these new products from the company. Since we published announcements for three of these new weapons, Maxim Popenker, gun expert and TFB contributor, has published more detailed descriptions of the RPK-16, MA, and SVK rifles on his website, Modern Firearms. Let’s take a look at what he has to teach us about these new weapons:

As part of Kalashnikov Concern’s new product rollout for the Russian government’s ARMY 2016 military technology conference, the company has announced a new designated marksman’s rifle, named the SVK. Earlier this year, an article in PopMech.ru showed off a Kalashnikov Concern design called “SK-16”, but an anonymous source told TFB that development of that rifle has ceased, due to problems with the design, and the new SVK will be taking its place. The SVK uses similar receiver architecture to the Kalashnikov Concern MA, also announced this week, with a steel upper receiver spine supporting a Picatinny-type rail and providing a guide rod for the operating group, as well as rigidity for the whole firearm. The rest of the receiver is made of polymer (aluminum on the prototypes), and contains the fire control group and the magazine housing.

The Dragunov Sniping Rifle System, Year of 1963, or SVD or “Dragunov” for short, has since the early 1960s (like its name implies) been one of the premier squad designated marksman weapons in the world. The longest-serving purpose-designed squad marksman rifle in the world, the SVD is chambered for the powerful and plentiful 7.62x54mmR cartridge (itself a record-setter, as it is the military service cartridge that has served its parent country the longest, of all time) and feeds from a 10-shot detachable box magazine. Given its age, the rifle could perhaps use some updating to modern standards, which is where Val of Czech company  Sureshot Armament Group comes in, with his KeyMod-compatible chassis design for the venerable Dragunov, pictures of which are embedded below:

I.O. or Inter Ordnance Inc, is mainly known as a manufacturer of AKs in the budget market segment. The company was started in 1995 as a military surplus importer. They eventually started to build East German pattern AKs a number of years back. TFB was invited to their 2nd Annual Buyer and Writer event at their new Palm Bay, Florida facility.