#Ak

Via his Facebook page, Larry Vickers shares with us some photos of a  prototype upgraded AK-74 rifle, made by Kalashnikov Concern and  adopted by the Russian Army:

This guest post was written by Lindy Y.

A reader from Sweden, Supernaut242, writes …

Kalashnikov Concern has been hard at work improving the AK-12 rifle, which – although its status has waffled between “adopted” and “not” – is expected to be adopted and standardized by the Russian armed forces. The YouTube channel of Grigory Rhein has posted a few videos of shooting the latest incarnation of the AK-12, which differs in a few ways from its predecessors:

A few months ago, I posted to my personal blog a brief evaluation of the ARAK-21 rifle that I conducted at Faxon’s Las Vegas shooting event, and it seems that since then more reviewers are getting the chance to take the rifle out for a spin. The AK Operators’ Union recently posted their review of the rifle to group’s YouTube channel, the video for which is embedded below:

It takes some real time to create these charts and track down the information, so my hat is off to Diffen.com which has a comprehensive break-down of the specifications of the AK-47 and the AK-74. 

I heard on the grapevine that Hornady’s steel cased V-Max 5.45×39 and 7.62×39 ammunition has since the beginning of this year been loaded in lacquered steel cases, versus the polymer-coated steel cases that had been the basis for Hornady’s ammunition in those two Russian calibers previously. Sam of SG Ammo confirmed this rumor, and I promptly put in an order for some 5.45×39 V-Maxes.

In this TFB TV review, James gets to try out Magpul’s new “Zhukov,” a folding and telescoping AK-47 stock built from the ground up with the Kalashnikov in mind. Is the relative budget price of $99 worth it for this polymer folder? James tells you in this video. The gun used is a Saiga SGL-21 Russian AK.

Bad news for those looking forward to the latest Israeli Kalashnikov rifle: IWI’s launch of the Galil ACE to the US market has been delayed, according to a post on the US division’s Facebook page:

John sent us a photo of his Zastava PAP M85NP pistol chambered in 5.56x45mm. He has outfitted the PAP with a Hogue grip, Midwest Yugo Hand Guard, Magpul AFG2 Angled Rail and a sightmark combo laser/holo-graphic sight.

Retiv sends us this photo of the personal AK-74 of a Russian MVD (Ministry of Internal Affairs) agent “KardeN”. The rifle sports numerous modifications that actually differ between the two photos, even down to the optics mounts:

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.

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 brightly-named “Excalibur” rifle, the Daily Mail reports:

Kalashnikov USA has come out with a press release stating their new products are ready for sale/shipping in the United States, under the new banner “Russian Heritage/ American Innovation”. The company is not directly connected with Kalashnikov Concern (more about that below). Specifically released are some rifle models, the 7.62×39  US132 (which has odd presets for “109, 218, and 328 yards”, the US132SS has a pistol grip and rails), the 7.62×39 US132Z (has a trigger magazine release) and two shotguns, a tactical one, and a more conventional Izhesvk style, both in 12 gauge. Not entirely sure on which parts of the firearms are made in the US, or which parts are being imported into the US from Russia (or if the receivers are perhaps left overs from the Russian imports before sanctions), or if any of it is even imported due to the sanctions. Either way, there is a fair amount of CAA parts in use, it even says this on the website, that the two seem to be in a partnership for that reason. No word on pricing in the release or on the website but it should be available through the dealers listed.

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: