Polish small arms company Wytwornia Broni Popinski (Popinski’s Weapon Manufacturing), has brought to market a short barrel (10.2 inch barrel, compared to the 16.3 inch full length Jack from WBP) Kalashnikov chambered in 7.62x39mm, called the “Mini [Read More…]
The Russian PKM: Arguably the best general purpose machine gun in the world, it combines a robust reliability with best-in-class light weight. Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons recently released two video overviews of the weapon, giving us a good enough excuse as any to [Read More…]
Kalashnikov has implemented a development and investment strategy until 2020 with a target to broaden the range of competitive products as well as increasing the overall production process efficiency. Kalashnikov started already in 2014 and aim at providing updates on [Read More…]
The following is an article that was originally written in Russian by TFB contributor Maxim Popenker, and Andrey Ulanov, and translated to English by Peter Samsonov. With their permission, I have replicated the text here, and edited it, for the enrichment of you, our [Read More…]
In this article Kalashnikov concern takes the opportunity to answer some of the Frequently Asked Questions about the production and development of Kalashnikov rifles. There are quite a few details revealed that I had no idea about. For instance, where can I find more [Read More…]
Thanks to this blog I’ve heard of the KGB Rectal gun (the comments are hilarious), but KGB’s “Escort Operational briefcase” is new to me. It shares some similarities with the HK MP5K Operational Briefcase which I think all firearms afficionados [Read More…]
Sanctions aside, things seem to be going well for Russian firearms export. Rosoboronexport is the only state organization in Russia for exporting the entire range of military, dual-use products and services and technologies. The Director General of Rosoboronexport, [Read More…]
It’s a blunder so bad it makes you look twice: On the new sculpture dedicated to Russia’s most famous small arms designer, there is an unintentional homage to a weapon of Russia’s hated adversaries during the Great Patriotic War. Behind the tasteful [Read More…]
19th of September is the Gunsmith’s Day in Russia. This year, the most notable celebration event was the unveiling of Mikhail Kalashnikov statue in Moscow. A number of Russian defense industry and government officials attended the ceremony. The ceremony was [Read More…]
Kalashnikov Concern has announced the launch of Kalashnikov branded gun care products. They’ve introduced several lubricants as well as a rust remover, degreaser, and cold bluing compound. In the press release, they say that all the new products are tested in [Read More…]
The effort to deregulate of silencers has reached an important milestone: The Hearing Protection Act has made it out of committee, and been incorporated as part of another larger bill. House Resolution 3668 – the Sportsmen Heritage and Recreational [Read More…]
Kalashnikov Concern recently released a new English language video regarding their PL-15K compact pistol, MP-444 pistol, AM-17 and AMB-17 compact assault rifles, and SVCh semiautomatic sniper rifle. By way of a walkthrough from Kalashnikov Concern technical consultant [Read More…]
A live webcast from the Concern Kalashnikov shooting club was broadcasted last weekend as part of the Army 2017 exhibition. I was there recently for the first IPSC Rifle World Shoot, and it was a great event. Their shooting range is second to none and features a massive [Read More…]
On display at the recent Russian Army 2017 expo was Kalashnikov’s new AM-17 and AMB-17 compact assault rifles. The AM-17 is a 5.45x39mm caliber improved version of the MA assault rifle introduced last year, designed to fill the same role as the AKS-74U compact [Read More…]
Kalashnikov enthusiasts and parts kid builders in the United States have long known about the “sterilized” East German (GDR/DDR-German Democratic Republic/Deutschland Demokratische Republik) MPi-KM kits coming in from the Balkan states. These kits have been [Read More…]
Like many Vets these days, Steve Russell was very frustrated that he or any of the soldiers under his command couldn’t actually bring back captured rifles from their campaigns overseas, unlike previous generations of American infantrymen. So if you can’t bring back rifles, maybe the next [Read More…]
Armageddon Tactical is a Littleton, Colorado-based company that produces and sells various firearms parts, mostly in the AR15 field of accessories, but with this new product, the company has stepped forth into the world of Kalashnikov components. The AK47 Hinged Side [Read More…]
Coke’s slogan is “Taste the Feeling”, but maybe in the Ukraine it should be “the Army’s Rust Remover!” instead. “We use Coca-Cola when the gun is rusty. Coca-Cola takes rust away” says Ukrainian Ground Forces machine [Read More…]
We first reported on the Podavach magazine loader in January this year, mentioning that it had some unique features in an industry saturated with “unique”. First and foremost, more than a simple magazine loader, it incorporates a multi-caliber design, with [Read More…]
Red Oktober is a competition very unique in the regard that it caters specifically to the Kalashnikov platform. Debuted in 2016 at a range in southern Utah, it attracted a significant number of collectors, shooters, and builders throughout the country, even coming so far as Alaska or jumping through [Read More…]
According to Russian news agency TASS, the Kalashnikov Concern officials have informed them that the AK-12 has successfully passed all the government tests and trials and it is planned to be adopted by the Russian armed forces. The key phrase is “planned [Read More…]
Russia hosted the first ever Rifle World Championship, practical rifle shooting according to the IPSC rules. TFB flew to Moscow, armed with a Troy rifle and a camera, to document the occasion and to compete in the main match. 30 stages of world class practical shooting [Read More…]
In our final installment of looking at the handmade wonders of the gunmaking village of Darra Adam Khel, we finish it off with an in-depth examination of the Krinkov patterned Kalashnikovs produced in the village. Some of them display an excellent resemblance to the original AKS74Us, however others [Read More…]
In our third episode about the handmade small arms from the gunsmiths of Darra Adam Khel in the FATA region of northwestern Pakistan, Miles takes a look at some of the Kalashnikov variants produced by these talented craftsmen. With the Kalashnikovs some of the copying begins to show because of the [Read More…]
Russian presenter Sergey Badyuk has partaken in a very informative discussion on Kalashnikov rifles in use by various Syrian groups within Assad controlled portions of Syria. He is a prior Russian serviceman himself and certainly knows his rifles. Now obviously, we can’t accept the information [Read More…]
Kalashnikov Concern has announced about a new upgrade/modernization kit for AK style rifles. It is a drop-in kit which allows converting any stock AK-47/AKM or AK-74 rifle into a bit more modern weapon making it more adjustable and suitable for accessorizing. As seen in [Read More…]
The first practical shooting Rifle World Championship will take place in “Patriot” park in Russia from May 25 to June 11, 2017. It is going to be a pretty large event with 850 shooters from 45 countries participating. However, some shooters faced a problem [Read More…]
Thanks to a recent leak exclusively to The Firearm Blog, we have now become aware of a new tender for rifles issued by the Pakistani government. According to the tender document, the Pakistani Army is looking for 75,000 “modern 7.62x39mm caliber weapons”, [Read More…]
The first ever IPSC Rifle World Shoot in Russia is less than two months away. This is a prestigious event for Russia, and the shooting range looks absolutely fabulous. As long as all competitors can get themselves and their firearms into Russia (and out!), I am sure the [Read More…]
Firearms accessory maker Sureshot Armament Group recently debuted their new AK sidemounts on their Facebook page. Their CNC machined sidemounts weight in at just 167 grams (5.89 ounces or .368 lbs). Sureshot Armament Group’s new AK sidemount is going to retail for [Read More…]