Captain's Corner

So I have dirty little secret. I love a weapon that has come to be known as a symbol of communism and terrorism world wide. I am talking about the Avtomat Kalashnikov. It started as a milled receiver rifle in the 7.62x39mm caliber, designation AK47. Compared to other infantry weapons of its time it was compact, of comparable power and range, and select fire (aka it has full auto). Only the rifles produced prior to 1959 are actually designated AK47. In 1959 the Soviet Union began to produce the rifle with a stamped sheet metal receiver, which reduced weight. At the same time a muzzle device was added to help maintain controllability on full auto. This rifle was designated the AKM (Avtomat Kalashnikov Modernizirovanniy). It is this rifle that was then copied by nearly all eastern European countries. Because of this it is the most produced and most prolific assault rifle today. Below is a picture of a Hungarian produced SA-85 (their designation for a stamped-receiver AKM).

For those that don’t know, the AK style rifle has undergone quite the evolution. It is now most commonly issued in the 5.45×39 round. AKs in this chambering were first adopted by the soviets in 1974, thus AK’s in this caliber are called AK74′s. Now for some interesting variants.

First up is what has come to be known as the Khyber Pass variant of the AKM. It is a rifle that was never mass produced in a factory, but has showed up in recent years. It is an AKM (meaning it is chambered in the original 7.62x39mm caliber) rifle that has a triangular folding stock only produced for the AK74. It has been seen in the hands of freedom fighters in Afghanistan and most recently, being carried by Osama Bin Laden in the various videos he makes. The name comes from a region of Afghanistan that is known for mud-hut gunsmiths that can produce a copy of nearly any firearm that has ever been sent to their region. Some go boom and some go KA-BOOM-but at any rate, that’s where it gets its name. Here is a picture of one:

Next in line is the Krinkov. Official designation for this rifle is the AKS-74U. It is generally (given the 74 designation) a 5.45x39mm rifle with an extremely short barrel and gas system and a folding stock. With the stock folded it comes to a grand total of 19.3″ long. This necessitated moving the gas chamber further to the rear, and shortening the gas piston rod. To ensure reliable function the barrel was fitted with a distinctive conical flash hider/gas expansion chamber. Several countries produced variations of this, however their numbers were never very high. It is for this reason that the rifle is usually considered a symbol of prestige in Kalashnikov culture. Below is a picture of a Yugoslavian version that is actually chambered in the 7.62x39mm round.

Last is a rifle that isn’t really an AK, though it is based loosely on the design.  The original Russian version of this rifle is the SVD, Tiger, or Dragunov.  It is chambered for the 7.62x54R (Russian) round and is a semi-automatic sniper rifle.  It has a much longer barrel than the AK variants and greater accuracy.  It also employs a 5 or 10 round magazine versus the AK’s 20, 30, and 40 round magazines (not to mention 75 and 100 round drums).  Below is a Romanian imitation of the SVD, known as either a Romak or PSL:

And for those of you wondering why I’d be interested in such dangerous and terrifying weapons… ask my wife, she loves to shoot our SA-85.  Semi-automatic “assault weapons” are fun to shoot without being overly powerful (and thus fatiguing).  In addition to that military surplus weapons offer  a bit of history in the collecting.  Also, firearms are not dangerous in and of themselves.  In the hands of responsible owners, they can be used for fun, competition shooting, and self-defense.

Finally, I take no responsibility for the quality of the pics, except the first one… that’s the only one of the four I took.  Though I will one day be able to take new pics of all of these rifles… as they are on the list of “things to buy when I have money”.

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