Page 47 - Airsoft Action Issue 126 June 2021

RED CELL

CLASSIC AK

of his designs were adopted. It was not until the later Unfortunately, this also meant it was expensive and
1940s that his designs were given a serious look and it involved to produce, so eventually changes were made
was not until the trials of 1946 that his design team in and the AKM (M standing for Modernizirovanniy or
Kovrov submitted an entry to the military for appraisal. Modernised) entered service, followed in time by the
It was a gas-operated rifle which had a breech-block AK74 which also heralded a change in calibre. The
mechanism similar to Kalashnikov’s older designs AK-74M is probably still the main service rifle in use
but which fed from a distinctive, curved 30-round with the Russian Federation forces these days and the
magazine. days of perfectly mated wood and metal have pretty
Kalashnikov’s rifles, AK-1 and −2 proved to be much long gone with new polymer and glass-filled
reliable and the weapon was accepted to a second polyamides helping to save those forests! The AK-74M
round of trials, along with designs by Dementyev is an improved variant of the AK-74 assault rifle that
and Bulkin. In late 1946 during testing, Aleksandr offers more versatility compared to its predecessor.
Zaitsev, an assistant to Kalashnikov, suggested a major As well as the Russian Federation, the AK-74M
redesign of the AK-1, already impressive given its (and the shorter AKS74U) is also used by the armed
milled receiver, to improve reliability. Although initially forces of Afghanistan, Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria,
sceptical, Zaitsev managed to persuade Kalashnikov Georgia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova,
and changes were made. The new rifle proved to be Mongolia, North Korea, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan,
simple and reliable under a wide range of conditions Ukraine and Uzbekistan but if you look across the
with convenient handling characteristics; prototypes entire Kalashnikov “family tree” that list becomes
with serial numbers one to three were completed in significantly longer and, in my mind, this makes it one
November 1947. Production of the first army trial of the most versatile airsoft replicas out there!
series began in early 1948 at the Izhevsk factory and If, like me, you’re a fan of the AK, or simply want
in 1949 it was adopted by the Soviet Army as “7.62 something different from the slew of “M4 variants”
mm Kalashnikov Assault Rifle”. out there, then there has actually never been a better
And so began the legend of the AK. time to own an airsoft AK. With newer companies
Used around the world and produced under licence like LCT, E&L, and Specna Arms now making some
by many communist states, the AK47 proved to be righteous replicas and all the older manufacturers like
a formidable and highly effective battlefield rifle. CYMA, Classic Army, ICS, and Tokyo Marui upgrading
Unbelievably rugged and durable it was said that the their offerings to now include upgraded internals and
AK would fire even after having been buried in mud the “100 series”, the choice of “Airsoft AK” has never
for considerable periods. Incredibly easy to maintain, been wider. If you want anything from a standard AK
it was the ideal weapon for poorly trained indigenous AEG, through gas blowbacks, to new and innovative
forces as well as for trained soldiers. “recoil” models they are all there for the taking!
That said, anyone who has ever fired a real AK will
tell you that the recoil is also somewhat formidable
too and the rifle hard to control unless you really
put your mind to it. Once controlled though it is
accurate out to 400 metres which is more than
sufficient for most infantrymen. Changing methods
of deployment meant that Soviet troops were
delivered to the battlefield in vehicles and the AK
went through further development to include models
with an underfolding, skeletonised stock which
dramatically reduced the length of the rifle when
used by paratroopers or motorised infantry. The safety
mechanism also differed from the traditional “safe,
semi, auto” format, becoming instead “safe, auto,
semi”. This at first seems unusual but given the Soviet
preference to engage the enemy with overwhelming Bill: “For once I’m actually going to start off with
force utilising fully automatic fire perhaps it is not my own comments in relation to testing, as I have
actually so. an admission to make. Many of the AK models
The AK47 is undoubtedly a fine combat weapon featured this month (and those that will be featured
and initial models were actually very, very well made. next month when we come to “tacticool AKs”) are

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