By Blaise Uriarte

The Basics:

This is another civilian legal variant of the legendary AK 47 assault rifle designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov. This firearm is essentially a truncated AK pattern rifle, based upon the Krinkov design. The original purpose of this weapon is to bring heavy firepower to a fight in a small package. These would have been issued to tankers, paratroopers, or Spetsnaz fighters who needed a more compact package.

This is different from original Krinkov rifles in that; it does not have a folding stock, it is chambered in the 7.362×39 instead of the 5.45×39, and it is semi-automatic only. Original Krinkov carbines were shortened AK74 pattern rifles, and this is an AKM pattern gun. It should be noted that this is legally classified as a handgun; therefore one must be exceedingly careful with the modifications made to this type of weapon. The installation of any type of stock is prohibited, as well as a vertical fore grip.

This gun features a 10 inch barrel, with a welded on muzzle-nut and a Hogue stock. This gun is very well made, and one of the finer Romanian AK pattern weapons I have handled.

The Ammo

This rifle fires the 7.62x39mm Russian cartridge. These round fires projectiles from 100 grains up to about 155 grains with velocities ranging from 1700 feet-per-second up to around 3000 feet-per-second, depending on bullet weight and load of course.

The test Ammo was Sellier and Bellot 123 grain FMJ rounds. These rounds are advertised as having a velocity of about 2400 feet per second, but seemed underpowered while shooting.

The Range Test

This firearm experienced several issues while firing. In the first 20 rounds there were several failures to feeds, and a stovepipe jam. These issues would seem to very likely be the combination of a faulty magazine and poor ammunition.

Accuracy was as expected for what is essentially a stockless rifle, with a 10 inch barrel.

At 25 yards with iron sights 12 out of 20 rounds were placed in a 10 inch circle. This gives you about a 60% chance of hitting the head of an undead at that range.

Frankly, this gun is a bit different from what I am used too. It would take a bit of training and practice to get used too. I found the recoil to be jarring, due to the lack of a stock and short barrel.

The Pluses

This is a lot of fire power in a small package. It is lightweight, short and handy in close quarters. It is also a sturdy gun with an amazingly effective round.

The Minuses

The shorter barrel and lack of a stock are two factors that make this gun harder to control in rapid fire. Those two features also affect accuracy negatively. Furthermore my experience with this firearm shows that it is less than reliable.

Conclusion

Overall I like the feel of this gun. It is really handy as far as having a compact weapon. I have to say objectively, that it barely meets the requirements as far as accuracy for a carbine and did not prove to be reliable during my testing. As previously mentioned, this could have been bad ammo with a bad magazine, or it could be an issue with the gun. Either way one should not select a weapon for self-defense (against the undead or otherwise) unless it is proven reliable. As always, stay vigilant and be prepared.