Tag Archives: krinkov

Goodbye, AKS-74U. Hello, AM-17

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The Kalashnikov pattern AKS-74U (GRAU Index 6P26) rifle was adopted for service by the Soviet military in 1979. A shortened version of the 5.45x39mm AK74, the U stands for “Ukorochenniy,” which is Russian for “shortened” which is logical as it only has an 8.3-inch barrel and 19.36-inch overall length with its stock side folded.

Soviet paratrooper clutching his AKS-74U Krinkov

Of course, the AKS-74U is better known in the West as the Krinkov. Its typically issued in the same vein as the M1 Carbine was in WWII among the U.S. Army: to equip vehicle crews, for use by officers and NCOs, and by light/elite troops such as airborne and special operations units. In all, equipping something like 30-40 percent of the Russian ground forces.

Well, it seems those days are over.

The Kalashnikov Concern JSC announced recently it plans to put the 5.45mm AM-17 compact rifle into mass production in 2025. The rifle’s design, based on the Dragunov MA (yes, as in the same guy behind the SVD rifle) was updated following combat trials in the Ukraine.

The new features include a folding telescopic buttstock, an ambidextrous fire selector switch, a Picatinny rail coupled to the barrel, what looks to be M-LOK slots, and a charging handle that can be installed on either the right or left side.

The same general size of the AKS-7U, the AM-17 is lighter and easier to produce due to the fact that it uses a polymer lower rather than sheet metal, while still allowing a rate of fire of 850 rpm.

My decade with a funky Krink that takes AR mags

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I’ve owned several Kalash over the years, including some Arsenals and Norincos of various stripes, but never really considered myself an AK guy and at several times during my firearms collecting journey voluntarily got out of the AK game altogether – including getting rid of their ammo, parts, and accessories.

On the other hand, at any given time over the past 30 years, I tended to have a safe or two full of AR-pattern rifles as well as the mags and ammo stacked in bulk to support them. 

So in 2014, the Century-imported Zastava M85 NP caught my eye. It was cheap (sub-$500) and, as large format pistols generally escape 922 regulations, I knew that it would be more or less complete when it left Zastava’s factory in Serbia rather than be subjected to an infusion of questionable parts here in the U.S.

Taking a closer look at it, there was a lot to like. 

The M85 line is based on the old Yugo M70 short rifle, which itself was patterned after the Soviet AKS-74U. It has a 10.25-inch chrome lined cold hammer forged barrel and a 21.5-inch overall length. (All photos here to bottom: Chris Eger)

And I liked it even more after it was SBR’d.

More in my column at Guns.com.

The Zastava M92 AK PAP Pistol

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Styled after the famous compact weapons of the Soviet Spetsnaz commandos, the new Serbian-made M92 has everything you want in a six-pound pistol.  Back during the Afghanistan war (the 1980s one with the Russkis vs. the Mujahidin, not the current one), Soviet airborne and Spetsnaz troops needed a more compact weapon to deploy when moving around the mountains and villages. You see these troopers normally deployed from helicopters operating at maximum altitudes in thin air where weight and space were at a premium. In addition, a favorite tactic of the spetsnaz would be to disguise themselves as ‘locals’ complete with long beards, pakol hats, and chapan robes to get into rebel villages. To be effective once there, they needed a concealable yet brutal firearm.

To meet this need, the Soviets came up with krinkov or krink. This concept took the standard AK74 rifle, and replaced the barrel with one that was just 9-inches long. With a folding stock, or no stock at all, the krink proved popular with not only the Soviets,
but with the rebels who captured them as well.

With this legacy, as soon as the Cold War ended, semi-auto civilian legal versions of this gun started coming into the US from Eastern Europe. One of the first in this version was the Romanian-made Draco pistol. You see, to keep the gun from being classified as a short-barreled rifle with the BATFE, civilian Krinks have no-buttstock and are therefore legal as pistols.

Read the rest in my column at Firearms Talk.com

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