Larry Vickers Interview in Russia – Is the AK Outdated?

December 24, 2018 RoninsGrips

During his visit to Russia in 2018, Larry Vickers was interviewed by
Vladimir Onokoy, a technical consultant with the Kalashnikov Concern, about Larry’s views on the traditional AK platform.

The two discussed a number of topics and I’ll just hit some personal highlights that I found interesting:

Larry mentioned that people get hung up on the design of the safety and the short sight radius but the positives of the design far outweigh the negatives. This is especially true because the safety works just fine once you get used to it and the addition of a good red dot is a game changer. I agree with both points.
Vladimir asked Larry his caliber preference. Larry said if he had to only pick one, it would be 7.62×39. That’s definitely my go-to caliber for the rifle.
Larry made a really interesting point – the tapers of the 7.62×39 and 5.45×39 aid in reliable feeding in the AK platform. The 5.56×45 is at a disadvantage because it does not have the same degree of taper. That caught my attention – I never really stopped and thought about the impacts of case taper on reliability given how to AK operates. Interesting point.

So, is the AK obsolete? In my opinion, it is an extensible platform but watch this interesting video and here Larry’s thoughts first hand.

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Military, Poland

Polish Armed Forces – How Strong Are They?

December 22, 2018 RoninsGrips

Being interested in AK weapons also leads me to an interest in the militaries that used them. AKs are in military use in 106 countries and the USSR licensed production to 30 countries including East Germany, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Poland, and Yugoslavia just to name a few. Interestingly enough, there have been some licensing issues but that is a topic for another day.

One of the high quality producers of small arms is Poland. In my opinion, their AKs and other small arms are very well made. When I started to research about their Beryl series, I was surprised to find out that Poland has been very pragmatic with their weapons and are leveraging designs from Eastern and Western countries.

Polish soldier in helmet aiming assault rifle in desert terrain — A Polish soldier with a kbs wz. 1996C Beryl.

Polish soldiers in uniform with rifles, part of the Polish Armed Forces. — Polish soldiers with kbs wz. 1996A Beryls. I’m pretty sure these are A-series rifles because with the B, they introduced a fixed front grip that is integral with the lower handguard.

Polish soldier with B15 insignia aiming an AK-15 rifle — Another soldier with a kbs wz.1996C series Beryl.

Polish Air Force Mi-24 Hind helicopter with number 457 in flight — The Poles use the Russian Hind-D gunship and plans to modernize them. This is one of my favorite helicopters so I had to include the photo.

A young man assembled the below video about the Armed Fores of the Republic of Poland as part of his Facts Without Borders broadcast series and found it very interesting. He has assembled some excellent footage and commentary about the Polish military including aspects you may not have considered. You ought to consider subscribing to his channel on Youtube also.

Here’s the video

Please note that all photos were extracted from the photo and remain the property of their respective owner(s).

Russia and also USSR

AK-200, AK-308, AM-17 and AMB-17 At Army 2018 in Moscow

December 22, 2018 RoninsGrips

DefenseWeb attended the Army 2018 expo in Moscow and released this video where they interviewed Vladimir Onokoy, a technical consultant with the Kalashnikov and experienced AK armorer, about Kalashnikov Concern’s new AK-200, AK-308, AM-17 and AMD-17 rifles.

Man displays AK-200 rifle at Army 2018 Moscow expo — AK-201 rifle in 5.56×45. The AK-20x family of weapons is available in 5.45×39, 5.56×45 and 7.62×39 plus in long and short versions.

Man holds AK-200 rifle at Army 2018 exhibition in Moscow — AK-308 for countries wishing to use 7.62×51/.308 ammo

Man demonstrates Kalashnikov AK-200 rifle at Army 2018 exhibition in Moscow. — AM-17 compact assault rifle that replaces the out of production AKS-74U.

Man holding AK-200 rifle with red dot sight at Army 2018 Moscow — AMB-17 compact assault rifle with integral suppressor.

AK-200, AK-308, AM-17, AMB-17 rifles on display at Army 2018 exhibition — To the left is the AM-17 and the AMB-17 is to the right.

The AM-17 and AMB-17 are of special interest to me as some groups are looking for compact weapons and this rifle will have to compete against the well established Tula’s AS Val, VSS Vintorez and SR-3 rifles.

Here’s the video

Please note that all photos above are extracted from the video.

PSA AK Webstore Links

Interested in an American made AK? Consider Palmetto State Armory (PSA) as a source. Click on the following links for the associated webstore categories for AK-related rifles, pistols and parts at PSA:

Optics

American Defense Red Dot Optic Mounts Rock!

December 21, 2018 RoninsGrips

I really like Vortex Crossfire Red Dots and have been using them extensively for a while now. They’ve survived 9mm POF-5. 12 gauge shotguns, 5.56 ARs and 7.62×39 AKs with no problem. The only modification they need is a good quick release mechanism in my opinion.

HK SP5K pistol with red dot sight rests on autumn leaves and wood. — HK SP5 with a Vortex Crossfire and an American Defense AD-T1-L STD low mount.

Ronin's Grips M92 handguard installation: close-up of black polymer grip — Lynx 12 gauge with a Crossfire and also the AD-T1-L STD low base.

The designers at Vortex are pretty shrewd. They designed the Crossfire to share the same base as the Aimport T-1/H-1. Because of that smart design consideration, it opens up a ton of options for you.

My preference these days are quick release mounts made by American Defense right here in the US. The units are made from 6061 T6 aluminum and finished with a T3 anodized unit. They are rock solid. I have had problems in the past with cheap import models and these are rugged and reliable.

They have a low profile unit that I like for AKs and my POF-5 where I don’t care about co-witnessing with the iron sights. It’s their AD-T1-L STD model.

They also make a taller unit that is an absolute co-witness height for ARs.

American Defense red dot optic mounts, quick detach levers — This is one of my Vortex Crossfires. It has the low-profile American Defense mount on it and the co-witness model is the taller unit on the right. The small lever you see sticking out from the main lever is the lock to prevent an accidental release.

Two American Defense optic mounts, one with a lever, on a workbench. — The bases are held in place by four small screws. Here’s the “-L” low model next to the co-witness “-10” model.

American Defense red dot optic mount on an AR-15 rifle.

American Defense red dot optic mount with serial #C1828219 and blue Loctite — To change bases is just a matter of removing four screws. To avoid the screws loosening, use a blue medium Loc-tite or Vibratite. Do not use a permanent formula.

American Defense red dot optic mount with "1109" visible — To adjust the fit, you push with one finger from the lever side and the nut is pushed out of its housing straight across. Turn it one hex side at a time. Turn it clockwise to make the clamp tighter or counter-clockwise to loosen it. (righty-tighty and lefty-loosy

These American Defense mounts work like a charm and the quality is evident. I can easily remove the red dots when I am working on a weapon or even swap optics if I so choose. They do have a repetitive zero but I would recommend always putting it in the same rail slot for consistency.

I hope this helps you out.

Military

Special Forces 2017 Video – You Can Run, But You Can’t Hide

December 21, 2018 RoninsGrips

Here’s a cool military tribute video for you – Special Forces 2017: You Can Run, But You Can’t Hide. It features special operations groups from:

Germany
Hungary
Lithuania
Poland
Portugal
Ukraine

Special forces soldier in tactical gear aiming a rifle, from Special Forces 2017

Polish special forces soldier firing rifle in action, 2017

Special Forces soldiers in boats during a 2017 operation.

German police officers in riot gear with MP5 submachine guns

This collection of videos shows a lot of drills and weapons including M4, HK 416, HK MP5 and AKs.

Here’s the Video:

Roller Locks - HK

HK SP5K Photo Shoot In The Leaves

December 20, 2018 RoninsGrips

Okay, I liked the leaves, the lighting and thought it would be a great chance to get some photos of the HK SP5K pistol with the SB Tactical SBTK5A brace and the Vortex Optics Crossfire red dot that is on an American Defense AD-T1-L STD quick release mount. As you can see above, I’m still using the Uncle Mike’s case.

HK SP5K pistol with red dot sight rests on autumn leaves

HK SP5K with red dot sight mounted on a rail, surrounded by autumn leaves.

Close-up of HK SP5K firearm with "Cal. 9mmx19" and "HK SP5 K" text.

Close-up of an HK SP5K firearm's receiver and stock, set against autumn leaves.

HK SP5K firearm with optic and brace rests on autumn leaves.

HK SP5K firearm resting on autumn leaves, showing warning text.

HK SP5K pistol with red dot sight resting on fallen autumn leaves.

HK SP5K pistol resting on autumn leaves, featuring a red dot sight.

So those are a few from the batch. Looking forward to taking it to the range some day.

PTR, Roller Locks - HK

PTR PDWR In The Leaves

December 18, 2018 RoninsGrips

The lighting was right, the leaves were on the ground and it was a great chance to get some new photos of my PTR 105 PDWR pistol. This big pistol is the interesting brain child of PTR. It’s essentially a cut down HK 91.

The PTR 105 configuration has a PTR metal handguard installed. After messing with it some, I decided to install an MP5 handguard as I like the angle on the MP5 handguard more. This also means I should have just bought the PTR 110 that comes with that handguard.

Now, the only problem is that the MP5 handguard is not as rigid as I would like. I’ll experiment some with different handguards in the future.

The PTR 195 and 110 are big pistols at 23.5″ overall, 8.5″ barrels and weigh about 8 pounds. I wanted to install a brace but needed to be mindful of Michigan’s odd 26″ maximum pistol length law. This isn’t legal advice, but my understanding is that the Michigan State Police say that a pistol with a brace is measured from one end to the other in the minimum operable condition. So, by installing a side folder, I could have a brace for when I wanted to use it but also had the minimum operable length at 23″. What you see in the photo is an SB Tactical BTFA folding mechanism, buffer tube and SOB stock. When open, the weapon measures 32.5″.

Matt's Vepr rifle with Steiner scope in close-up — Thanks to the BTFA folding mechanism, I can swing the SOB brace to the left and it locks open. This keeps the brace out of the way of the ejection port. You can configure the BTFA to go either left or right.

Matt's Vepr rifle with magazine and trigger guard, placed on concrete surface — It definitely has clean lines.

PTR PDWR rifle with Vortex scope rests on autumn leaves and wood — As you can see, the brace is folded open and operating side of the PDWR is nice and clear of any obstructions.

Given the PDWR is chambered in .308 and uses 20 round HK G3 magazines, that is a lot of firepower in a small package. Overkill? Sure. Fun at the range? Absolutely.

Military, Poland, Russia and also USSR

Very cool Military Motivational Video – The Devil Inside You

December 17, 2018 RoninsGrips

I like military tribute videos. This video has a catchy song and the real neat thing is that it is in high-definition (HD) video. It has footage of men and women from a lot of different militaries and branches including: Austria, Germany, Hungary, Norway, Poland, Russia and Sweden – probably more that I didn’t catch.

You’ll also get a chance to see quite a collection of ships, helicopters, uniforms, small arms, bases and what not – all in high def. Very cool. Here are some examples of the many cool videos they assembled:

Soldiers in tactical gear with assault rifles, Polish flag patch visible.

Polish Navy personnel in uniform holding rifles, part of a motivational military video.

Pilot in fighter jet cockpit with other F-16s flying above clouds

Seriously, this is a cool video and a chance for a lot of folks to see other men and women serving their countries. At 1:41, I got a kick out of the Russian operator wearing an “Infidel Strong” morale patch.

Ronin's Grips

Larry Vickers Interview in Russia – Is the AK Outdated?

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Polish Armed Forces – How Strong Are They?

Here’s the video

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AK-200, AK-308, AM-17 and AMB-17 At Army 2018 in Moscow

Here’s the video

PSA AK Webstore Links

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American Defense Red Dot Optic Mounts Rock!

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Special Forces 2017 Video – You Can Run, But You Can’t Hide

Here’s the Video:

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HK SP5K Photo Shoot In The Leaves

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PTR PDWR In The Leaves

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Very cool Military Motivational Video – The Devil Inside You

Here’s the 2017 video:

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When Strength and Quality Matter Most

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PSA AK Webstore Links

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When Strength and Quality Matter Most