It’s the desire of Ronin’s Grips to move the industry away from subjective opinion and towards data driven decision making. The following are reports created using specialized tools that analyze websites, social media and the opinions of thousands of posts relating to the law enforcement, military and firearms industries. Click here if you’d like to learn more and why data driven analytics matter.
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The following are categories and further below are all analytics posts sorted by date from newest to oldest:
- AK-Series Weapons
- AR-Series Weapons
- Ammunition
- Chinese Topics
- Designated Marksman, Precision & Sniper Rifles
- Global Small Arms – Market and Manufacturers
- History and Socio-Political
- Law Enforcement & SWAT
- Military and Special Operations Forces
- Pistols
- Russian and Soviet Topics
- Small Arms Optics
- US Small Arms Market Analytics
If you have questions, comments, suggestions for a report or wish to fund a report, please email us.
- Palmetto State Armory’s AAC Ammunition Venture: A Strategic Analysis of Market Disruption and Execution July 28, 2025This report provides an in-depth analysis of Palmetto State Armory’s (PSA) strategic entry into the ammunition manufacturing sector through its parent company, JJE Capital Holdings, and the revitalization of the Advanced Armament Corporation (AAC) brand. Following the acquisition of the AAC brand’s intellectual property from the 2020 Remington Outdoor Company bankruptcy, JJE Capital has executed ...
- The State of U.S. Small Arms Ammunition Production: An Industry Analysis July 27, 2025The United States small arms ammunition market is in a state of profound transition, characterized by a paradox of robust growth and critical vulnerability. On one hand, the industry is experiencing a significant upswing, fueled by a confluence of heightened geopolitical tensions, substantial increases in global defense spending, and a resilient, high-volume domestic civilian market. ...
- The Kalashnikov Abroad: A Historical and Analytical Timeline of Global AK Variant Adoption and Development July 26, 2025The Avtomat Kalashnikova is more than a rifle; it is a defining technological and political artifact of the 20th century. Its silhouette is recognized globally, a symbol of revolution, state power, and asymmetric warfare. Its reputation for unparalleled simplicity and rugged reliability, often under the most trying conditions, has cemented its place in military history.1 ...
- Palmetto State Armory’s AK Redemption Arc: An Engineering and Market Analysis July 24, 2025The American-made AK-pattern rifle has long been an elusive prize for domestic firearms manufacturers. For decades, the U.S. civilian market has been dominated by imported rifles from former combloc nations, whose state-owned arsenals perfected the art of mass-producing the Kalashnikov. These factories, steeped in a specific manufacturing tradition, produced rifles known for their legendary reliability, ...
- The PSA Playbook: An Analysis of Palmetto State Armory’s Disruption of the U.S. Firearms Market July 24, 2025In the landscape of the American firearms industry, few companies have ascended with the velocity and disruptive impact of Palmetto State Armory (PSA). Since its inception in 2008, PSA has evolved from a humble e-commerce venture operating out of a garage into one of the largest and most influential firearms manufacturers and retailers in the ...
- A Post-Mortem Analysis of Kalashnikov USA: From Market Leader to Bankruptcy July 24, 2025On May 6, 2024, RWC Group, LLC, the parent company doing business as Kalashnikov USA (KUSA), filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Southern District of Florida.1 This event marked the beginning of the end for a company once poised to dominate the U.S. market for domestically produced AK-pattern firearms. However, the attempt at ...
- The Top 10 Features US AK Buyers Look For July 23, 2025The modern American AK buyer is not a passive or uninformed consumer. They are active participants in a rich and dynamic media ecosystem that they leverage to conduct extensive pre-purchase research. This consumer is characterized by a high level of knowledge and a healthy skepticism toward marketing claims, preferring to trust community-vetted sources and data-driven ...
- Avtomat Kalashnikova Modernizirovanny: An Engineering and Historical Analysis of the Iconic AKM Ri July 22, 2025The conclusion of the Second World War left the Soviet Union as a victorious global superpower, but its military doctrine and infantry armament were at a critical crossroads. The brutal fighting on the Eastern Front had provided a wealth of hard-won experience, revealing both the strengths and weaknesses of the Red Army’s equipment. While massed ...
- An Analysis of the Differences Between a Russian Dragunov and a Romanian PSL: They Are Not The Same July 21, 2025I guess we all have our pet peves. One of my many irks is when people call a Romanian PSL rifle a “Dragunov”. I see it all the time on Facebook and GunBroker. Honestly, it bugs the hell out of me. The PSL is an oversized AK for all intents and purposes. On the other ...
- A Deep Dive On The Metallurgical and Manufacturing of Current Zastava ZPAP AK-Pattern Receivers July 21, 2025A previous post looked at the quality redemption arc made by Zastava to address legitimate concerns about their AK rifles and pistols in the US market. This report provides a more detailed analysis of the metallurgy, manufacturing methods, and heat treatment protocols for current-production Zastava civilian AK-pattern receivers sold in the United States market. The ...
- An Analysis of Zastava AK-Platform Quality and Market Perception in the U.S. Civilian Market (2020-2025) July 21, 2025This report provides an analysis of the quality and market perception of Zastava-manufactured AK-platform firearms within the United States civilian market from 2020 through the first half of 2025. Persistent concerns among consumers regarding receiver metallurgy, heat treatment, and associated failures such as cracking and deformation form the impetus for this investigation. The analysis reveals ...
- The Kalashnikov Premium: An Analysis of the AR-15 & AK-47 Civilian Market Price Inversion July 20, 2025The United States civilian firearms market has witnessed a fundamental and counterintuitive inversion in the pricing structure of its two most popular modern sporting rifles: the AR-15 and the AK-47. For decades, the AR-15 was positioned as the premium, higher-cost platform, while the AK-47 was its affordable, utilitarian counterpart. Today, the opposite is true; a ...
- Pragmatism at Work: An Analysis of the Soviet AK-47 Slant Compensator July 19, 2025The introduction of the iconic slant-faced muzzle device on the Kalashnikov rifle was not an incidental aesthetic choice nor was it part of the weapon’s original design. Instead, its development and eventual adoption represent a case study in iterative, problem-driven Soviet small arms engineering. The device emerged as a direct and necessary response to a ...
- Performance Ranking the Top 50 Vendors in the AK-47 US Market July 17, 2025To aid buyers in understanding the greater AK/AK-47 firearm and accessory market, in the US this post is a companion to another post that looks at AK firearm brands in the US and social media standing. This post focuses on report performance of firearms and accessories and selection is based on the volume of mentions ...
- Cutting Through The Fluff – The US Civilian AK Market: A 5-Year Analysis of Consumer Sentiment and Brand Performance (2020-2025) July 16, 2025Ever get tired of trying to figure out what AK vendors might be worth buying a rifle from in the US? Well, I did but the thing is that I have the tools and experience to do something about it – namely a formal customer sentiment analysis. What I did was to have my analytics ...
- An Analysis of the Soviet AKM Rifle’s Rear Trunnions July 15, 2025The story of the AKM’s front and rear trunnions is inseparable from the larger narrative of the Kalashnikov rifle’s evolution. This evolution was driven less by a desire for radical redesign and more by the dogged pursuit of a manufacturing concept that was ahead of its time. The AKM, introduced in 1959, was not so ...
- An Analysis of the Soviet AKM Rifle’s Front Trunnions July 14, 2025The 1959 introduction of the Avtomat Kalashnikova Modernizirovanniy (AKM) marked a pivotal moment in the history of Soviet small arms manufacturing and global military doctrine. This modernized rifle represented the culmination of a decade-long effort to refine the original AK-47 design, moving away from the costly and time-consuming milled receivers that characterized the Type 2 ...
- AKs Around The World – The Proliferation of the Kalashnikov Design July 12, 2025Growing up in the 70s and 80s, I was patriotic and was mainly interested in American firearms. In 2006, I read an article about building your own AK by the late great Steven Matthews and I changed course dramatically. I’ve always liked history, machines and firearms and started reading books about Mikhail Kalashnikov ...
- The Engineering History of the Not So Lowly AK-47 Rivet July 4, 2025I’ve been involved with AK rifle building since 2006 and there’s something we take for granted – how rivets are used to secure the forged trunnions, and trigger guards to the sheet metal receiver. Not to mention the center support and side mount scope rail. Some have asked why rivets were even used thinking ...
- History of Zastava Arms – A Summary of 170 Years May 17, 2025Zastava Arms, or Zastava oružje (Застава оружје) as it is known in its native Serbia, stands as a monumental testament to the nation’s industrial and military history. With origins stretching back to the mid-19th century, this Kragujevac-based manufacturer has not only equipped generations of soldiers but has also been a significant contributor to Serbia’s (and ...
- Yugoslavia’s AK Path: The Venerable M72 RPK May 16, 2025If you’ve ever held a military era Yugo M70B1, you know it’s heavy for an AK. If you thought that was heavy, now lift an M72B1 … now’s that’s heavy. The M70B1 and M72B1 are my favorite AK variants. I’ve owned and sold M76s, M77s, M92s and just keep returning to the ...
- Yugoslavia’s AK Path: The M70 Family of Rifles May 15, 2025Really, my experience with Yugo rifles began with the stamped M70 series. We’ve spent these last few posts providing the backstory, but how did Zastava move from the M64 to the M70 series? Let’s find out. 1. Introduction: Yugoslavia’s Independent Path to the Kalashnikov In the complex geopolitical landscape following World War II, the Socialist Federal Republic ...
- Yugoslavia’s AK Path: Where Did the 2,000 Russian AK-47 Rifles Come From May 14, 2025So far, we have covered the history of Yugoslavian and Soviet relations and then the two Albanian defectors and early Yugo AK development leading to the M64 but we glossed over an enduring mystery that deserves its own post. In this artice, we dive into the riddle of what third world nation Yugoslavia purchased 2,000 ...
- Yugoslavia’s AK Path: The Launch of the Zastava Family of Automatic Weapons and the M64 May 13, 2025In the last post, we reviewed the political climate and how the USSR did not want to share their revolutionary AK-47 design with Yugoslavia. At this point, we need to look at the ambitious 1959 launch of the project “Familija Automatskog Oružja Zastava” (FAZ), or the Zastava Family of Automatic Weapons and how the ...
- Yugoslavia’s AK Path: The USSR Would Not Share Their AK-47 Rifles or Designs With Yugoslavia May 12, 2025I’ve owned and built a number of AK-47 pattern rifles over the years and slowly one of my favorite series are the ones from Zastava when they were part of Yugoslavia partly because they are unique. Now, that opens the door – why were they unique? There is some very interesting history behind ...
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