Larry Vickers and his team assembled this really cool video of a Bulgarian AK-74 firing. They do different angles plus shots at normal speed and slow motion. You get very clear shots of the fire control group, bolt carrier, gas piston and the muzzle brake.
Here is the link to Larry’s book on AK rifles that he is selling directly and not through Amazon.
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While many Westerners focus on the Mosin Nagant and Kalashnikov rifles, Russia has a very long history of submachine guns (SMGs). SMGs are typically fire weapons that use a pistol cartridge as opposed to an intermediate- or rifle-sized round.
In this cool 25 minute video, Jmantime takes you on a journey with a lot of historical video footage starting with the experimental Tokarev Model 1927. It was a blowback operated 7.3 pound SMG that fired the 7.62x38R round that the Nagant M1895 revolver.
On to more modern weapons that we see currently such as the PP-19 Bizon.
And my current favorite, he also has footage of the PP-29-01 Vityaz-SN:
He also covers many, many others such as the PP-40, PPSH-41, PPS-43, OTs-39, and PP-2000. Here’s the 25 minute video – I think you’l find it very interesting — I just wish the clips were higher resolution :-):
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This 3:40 promotional video from Kalashnikov Concern was released in 2017 but I am unclear as to exactly when it was made. You’ll note that they spend a lot of time showing their assault boats and they were unveiled in 2015.
You’ll see small arms, AGVs, optics and assault boats. Pretty cool! You can definitely see they are expanding their product line.
Here’s the video:
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Before I bought my Hatsan AT-P2 QE Pistol, I did a bunch of research. I wanted a very compact yet powerful and accurate pre-charged pneumatic (PCP) carbine or bullpup that was a repeater for quick and accurate follow up shots for pest control of tree and ground squirrels.
I needed something smaller than my Gladius Long, lighter and did not need the power levels that the Gladius Long bring to the table. The Gladius Long is an absolutely wicked PCP bullpup but for what I need most of the time – discrete firepower to dispatch squirrels and rabbits inside of 12-15 yards most of the time – it was overkill. I love it and am not selling it, but definitely needed a different go-to airgun.
So, I watched a ton of videos and decided on the Hatsan AT P2 and decided to go with the QT-P2 QE Pistol. It was compact, lighter, had solid reviews and had both an adjustable stock and in integral noise moderator built in. Hatsan refers to these as their Quiet Energy (QE) line.
In this next photo, I literally set the AT-P2 QE on top of the Gladius Long and tried to line up the muzzles as best I could so you can see the size difference.
So here’s the comparison of the two:
As you can see the actual package weight including the scope of the AT-P2 QE Tact is 4.6 pounds lighter that the Gladius Long and it is 6-5/8″ shorter.
In terms of energy, I did a lot of reading and can’t tell you for certain. Hatsan themselves says the Gladius Long will produce the following power levels but they don’t tell you the velocity or the weight of the pellet.
From the 2018 Airgun catalog, Hatsan reports the AT-P2 QE in .22 has a muzzle energy of 27 joules. All things being equal, that puts it between power levels 3 and 4 of the Gladius Long. I tend to switch between those two settings so for me, the power of the AT P2 is right in the sweet zone of what I wanted.
In terms of sound, the Gladius is relatively quiet at 3 and louder at 4. The AT-P2 QE is remarkably quiet. To me as the shooter, cocking the pistol is louder than firing it!
Both pistols have the noteworthy Hatsan Quattro adjustable trigger. I thought the trigger of the Gladius Long was the best factory airgun trigger I had tried until shooting the AT-P2 QE. From the factory, it is light! I need to measure it but it is a dream to shoot because I can hold it rock solid on target effortlessly. On the point of accuracy, it can shoot 1/2″ groups at 10 yards over and over using JSB Exact Jumbo Diablo 15.89 grain pellets.
Summary
I’m keeping the Gladius Long for distance shots and/or when I want more power. I will be using the AT-P2 QE for my normal close-in pest work.
6/29/2020 Update: Still very happy with both airguns. We now have replacement fill-probe O-rings and caps to keep your fill probe clean. Click here to learn more.
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Hatsan Arms Company is an innovative builder of air guns and shotguns that was founded in 1976 and produce over 300,000 units per year. Hatsan is located in Kemalpaşa, which is a large town located in the Izmir Province of Turkey. There they product Hatsan airguns, Escort shotguns and Optima shotguns.
One interesting facet of Hatsan is that they handle all facets of production – machining of wood, machining of metal parts, heat treatment, finishing of work such as honing, different types of chemical plating & bluing, injection molding, metal injection, mold making, welding, barrel manufacturing, laser marking, laser engraving on wood & metal parts, camouflage coating, assembly, quality assurance testing, and test shooting.
Hatsan has over 650 workers, 599 machines in 35,000 square meter production area. To produce products to high standards, Hatsan uses total quality management (TQM) and are ISO 9001 certified.
You’ll note factory looks well used, is relatively organized and bright.
Work centers are organized and appear well equipped.
Substantial automation including a variety of CNC systems.
This is an interesting 5:28 video that showcased their facility in 2015:
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I always find turnaround stories interesting. While we often focus on the older AK rifles, there is a fascinating story about how Kalashnikov Concern modernized and developed world class capabilities. They produced the video that spurred me to write this post to share with you.
In the 1990s, Izhmash and Izhvesk were in tough shape. They were only using 10% of their capacity and government orders were reduced. By 2010, they were in a deep crisis. In 2012, the two groups were consolidated into the Kalashnikov Concern as part of RosTec — I’ll just say “Kalashnikov” going forward.
Kalashnikov leadership embarked on a large scale improvement journey leverage lean quality management concepts, CNC automation, and significant IT investments (ERP – Enterprise Resource Planning, MES – Manufacturing Execution System and WMS – warehouse management system are mentioned or briefly shown).
Kalashnikov wisely focused on their people — and I think this last part is key. They addressed a poor work environment with medical facilities, a cafeteria and training in modern methods. They even have a university that produces 300 graduates each year. Getting people to learn and change are always the hardest things to do yet also the most critical.
As a result, they improved productivity by 2.5 times, shrunk their time to market and removed a considerable amount of waste.
This video is a few years old but is a fascinating 8 minute journey starting with their origins through their turn around story. There are a lot of photos of CNC systems, brightly lit and clean factory areas, the warehouse, class rooms and more. It’s very impressive.
If you are interested in more information on the Kalashnikov Concern, click here.
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Okay, once in a while I watch a video and my jaw drops. Larry Vickers visited Russia and got to shoot a new AK-107. Unfortunately, it’s unlikely we will ever get to see this amazing piece of engineering on this side of the pond thanks to politicians.
The AK-107 is a chambered in 5.45×39 and uses a novel balanced gas system and the AK designator does not mean Avtomat Kalashnikova as we are so used it. Instead, it means Alexandrov/Kalashnikov.
Larry dumped a 97 round magazine and I was stunned to see how little the rifle moved. That is some seriously controllable accurate firepower. The AK-107s rate of fire is rated at 850 rounds per minute and he dumped the drum!! Seriously – wow!!
Watch this video:
Just a parting comment – They also make an AK-108 in 5.56×45 NATO and a lesser known AK-109 in 7.62×39. I’m a huge fan of 7.62×39 and can only imagine what that round must be like coming from that mechanism – wow.
Here is the link to Larry’s book on AK rifles that he is selling directly and not through Amazon.
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Wytwornia Broni Jacek Popinski (WBP) is a privately owned firearm manufacturer located in Rogów, Poland. Some folks assume it is the old government Radom armory with a different name but it is not.
In the US, we know about WBP because of the efforts of Arms of America (AoA) to import high quality Polish AK kits and, recently, firearms. I ordered my first kit from AoA a tad over a year ago and ordered a number of other things from them including a demilled Radom kit that I want to build this Winter.
In usual form, I was surfing around and found this video that WBP had posted showing them demilling a Circle 11 underfolder. Part of me is always sad to see one of these fine guns being cut up just to enable importation into the US but another part of me is also happy because at least this way we get to enjoy them.
This is a brief video and I was pretty intrigued towards the end watching how they remove the blocks from the barrel and drilled out the rivets. Having demilled a lot of kits in the past, I’ve always found the rivets to be tedious.
Here’s the brief video that’s just under 10 minutes and I hope you enjoy it:
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Palmetto State Armory (PSA) has a stunning array of Kalashnikov firearms now. AK-47s, AK74s, 100 series, rifles, pistols … it’s impressive. Click here to go to their main AK menu.
Please note that all images were extracted from the video and remain the property of their respective owner(s).
