In this episode, Georgiy Gubich operates a 5.45×39 AK-74M built in 2014 on full auto until it fails. You’ll notice he is wearing body armor and for good reason as you’ll learn from the video.
As with his other videos, you definitely want to watch it to hear his observations during the testing and the post mortem review afterwards.
Georgiy is 210 rounds and gives us a great quote “The smell isn’t great”!!480 rounds into the test he can hear the plastic hissing as the bolt carrier is starting to stick when he is reloading. The plastic is still holding its shape.When he went ,to reload after round 570, he had so slam the rifle on the ground to get it to cycle. I’ve heard of this but it’s my first time seeing someone really do it and does it smoothly.Round 587 – the barrel ruptured just in front of the lower handguard retainer. Note, the Russian Ministry of Defense requires the weapon to handle a 180-round burst so they passed that test more than three times over.Here’s the rupture. Note the cooked plastic.Now this fascinates me. They are using a polyamide plastic and it held up remarably well. The solid parts closest to the barrel and gas tube were definitely decomposing but you will notice the horizontal ribbing was able to dissapate the heat fast enough to that point to retain its shape and structural integrity. That pattern makes even more sense to me now after seeing this.
Watch the Video!
Summary
Definitely a cool video and I appreciate Kalashnikov Concern making it possible. Georgiy rocks and really like how he changes mags and cycles the action not to mention his running observations during and after the test.
The biggest take-away for me by far is the understanding of why they ribbed the lower handguards – enabling the ribs to cool enough to maintain structural integrity is fascinating. In theory there will be a upper round-count limit causing more heat than can be dissipated but under practical use, they ought to hold up great.
I hope you found it interesting as well.
Please note that all images were extracted from the video and are the property of their respective owner.
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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:
Ever wonder how long a heavy duty 1974 Russian RPK in 7.62×39 can fire almost non-stop until failure? Now’s your chance. This video features Georgiy Gubich firing in an episode of the Russian series Gunbusters firing an RPK as fast as he can doing drum and mag dumps on full auto. Yes, he’s wearing armor because he literally shoots it while it starts to burn an ultimately fails.
That is a ton of ammo and a RPK I would much rather own than see them fry it.Somewhere near 500 rounds being dumped from 75 round mags the handguards are starting to smoke.About round 997 or 998 the handguard bursts into flameEven though the handguard were on fire, he shot it until the barrel burst at round 1232.For me, it’s fascinating that the only thing that truly failed were the handguards and barrel. Everything else could still be used if the barrel was pressed out and replaced.
So you need to watch the video!!
Summary
You might be surprised by the seemingly fast failure of the rifle. Near the end Georgiy takes the RPK apart, notes what happened and points out that the problem for the rifle was the intense heat of the 75 round drums being dumped one after another. Normally you would fire a 2-1/2 30 round magazines and the pause in firing during reloads gives the barrel a chance to cool down plus practical applications aren’t going to see that type of sustained firing. One would assume that if all he had were drums that the RPK would have failed even sooner than round 1,232.
This was really a fascinating video to watch. Part of me really wants to bring that poor abused RPK home and repair it and part of me was interesting to see a video detailing testing to failure with this level of detail. A big thank you to Kalashnikov Group for helping put this video together.
Please note that all images were extracted from the video and are the property of their respective owner.
If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@*********ps.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.
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:
In this episode, Georgiy Gubich operates a 7.62×39 AK-103 built in 2019 on full auto trying to get it to fail. The AK-103 is a remarkable rifle as you will see in the video
He’s smelling hot plasticStarting here forward he really needs to struggle to get the bolt to exit the chamber. It seems to return and cycle just fine when firing.He’s seeing flame from the handguardsThe lower handguard had already fallen off during a previous reload but look at the barrel glowing red.The rifle survived through two spam cans, 1,400 rounds, of ammo!After all that, it could still shoot 2 MOA at 100 meters. Definitely a remarkable rifle.
Watch the Video!
Summary
I’m a fan of both the 7.62×39 round and the AKs that shoot it so I was rooting for the rifle the whole time. It’s pretty amazing that it still ran after 1,400 rounds.
I hope you enjoyed this!
Please note that all images were extracted from the video and are the property of their respective owner.
If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@*********ps.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.
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:
One day when we were driving around, a WWI-era cannon caught my eye. It was positioned in front of VFW post 1137 in Watervliet, MI. Artillery of that era has a number of distinct markings – notably wooden wheels! So, I stopped and took photos – two times actually. One time in the Winter of 2019 and again in July of 2020.
Well, age and the elements are taking their toll but you can still see the 4.7″ M1906 and get a pretty good idea of what it looked like in its prime. Kudos to someone for making a stand to take the load off the old wooden wheels that could never handle it at this point.
Getting The Clues I Needed To Research The Cannon
In most artillery of this age, you can find what you need to start digging on the muzzle and the carriage. With this in mind, I made sure to get some photos as best I could of the info at those points.
The markings were hard to make out with the naked eye due to paint but with some digital photo editing, I could pull out the details. Northwestern Ordnance Co. 2665 Pounds. No. 395. Getting in even closer and seriously tweaking the photo to enhance clarity, you can see that it says Northwestern Ordnance Co. 1918. The weight is definitely 2665. The initials in the lower right I am not sure of. I wonder if they were the inspector’s initials or some code. I can make out the letter H but not what is before it. You can see the bore area near muzzle still has its rifling.It looks like there were three initials to the right of the gun’s number – “NO. 395”. The first two initials are too worn for me to make out but the last one looks like an “H”. I’m guessing but “R.B.H” maybe?The emblem on the carriage was far easier to read and also our single best clue as to where to start digging. It was carriage number 702 for the Model 1906 4.7 inch gun. The carriage was made by Studebaker in 1918.
Doing The Research
From the carriage, I knew to start my Internet searching on M1906 4.7″ guns and Google immediately returned images, books and blog posts that confirmed that.
Wikipedia gave me some info but then thanks to the Internet Archive Project, I found two scanned copies of US Army books that had lots of old pictures, diagrams and really comprehensive information about the 4.7″ gun. There is so much detail in these books that I am just going to give a quick overview in this post and you can learn more from these books:
The 4.7 inch (120mm) field gun was designed and issued by the US Ordinance department beginning in 1906 with the first units being delivered in 1911. It was manufactured by the Northwest Ordinance Co and carriages were made by three firms groups: Rock Island Arsenal, Walter Scott Co and Studebaker Co.
Apparently there were logistical problems with the unique ammunition it used resulting in limited numbers being built. Despite larger orders being placed, only 209 guns and 470 carriages were produced. 64 of the units were sent to France. 994,852 of the 4.7 inch shells it used were produced. Most of the units were used for training and the guns stayed in reserve storage until 1932. [Source – Wikipedia]. Note, that Wikipedia link is pretty cool for a quick high-level summary of the 4.7″ gun.
More Photos of Number 395
The photos below were taken on the two different visits mentioned above. If you click on one, you can see the full-size photo and navigate around as well.
Summary
I’ve heard from guys who grew up in this area and they tell me the gun moved around some over the years before landing at its current location in front of the VFW post. If anyone has more information, I’d sure be curious to hear it.
With that said, I now know a little bit more and hope you found this post interesting.
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When I have time, I like to watch videos of foreign militaries. Some dedicated folks create motivational videos that have catchy music and often some very interesting clips set to the music. One of these gifted groups is Military Forces XXI Century that has a channel on Youtube.
They have a new one featuring some very interesting clips of Russian Spetsnaz teams training entitled “Russian Spetsnaz – Into Battle”. What especially caught my eye was the extensive use of optics – both red dots by themselves and with magnifiers – on their PKP Pecheng machine guns. The PKP is the modernized PKM.
PKP with both a red dot and a magnifier.That’s either a large red dot or some form of prismatic scope — it’s big enough.
Here’s The Video
Be sure not to miss when they are throwing their famous shovels 🙂
I hope you enjoyed the video as much as I did.
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In previous videos, Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons has reviewed the Zastava M76 and M91 (here’s the range video for the M91) independently. In this video, he takes them both to the range.
Ian likes the handling and feel of the kit-built M76 but the reliability of the Zastava-built M91 wins him over.
I wish I could afford a M91 but they are just to pricey for me – hovering around the $3,150 mark. So, I’ll just have to watch Ian’s video and wish I had one.
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Ian McCollum, of Forgotten Weapons fame, just did a review of a Yugo M76 designated marksman’s rife (DMR). I like the M76 and own one built for me by Two Rivers Arms so I was listening intently.
Ian’s M76 was built by Century Arms from a kit and he’s happy with it.
Two things I picked up that I didn’t know was that the odd looking muzzle brake’s ribs at the pack are actually threads for a suppressor, Huh… that’s interesting.
Those are interrupted threads at the back of the flash hider for mounting a suppressor.
Second off, I’d heard about the ATF mixup wherein they approved 2,000 M76s to be imported with the full-auto sears installed because the rifle used it as a safety and was never full-auto so it stands to reason it was never a machinegun. Well, the ATF decided later on that these rifles were indeed machineguns because they included the evil full-auto sear and mandated that all rifles had to be collected. What I didn’t realize was that they chopped up the receivers and created all the parts kits that we see today. Ahhhhh,,,, now I know.
Please note that all images were extracted from the video and are the property of their respective owner.
If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@*********ps.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.
Interest in the Beowulf round is growing as people buy the low cost 12.7×42 chambered pistols, rifles and kits. 12.7×42 is the metric designation for the Beowulf and is being used by groups wanting to avoid a trademark problem with Alexander Arms.
The Beowulf is one heck of a thumper delivering massive kinetic energy on target from the base AR-15 platform. That’s the remarkable part – it uses a standard AR lower! To give you an idea of the size of the round take a look at this photo. From top to bottom: .50 Beowulf 350gr XTP, 5.56×45 55gr FMJ , 7.62×39 123gr FMJ and a loose 9mm 124gr Hornady HST. The Beowulf sure dwarfs the little 5.56×45 round!
I’ve owned two .50 Beowulf’s and my current one was built using an Alexander Arms DIY kit that allows you to add the handguard and brake that you want. They are built on standard AR lowers so if you have an AR today, it’s just a matter of adding an upper in this caliber or you can do a whole new dedicated build – it’s up to you. I’ve also done a number of posts about my builds in case you want to learn more – click here to see a list.
A Beowulf upper can mate to any in-spec AR lower. This is a Spike’s lower with an Ergo group, Magpul PRS III and Geissele trigger.
This is the 16″ DIY kit. Alexander Arms has done all the fitting for you. It comes with one magazine as well. In terms of the upper kit, I found the machining and parts fitment to be excellent.This is the Timber Creek Heart Breaker and it does a remarkable job of reducing the recoil. It has three heart shaped ports on each side that redirect the blast backwards to propel the rifle forward and reduce recoil. The three circular ports on the top help reduce climb. Seriously, this is a solid brake.
For ammo, there is an increasing variety out there – Alexander Arms makes their own with a variety of loads plus there are other sellers out there with their own offerings. I’ve found the Alexander Arms 350 grain Hornady XTP ammo to be accurate and the XTPs really open up on impact.
The is older packaging. In 2019 I noticed Alexander was using an eye catching color scheme of navy, black and white – same ammo just a different box. The Alexander Arms .50 Beowulfl 350gr XTP ammo is packed 20 rounds to a box and Primary Arms has it in stock.Here’s the whole Beowulf.
This is one of the 30 round D&H 5.56 magazines that you can use to hold up to 10 Beowulf rounds.
This is the very well made 36″ PSA rifle case deal that includes 7 D&H mags.
Conclusion
That’s it for now. I hope you found this helpful and have fun building and shooting a .50 Beowulf.
If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@*********ps.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.
