Uzbek army 7.62x39 AK's with AK74 style sidefolder

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Uzbek army 7.62x39 AK's with AK74 style sidefolder

Posted: 5/22/2005 1:20:24 AM EDT

I run across interesting pics at www.militaryphotos.net, of Uzbek troops carrying 7.62x39 AK's with triangular side folding stock and AKM style handguards (laminated wood) and plain muzzle. Unfortunately, there is no clear view of gas chamber, whether it is 90, or 45 degr. type.

There is few pictures at bottom of 1st page of this thread:

www.militaryphotos.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=48621&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Edit: I stole one pic from there, so I can link it here directly, for more pics please check the thread above.

photobucket.com/albums/v358/PavelS/Misc/?action=view¤t=uzbek03.jpg

Posted: 5/22/2005 1:45:04 AM EDT

[#1]

Posted: 5/22/2005 2:16:08 AM EDT

[#2]

Was just going to ask

Posted: 5/22/2005 5:33:57 AM EDT

[#3]

Those look like 45 degree gas blocks to me. Good pics of some unusual rifles. I am guessing they are older Soviet rifles that have been modified over the years. The guy in the foregroundof the first picture has a grenade launcher mounted under his barrel , no?

Posted: 5/22/2005 9:32:23 AM EDT

[#4]

Remember the picture/video of Osama shooting that 74' type side-folder AKM. After seeing these pics there must of been a production AKM made with a triangular side folding stock. I don't see "rebel/terrorist groups" & "Third world county types" going to all the trouble to install this type of side-folder on their AKM's.

The AKM was in production in Soviet Russia at least until 1980. Well past the time triangular side folding stocks started showing up on production AK74's. So it's not impossible for this type of stock to of been put on a production run of AKM's. Just my 2 cents...

Posted: 5/22/2005 10:18:59 AM EDT

[#5]

Quoted:
Those look like 45 degree gas blocks to me. Good pics of some unusual rifles. I am guessing they are older Soviet rifles that have been modified over the years. The guy in the foregroundof the first picture has a grenade launcher mounted under his barrel , no?

Depending which side the quadrant sight is on. It's either the GP-25 or GP-30 launcher.

Posted: 5/22/2005 11:39:59 AM EDT

[#6]

Quoted:
Remember the picture/video of Osama shooting that 74' type side-folder AKM. After seeing these pics there must of been a production AKM made with a triangular side folding stock. I don't see "rebel/terrorist groups" & "Third world county types" going to all the trouble to install this type of side-folder on their AKM's.

The AKM was in production in Soviet Russia at least until 1980. Well past the time triangular side folding stocks started showing up on production AK74's. So it's not impossible for this type of stock to of been put on a production run of AKM's. Just my 2 cents...

The Osama gun was thought to be a Pakistani made copy, or modified rifle. The Pakistanis/Afgans make AKs, often times they copy Russian markings/features. Normally though, they make small mistakes that collectors notice.

These pics give some legitamacy to the thought that it might actually be a factory made gun.

Such a gun has never reallly been seen anywhere. Its not in any Western collections, not even featured in any Russian made books.

Posted: 5/22/2005 11:49:29 AM EDT

[#7]

Quoted:
Such a gun has never reallly been seen anywhere. Its not in any Western collections, not even featured in any Russian made books.

Are AKs actually manufactured anywhere in Uzbekistan?

Posted: 5/22/2005 12:09:26 PM EDT

[#8]

The Uzbeks dont make AKs. They were hand-me-downs- from the USSR, which Uzbekistan used to be part of.

Posted: 5/22/2005 12:59:31 PM EDT

[#9]

Looks like those guys dont like their picture taken

Posted: 5/22/2005 1:03:53 PM EDT

[#10]

Quoted:
Looks like those guys dont like their picture taken

Ya think?

Photo link

Posted: 5/22/2005 1:51:15 PM EDT

[#11]

Isnt it true that the soviets would blend in features of one generation of AK into another as the tooling was changed? What I mean is that the early '74's had AKM parts used on them.

I guess that its a "what came first... the chicken or the egg?" thingy... I would say that the triangular side folder came first before the developement of the AK74 series of rifles...

Posted: 5/22/2005 5:01:16 PM EDT

[#12]

Such a gun has never reallly been seen anywhere. Its not in any Western collections, not even featured in any Russian made books.

I agree,
what is really odd, is that this is not just ONE rifle, as was the case in the Osama pics/video, this is a whole group of soldiers carrying the exact same model of "rare" AKM.

I guess that its a "what came first... the chicken or the egg?" thingy... I would say that the triangular side folder came first before the developement of the AK74 series of rifles...

Well, given the late style cast gas blocks, it is probably 70's production AKM's.
One would ask though, if the Soviets started making side-folder AKM's early on, why continue to make underfolder AKM's? Russian AKM Underfolder examples exist dated very late 70's. Obviously the Soviets thought the side-folder was superior because that is what the folding stock AK74's came standard with.

Also being Uzbekistan was a ex-Soviet state, why aren't these troops using AK74's ???

Posted: 5/22/2005 5:27:05 PM EDT

[#13]

While in Afghanistan, I saw at least one 7.62mm AK with a triangular sidefolding stock in the hands of a government guard. I thought it might be a jerry rigged rifle, now I wonder.

In Tajikistan recently the only AK I saw (Embassy guard) was a 74. In Tashkent last month I saw police guards at a government building with regular 74s and Krinkovs.

The guards were friendly enough but I don't think they would have liked me taking pictures, and this was before the recent uprising.

Posted: 5/22/2005 5:53:56 PM EDT

[#14]

The last picture shows 3 spot welds above the right hand side mag dimple. Would this be correct for even a late AKM?

Posted: 5/22/2005 6:17:34 PM EDT

[#15]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Remember the picture/video of Osama shooting that 74' type side-folder AKM. After seeing these pics there must of been a production AKM made with a triangular side folding stock. I don't see "rebel/terrorist groups" & "Third world county types" going to all the trouble to install this type of side-folder on their AKM's.

The AKM was in production in Soviet Russia at least until 1980. Well past the time triangular side folding stocks started showing up on production AK74's. So it's not impossible for this type of stock to of been put on a production run of AKM's. Just my 2 cents...

The Osama gun was thought to be a Pakistani made copy, or modified rifle. The Pakistanis/Afgans make AKs, often times they copy Russian markings/features. Normally though, they make small mistakes that collectors notice.

These pics give some legitamacy to the thought that it might actually be a factory made gun.

Such a gun has never reallly been seen anywhere. Its not in any Western collections, not even featured in any Russian made books.

Stottman nails it. I had always assumed that Bin Laden's rifle was a Khyber Pass home grown rifle. If it's not, it's very interesting that there has never been any published pictures or reports of these AKM's with the AKS-74 stock. I can't imagine that a Russian armorer going to the trouble to refit these AKM's with the AKS stock.

Posted: 5/22/2005 9:59:39 PM EDT

[#16]

Quoted:

Also being Uzbekistan was a ex-Soviet state, why aren't these troops using AK74's ???

They are, on many recent pictures from Uzbekistan you can also see regular AK74's and AKS74U's.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Uzbek army 7.62x39 AK's with AK74 style sidefolder

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