AKM

Lore & Background

Designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov, it became the most widely produced variant of the Kalashnikov series, serving as the standard service rifle of the Soviet Army and Warsaw Pact states. Though replaced in Soviet frontline units by the AK-74 in the 1970s, variants of the AKM continue to be manufactured and remain in use today.

Reader's Guide

The AKM is a selective fire, gas-operated rotating bolt rifle firing in semi-automatic or fully automatic, with a cyclic rate of around 600 RPM. It features a slanted muzzle compensator to improve automatic accuracy, a stamped steel receiver (replacing the milled receiver of the AK-47), and a weight reduction of approximately 1 kg. The barrel is chrome-lined with four right-hand grooves and a 240 mm rifling twist rate. The stock is made from birch plywood laminates and houses a cleaning kit. The trigger assembly includes a hammer-release delaying device (rate reducer) for safety and reduced dispersion. Sights include a notched rear tangent iron sight calibrated from 100 to 1000 m, with a battle zero setting 'П' corresponding to a 300 m zero.

Did You Know?

• The AKM's receiver is stamped from 1.0 mm sheet steel, unlike the AK-47's machined solid steel receiver.
• The AKM's wooden buttstock is hollowed to reduce weight and is longer and straighter than the AK-47's stock.
• The AKM uses the same 7.62×39 mm M43 intermediate cartridge as the AK-47.