Gesetz
Information & Specifications
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Price & Availability
| Price: | € 1459.00 |
| Availability: | In Stock |
| Ships: | 14 business days |
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Detailed Description
The RPK (Ruchnoy Pulemyot Kalashnikova or "Kalashnikov hand-held machine gun") is a 7.62 mm light machine gun of Soviet design, developed by Mikhail Kalashnikov in the late 1950s, parallel with the AKM assault rifle. It was created as part of a program designed to standardize the small arms inventory of the Red Army, where it replaced the 7.62 mm RPD light machine gun. Presently the RPK continues to be used by the armed forces of countries of the former Soviet Union and certain African and Asian nations. The Polish Army adopted the weapon in 1974, where it is used in airborne assault, reconnaissance and special operations units. The RPK was also manufactured under license in Bulgaria and Romania.
The RPK operates on the same basis as the AKM assault rifle, it uses the same ammunition (7.62x39mm M43) and has a similar design layout, the only differences in both weapon types are the result of increasing the RPK??™s effective range, enhancing the sustained fire capability and strengthening the receiver housing. Interchangeability of parts between the RPK and AKM is quite significant.
The RPK light machine gun, compared to the AKM rifle, has a new, heavier and extended barrel with an increased heat capacity. The barrel is permanently fixed to the receiver and cannot be replaced in field conditions; the barrel??™s bore is chromium-lined. The barrel is equipped with a newly designed front sight base, gas block (without a bayonet lug) and an under-barrel cleaning rod guide. The barrel also features a folding bipod, mounted near the muzzle and a front sight base with a lug that limits the bipod??™s rotation around the barrel. The barrel??™s muzzle is threaded, enabling the use of a blank-firing attachment. When the blank-firing adaptor is not used, the threading is secured by a locknut from the AK-47 rifle. The barrel is fixed to the receiver in a modified trunnion (reinforced by ribbing), which is slightly wider than the one used in the AKM. Symmetrical bulges on both sides of the barrel chamber ensure proper fit inside the receiver. The receiver cover is stamped from a smooth and thicker (than the AK) piece of sheet steel.
The RPK uses a different return mechanism compared to the AKM, consisting of a rear spring guide rod from the AK, a new forward, flat guide rod and return spring. The weapon??™s sights are graduated from 100 to 1,000 m (in 100 m increments) and the rear leaf sight has an adjustable notch. The light machine gun features a thicker, wooden forearm, a fixed wooden buttstock (shaped like the RPD stock, optimized for prone firing) and a pistol grip from the AKM.
The weapon is fed from curved metal magazines with a 40-round cartridge capacity or a 75-round drum magazine, both are compatible with magazines used with the AK-47 and AKM series.
Supplied with the RPK are: spare magazines, cleaning rod (extended compared to the one included with the AKM), cleaning kit (stored in a hollowed compartment in the buttstock), sling, oil bottle and magazine pouches (a single-pocket pouch for a drum magazine or a 4-pocket pouch for arched magazines).