Gold Plated AK47 – Assault Rifle
The AK-47 (or Avtomat Kalashnikova) was designed and developed by Mikhail Kalashnikov in the Soviet Union and is the world’s most popular assault rifle. The gas operated 7.62mm assault rifle was first developed in the early 1940s and AK-47 stands for Kalashnikov automatic rifle, model of 1947.
Mikhail Kalashnikov began his career as an arms designer while in a hospital after he was shot in the shoulder during the Battle of Bryansk. After experimenting with a sub-machine gun design, he entered a competition for a new weapon that would chamber the 7.62×41mm round developed in 1943 (the 7.62×41mm round predated the current 7.62×39mm). A particular requirement of the competition was reliability of the firearm in muddy, wet, and frozen conditions of the Soviet frontline. Kalashnikov designed a carbine. At the same time, the Soviet Army was keen in developing a true assault rifle employing a shortened M1943 round. The first such weapon was presented by Aleksey Sudayev in 1944 but in trials was found to be just too heavy. A new design competition was held two years later where Kalashnikov and his design team submitted an entry. It was a gas-operated rifle which had a breech-block mechanism similar to his 1944 carbine with a curved 30-round magazine.
An earlier development of the original design was the AKS-47 (S—Skladnoy or ‘folding’). This was fitted with an underfolding metal shoulder stock, as can be seen here in the first picture below. This was deemed to be very useful in confined spaces.
The AK-47 is very well known for its reliability and, being gas operated, uses the gas from the barrel to push the piston attached to the bolt carrier to operate the action. The gas tube is quite large and can be seen in the first picture below just above the barrel, the rear of it being encased in wood. If you look closely the vents in the gas tube are there to allow the excess gas to escape without affecting the action. The AK47 is built with generous clearances, allowing it to function easily in dirty environments needing virtually no maintenance. It is very simple to disassemble and clean, and very easy to keep in working order.
The whole weapon needed stripping, degreasing and polishing. This took many hours to be able to achieve the finish that we required – including the 5 hours of polishing that was essential before the electroplating process could even be started.
As can be seen in the picture below, the end product is an absolutely stunning 24 carat gold, high gloss finish, AK47 Assault Rifle and will make a superb display and/or collector’s piece.
The video below is an excellent informative example explaining the workings of the AK-47 with an excellent comparison between the AK-47 and the American M16 rifle.
The AK-47 was one of the first true assault rifles, it is in fact more of a machine gun than a rifle. Even after more than sixty years, due to its bomb-proof durability, ultra low production cost and remarkable ease of use in the field, it’s still the most widely used and popular assault rifle in the world today. It has seen action with armed forces as well as terrorist groups worldwide.
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