Ian’s Customs: The Terrible Krinkov

Since you all seemed to enjoy the first installment in the series, today we have another of Ian’s Customs…

This is my “Krinkov” – not a proper name for a short-barreled factory AK (the AKS-74U, specifically), but a word that I think fits this gun just fine. It is a registered SBR that I put together myself about 10 years ago using a Nodak Spud receiver, Romanian “G” kit, cheap-o Chinese airgun stock, and a new set of front end parts. It has a barrel just 9.5 inches long, poorly set rivets, a kludged rear trunnion, and requires one of the recoil buffer plugs to keep the bolt carrier from jumping off its tracks. But it’s my first NFA item, and for all its awfulness I really like it.

39 Comments

  1. I agree with you about the sight radius, but other than that I don’t see anything “terrible” at all. I enjoy seeing your own practical problem-solving as much or more than I do when you point it out in the design of historical weapons.

  2. “Not exactly practical” says Ian at 11:50 of running time and I agree. These super-shorties do not make much sense to me. I saw in 2018 in one store vz.58 version (legitimate production) with something like 10inch barrel and all kinds of questions jumped up in front of me. Why would anyone even want to shoot this? Btw. this is now illegal in Canada.

    But then, this is what makes a “gun nut” I guess. Lucky me I am not one 🙂

  3. The first such short ones appeared as a budget imitation of the AKS74u from Pakistan.
    Which were considered by the Mujahideen to be something like “commander’s”, status weapons and cost several times more than conventional AKs.
    The M43 cartridge was chosen due to the total shortage of 5.45 cartridges. Which, in addition, cannot be made on the knee.

    • It is much more interesting to shoot from such an animal when it is made for the 5,56 cartridge.
      For this, a bolt from Galil is taken, and a simple adapter is made for M16 magazines.
      That being said, it can be made a pair of inches shorter.

      In general, Ian has turned out to be almost a real Peshawar’s device. Which, by the way, are also often done using parts from damaged (including captured) weapons.
      In those years there was no Amazon, and even nails do not grow on stones.

  4. Yes it shoots and yes it is lots of fun, but …. move the rear sight to the top cover for a little less terrible sight radius.

  5. Looks like an enjoyable project, but I notice the bayonet lug. You can customize a bayonet to top it off!

  6. A Chinese Type 63 20-round mag and a Chinese all-stamped flat-back 30-rounder. Ian likes unusual magazines as well!

  7. Looks.like you had fun.
    Appears to be reinventing the stocked pistol.
    Firetd a stocked C96 once.
    Seems like it would be similar.

  8. My only comment is that rifle rounds tend to suck in barrels much shorter than 16″ (40cm). Lots of flash, ear-damaging audible signature, lower muzzle velocity and consequently lower kinetic energy delivered to the target, and generally poor accuracy.

    In gas-operated weapons, you also tend to have functioning problems without major changes to the gas system. Either insufficient pressure to work the bolt, or excessive bolt velocity due to the gas port being too close to the chamber. The former is more easily dealt with than the latter, as per the AKSU muzzle booster, based on that of the recoil-operated MG42.

    One of the few gas-operated designs that ever worked halfway well in “chopped” form was the M1/M2 carbine, and its near-twin the Ruger Mini-14. Because both used short-stroke pistons very close to the chamber to begin with.

    Both would still blind and deafen you with muzzle signature, especially at night. Notably the Ruger, due to the 5.56 x 45mm being one of the loudest military small-arms rounds in history to begin with.

    “Shorty” rifles can be interesting to play with, but I question their actual utility in the field compared to a standard-barrel-length equivalent. If you think you need an SBR for the mission, you probably should have chosen an SMG to begin with.

    cheers

    eon

    • Overgas can be a problem.
      But in AK it is much less of a problem than in the M16.
      If anything, Ian was able to avoid it.

    • “(…)“Shorty” rifles can be interesting to play with, but I question their actual utility in the field compared to a standard-barrel-length equivalent. If you think you need an SBR for the mission, you probably should have chosen an SMG to begin with.(…)”
      Since mid 1970s Heckler & Koch offered HK 53 Compact Assault Rifle see 2nd image from top https://modernfirearms.net/en/assault-rifles/germany-assault-rifles/hk-hk33-i-hk53-eng/
      with barrel length 211 mm. In that time H&K already offered MP5, therefore we can conclude that they did see offering sub-machine gun and compact rifle as market sensible move. That being said HK 53 is delayed blowback.

      “(…)Both would still blind and deafen you with muzzle signature, especially at night. Notably the Ruger, due to the 5.56 x 45mm being one of the loudest military small-arms rounds in history to begin with.(…)”
      This should be enough for most users, but for these that it is not there exist 8.25″ AR10 308 WIN DPMS BILLET PISTOL W/SBA-3 https://tacticalskeleton.com/t/ar-10-pistol
      Which as you might except use 7,62×51 cartridge.

      There is also 3rd option, which is neither chopped down rifle nor sub-machine gun. Namely gun for firing specially designed ammunition, for example 9×39 and Vikhr https://modernfirearms.net/en/assault-rifles/russia-assault-rifles/sr-3-sr-3m-vihr-eng/

    • At least 7.62×39 retains more of it’s muzzle velocity out of these short barrels than 5.56×45. If I was going to get a “large format pistol”/SBR I’d probably take this rout because of that.

      • “…7.62×39 retains more of it’s muzzle velocity out of these short barrels than 5.56×45…”(C)

        Nonsense.
        5.56 puts out about 760 m/s from an 8-inch barrel. What else is enough for “hydroeffect”
        M43 about 600m/s. Which is absolutely not.

  9. What a totally fun gun! I could just about make out an impression of the fireball at the muzzle on some shots but perhaps one day Ian will take it to the range with a really high speed camera for some slow-mo footage. Is it true that before Hollywood used CGI for muzzle flash the film armorers had to make up special blank ammo with a dose of fine aluminum or magnesium powder so the cameras could record a convincing flash?

  10. There still seems to be this “Chinese crap bias” in discussion of Chinese products. But Americans can’t live without Chinese products. Ian’s krinkov certainly couldn’t.

    • I don’t know. A lot of American companies have been moving production out of PRC and back to USA in recent years. Look up Revell Gmbh, a U.S.-German firm that makes plastic model kits and hobby supplies under the “Revell” and “Monogram” trademarks.

      For years they’ve been having plastic kits made in China. Not any more. My latest 1/32 tank model from them lists their sourcing on the side of the box;

      Packaged in U.S.A.

      Plastic parts molded in U.S.A.

      Track molded in U.S.A.

      Box printed in Poland

      Decal printed in Italy

      The recent 59th annual Shizuoka hobby show (the hobby industry’s version of the SHOT show) was mostly about the major manufacturers moving their plants “back home” after decades of letting China “do the work”. Tamiya did it in 2020, to the surprise of everyone since they’ve been having kits made in the NEZ since 1996.

      The main issue seems to be QC. Ordering 100,000 1/35 Panzer IV E kits only to have each one delivered with not four “trees” of tank parts but two trees of tank parts and one of 1/48 F/A-18D parts (yes, this really happened) does not make management- or the stockholders- happy.

      cheers

      eon

  11. The only way to make that thing more fun would be the impractical on $o many level$ select fire. Terrible? Nope. Not without a cheesy bipod and 75 round drum.

  12. The stock came from a Chinese B5 airgun. They were based on the type 81 rifle. And they’re still available, but run around $100 these days. I had several in the 90’s when they were $29 at gunshows.

  13. Maybe I can refresh Ian’s memory. Out of curiosity I did a quick google search for the gun and now may cause inflated prices and lots of cut up receivers to the ones still in circulation in the US.

    The gun he took the stock from most likely was a XS-B3-1, imported and sold under the brands Xisico, BAM and Industry. In Europe/Germany it was sold either as BAM XS-B-3, NORINCO Mod.B3-XS, Umarex Perfecta 47, Norconia QB3-XS/XS-B3-1 or WMN Mod. B5.
    Like Ian said in the video, a simple, side-cocking single shot airgun, but there has been a rare repeating, magazine-fed version as well, the XS-B8.

    Here is a link to a review from 2007 about quality, brand names and test shooting (Sorry guys, German only). But the manual for the gun on the page is in English: http://www.muzzle.de/N7/Druckluft/Xisico_XS-B3-1/xisico_xs-b3-1.html

    Who knew people one day would crave for it and pay a premium to cannibalise it for its parts… Well gentlemen, good hunting then.

  14. Yes, basically a newer Emei EM45B-3, it’s made by the same place that makes Chinese SVDs. The initial run used genuine Type 56-2 and/or Type 81 leftover stocks, but later ones are knockoffs. There’s also a laser tag version still produced till the 2000s.

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