Airsoft Action - 10th Anniversary Edition

armoury
TOYKO MARUI AKM GBBR
Amongst the Red Cell group there are a number
of AKM (and indeed, Kalashnikov as a whole)
fans but, until recently, I have been very much
open-minded about the platform amongst many that
are exemplary. As a real firearms shooter in the past, I
do appreciate everything that a Kalashnikov brings to
the party (pun intended!) and although I’ve worked
on and tried many, many airsoft AKs, there hasn’t
been one that’s really taken my eye …until now!
To really understand just how good the new TM
AKM GBBR really is, I need to kick off by telling you
about the real one, as it would appear to me that TM
may well have had a peek inside the Izhmash or Tula
factories to get the lowdown on how they should go
about making their replica…
The AKM (Avtomát Kalášnikova modernizírovannyj,
or “Kalashnikov’s Automatic Rifle Modernised”) is an
assault rifle that has been used in countless conflicts,
past and present, all over the globe! Presented in
service way back in 1959, it was chambered in
the 7.62x39mm Soviet intermediate cartridge,
a selective fire rifle, gas operated with a
rotating bolt, firing in either
the AKM as the 6P1 assault rifle. Compared with
the AK-47, the AKM featured detail improvements
and enhancements that optimised the rifle for
mass production; some parts and assemblies were
conceived using simplified manufacturing methods.
Notably, the AK-47’s milled steel receiver was replaced
by a U-shaped steel stamping. As a result of these
modifications, the AKM’s weight was reduced by
about 1kg (2.2 lb), the accuracy during automatic
fire was increased and several reliability issues were
addressed. The AK-47’s chrome-lined barrel was
retained, a common feature of Soviet weapons which
resists wear and corrosion particularly under harsh
field conditions and near-universal Eastern Bloc use of
corrosively primed ammunition!
The AKM’s receiver was stamped from a smooth
1.0 mm (0.04 in) sheet of steel,
compared with the AK-47 where
it was
semiautomatic
or fully
automatic modes, with a cyclic rate
of fire of around 600 rounds per minute (RPM).
The gas-operated action was a large bolt carrier with a
permanently attached long stroke gas piston and the
gas chamber was located above the barrel. The bolt
carrier rode on two rails, formed on the side of the
receiver, with a significant space between the moving
and stationary parts. Despite being replaced in the
late 1970s by the AK-74, the AKM is still in service
in some Russian Army reserve and second-line units
and several east European countries and you’ll still see
them regularly pictured in current conflict zones, such
is it’s longevity!
The GRAU (a department of the Russian (ex-
Soviet) Ministry of Defense) officially designated
machined
from heavier
gauge steel. A rear
stock trunnion and forward
barrel trunnion were fastened
to the U-shaped receiver using
rivets The receiver housing also
featured a rigid tubular cross-section
support that adds structural strength.
Guide rails that assisted the bolt carrier’s
movement that also incorporated the ejector
were installed inside the receiver through spot
welding. As a weight-saving measure, the stamped
receiver cover was of thinner gauge metal than
that of the AK-47. In order to maintain strength
and durability it employed both longitudinal and
10
OCTOBER 2021