Video: Teaser Released for New American-made, 9x19mm AKX-9 Rifle
Matt Korovesis 04.06.15
The AK world has been buzzing with excitement over the past few weeks as information about Definitive Arms’ upcoming 9x19mm Kalashnikov-pattern carbine, the AKX-9, has trickled out. Today, AK Operators Union published a video teaser on Full30, offering up the first (albeit brief) glimpse of the gun in all its glory.
I had the chance to shoot the AKX-9 at Big 3 East, though I was not allowed to take pictures of the gun as it was officially still under wraps. It’s my opinion that pistol-caliber carbines often have the potential to be awesome, but many come up short. My initial impression of the gun led me to believe that it will firmly fall into the former category.
Definitive Arms is a company that knows how to make AKs, and knows how to make them darn well. The AKX-9 will be mostly American-made, use a blowback method of operation, use standard AK furniture (it looks like Rob outfitted his test gun with several Russian-made aftermarket pieces of furniture in his video, along with an RS Regulate optic mount), and feed from cheap and plentiful Colt-pattern 9mm AR-15 magazines. The AKX-9 also features all the typical “marks” of a Definitive Arms gun, including a super-smooth action and a bolt hold-open device and release.
The rifle version of the AKX-9 features a long, pinned flash hider to keep the gun a legal length. Lots of carbines that feature these hiders turn out looking unbalanced and wacky—not so with the AKX-9. It looks right at home.
Pricing information isn’t available yet, but AK Operators Union and Military Arms Channel should be releasing more info on the gun shortly. Keep your eyes peeled for more!
Edit: This article has been corrected to indicate that not all parts of the AKX-9 may be US-made.
I've been a history and gun enthusiast since I was a kid. I love to shoot just about anything, from silenced bolt-action .22s to fully automatic heavy machine guns, and I love even more when I get to write about them. My main interests are modern small arms and the military small arms of World War II and prior conflicts, with a particular focus on Russian and Finnish firearms. Reading about guns like the Mosin-Nagant rifle in books and on the internet got me interested in collecting, shooting, and writing about them, and I hope to do the same for others through my work.
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