Polish AK Market Analysis

By the end of 2016, there were 424.675 firearms registered in Poland. Majority of this – 300.388 – were registered for hunting purpose. 49.707 pistols and revolvers were registered for self-defense, while sports shooters possessed 47.577 firearms. The biggest increase was in the collector’s weapons. As of 31st December 2016, there were 22.247 such firearms.

It’s not known, how many of the all registered weapons has AK/AKM roots. Due to historical reasons, we can suspect that is quite a few. Such firearms were accessible and cheap. Same goes for the ammunition, which was cleared out by the army and other uniformed services. By the end of 1990’s, the first semi-automatics were made accessible for civilian shooters. The sports STAM-99 (AKMS converted to semi-automatic) and the hunting Radom-Sport became available. Unfortunately, Zaklady Metalowe Lucznik filed for bankruptcy not shortly after this.

Not so long ago, recycled AK/AKMs’ were the most popular in Poland. Thirty-plus years old rifles were sold-off by Agencja Mienia Wojskowego (AMW – Military Property Agency) and purchased by a few gunsmiths with correct entitlements who modified these for semi-fire only. At the same time, a lot of Łucznik’s old parts were purchased after the company went bankrupt and used to assemble new rifles. Some of these were made out of old repair kits. There were also models with a new look – disassembled, modified and reassembled again with new names and numbers.

Only a small part of AK’s from AWM reached the tiny Polish market. Most were sold-off to Third World countries or, disassembled, to the USA where the rifles were remade using locally sourced parts.

few years back, Czechslovakian semi-auto vz.58’s were also widely available. Most of these were the rifles converted from army model by Ceska Zbrojowka (CZ) and sold under the CZ 858 name. Nowadays, Czech Small Arms (CSA) manufactures the same firearm. From a technical point of view, there is nothing in common between AK/AKM and vz. 58. They come from the same period and use the same 7,62×39 mm ammunition but even the magazine is different. This was added to the article for informative purposes

In 2011, the law regarding weapon ownership changed when the Police stopped having discretionary powers over weapon permits for sports shooters and collectors. The visible rise in the number of shooters has been visible for 6 years. This, in turn, created a bigger demand for weapons, AK/AKM included.

It was a lot simpler to by an AKM a few years back. And the rifles were cheap (PLN1600-2200; EUR340-520). Nowadays, a medium priced AKM costs about PLN3000 (EUR710). The cheapest are the bare-bone models produced by Pioneer Arms Corp. (PAC) and WPB Rogow. Moreover, the even cheaper vz. 58S disappeared. Czech Small Arms model (the SAD-58) costs more than PLN4000 (EUR950).

Unfortunately, the number of parts to be purchased from old army stocks was finite. When the storerooms were emptied, most companies either started selling other firearms or imported AK/AKMs from abroad. There were few big players remaining and virtually no stock of old, ex-military weapons. Such conditions forced the companies to invest in tools and machines and start their own manufacturing process. Initially, just certain elements were made, while the others were still available as army surplus. Towards the end, the companies either made a full range of elements or were gone from the game.

At present the market is stable. There are 3 main manufacturers and one assembler. Pioneer Arms Corp. (PAC) is based in Radom and produces AKM copies – the Sporter and the short-barreled Hellpup. Rifles are of a good quality and can easily fire quite a few thousand rounds. There is already a second updated series of Sporter and Hellpup on the market. A lot of issues from the first series was corrected and PAC rifles have the best cost-effect ratio on the Polish market today.

PAC produces their own barrels, which are rifled by broaching. The equipment used in the process came from Zaklady Metalowe Łucznik, purchased by PAC when Lucznik went bankrupt. Broached barrels are not of a lesser quality, only the manufacturing method differs. PAC’s main asset is the precision casting capability and only they are able to manufacture AK gas chambers and other cast elements. Pioneer Arms also makes polymer AK/AKM magazines. There are few variants of the rifle stocks (folding, wooden, polymer) and handguards (polymer or wood). PAC’s manufacturing capacity can be estimated at around 20,000 AK per year..

AK from Radom – a brand of Pioneer Arms Co. (PAC) – is being sold on the civilian market. The product range includes AKM/AKMS clones named Sporter and Hellpup (with a shortened barrel – on the photo)

The biggest advantage of Pioneer Arms Corp. is their own foundry. Products from this factory are also bought by other arms manufacturers in Poland

PAC became a strong contender on the Polish market in 2017 with their updated, 298-mm barreled Hellpups

A rifle for 7,62×39 ammunition is also made by Fabryka Broni from Radom. It’s called Radom Sport M762 and is a semi-automatic variant of the export model of Beryl M762 (as purchased by Nigerian army). Radom Sport M762 is available in one variant only – with mounting rails, telescopic stock and another support-mounted rail fixed to the top cover. This is identical to the military standard, introduced in 2009 on a modified wz. 96C Beryl rifle and quite strange. Why the Lucznik won’t sell a less accessorized version to be modified by the client to his needs?

The existing configuration makes the Radom Sport M762 more expensive (PLN1000, EUR250) than other AKM’s from Polish manufacturers. It also makes it stand out, compared to the competition. Other companies offer weapons with various barrel lengths but the majority of cheaper models comes only with a polymer handguard and a stock. Every other accessory has to be purchased separately. When prices are compared, the Lucznik weapon is competitive with other products, after the accessorizing process. It’s important to mention that the bolt carrier of the Radom Sport M762 is not exchangeable with the military, automatic bolt carrier of the Beryl M762. The AKM’s from Lucznik are of the highest quality of the weapons produced in Poland. These do not go through the rigorous military tests and are slightly modified from army version, but the difference for the average user will be very hard to notice.

There is no doubt that Fabryka Broni is at the top of the class with their cold-forged barrels. Surprisingly, however, they still procure some of the Radom Sport M762 parts from external suppliers. This includes, for example, 30-round standard AK magazines. Lucznik also sells some of their products to other AK manufacturers. Among these products are the telescopic stocks and the accessory rail supports. Fabryka Broni offers new AK barrels and wants to specialize in barrel manufacturing. Their production capacity is about 20,000 rifles per year but this number might go up significantly when the company will enlarge their machining capabilities.

Radom Sport M762 is the only semi-automatic rifle for 7,62×39 mm ammunition in Lucznik’s offer

Fabryka Broni wants to specialize in barrel manufacturing. The barrels, for calibers ranging f rom 9 to 7,62 mm are being already sold to other Polish producers

WBP Rogow (Wytwornia Broni Jacek Popinski) also makes Kalashnikov clones. At the start WBP only produced AKM and AKMS variants but recently the range was enlarged by a Mini Jack model. It’s a shortened firearm, resembling the Serbian Zastava M92. WBP rifles are locally made with a majority of the components being produced on their CNC machines. The cast elements are procured from Specodlew precision casting foundry and the barrels from Fabryka Broni. Rogow also possesses a significant stockpile of old military parts.

WBP keeps broadening both their weapons and accessories range. Mini Jack was first announced at MSPO and appeared in November 2017. It has a short, 259-mm barrel and comes with either wooden or polymer handguard and AKMS stock. It costs PLN2950 and 3000 (EUR700 to 710). A bit earlier, in June, WBP started selling their own AK/AKM accessories. At present, the offer includes a front grip, a handguard with 3 accessory rails and a gas tube cover with a rail. All are made of aluminum alloy and cost PLN100, 220, 220 respectively ( EUR24, 52, 52). Additionally, the Rogow-based manufacturer offers semi-transparent, 30-round magazines for 7,62×39 mm ammunition. These are manufactured by WBP and resemble Lucznik military magazines for 5,56×45 mm rounds.

A big part of the WBP Rogow production goes straight to the United States where its used as a base for construction of various strange firearms. We will try to cover this subject in one of the following MILMAG’s issues. On the Polish market, WBP is the smallest player and has the lowest production capabilities. Our estimate is a few thousands AK clones per year. These are not considered low-quality weapons but there were reports of some issues occurring.

WBP Rogow is the smallest AK manufacturer on the Polish market. The company, however, exports most of their products to the USA and is rapidly developing

In 2017 company from Rogów introduced many new products to the offer. There are their own, made of aluminum alloy grips, handguards and chamber covers with rails among them

WBP Rogów manufactures semi-automatic AKM clones. The Jack has been available for a while. The Mini Jack (with the shortened barrel) was introduced in November 2017

Warsaw-based Top Gun is one of the few remaining manufacturers who makes their weapons out of stockpiled ex-army parts. The AK/AKM clones are called TGUN and the buyer needs to remember that the weapons are made out of refreshed, 30-year old elements. The parts, however, were manufactured in the mass-production period when the quality control was very good,

Top Gun (Tgun) is one of the last remaining manufacturers who base their production of AK clones on the stockpiled, ex-army parts

This year, BUOS company imported some new, original AK weapons from Russia. This came directly from the Kalashnikov Concern and included AK Dynamic and AK Saiga MK103 for 7,62×39 mm ammunition. Russian weapons are priced from PLN3600 to 6700 (EUR850 to 1600).

Interestingly, some original, soviet AK’s became also available. Coming from the early production runs, weapons became a treat for collectors. A dozen or so was imported and sold out within days.

It’s almost impossible to buy a semi-automatic, Czechoslovakian vz. 58 rifle. The only available model – CSA SAD-58 Sporter Tactical – is sold by Piotr Skawinski gunsmithing company.

Not all AK/AKM clones on Polish market are domestically produced. Small batches of weapons from Bulgarian Arsenal or Serbian Zastava are sometimes available. There were single cases of East German, Yugoslavian or Romanian weapons being imported. As MILMAG found out, a number of Bulgarian rifles will be offered by Chorzow-based EMJOT shortly.

Polish shooters can also buy M70B1 rifles from Zastava Arms. They cost from PLN2000 (EUR470) and are available through Omega Military Poland from Czapury near Poznan. Both new, Serbian rifles and old Yugoslaviamade weapons will be sold, with the old ones being more expensive.

Skawinski Company also offers Serbian Zastava Arms firearms for 7,62×39 mm ammunition. There are 3 variants available. The M92 has a folding stock and a muzzle device from AKS-74U. The M70B1 is a base model with a strengthened upper receiver, compatible with rifle grenades. This, of course, is no use for a civilian shooter but resulted in an additional valve which stops the exhaust energy from reaching the gas piston. The third variant is the civilian version of M72 support weapon with a longer barrel, bipod, and modified handguard.

This article was originally published on MILMAG 02/2018