Those are AKS74, not full sized rifles.. Its well accepted that the AKS used wood pistol grips during the early years. The AKMS switched to a plum grip in 1977, sure the AKS74 was about the same time.SturmGrenadier said:Yes they were.
Whether from the factory I don't know but I have plenty of pics showing early 74's ( with angled gas block ) shown with laminate grips being used in Afghanistan.
You can see 2 here (held and pointing torwards camera laying down) that both have laminated grips. One being held has angled gas block.
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Also if you want to zoom in on receiver markings you see early 74s have the long skinny horizontol cut AKM style selector notches instead of the 74 short and angled cut selector notches.
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Another laminated grip on a 90? gas block AKS-74
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This is the reason I used a laminate grip on my 83 clone project.
Yeah, noticed that...Have not heard back an answer...SturmGrenadier said:Notice anything else bout the guy's sling on the AKS hes holding Rob?
The rifles on their are both owned by a collector in Switzerland, and came via Bulgaria.. Sure they were modified at some point in time.. Still nice rifles though...Kuiper said:I remembered that I found this one Tantal's site once...
http://tantal.kalashnikov.guns.ru/pro9.html
This is an Izhmash AKS74, the handguards of the nonvented type and, suprise, a laminated pistol grip.
And a laminate grip on a fixed stock '84 AK74, also a select fire Izhevsk model...
http://tantal.kalashnikov.guns.ru/pro8.html
I already mentioned that the AKSs left the factory with wood grips..AKMS changed to shiny plum in 1977; Figured the AKS74 would be the same time.Kuiper said:And yet we have seen numerous AKS74's, mostly wartime (Afghan '79-'80's) with laminate grips...especially in airborne units.
Now these can't all be refits....
There's a bit too many blanks that can't be filled with concrete information.
Sure there is a bit of a transitional period, but all the untouched AKS74s that I have seen from 1978-84 (end of wood) used a shiny plum grip.. Thats for a rifle either in military service or in a museum.. Basically untouched by a civilian collector.Kuiper said:Yes, you did mention that. But there's quite a bit gap between '77-'78 when the AKMS was definitely equipped with bakelite PG's and a several 81-84 AKS74's with laminate grips.
Now I don't know if a transitional period like that is normal for the Red army...seems like a long time to me.
Now I know the time into the war says nothing about the issued years of the weapons, but you would have to agree that if the consensus on these AKS's is bakelite grips from '77 onward these shots from the front are confusing to say the least...