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RPK bipod questions for the experts

7.6K views 12 replies 5 participants last post by  BigAL  
#1 ·
I have been reading and searching for info regarding bipods.

I own an AES-10B and I think it has a correct bipod. The bipod has approx 13 inch long legs and the "clamp" fits the bbl and when rotated it does not bind into the cleaning rod.
The term clamp is confusing.......It is actually a rotating block that is slid on before the FSB
Can someone here give me some info on adjustable leg bipods? I see some with wing nuts and "fixed" pivots (meaning NOT held on with a screwrd together clamp).

I see them from time to time and want to know what fits what.
Is there some way to tell short of buying and trying? That can get costly.

Thanks!
 
#2 ·
The Romanian RPK's came with fixed or adjustable bipod legs. The adjustable legs are the one's you commonly see with the wing nuts. The Romy parts kits did not all have adjustable legs and those that were adjustable seemed to be preferred kits since the vendors sold out of those first.

As far as Romy AES-10B's are concerned, I've never seen one with the correct bipod (not saying it's not possible - just not likely). They seem to always have bipods which look like the Yugo RPK biopod, but I think they might actually be E. German. The fact that they slide over the barrel (permanent installation) and don't bind on the cleaning rod just just means they are not after market junk in that they are likely to be surplus original RPK biopods and not US made replacements. It does not prove they are Romy.

The only way to know would be to study a few pics of original Romy bipods. Maybe someone has a quick list of ID characteristics (like we is to ID AK mags), but if there is one, I've never seen it posted.

Maybe someone with an original RPK bipod (non-adjustable) and a Yugo biopod could compare the two and let us know how they differ. I'd be interested in the results.
 
#3 ·
Franz 1796 said:
The Romanian RPK's came with fixed or adjustable bipod legs. The adjustable legs are the one's you commonly see with the wing nuts. The Romy parts kits did not all have adjustable legs and those that were adjustable seemed to be preferred kits since the vendors sold out of those first.

As far as Romy AES-10B's are concerned, I've never seen one with the correct bipod (not saying it's not possible - just not likely). They seem to always have bipods which look like the Yugo RPK biopod, but I think they might actually be E. German. The fact that they slide over the barrel (permanent installation) and don't bind on the cleaning rod just just means they are not after market junk in that they are likely to be surplus original RPK biopods and not US made replacements. It does not prove they are Romy.

The only way to know would be to study a few pics of original Romy bipods. Maybe someone has a quick list of ID characteristics (like we is to ID AK mags), but if there is one, I've never seen it posted.

Maybe someone with an original RPK bipod (non-adjustable) and a Yugo biopod could compare the two and let us know how they differ. I'd be interested in the results.
Yes, but it appears the "clamp" arrangement on the folding leg bipod is different than the one on the "fixed" leg version.
 
#4 ·
This may be old news, but it seems most AES-10B's had PKM bipods installed (not RPK). If your bipod is held on the barrel (the clamp part) with two pins then it is a PKM bipod. The RPK bipods have to be installed by slipping them onto the barrel before the front sight block is installed. The sight block then holds the bipod on the barrel.
 
#5 ·
Franz 1796 said:
This may be old news, but it seems most AES-10B's had PKM bipods installed (not RPK). If your bipod is held on the barrel (the clamp part) with two pins then it is a PKM bipod. The RPK bipods have to be installed by slipping them onto the barrel before the front sight block is installed. The sight block then holds the bipod on the barrel.
Old news indeed!

My AES 10B has a correct Romanian bipod.

Now that we have that settled, anyone know anything about the adjustable leg bipods?
 
#6 ·
this is THE correct adjustable bipod for a Romanian RPK. The most recent batch of AES 10B's that came in w/ the side folding stocks have them. They grip the cleaning rod just like the Soviet pattern fixed length bibods and have the same clamp near the feet to hold the legs together.


Image
 
#8 ·
moshaholic2 said:
this is THE correct adjustable bipod for a Romanian RPK. The most recent batch of AES 10B's that came in w/ the side folding stocks have them. They grip the cleaning rod just like the Soviet pattern fixed length bibods and have the same clamp near the feet to hold the legs together.


Image
Thanks!!!

This confirms that the "swivel" portion of the adjustable bipod is different (much longer) than the one on the fixed leg bipod.
 
#10 ·
Franz 1796 said:
Anyone have a pic to compare a non-adjustable Romanian bipod to a Yugo bipod?
Which one, you must be more specific? The real one or the one they put on the imports? The original correct non-adjustbale Romanian RPK bipod from the 1960-80 period was exactly like a Russian RPK bipod, but I've never seen one on a semi-auto import. You do get them in parts kits. Like buckoff said, The incorrect one you see on the non-folding import semi-auto AES-10B's is way too short and is not an RPK bipod, easy to ID because it has a hinged barrel band. The only other bipod you see on a Romy RPK is the adjustable type, which is correct for all later production, both folding and non-folding stock rifles.
 
#12 ·
BigAL said:
the romanians used 3 styles of bipods, 1 fixed version and 2 adjustable versions. I think I did a post a couple of years ago with some pics..
BigAl

I did a bunch of searching here on the forum and nothing came up with pics showing the different versions.....
Do you still have the pics and if so can you repost?

From what I can tell:

The RPK bipod has much heavier legs and I have seen it with the "hinged" clamp (may have been changed).
The Romanian bipod has legs around 13" to 14"
The Yugo bipod has legs about 11" or so

Maybe someone can chime in with experience in changing just the legs?