armoury
SPECNA ARMS SAJ-04
to Specna Arms I now have their all new SA-J04 (AKS-74 to
you gun-bunnies!) to talk about!
MODERN CLASSIC
It was way back in 1977 when the Western world first saw
the “new” Kalashnikov being carried by airborne troops
in Red Square and rumour has it that the CIA paid $5,000
for the first AK-74 captured by the mujahedeen during the
Soviet–Afghan War, such was their eagerness to get their
hands on a specimen of the latest model!
In truth though, the rifle had been around for some
considerable time before the first sighting, as it was
developed in the early 1970s by Mikhail Kalashnikov
as the replacement for the earlier AKM, itself a
modernised version of the AK-47. Much like
their western counterparts, the Soviet
military were interested in the better
performance given by intermediate-
calibre high velocity ammunition
and the main change was
that the AK-74 used
a smaller 5.45×39mm
cartridge, replacing
the 7.62×39mm
chambering of
earlier
Kalashnikov-
pattern rifles,
and this
enabled a number
of steps
forward to be
taken.
These
improvements
were primarily the result
of converting the rifle to the
new cartridge; compared to the
preceding AKM the AK-74 had
effective range, accuracy (which
main development goal) and
better
was a
reliability.
The AK-
74 was equipped with a new
shape of butt,
a handguard which retained the
AKM-type finger rest, and gas cylinder. The stock had a
shoulder pad different from that on the AKM, which was
made of rubber and serrated for improved grip. In addition,
there were lightening cuts on each side of the butt. The
butt, lower handguard and upper handguard were first
manufactured from laminated wood, whilst the AKS variant
replaced the rearmost wood with a skeletonised butt which
folded neatly to the left hand side of
the receiver.
To this day the AK/
AKS-74
is still used
by most countries
of the former
Soviet Union.
Licensed copies
were produced in
Bulgaria (AK-74,
AKS-74 and AKS-
74U), and East
Germany (MPi-AK-
74N, MPi-AKS-74N,
MPi-AKS-74NK),
and of course these have
found
their way into the hands of
soldiers and fighters worldwide!
GUN UP TOVARISCH!
When I received the Specna Arms replica
“AKS-74”from my friends at Gunfire, one of
the very first things I noted was the overall “feel”
of the rifle, as it has, at 3.4 kilos, a really good
weight to it. All the parts that should be are metal,
and indeed steel parts include the receiver, top cover,
outer barrel, trigger guard, magazine latch, fire mode
selector plate, gas block, muzzle brake, sling loop and plate
on the stock, rear sight, cleaning rod, stock latch, stock,
and pins and rivets. Even where steel is not used, all parts
are alloy with a special coating used in the finishing process
which gives a very realistic appearance overall.
There is a black polymer pistol grip, and I’m pleased to
report that the wood handguards are a much better colour
than some of the orange “Chinese wood” versions that we
see all too often on AKs with a keen pricepoint, as on the
J04 they are a very rich brown, almost “chestnut”, hue. To
sum things up, externally the finish of the rifle is very good
throughout to be honest and it is absolutely solid as a rock
with not a wobble or a creak apparent anywhere.
Internally, Specna Arms have earned a good
reputation for using quality parts as I mentioned
earlier, but the V3 ORION is, to the best of my
knowledge, still to be fully “field tested” over time.
However, given that the V2 ORION has largely
proved to be a sound unit, I have high hopes for the
longevity of the V3 and of course, inside the J04 you get a
reinforced polymer piston with a steel teeth, an aluminium
double air-sealed cylinder head, aluminium double air-
sealed piston head with bearings, 7mm bearings and steel
gears. All of these ARE tried and tested components so
you’re on pretty solid ground with them. One of the things
that is absent from the J-Series is the GATE Mosfet, but
could Specna Arms be holding this back for some reason?
Only time will tell…
The J04 comes with a pair of 500BB “AK-74 Bakelite”
Hi-Cap magazines which are finished in a nice matt colour,
rather than the brighter hue you sometimes find. The
inclusion of two Hi-Caps to me suggests, as does the keen
pricepoint, that the J04 is aimed at the entry level player,
“LICENSED COPIES WERE PRODUCED IN BULGARIA (AK-74, AKS-74 AND AKS-74U),
AND EAST GERMANY (MPI-AK-74N, MPI-AKS-74N, MPI-AKS-74NK), AND OF COURSE
THESE HAVE FOUND THEIR WAY INTO THE HANDS OF SOLDIERS AND FIGHTERS
WORLDWIDE!”
www.airsoftaction.net
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