Chiappa Makes AK-Type Guns in 9mm and 22 LR
Russ Chastain 10.25.16
I may be late to the party here, but I just found out that Chiappa makes some AK-style guns–or at least guns that have the outward appearance of an AK47-stype firearm. In their words:
These have the look and feel of the original but use more readily available and easier to shoot ammunition.
They’ve got two that I know of: the AK-22 is a 6-pound 22 LR rimfire rifle with a 17.25-inch barrel and an overall length of 34.5 inches. Their site lists both wood and synthetic stocks for the AK-22 and says it uses a 10-round polymer magazine (two mags included). They also say it “uses standard AK furniture,” so I guess you could accessorize to your heart’s content.
The sights, stock and other (not shooting) parts are interchangeable with a standard AK with a graduated rear leaf sight and windage and elevation adjustable front post. Other parts that are interchangeable with a standard AK include the dust cover and safety lever.
Next is the AK-9, which is a rather stumpy AK-looking pistol. Specs claim that it, too, weighs 6 pounds, but I would certainly hope not. It’s chambered for 9mm Luger, has fixed sights, and there’s a picatinny rail up top for mounting optics if you want. More rails are mounted on either side of the line of sight, just forward of the receiver.
Still not enough rail for you? Okay: the bottom of the handguard has another, so you can slap on a vertical grip if you want.
Barrel length is listed as 6.3 inches, with a total length of 14.37 inches.
This odd little popper takes Beretta 92 pistol magazines, and it comes with two ten-rounders. If you’d rather cram Glock mags into it, you can buy an adapter that will let you use Glock mags, too (no tools required).
If you’re looking for something a little different, these might do it for ya.