April 2nd, 2024
7minute read
The 5.45x39mm RPK-74 was an evolutionary development of Mikhail Kalashnikovs original 1940s-vintage AK-47.
This 35, 7.7-lb.
infantry rifle legitimately changed the world.
Belarusian special operations soldier with an RPK-74 participates inSlavic Brotherhood 2018training located in Russia. The RPK-74 is fitted with a blank firing adaptor. Image: Andrey Rusov/Mil.ru
This basic rifle soldiered on until 1959 when the stamped steel receiver was finally perfected.
This optimized weapon was christened the AKM (Avtomat Kalashnikova Modernizirovanny).
Most of what we call AK-47s on this side of the pond today are actually AKMs.
The author’s RPK-74, shown here, is a semi-automatic rifle built from a demilled parts kit and a domestically manufactured receiver.
(To learn more, read thedifferences between the AK-47 and the AKM.)
In 1961, the Soviets debuted theRPK (Ruchnoy Pulemyot Kalashnikova).
It also sported a longer, beefier barrel, an integral folding bipod, and a curious clubfoot stock.
This Ukrainian soldier engages in live fire training with his RPK-74 prior to deployment in eastern Ukraine. The photo was taken before the Russian invasion. Image: Ukraine Ministry of Defense/CC BY-SA 2.0
The RPK could use standard 30-round AKM magazines.
However, it also accepted longer 40-round versions as well as two different varieties of 75-round drum.
(Be sure to read about theevolution of the M16.)
From left to right: the German 7.92x33mm Kurz, the M43 7.62x39mm, the 5.45x39mm, and the American 5.56x45mm.
They tasked Comrade Kalashnikov to build them a new family of weapons around the weirdly adorable 5.45x39mm round.
This resulted in some truly ghastly effects.
Speaking solely for myself, the soft-shooting 5.45x39mm round is a personal fave.
Shown here is an RPK-pattern, semi-auto rifle chambered in 7.62x39mm from the author’s personal collection.
The end result wasthe AK-74.
This firearm was built around a stamped steel receiver and was specifically designed for the new lighter cartridge.
Simultaneously with the AK-74, Kalashnikovs team developed the RPK-74.
A member of Ukraine’s military trains with an RPK-74 during Storm 2018. The exercise was combined arms training for repelling an amphibious attack. Image: Ukraine Ministry of Defense/CC BY-SA 2.0
Like the RPK that preceded it, the RPK-74 was longer and heavier than the parent infantry rifle.
Though prototypes were produced, there never was a general-issue drum created for the RPK-74.
Over time, the wooden furniture was replaced with polymer, but the basic action remained the same.
Though longer, heavier, and bulkier than the AK-74 rifle that inspired it, the RPK-74 is an efficient SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon). The author’s semi-auto version is shown here.
The latest versions of both the AK-74 and the RPK-74 feature side-folding polymer buttstocks.
The end result is a mature and effective combat weapon.
As a result, I built mine up from a demilled parts kit.
Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces train with American soldiers in 2016. A reservist in the foreground is armed with an RPK-74. A BMP-2 provides support in the background. Image: Capt. Scott Kuhn/U.S. Army
Accumulating all the necessary parts for such an exotic rifle is still a Gordian chore.
The original barrel dates to before the 2005 import ban, as do most of the parts.
That makes them expensive.
In this 2017 photograph, a Russian soldier of the 29th Guards Rocket Vitebsk Division aims his RPK-74. Image: Svetlana Dzhabbarova/Mil.ru
The few small parts that were missing, I had a machinist buddy make for me.
Building up an AK from parts isnt plug-and-play as might be the same chore for an AR.
You have to be able to run a drill press, set rivets, and gauge headspace.
Members of the U.S. Army 3rd Infantry Division train with Ukrainian soldiers near Yavorik, Ukraine in 2016. This soldier has an RPK-74. Image: Capt. Scott Kuhn/U.S. Army
I have built a couple of AKs myself at home by hand.
With the right tools, you could bodge together a Kalashnikov like this one in an afternoon.
In this case, the real challenge was really sourcing the parts.
In the hands of the author, you can see that the RPK-74 is equipped with a folding bipod and is longer than an AK-74 rifle. The RPK-74 can use standard AK-74 magazines.
If youre interested, just haunt GunBroker and expect to pay a decent price for the stuff you need.
The end result, while certainly not cheap, will reliably set you apart at the range.
The big honking 45-round box magazine is undeniably awkward, but it lasts a while.
Here, a Russian soldier is seen with a RPK-74. The photo was taken in July 2023 at an unknown location. Image: Mil.ru
It is also interchangeable with the standard 30-round rifle mag.
Feeding the rifle involves hooking the front lip of the magazine and then rocking it in place.
The trigger is long and creepy, but all AK triggers are long and creepy.
There is also a Combloc-standard optics rail riveted to the left side of the receiver.
The combination of the heavy rifle and the lightweight cartridge makes the overall system almost unnaturally stable and controllable.
The 5.45x39mm round does not fare well at extreme ranges, particular in wind.
Is the RPK-74 the Best Squad Automatic Weapon?
The original 1961-vintage RPK was developed to replace theRPD LMG, a superb belt-fed machine gun developed during WWII.
The RPD has much to commend it.
On the surface at least, this seems a step backwards.
The RPK doesnt have an interchangeable barrel, but neither does the RPD.
The RPK-74 is everything the previous RPK is, only half a pound lighter and more readily managed.
The RPK-74 is indeed a shockingly solid SAW in my opinion.
