As mentioned, it uses a standard stamped receiver that has been beefed up for heavy use and is notably thicker on both sides. The VEPR compensates for this in several ways.
When this same system is used for the 7.62x54R cartridge, which is significantly larger than the 7.62x39mm the RPK was originally designed for, and with a proportionally larger bolt and operating rod, the effect on accuracy is exacerbated. This is one of the main reasons for the AK’s reputation of mediocre accuracy and high reliability. The advantage, however, is greater reliability. This is a lot of mass slamming back and forth as you fire, which can have a negative impact on accuracy-a shift in point of aim is common. Like all traditional AK pattern rifles, the VEPR uses a long-stroke gas-piston method of operation, where the bolt and piston rod move together as one big unit. Imported by Wolf Performance Arms (WPA), related to but independent from Wolf Ammunition, VEPR rifles can be had in plain-Jane, importable, thumbhole, wood-stocked versions or be tricked out after arriving in the U.S. Unfortunately precision shooters do not have easy access to real Russian SVD sniper rifles (more commonly known as Dragunovs), but the VEPR offers an excellent-quality sibling. 30-06 Springfield and the 7.62mm NATO rounds, the 7.62x54R is popular with hunters too. With a ballistic performance similar to that of the. This fact guarantees plentiful and inexpensive ammunition supplies. First introduced in 1891, the same year that a young Czar Nicholas II survived an assassination attempt while on an official state visit in Japan, it has the distinction of being the oldest military cartridge still in continuous use, including in the ubiquitous bolt-action Mosin-Nagant rifle, in more modern belt-fed machine guns and in the SVD sniper rifle. Wolf Performance Arms VEPR rifles are available in a variety of calibers and configurations, but none carry the historical weight of the 7.62x54R cartridge. Thus the VEPR was born, retaining the rugged reliability and stronger receiver of its RPK progenitor.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, the factory reinvented itself and used its existing equipment and firearms design-and-engineering base to make civilian semi-auto rifles. During the ensuing Cold War, MOLOT was the sole producer of the Russian RPK machine gun, a beefed-up AK-47 that filled the role of the squad automatic weapon in infantry units. It is the lifeblood of Vyatskie Polyany, a small industrial city, and has been in the firearms business since World War II, producing some 2.5 million PPSh submachine guns. Fime FMAK4721: Caliber: 7.62x39 - Operating System: Semi-Auto long stroke gas system - Breech Type: 2 lug rotating bolt - Magazine Type: Detachable double stack magazine - Weight with 5-rd magazine: 10.1 lbs - Overall Length: 36.80 - Width: 2.9 - Height (w/o mag.): 7.8 - Barrel Length: 16.5 - Rifling: 4 groove RH twist 9.4 - Twist rate: 1 in 240 mm - Weight w/o Magazine: 7.8 lbs (3.54 kg) - Muzzle Velocity: 710 m/s - Effective Range: 400 m - Maximum Range: 1350 m - Rate of Fire: 40 rds/min (practical) - Sight Leaf: 1000 m - For the first time ever true factory Molot AK-47 style rifle in the US market - Heavy RPK-style hammer forged chrome lined barrel - RPK-style 1.5mm stamped receiver - RPK-style trunnion block - RPK-style ribbed polymer handguards with stainless steel heat shield - Left-side folding tubular stock with cheek rest and rubber recoil pad - Windage adjustable 1000m rear sight leaf - Scope mount side rail - Accepts all mil-spec double-stack AK-47 7.A long the banks of the Vyatka River and approximately 400 miles east of Moscow, far away from the reaches of any invading army lies the MOLOT factory.