The Armscor AK22 is a semi-automatic

.22 LR The .22 Long Rifle or simply .22 LR or 22 (metric designation: 5.6×15mmR) is a long-established variety of .22 caliber rimfire ammunition originating from the United States. It is used in a wide range of rifles, pistols, revolvers, smooth ...

Kalashnikov rifle A Kalashnikov (Калашников) rifle is any one of a series of automatic rifles based on the original design of Mikhail Kalashnikov. They are officially known in Russian as "Avtomát Kaláshnikova" ( rus, Автома́т Кала́шник� ...

designed in 1987 by Ruko Products (later KBI), and sold by Armscor (Arms Corporation of the Philippines). Sales of the AK22 and other

Armscor rifles were "very strong in the local market", due to a relaxation of gun laws, after the end of

martial law under Ferdinand Marcos At 7:17 pm on September 23, 1972, President Ferdinand Marcos announced on television that he had placed the entirety of the Philippines under martial law. This marked the beginning of a 14-year period of one-man rule that would effectively last ...

in 1986.

Design

In order to save costs, the AK22's design is based on the Model 20, a previous .22 LR design by Armscor. The AK22 uses a clamshell which holds the receiver and trigger housing together. The clamshell design increases the weight of the weapon, and requires the usage of a screwdriver in order to be field stripped. The

stock In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...

, forend and foregrip are all made out of mahogany, which further increased its weight, and made the rifle disproportional, with some gunsmiths choosing to cut them down. It has a trigger pull. The AK22F, a variant with a folding stock modeled after the one on the FAL PARA, was also produced to compete with Kalashnikov clones from other countries such as Italy, France, and Germany. It was discontinued in 1995. Magazines for the AK22 are compatible with other Armscor designs, such as the

Armscor M16 22 The Armscor M1600 is a semi-automatic rifle made by Armscor (formerly Squires Bingham Co.). The rifle bears a resemblance to the Colt M16 family of firearms but is chambered in .22 LR. As they are two entirely different firearms, there is no int ...

and

Galil The IMI Galil ( he, גליל) is a family of Israeli-made automatic rifles chambered for the 5.56×45mm NATO and 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges. Originally designed by Yisrael Galili and Yakov Lior in the late 1960s, the Galil was first produced ...

-22. 10-, 15-, and 30-round magazines were made, with the 15-round magazine being discontinued some time before 2015.

References

{{Reflist * .22 LR semi-automatic rifles Semi-automatic rifles Kalashnikov derivatives Weapons of the Philippines

Design

See also

References