Hi guys, thanks for tuning in to another video on ForgottenWeapons.com, I'm Ian McCollum.
And yesterday we took a look at the Kalashnikov USA KP-9, aka the semi-auto Vityaz,
and all the different changes that they made to actually design this gun.
Because this is not just a simple slap together 9mm conversion of an AK,
it is substantially different in important detailed ways.
So if you don't remember that or if you didn't see it, go check that video out.
Today I've got it out here on the range and I want to see how it actually shoots.
So I have registered this as a short-barrelled rifle, ... with this barrel configuration
it typically comes as a pistol with just a flat plate that you can put a sling on.
However, it does fit a totally standard stock.
Well, standard except for the ... locking open mechanism, which we covered in yesterday's video
Anyway, this is fundamentally a Kalashnikov, so I figured the most appropriate ammo for it is TulAmmo.
Russian steel case. I have some of this lying around from a previous purchase.
And you can't see it right there, but when I opened this up to load the mags
it's actually kind of rusty in some places, because I guess it got some humidity or some moisture on it.
Not sure how that happened in Arizona, but that seems to me to make it even more perfect for testing a Vityaz.
So, let's see if it works.
You do have to jam these things in a little bit. There is no manual hold open or automatic hold open on the bolt.
When the magazine is fully loaded, you have to compress the spring of course under the closed bolt.
So there is a bit of force involved in seating a magazine when it's full.
I also do want to point out there's no witness hole on the back of the magazine to tell you when it's fully loaded.
That's fine, as long as you're counting rounds when you load them,
But it would be nice to have just one little witness hole at the bottom to tell you when it's actually full.
Alright, enough of the preliminary chitchat.
This thing's really nice!
The trigger pulls not like match-grade AR-15 fantastic, but it's not preventing me from hitting this
effectively mini IPSC at 35 yards, something like that.
With, frankly, kind of boring regularity.
Boy, I mean, like that's how you want a Kalashnikov to work, and this one does just that.
That's almost boring because it just runs like it's supposed to.
I don't have the facilities or the time available to do a seriously long-term durability test of this. However,
not that long ago Rob Ski posted on the AK Operators Union the conclusion of his
5,000 round endurance test of a Kalashnikov USA KP-9, and it basically came out of that with no discernible substantial wear.
No serious malfunctions. Yeah, a little bit of discoloration on some of the contact parts.
But basically it passed that test with flying colours. So
I don't think we're gonna see any issues here, I haven't yet for sure. And this is still, yeah you don't see any of it here,
this is still my slightly rusty TulAmmo. And if it will fire that, it'll pretty much fire anything.
There we go.
I'm a little disappointed that I don't have a suppressor to put on it because that muzzle brake spins right off.
It's held on by the standard Kalashnikov-style spring-loaded pin.
Push that in you can take the muzzle brake off and it's threaded.
In fact, one of the very few fundamental differences, or any differences at all,
between this and a Saiga-9 in Russia or the actual Vityaz, is that the thread pitch,
instead of being a standard Russian thread pitch,
Kalashnikov USA went ahead and made it a standard American thread pitch.
1/2"x28 if I remember off the top of my head correctly. So
it's super-easy to drop a suppressor on if you have one. Like I said, I'm a little sad that I don't.
Top rail on here. The top cover is pinned in place and then latched in the back, so it's a nice stable mounting position.
I have put just a sort of a cheapie temporary red dot on there.
But the ... height over the bore is nice, you get a good cheek weld on it.
It is of course centred instead of having a side rail that's sometimes offset to one side.
In Russian production the Vityaz can be had either with a rail like this, or an AK specific side rail.
And again, I think Kalashnikov USA made the right choice when they went with the top rail for the American market.
Seriously that's just like verging on boring to shoot because it works so perfectly.
In a world of new production guns that so often have break-in periods and quibbles and issues,
this thing is a very nice relief that it just runs.
The recoil is a little bit snappy, this is just a simple blowback mechanism. But
even at that, honestly, it's not as bad as I would have expected.
Especially given the small size of the platform and it's relatively low weight.
This really is just a beautiful gun to shoot.
So a big thanks to Kalashnikov USA for providing this one for some video.
And if this is what you're looking for, man, I wouldn't worry about getting one.
Thanks for watching.
[ sub by sk cn2 ]