AL-7
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The AL-7 (Avtomat Lehkiy stands for "light assault rifle") is a Russian assault rifle designed by Izhmash engineer Youriy Alexandrov in the early 1970s. The AL-7 uses a type of operation developed by TsNIITochMash (Central Institute for Precision Machine Building) in the mid 1960s known as Balanced Automatics first used on the AO-38 assault rifle. The Balanced Automatics Recoil System (BARS) replaces the traditional Kalashnikov gas piston operating system, reducing the negative effects of recoil and allowing more efficient use of automatic fire. BARS works by shifting mass toward the muzzle of the rifle as the bolt and bolt carrier recoil rearward.
The AL-7 had a typically AK74M furniture: a folding buttstock made from the black glassfibre-reinforced polyamide. A pistol grip, magazine and handguard were also derived from the AK74M rifle. In contrast to the AK weapons, both the AL-4 and AL-7 had a stamped steel top cover with transverse semi-circular ribs, and with the rear sight attached to the front tip of the cover.
The AL-7 and its BARS system were never adopted by the Soviet Army. The project was overshadowed by the acceptance of the AK-74 due to cost considerations. The passage of time has allowed manufacturing technology to advance, finally making the AL-7 concept economically viable, presenting itself in the form of the AK-107 and AK-108 rifles.
Other rifles that use the balanced automatics system are the AEK-971, AO-38, CA-006, AKB and AKB-1.
References
- Genesis of the AK107 and AK108 assault rifles [1]
- Legends and Reality of the AK by Charlie Cutshaw and Valery Shilin [2]
- Shadowrun and Firearms Alexandrov Kalashnikova 107 and 108 [3]
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See Also
| "AL-7" is part of a series on the AK-47 and its cousins |
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