Before Palmetto State Armory came out with the Krink,
this intoxicating little carbine was quite literally unobtainium.
The Kalashnikov is the most-produced firearm in human history. At least 100 million copies have seen service. One in every 10 guns ever built is an AK.
With that kind of market penetration, is it any wonder that gun geeks like me collect the things? After 75 years of production, the sundry variants, calibers and ancillary particulars are where gun nerd dreams thrive or die. I live in this weird little space.
Amongst all that many-splendored chaos, one particular variant was the absolute golden ring. Despite being ubiquitous on the other side of the pond, the AKS-74U Krinkov was unobtainium over here. And then Palmetto State Armory heard our plaintive cries and came to the rescue. Now, thanks to PSA, folks of modest means can get their hot sweaty mitts on a perfect rendition of the rare submachine gun version of Comrade Kalashnikov’s classic 1970s vintage assault rifle.
I was therefore uncharacteristically breathless when the Brown Truck of Happiness pulled into the parking lot. To me, this was a big freaking deal.
The distinctive muzzle brake/flash suppressor of the
original AKS-74U is perfectly replicated on the Krink.
Source Material
Palmetto State Armory provides top-quality renditions of unusual weapons that often cannot be found anyplace else. I have built north of a dozen AR-variant rifles using their reasonably priced parts kits. Their Harrington and Richardson line of vintage M16 variants is Candyland to the gun nerd who appreciates retro exotica.
PSA offers American-made AKs, budget-priced polymer-framed pistols and literally thousands of guns, accessories, gunsmithing gear and optics. Now that they have branched out into ammo and apparel, you could bring your own food, eschew underwear as any real man might, and live comfortably out of their online catalog indefinitely. And then they did this …
The latest addition to their extraordinary lineup is the Soviet Arms Krink pistol. Offered in five different variations, the PSA Krink will fill a previously unfillable niche in any well-seasoned gun collection. I simply could not wait to get my paws on one.
The American Treatment
In the interest of full disclosure, I am madly in love with this gun. That makes it tough to be dispassionate. As I mentioned, acquiring one of these things was a bit of a bucket list thing for me. The PSA Soviet Arms version does not disappoint.
Combloc-surplus 5.45x39mm ammo used to be both ubiquitous and cheap. However, Bitcoin once traded for about 10 bucks apiece as well. Nowadays, thanks to Putin’s war in Ukraine, 5.45x39mm has dried up.
As a result, PSA and Soviet Arms chambered theirs in 5.56x45mm or 300BLK. The similar geometry even makes the magazine look right. Please don’t think me a snob, but 7.62x39mm Krinks with that sharply curved magazine just make me itch.
The workmanship and build quality are everything we might expect from Palmetto State Armory. Additionally, as it is a Kalashnikov and a well-executed one at that, the gun is nigh indestructible. The particulars, like the distinctive muzzle booster, the unique rear sight, the pivoting top cover, and the unusual furniture, are all spot-on. Interestingly, it is at the rear trunnion where the real magic happens.
The PSA Krink pistol is plenty cool right out of the box with its pistol stabilizing brace. However, the addition of the GI folding stock, also from PSA, makes it perfect.
Weird American Firearms Laws
It seems incongruous that you can walk out of the gun store with a pistol that will hide in your pocket, yet a rifle with a barrel less than 16″ requires a buttload of paperwork and an onerous $200 tribute (pending repeal —Ed).
The motivations behind that date back to 1934 and are comically outdated. However, them’s the rules. The PSA solution is to offer the Krink with the original stubby 8″ barrel and a pistol stabilizing brace.
The pistol brace is indeed an inspired piece of kit. We all know what they do, and we all know how much the Left despises them.
This one even looks like the original Combloc stock. For me at least, awesome though they may be, seeing that not-quite-right pistol brace on the back end of that gorgeous AKS-74U carbine was like having sand on my eyeball. Fortunately, PSA saw that coming as well.
The receiver of the PSA Krink comes standard with the forward latch and pivoting mechanism of the original GI AKS-74U. The pistol brace mounts via a short length of Picatinny rail. However, that Picatinny mount secures to the gun via the original GI hinge. Removing the mount is as easy as punching out a pin. At that point things get interesting.
Before PSA had their way with it, the AKS-74U carbine (top) was essentially unavailable on the U.S. market.
Avoiding Imperial Entanglements
In 1934 when the National Firearms Act was passed, the $200 transfer tax was the modern-day equivalent of around $4,500. Nowadays, thanks to Bidenomics, $200 is dinner and a movie for you, your spouse, and your kids if they bring friends. In a perverse way, Joe Biden inadvertently took the teeth out of the NFA transfer tax.
Additionally, where processing time for a Form 1 application to create a registered short-barreled rifle at home used to be nearly a year, if you do it online via the BATF e-Forms system they are coming back just lightning fast — like a couple of weeks in many cases. I’m not sure what sort of energy drinks our BATF buddies are chugging up there in Martinsburg, but I’d like to buy them a case.
The details are still kind of onerous, but they are readily available online. Once you get your BATF Form 1 back approved you can legally bin the pistol brace and replace it with a GI side-folding skeleton stock.
PSA sells those as well. With the obligatory paperwork done and sorted, attaching the stock involves nothing more than that same pin in reverse. It took a little attention with a Dremel tool to get the latch seated perfectly, but then it was time to hit the range and look fabulous doing it.
The original AKS-74U was chambered for the Combloc 5.45x39mm round (right) while the PSA version shoots 5.56mm.
Trigger Time
The AKS-74U was the Russians’ answer to our XM177E2/CAR15. Both guns occupy roughly the same space and pull the same mission. Like the XM177, the AKS-74U is just stupid loud. When unlimbered at dusk, it also produces a muzzle flash that is visible from the International Space Station.
I absolutely love mine. The gun shoots magnificently out to about 200 meters. The short barrel will cost you some muzzle velocity, but I still wouldn’t want to get shot with one. This is a shockingly soft-shooting little rifle.
The PSA Krink would be a fine choice for a truck gun or to secure safely in your bedroom closet for those times the dog just won’t shut up in the middle of the night. Ammo is relatively cheap and available, and recoil is a joke.
The muzzle blast will indeed reliably clear your sinuses, but it will also make you some new friends at the local firing range. The PSA Krink seriously packs the cool points.
Historical Details
The AKS-74U was developed in 1973. Soviet military planners were in the process of switching over from the 7.62x39mm AKM to the new family of 5.45x39mm AK-74 rifles. Appreciating the need for a stubby carbine to be used by vehicle crewmen, special forces, and the like, the Russian Army did what they do. They launched a competition.
The playbill was a veritable Who’s Who of Russian gun-designing luminaries. SG Simonov, Igor Stetchkin, Mikhail Kalashnikov, Yevgeny Dragunov and AS Konstantinov all took part, but Kalashnikov predictably won the day. Kalashnikov’s design was perhaps not the most efficient of the lot. However, the fact that it was based on the standard AK rifle made it the obvious solution.
Built around a standard AKS-74 receiver, the AKS-74U carbine featured a stubby 8.1″ barrel, a side-folding skeletonized stock, a radical muzzle booster/flash suppressor, a new hinged top cover, and redesigned furniture.
The “U” stood for Ukorochenniy, which means, “Shortened” in Russian. The sight axis actually sat 3mm higher above the bore than did that of the parent rifle, but the manual of arms was otherwise identical. The PSA version replicates all of that stuff perfectly.
The AKS-74U was successful beyond expectations. Produced from 1979 through 1993 at the Tula Arms Plant, this sexy little gun was widely employed by pretty much every sawed-off dictatorship on the planet. I have coveted one myself for literally decades.
Nobody really knows where the term “Krinkov” came from. There are several theories, none of which seem terribly compelling. Regardless, the gun is known the world over as the Krinkov, hence the shortened PSA moniker Krink.
Ruminations
PSA is a national treasure. They are also growing like a pubescent teenager. Their ammo company is supposedly tooling up to make steel-cased 5.45x39mm ammo. I can’t wait to see where that goes.
I have been looking for one of these nifty little guns for two decades. Before PSA’s Krink, it would take, no kidding, five grand and a lot of luck to accumulate the parts to build one. The Form 1 registration and conversion require more patience than talent, and the $1,099.99 MSRP is quite reasonable for such a rarefied piece of iron. This thing is epic.
