AK-74 Sales Up in 2011 – U.S. Media Ignores the Story

Russian media outlet RIA Novosti offered a story that has barely had any pickup in the United States, noting “Kalashnikov Rifle Maker Sales up 57.4% in 2011.” The article noted:

Izhmash, the manufacturer of Kalashnikov AK assault rifles, said its sales were up 57.4 percent last year at 5.73 billion rubles (about $190 million).

Civilian weapon sales rose 25 percent and a similar increase is expected this year, Izhmash press secretary Yelena Filatova said.

Production is to increase 30 percent this year, to 5.1 billion rubles, she added.

In September 2011, Chief of the Russian General Staff Nikolai Makarov said the Defense Ministry had stopped procuring AK-74 rifles because of oversupply, indicating that new models of small arms and light weapons would replace it.

The AK-74 is the most widely used and well-known assault rifle in the world. It is used by some 50 armies around the world, as well as countless guerrilla movements.

Now this is worth noting because it does mean that not only is this the most commonly used firearm in the world at present, but is probably the most widely illegally trafficked firearm as well. While fingers continue to point at American firearms, where is the mainstream media reporting on the AK-74 sales? And notice that the Russian military has an oversupply but the sales are increasing, so where are those guns going?

A related story also noted, “Venezuela plant to make 50 million Kalashnikov rounds annually,” which is a huge number. Could those bullets be fueling the cartel wars in Mexico? Just asking…

Grass Roots North Carolina for Firearms Education Explains the 90 Percent

The 90 percent lie has been one that we at FirearmsTruth.com have worked to debunk. We’re not the only ones. Our friends at Grass Roots North Carolina for Firearms Education offer their take on what the 90 percent means:

Back in the Summer President Barrack Obama met with Mexican President Felipe Calderon.

At that meeting President Obama agreed to help Calderon register your firearms. The reasoning for this move is the ludicrous claim that 90% of firearms used by Mexican drug lords come from the United States. Read more

Gun Collecting: Japanese Rifles of World War II

Japanese rifles often get a bad rap, at least when compared to the rifles of the other major combatant powers of World War II. Even collectors of militaria view the Japanese rifles as being of a lower quality, but this isn’t quite true. One reason for this misconception is that much of what survived, and is now in collections is actually from the later war years, thus not up to the highest quality.

“The fit, finish & overall quality of manufacture on early Japanese weapons equals if not surpasses weapons made by other participants of World War II,” explains advanced Japanese militaria collector Jareth Holub. “It wasn’t until the very last two years, due to U.S. air strikes, that factories started producing subpar products.” Read more

Is Mexican Drug Cartel Crime Linked to Gun Control?

“Long before the Mexican drug cartels cut a distribution deal with their South American confederates, back when Colombian drug lords were busy corrupting their society’s democratic system, Mexico’s federal government was cracking down on private gun ownership. Its war against civilian firearms began in 1968, after civil unrest spooked the powers that be. The Mexican government closed all privately held firearm stores. From that point on, all firearm sales had to go through the Mexican Defense Ministry. It determined what guns were sold to whom at what price.” Read more

International Media Believes U.S. Fueling Illegal Arms Trade

Turn on the news of conflicts around the world and you’re likely to see the Soviet designed AK-47 time and time again. But surprisingly the United States, not the former Soviet Union, now gets the lion’s share of the blame for supplying the world with illegal firearms.

In an editorial posted by Jamaica Gleaner News on recent violence in Haiti the writers called out the United States for supplying guns to Mexican cartels. Fortunately, at least, the article didn’t see the United States in this alone:

Jamaica and her CARICOM partners should invite gun manufacturing countries such as the United States, China and Russia to a summit on small arms

This is an interesting opinion, but would Russia care – should Russia even care – about the weapons that were sold during the Cold War by the former Soviet Union? And what would a summit really mean?