AK50: How Hard Could it Be? Brandon Herrera's 10-Year Project

This video details the extensive gunsmithing required to repair a dangerously flawed AKS-74U (Krinkov) build originally reviewed by Forgotten Weapons. Brandon Herrera and his team identified critical safety failures, including a poorly installed gas block and a dangerously modified bolt. The restoration involved replacing components, re-riveting the receiver, and ensuring proper headspace and function, culminating in a successful range test.

Brandon Herrera details significant improvements to the AK-50 prototype, focusing on a new double recoil spring assembly designed to enhance reliability. While live fire testing showed progress, cycling and ejection issues persist, particularly with standard ammunition. Further adjustments to the gas system and ejection geometry are planned.

The AK-50 project is nearing completion with ongoing refinements to reliability and ergonomics, including a new Zenitco grip. The rifle's integration into Escape from Tarkov is highlighted. Significant engineering efforts focus on managing .50 BMG recoil through custom buffer and spring systems, and a redesigned piston shaft.

The AK-50 V3 project showcases significant engineering advancements in adapting the AK platform for the .50 BMG caliber. Key developments include a stamped RPK-style receiver, a robust recoil management system with a unique buffer, and a hinged piston borrowed from the PKM. Despite manufacturing challenges, the project aims for a production-quality firearm weighing around 29 lbs.

Brandon Herrera provides an update on the AK-50 project, detailing the transition from a milled to a stamped receiver for cost and weight reduction. The video highlights a redesigned recoil system inspired by the Saiga 12 and addresses significant technical challenges related to the .50 BMG caliber, such as receiver warping and trunnion support. Testing will focus on the durability of the stamped receiver and the integration of a Barrett magazine.

Brandon Herrera unveils the completed AK-50, showcasing design refinements like a new muzzle brake to address barrel whip. The video debunks the myth of .50 BMG shockwave damage using White Claw cans and demonstrates the rifle's destructive power by destroying an IO AK with Raufoss rounds. Key AK-style technical features, including the long-stroke gas piston and rotating bolt, are highlighted.

This video details the unique 'French Finger Trap' issue with the MAS-36 rifle's bayonet, where two rifles can become unintentionally locked together. A 1951 French arsenal memorandum identified this problem, proposing a simple modification to the bayonet handle. Drilling a small hole allows a tool, like a firing pin, to depress the internal spring, enabling the separation of locked rifles.

The M134 Minigun is a scaled-down 7.62 NATO rotary cannon, requiring 24V DC power and consuming 1.5 kW. Its high rate of fire (3,000+ RPM) is essential for aircraft engagement windows. The complex delinker mechanism is critical for feeding ammunition, and practical hand-held use is impossible due to weight and recoil. Live fire demonstrates rapid ammunition consumption and the need for indirect aiming.

The H&K G11 is a revolutionary prototype assault rifle designed in the late 20th century, notable for its caseless ammunition and unique rotating drum bolt mechanism. Despite advanced features like a 2000 RPM burst fire rate and integrated optics, its development was ultimately halted by geopolitical shifts and cost concerns.

This video demonstrates the assembly and live-fire of the German 1936 pattern light mortar (L.Gr.W.36). It highlights the mortar's leveling mechanism for accuracy and the difficulty in visually tracking its 50mm projectiles after firing. The content showcases historical military hardware and its operational use.