Arsenal SLR-106 FR

The Soviet Union’s successor to the AK-47, the AK-74 chambered in 5.45 x 39, never quite caught on; and while it was an improved design, the changes were too subtle for most Russian-friendly armies to take notice.  After the collapse of the Iron Curtain, former Warsaw Pact countries eager to join NATO revived the AK-74 and chambered it for NATO’s standardized cartridge, the 5.54 x 45.  Arsenals are of joint Bulgarian and US manufacture and are considered to be one of the highest quality stamped receiver AKs available.  The SLR-106 FR has AK-74 features, such as the -74 style muzzle break, side mounted scope base, and a 90 degree gas port; but it is chambered in 5.56 x 45 mm NATO (.223 Remington) and the barrel has a 1 in 7 inch rifling twist rather than the customary 1 in 9 inch.  This particular model has a folding full stock, 20 and 30-round polymer magazines, and an aftermarket SAW-style Tapco grip.  It also uses a novel sighting system composed of a twist-mounted 3x Aimpoint magnifier behind an Aimpoint red-dot sight zeroed for 300 meters.  Both are mounted on a low-profile picatinny-railed Kalashnikov-type side mount.  The back-up rear iron sight is an aftermarket Krebs peep sight adjustable for ranges between 100 and 800 meters.