When many people look at the curved magazine of the M10X their mind instantly thinks of the AK47, and for good reason. The M10X utilizes the AK47 magazine, the most common magazine around the world. The M10X also uses the famous long stroke gas piston system over a two lug rotating bolt but that is just about where the similarities to the Kalashnikov end.
The M10X is not a built up AK47 in a chassis. It is a purpose built rifle designed from the ground up to improve. many of the short comings of the AK47/AK74 and SG55X series of firearms. In our last media post “The Swiss Influence: The M10X and Evolution” we broke down many of the similarities and differences between the SG55X series and the M10X. This article will be doing that with the AK.
Starting with the foundation of the firearm, the receiver. The AK47 began as a stamped sheet metal receiver system but due to issues in the early designs and manufacturing process the Soviets had to switch to a machined receiver. The machined receiver is known for being quite strong and very smooth however these receivers added a significant amount of weight to the rifle, so much that the Soviets would eventually go back to a stamped receiver system with the creation of the AKM. The AKM ultimately passed the test of time and proved to be a great rifle but at the turn of the century it started falling short in terms of modularity and manufacturing processes.
The AKM utilizes a stamped receiver that must be riveted in place with trunnions. Machined sections that hold the receiver together along with parts like the barrel (front) and the stock (rear). Additionally the front trunnion serves as the locking area on the AKM and the rails that the bolt and bolt carrier travel on are spot welded into place. While this gives the AKM a very interesting aesthetic and is a robust system there is a lot of fine craftsmanship involved in the manufacturing process of just the receiver alone. If corners are cut or something goes wrong the entire rifle could be compromised. As time goes on stamping, riveting and welding receivers together takes fine craftsmanship and that starts to drive lead times and costs to produce these firearms up significantly.
The M10X went about the receiver system using the best of both worlds. The M10X uses a machined receiver similar to the first AK47 variants. However, unlike the AK47 the M10X ‘s receiver is only the front locking section along with the rails and rear portion. This grants the superior strength and consistency of the milled receiver. Additionally shaving weight off, giving it the weight and feeling of the stamped rifle. It also makes the manufacturing process significantly shorter and safer from defects like misaligned welded rails in ratio with the trunnion locking area, or poor rivet job resulting in a prematurely damaged firearm. The original AK47 comes in at over 9.5lbs unloaded, the AKM comes in at 6.8lbs unloaded, and the M10X comes in at 7.5lbs unloaded. While the M10X is marginally heavier than the AKM it has all the modern feature sets needed out the box whereas to add that onto an AKM would significantly increase the weight. The M10X barrel is threaded and torqued into place unlike the AK that is press and pinned. This saves time on the manufacturing side and also makes swapping barrels out much easier for armorers.
The Kalashnikov rifle was designed in the late 1940s and received its first modernization attempt in 1959. While it became the most popular rifle around the world it was never really designed to utilize optic systems nor laser aiming devices. This is a huge shortfall of the AK especially in this century. Many governments and private companies have made efforts to make upgrades for the Kalashnikov but they all come at a tradeoff or cost. The first optic mounting solutions for the AK were the side optic mounting plates that would be drilled and riveted into the receiver. They are robust and effective but again require a higher skill of craftsmanship. These side mounts are still not as ideal for things like IR or a large scope when comparing the system to the M4/AR15 system and it’s flat top rail machined into the receiver. Due to that, dedicated dust covers and gas tubes with rails machined or welded into them would hit the market. While these upgrades proved better in some cases they do not fully retain the optics ‘zero’, do not dissipate heat well, and add weight. The M10X uses a monolithic handguard system that slides over the barrel and upper receiver. The handguard is held into place in the front by a hinge pin and a latch to hold it down in the rear. Due to this, the M10X handguard retains ‘zero’. The handguard uses M-LOK making it a better system for keeping the weight down but adding mission critical components light flashlights, lasers or additional grips.
The ergonomics of the Kalashnikov are also dated in the modern era. The AK uses a flap style safety that can only be activated from the right hand side. The AK uses a side charging handle that can only be accessed from the side unless significant modifications are made. The M10X uses ambidextrous controls allowing the rifle to be setup and personally tailored to each user. The safety is a 45 degree throw thumb safety that is much easier and faster to operate. The charging handle can be changed sides in a matter of seconds.
The final major difference between the M10X and the AK is that the M10X surpasses significantly better than the AK. When the AK47, AKM, and AK74s came out they were not designed with the intent of suppressing them. Even the modern Russian AK12 service rifle is not an ideal suppressor host. The M10X utilizes a concentric 5/8x24RH muzzle thread pitch which allows for a wider use of multi use muzzle brakes and direct thread cans. The M10X also utilizes an adjustable gas system. The gas system allows for different sized gas ports to dial the system to a specific suppressor or ammunition loading. On the contrary the AK47 was designed to be a bit over gassed so they would run. This is great for standard use but as time goes on more and more end users are requesting suppressors for health reasons along with performance.
While the M10X uses the same caliber and magazine as the AK47 it is quite different. The M10X was designed from the ground up to be a much simpler yet effective rifle system that takes many of the excellent features from rifle designs around the world yet refines them.
