“We were finally ready to test fire the newest prototype of the AK-50, and this video details exactly what happened.” -Brandon Herrera
The beast of a project made massive headway and Herreranstein’s monster gun is taking its first steps. Or rather it is firing live .50 BMG, using gas to cycle its action, ejecting spent cartridges, and feeding new .50 caliber rounds into the chamber to do it again. All on an AK internal layout that the team was unsure would be possible.
Theoretically it always was, however theory and getting all the minutia correct to make a gun run are different (look at the L85/SA80). Having another viable .50 Caliber rifle develop, on an iconic base platform, and with the potential to be one of the few that can actually stand next to the M82/M107 is an astounding acheivement.
We get a new “Glock Killer” every single year. We get introduced to a rifle that will “replace the M16/M4” nearly as often. But what we end up with is a well developed peer handgun or rifle. Even the P320, the new hotness and my favorite striker gun, is just a Glock peer. The SCAR, my favorite rifle, didn’t replace the M4. It gave SOCOM an M4 like platform in 7.62, something with more kinetic umph, but it didn’t replace it.
The AK-50 has potential to actively advance .50 Caliber semi-auto’s because the Barrett pretty much stands alone. There is the GM6 Lynx, but even how that runs it retains the lack of barrel rigidity that make bolt guns preferred for precision. The AK-50 will have a fixed barrel, gas operated, and the allows for a greater level of accuracy. Even with the piston riding overtop the barrel, the potential for a better grouping rifle is there.
It is certainly a fun development to keep watching take shape.
