Marc Krebs is well known for his outstanding custom 1911 autopistols. Despite his respect for the wonderful 1911 service pistol, his first love is the rifle. And the rifle he admires most is the Avtomat Kalashnikova, the AK.
Recent years have seen amazing innovations in custom rifles based on the American service rifle, the M16. Now it's the AKs turn, with Krebs Custom as one of the leaders. Some fans of classic blue steel and fine walnut rifles (myself included) find such developments a bit startling, but modifying military weapons for civilian uses such as competition, hunting police service, personal defense and collecting has a long and honored history.
A century ago the bolt-action battle rifle was the primary weapon of the world's armed forces. Mausers, Lee-Enfields, Mosin-Nagants, Springfields and Mannlichers were considered the best fighting weapons technology could devise. These and others also served as sporting arms for hunters and target shooters. Some were sporters built by the factory; others began as military surplus, with the action or barreled action serving as a base around which talented gunmakers made fine custom sporters.
Such rifles were available in about any price range. After WWI. surplus Krags were sold to NRA members for as little as $1.50. The first center-fire rifle I owned was a Lee-Enfield. "'sporterized" by removing the wooden handguard on top of the barrel and cutting down the forearm. It cost $17.88. At the other end of the spectrum, custom rifles on actions such as the Mauser G33/40 action are among the finest spotters ever made, with price tags to match.
As the world's armies switched to semiautomatic and automatic weapons for general issue, it seemed the practice of adapting military arms to hunting and target use would end. The Garand, magnificent battle instrument though it was, doesn't adapt too well to hunting use. Even if semiauto rifles are allowed for hunting, the Garand is long, heavy and not well adapted to scope use. The scope problem can be solved but little can be done to make the rifle lighter and handier.
Even with the Garand, the ingenuity of American riflemen and gunsmiths couldn't be denied. Military target shooters found the Garand's light recoil an advantage over a long match, and its self-loading action allowed more time for aiming and trigger control. Ingenious gunsmiths found ways to wring accuracy from the Garand, which some of its early detractors could hardly believe.
The adoption of the M14 surely seemed the end of the line for adaptation to civilian use. With its full automatic capability, the M14 was never offered for military surplus sale. Moreover everyone knew it wasn't as accurate as match-grade Garands. Once again military armorers found ways to deliver brilliant accuracy from the service rifle. Civilian target shooters, using Garands in matches against military riflemen equipped with match-grade M14s, found themselves at a severe disadvantage. The long 20-round magazine of the M14 made a fine palm rest for offhand shooting, while 7.62mm match ammunition proved superbly accurate.
The private sector came to the rescue, with M14-style receivers made without full-auto capability. M1A rifles from Springfield Armory have proven to be extremely well made and popular. Though primarily target rifles, the .308 caliber chambering makes them useful hunting rifles if you don't mind the weight.
I have a friend whose primary interest is handgun competition. He owns one centerfire rifle--match-grade Springfield Armory M1A--and uses it for everything from competition to prairie dog shoots to deer hunting. We hunted whitetail deer together a few seasons back; he collected his buck as efficiently as he would have with a lightweight bolt-action sporter.
Since WWII, the battle rifle has been superseded for military use by the assault rifle, defined as a compact rifle (actually a carbine) chambered for an intermediate-power cartridge, capable of semi, or full-automatic fire and feeding from a large-capacity magazine. The pre-eminent assault rifles of the past half-century have been the M16 and the AK-47.
If you had suggested to me 20 years ago that one day these designs would form the basis for fine target or sporting rifles, I'd have said you were crazy. I had tried several semiauto versions of both rifles. Though fun to shoot and technologically interesting, their accuracy was abysmal, with 6" and 7" groups at 100 yards with iron sights, since neither design Was well adapted to scope use. Even with hunting bullets, their cartridges were barely adequate--and sometimes not allowed--for game larger than coyotes.
And yet it has happened again. Demanding riflemen and innovative, brilliant gunsmiths have turned military designs into superb target and hunting rifles, figuratively transforming swords into plowshares. (My wife Simone, a teacher who believes in sing words correctly, says this is a poor analogy; even a hunting rifle is hardly a plowshare. She says it's transforming a sword into a fancier, more attractive sword. "Not that there's anything wrong with it," she added hastily.)
The AR-15 and its clones (semiauto versions of the M16) have so far seen the majority of the innovations. In the past couple of years I've used AR-type rifles capable of quarter-minute accuracy, ARs chambered for cartridges such as the Tactical 20--which shoot flatter than even the .220--Swift and ARs chambered for the powerful .50 Beowulf. Some of the more exotic ARs used in three-gun matches are wild in appearance and incredible in performance.
Why did Marc Krebs decide to offer custom AK rifles? "It's a beautiful design. I don't believe there is another rifle capable of matching the AK's reliability." He considers it the best, most durable most reliable military rifle ever made.
The three versions of the AK are the 74M in 5.45x39mm. the model 101 chambered for the U.S. and NATO 5.56mm round, and the model 103 in 7.62x39mm. The rifle on loan from Krebs is the model KTR-03S (Krebs Tactical Rifle, 103 version), based on the Saiga rifle made by Izhmash of Russia
Krebs Custom parts include the rail forearm, adjustable rear sight and Picatinny rail, front sight gas block, and Galil-style thumb safety on the left side of the pistol grip. Rail forearms provide great flexibility in mounting accessories: white lights, laser aiming devices, vertical grips, red-dot sights.
Especially impressive is the rear sight assembly and scope rail and the modifications to the action's top cover which make them possible. AK rifles usually use a barrel-mounted rear sight and, with a short barrel, the sight radius is likewise short. The problem with incorporating a peep sight is the action top cover. It removes for disassembly of the firearm and normally there is some play in the fit. Mounting a sight on a shaky foundation is hardly conducive to accuracy.
Krebs modifies the top cover so there is a snug pinch fit at the front, where the cover meets the gas tube. At the rear, a wedge system takes up excess play and provides a very solid fit. There is no perceptible play between cover and receiver.
The rear sight itself is a heavy-duty assembly, adjustable for windage with the sight protected by strong steel wings. Flipping the sight allows the shooter to choose between long range and close range peep sizes Elevation adjustment is achieved with front sight. The Picatinny rail, integral with the rear sight, allows versatility in mounting scopes or red-dot sights.
The KTR-03S with 16.25" barrel is compact at 34" overall length, and weighs 6 3/4 pounds unloaded. It balances and handles very well, and the safety, right under the thumb, is convenient to use and smooth in operation. Fit and finish are very good, and the rifle gives a pleasing impression of solid durability.
American riflemen used to crisp, motionless, light single-stage triggers will need to adapt a bit to the military-style trigger pull of the AK. The Krebs rifle has a two-stage pull; an initial takeup followed by a sliding trigger break. Measured with a Lyman gauge at the center of the pivoting trigger, weight-of-pull was a very consistent five pounds, nine ounces. Despite the weight, I found the pull to be predictable and easy to manage.
Current match-grade AR-15s and clones are capable of astonishing accuracy. Achieving a high level of accuracy is more difficult with the AK, in part due to differences in operating design. Both are gas-operated, with gas tapped off from a hole in the barrel. In the AR-15 design gas travels through a stationary gas tube above the barrel and impinges directly on the bolt carrier. With the use of steel handguards to free-float the barrel, and with no components attached to the barrel in motion during the firing cycle, the AR-15 barrel is free to vibrate naturally and consistently.
The AK uses a piston connected to the bolt by an operating rod. During the firing cycle the piston and operating rod are in motion. As Krebs points out, "As the piston separates from the gas block, it tweaks the barrel while the projectile is still in the bore. A short barrel in an AK is inherently more accurate. Not only is it more rigid, it lets the bullet clear the bore more quickly with less influence from barrel movement."
The AK barrel is not free floated, but Krebs Custom ensures the forearm is not bearing tightly on the barrel. "If the forearm is tightly fitted, as the barrel heats up it will start spreading shots around," says Marc Krebs.
I fitted an old but good Weaver 10X scope with 1" tube to the KTR-03S, using Les Baer rings with adapters. I'd have preferred a more modern target scope with 30mm tube but found its eyepiece didn't clear the rear sight. Accuracy testing was done at 100 yards. using a variety of 7.62x39mm ammunition including Wolf hollowpoint hunting ammunition, and Federal and American Eagle softpoint loads.
Five-shot groups ran from two to three inches, typically with four shots in about 1 1/2" and the fifth opening up the group. Thinking maybe the flyers were my fault, I fired a series of three-shot groups. Although there were a number of 1 1/2" groups, group average remained at about 2 1/2". Group size did not change significantly as the barrel got hot.
Marc Krebs advised this is about the accuracy level a shooter should expect with hunting-type factory ammunition. "If groups average over three inches the shooter can send the rifle to us and we'll have a look at it."
Recoil of the KTR-03S proved extremely light, due both to the gas-operated action and the highly efficient Krebs muzzle brake. Incidentally the test rifle has the muzzle brake/flash hider permanently attached to conform with laws in effect when it was built. With the demise of the 1994 crime bill, current production uses an "A2" removable version of the brake.
It need hardly be said there were no malfunctions. I would have been astonished if there had been The AKs reputation for reliability under the worst imaginable conditions has been so well established as to hardly merit discussion.
With a low-powered scope such as the Leupold CQ/T or a red-dot sight, the KTR-03S should be an excellent choice for the popular sport of three-gun competition. Its light weight, compact size, excellent handling and light recoil make it well suited to this fast-paced sport.
The compact size would also make it well adapted to storage in a police patrol vehicle, especially when fitted with the optional Vltor collapsing stock. Its reliability, durability, and low maintenance requirement likewise make it well suited to police and personal defense use.
KREBS CUSTOM KTR-03S/IZHMASH SAIGA
IMPORTER: EAA Corp.
(321) 639-4842, www.eaacorp.com.
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