Shooting Illustrated has published a detailed account of the fascinating AN-94 "Abakan" rifle.
In 1993, a mysterious rifle appeared at an arms display at the elite Taman Guards Division outside Moscow. The strange new rifle was labeled “ASN”—a Russian acronym for Avtomat Spetsialnyi Nikonov. The soldiers at the show could give no meaningful information about it beyond the basic information on the placard. Shortly thereafter, data began to emerge indicating it was an advanced combat rifle, but its status remained a mystery. The Russian Ministry of Defense cleared up the mystery in 1995 by announcing that the ASN had passed all its troop trials and that it had been type classified as the “Avtomat Nikonova-94” (AN-94). The number “94” is the year the rifle was officially type classified and adopted for military service to replace the Kalashnikov-designed AK-47/AKM/AK-74-series rifles.
The AN-94 has a canted magazine. I think Shooting Illustrated’s account is an excerpt from Charles Cutshaw’s Book “The New World of Russian Small Arms and Ammo.”
Ah yes, the AN-94. This has to be one of my favorite rifles, not just aesthetically but also functionally. The whole rifle was designed around the idea of a marksman rifle, but with the capability of sending more than one round into the target with minimal to no recoil. Thus, it’s operating system has a 2 round burst firing mode where the cycle actually sneaks a second round into the chamber and fires it almost directly after the first.
This is one of those guns that I would love to handle at some point in my life. I think it represents innovation of modern firearms quite well – even if it isn’t perfect.
I also had no clue that the magazine was canted to the side like that! Crazy.
As interesting as the AN-94 concept is, anecdotal information trickling out of Russia suggests it is an armourer’s nightmare. Too many failures to operate as intended in field conditions. Too many parts that need constant replacement and maintenance. That may explain why Russia’s military are obtaining new AK derivatives as a back up in the traditional 7.62 x 39mm.
Clearly, it has not replaced the AK series rifles, being used only by some special forces units. It is a real surprise that it was ever adopted, considering it is far too complicated for general issue – a complete contrast with the simple, bomb-proof AK.
Huh. I never realized the AN94 had a canted magazine on top of everything else.
Fascinating weapon in many aspects. Soooo fiddly though. There’s a reason it only saw limited use.
@KTBabs, also with more then triple the amount of parts then a conventional rifle and with any fouling keeping the weapon from functioning, on paper it could be in my top rifles (but two rounds of small ammunition would be the same as one larger round but I digress) but I wouldn’t trust that rifle in combat for a second
The way this thing works is crazy, and includes a cable in the mechanism. I have seen a few drawings that attempt to show the mechanism in action, and I am somewhat baffled still. Here is a great link for more pics and info:
http://roman-forums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=77
Here is a link to whats probably the best description of the AN-94 you can find online
http://roman-forums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=77
KTBabs,
The AN-94 was designed around the same concept as the G11 and AAI ACR, which was to increase the chances that at least one of the rounds from the burst strikes a fleeing target or to compensate for a shooter’s aiming error during combat stress. The Germans and Americans called this concept salvo burst- the simultaneous discharge of multiple projectiles at a high rate in a defined pattern.
Although, at certain ranges the AN-94 can put both rounds from the burst on target, the major purpose of the 2 round burst from the AN-94 was to increase hit probability (not multiple rounds on the same target) through reduced dispersion (AN-94 has 13 times less dispersion compared to AKM)
The mag goes in sideways? Wow that is weird. While a good gun for SpetzNAZ it isn’t peasant proof with its 500 parts for common solders a technological leap YES the AK replacement and Russia’s new rilfe NO.
Honestly, I love the AN-94, but it doesn’t seem to have gone much further from it’s prototype stage. The mechanism is far more complicated than traditional Russian weapons, which of course naturally makes it less reliable (though their claims of improved reliability could be true), but what matters more is the doubled training time and cost required for soldiers to effectively use the two round burst setting and be able to properly disassemble and clean the gun. Also, more pointy edges means snagging, the smaller rear sight can get dirty easier, the folded stock doesn’t allow you to fire, and some reviewers complain about the angle of the grip…