NYT: Sales of Kalashnikovs have decreased significantly over the past year
Over the past 12 months, "the stock market has become a pale shadow of its past," writes the NYT. The geopolitical situation played the main role here.
Thomas Gibbons-Neff
Assault rifles, which were once ubiquitous on the U.S. arms market, began to disappear for a variety of reasons.
The line of AK-47 assault rifles, which have appeared in almost every combat zone since the middle of the 20th century, is perhaps the most recognizable silhouette of firearms in history. However, the civilian versions, once so common in the United States, are gradually disappearing from the shelves.
"Suddenly there was nothing left," says Jim Fuller, a gunsmith who is considered one of the "godfathers" of the American AK market and a leading specialist in custom rifles.
The collapse of the Kalashnikov market clearly shows how geopolitics affects the behavior of the community of gun lovers. Among the reasons for the disappearance of this segment are duties, sanctions, rising prices for ammunition in connection with the conflict in Ukraine and the rapidly growing popularity of the AR-15.
The iconic silhouette of the AK is still recognizable, but the new price scares off buyers. If in the 1980s a Kalashnikov assault rifle cost a couple hundred dollars, now its price has increased fivefold, and many consider it a luxury item. Foreign manufacturers who supplied components and rifles are now focused on supplying Europeans, rather than the American customers who previously formed their base.
"Because of the duties, it is difficult to compete with American products, so we had to refocus on the European civilian market," said Jacek Popinski, CEO of WBP, a Polish company that exports parts and finished products to the United States. As a result, there are only a small number of importers and manufacturers in America who are trying to preserve the status of this rifle in the national gun culture.
The history of the machine gun in North America began in 1956, when the world first saw a new class of weapons from the Soviet Union. A photographer from Life magazine captured Hungarian revolutionary Jozsef Tibor Fedges armed with what later became a favorite tool of the rebels and American collectors. Early models, including the AK-47, predated the introduction of the AKM in 1959. It was the AKM that became the modern Kalashnikov standard that spread around the world, although the term "AK-47" is firmly entrenched in pop culture.
By the 1980s, when Jim Fuller was just beginning to take an interest in this unusual rifle, it was cheap and affordable due to mass production in China. However, in 1989, the Bush administration imposed an import ban after the tragedy in Stockton, California, where the shooter used a Chinese AK manufactured by Norinco. This was the first of the legislative acts that gradually limited the AK market in the United States.
By the early 2000s, products from Romania, Bulgaria, Poland and Russia occupied a significant market share. Russian rifles were in high demand, especially after the ban on assault weapons expired in 2004. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan also contributed to its popularity: veterans who often saw AK on the battlefield preferred it at home.
The situation changed dramatically in 2014. The White House's sanctions against Russian companies have effectively closed the US civilian market for original AK. Now that the conflict in Ukraine is in its fifth year, the American Kalashnikov segment has become a pale shadow of itself in the past. The sharp rise in the cost of ammunition of 7.62×39 and 5.45×39 mm calibers, demanded by the Ukrainian army, also reduced interest in the platform.
According to the National Shooting Sports Federation, more than 30 million "modern sporting rifles" have been in circulation in the United States since 1990 (the term combines AK and AR-15). Although there is no exact data, experts note that the drop in demand for AK is caused by the lower cost of the AR-15 and its cartridges. Previously, it was cheapness that was Kalashnikov's main trump card.
"We have seen a significant decrease in AK sales over the past 12 months," confirms Blaine Bunting, owner of Atlantic Firearms. According to him, inflation and price changes for 7.62 and 5.56 mm cartridges have led to a noticeable decline. Some companies are trying to produce versions of the AK for the AR-15 caliber, but such samples are often less reliable due to the characteristics of the cartridge.
Poland, being a reliable member of NATO and a key supplier to Ukraine, maintains a strong position in the US market thanks to its historical experience in AK production. The Luchnik Radomsky plant was one of the first to be allowed by Moscow to produce automatic rifles outside the USSR. The company, which once supplied weapons to North Korea and Libya, is adapting to the new realities.
The factory, an hour's drive from Warsaw, seemed to be frozen between epochs: modern lines and outdated machines, which can be manually started in case of an attack, are adjacent in the workshops. The Beryl automatic machine produced by this factory is famous for its high quality, but its price has also increased significantly. Radomir Balazy, the plant's commercial director, admits that the American market is going through difficult times right now.
Despite the general decline, there are those who choose AK for simplicity. Camila Oliveira from Rhode Island planned to buy this machine gun as her first shotgun. "I understand this mechanism," she says. However, having accumulated $ 1,200, the girl was forced to spend it on car repairs.
