{"id":524,"date":"2022-11-08T19:38:22","date_gmt":"2022-11-08T19:38:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=524"},"modified":"2022-11-08T19:38:22","modified_gmt":"2022-11-08T19:38:22","slug":"the-chinese-type-56-ak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=524","title":{"rendered":"The Chinese Type 56 AK"},"content":{"rendered":"


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By Will Dabbs, MD<\/a><\/p>\n

I<\/span>n the late 1970\u2019s, Kalashnikov rifles were the most common firearms on the planet. Despite tens of millions of copies in service, they yet remained vanishingly rare on our side of the pond. Vietnam bring-backs were an option, but they were and always have been both rare and expensive. Even if you could find a gun, the 7.62x39mm ammo it fired was comparably scarce.<\/p>\n

\n<\/picture>
The Type 56 AK rifle as imported in the 1980\u2019s was a superb piece of\u00a0kit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One slightly more accessible option was the Egyptian Maadi AK, a superb semi-auto rendition of the AKM service rifle. But, I seem to recall they cost $1,000 apiece even back in the early 1980\u2019s. That would be about $4,400 today. Prior to that time, Finnish Valmets stood in for Kalashnikovs in movies like\u00a0Stripes, The Dogs of War\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Firefox.\u00a0<\/em>Once the Egyptians began exporting Maadis, they appeared in such classics as\u00a0Heartbreak Ridge, Commando\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Red Dawn.<\/em>\u00a0It was simply that most normal folk couldn\u2019t afford them.<\/p>\n

\"folding\n<\/picture>
This prime folding stock Type 56 set the author back $325 new at a gun show back in\u00a01985.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Everybody likes money, and around 1983 the Chinese figured they could get some if they started building semi-auto versions of Kalashnikov rifles for the U.S. market. The first of the genre was imported by Clayco. These guns were made by the Chinese company Norinco. They were superb rifles, but they featured polymer furniture. American consumers were looking for something that hearkened back to the Vietnam War<\/a> that was still fresh on everybody\u2019s minds, so these versions sold poorly. Clayco shut down in 1987.<\/p>\n

\"banladesh\n<\/picture>
A Bangladesh navy sailor fires a Type-56 assault rifle aboard the Bangladesh navy frigate BNS Bangabandhu during a surface gunnery exercise in 2011. Image: U.S. Navy\/MC2 Daniel\u00a0Barker<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

California was not the gun owner\u2019s wasteland it is today, so Golden State Arms Distributors sprang up in Manhattan Beach, California. Their first shipment of wood-stocked Norinco Kalashnikovs consisted of 2,000 rifles that retailed for $259.95 apiece. That would be about $730 today. This relationship ultimately precipitated a tsunami of business.<\/p>\n

I bought my folding stock Chinese Norinco Type 56 AK from a pile of NIB versions at a gun show for $325 in 1985. Each rifle was beautifully executed and came with three magazines, a bayonet, a sling and a cleaning kit. These Chinese guns flowed into the country in various forms and in profound numbers until the 1989 import ban under Bush the First turned off the tap.<\/p>\n

Type 56 Origin Story<\/h2>\n

1956 was a big year for the Chinese. Back in the 1950\u2019s and 60\u2019s, China\u2019s forte rested mostly in copying others\u2019 designs. As they designated their weapons based upon the year of introduction, several mass-produced guns got saddled with the nomenclature Type 56. This included a Chinese SKS, an RPD and lots and lots of AKs.<\/p>\n

\"norinco\n<\/picture>
This Chinese-made military rifle was imported through California. Good luck on running a similar import company in the Golden State\u00a0today.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov birthed the original AK rifle in the years immediately following World War II. This simple but effective combat implement went through several iterations to become the most produced firearm in human history. Those earliest Type 56 Chinese AKs were the forged receiver sort, just as the earliest (after a failed attempt at an early stamped receiver) Russian AKs were. This was the variant most frequently encountered by our troops serving in Vietnam.<\/p>\n

\"Chinese\n<\/picture>
The author shot this picture of a Chinese Marine in 1997. The rifle he was packing came from the same factory as did the\u00a0author\u2019s.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Production of the Type 56 AK began at State Factory 66, and then moved to Norinco and Polytech. Military versions were widely exported across the world. Many to most of the Kalashnikovs that saw Iranian service during the Iran\/Iraq War, as an example, originated in China.<\/p>\n

\"norinco\n<\/picture>
Chinese-made Type 56 rifles often came with a variety of accessories like those shown\u00a0above.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Chinese Type 56 rifles littered Afghanistan during the 1980\u2019s. These guns were smuggled in by China, Pakistan and the U.S. for use by the Mujahidin back when radical Afghan jihadists were actually viewed as being on our side. Infantry rifles like these are essentially immortal if properly maintained, so Chinese Type 56 rifles are commonly found throughout the Middle East today.<\/p>\n

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The civilian-legal semiauto version of the Type 56 differs only in its fire control system and bolt carrier from the GI-issue sort.<\/p>\n

Details<\/h2>\n

The stamped receiver Chinese Type 56 is a decent approximation of the stamped receiver Russian AKM, but it does differ in some critical respects. The front sight hood on the Type 56 is enclosed, while that of the Russian AKM is open on top. The Type 56 also uses a 1.5mm-thick receiver blank rather than the more common Russian 1mm sort. This makes the Chinese guns theoretically stronger. Bayonets can either be detachable or integral and folding.<\/p>\n

\"thicker\n<\/picture>
The receiver on the Chinese Type 56 AK is half a millimeter thicker than that of a comparable Russian\u00a0Kalashnikov.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The forearm on the Type 56 is slab-sided like that of the earlier AK-47 (and not \u201cbulged\u201d like those of the AKM), and wood is solid rather than laminated as also seen on the AKM. In addition, the receiver cover is smooth rather than being ribbed like on the AKM.<\/p>\n

\"type\n<\/picture>
The Chinese Type 56 AK (left) differs in several esoteric ways from a comparable Soviet-style AKM.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Soviet AK rifles are finished in a black oxide or parkerized finish, while the Type 56 features a deep, sultry blue. Type 56 sights are graduated to 800 meters, while Soviet AK sights are calibrated to a thousand. Chinese bolts and most of their bolt carriers were hard chromed for durability and wear resistance. There are some other little differences, but only obsessive fans will notice.<\/p>\n

The Chinese can make some absolutely gorgeous firearms, and my Type 56 semi-auto is no exception.<\/p>\n

Range Testing of Type 56 Rifle<\/h2>\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Ammunition<\/strong><\/th>\nVelocity<\/th>\nGroup Size<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Red Army Standard 123 gr FMJ<\/td>\n2,316 fps<\/td>\n2.25\u2033<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Russian Steel Case (Mil-Surp) 123 gr HP<\/td>\n2,385 fps<\/td>\n4.25\u2033<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Wolf Performance Ammo 123 gr FMJ<\/td>\n2,399 fps<\/td>\n2.25\u2033<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n

Group size is best four of five shots measured center to center fired at 100 meters over open sights from a simple rest. Velocity is the average of three shots fired across a Caldwell Ballistic Chronograph oriented ten feet from the muzzle.<\/p>\n

Technical Specifications<\/h2>\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Caliber<\/td>\n7.62x39mm M43 Combloc<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Action<\/td>\nGas-operated semiautomatic<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Magazine Capacity<\/td>\n30<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sights<\/td>\nRear sliding tangent\/front post<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Overall Length<\/td>\n34.6 inches<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Barrel Length<\/td>\n16.3 inches<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Weight<\/td>\n6.83 pounds<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Original U.S. Price (1985)<\/td>\n$325<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n

Ruminations<\/h2>\n

In 1997, I was an Army officer deployed for Operation Tandem Thrust, a massive joint exercise that brought together Allied forces from all around the Pacific for excellent training and military cross-pollination. Part of my piece unfolded in rural Australia, while the rest was in Hawaii. While in the vicinity of Pearl Harbor, I availed myself of the opportunity to tour a Chinese destroyer that was on a port call.<\/p>\n

\"norinco\n<\/picture>
1980\u2019s-vintage Type 56 rifles came in both fixed and folding-stock versions. Shown above is the underfolding version that was very\u00a0popular.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Boarding an active warship is a unique experience, even during peacetime in a friendly port. As I trotted up the gangplank I was greeted by a serious-looking young Chinese Marine. You can imagine my surprise when I realized he was packing a folding-stock Type 56 rifle that had inspired the semi-auto model I had purchased at that Memphis, Tennessee, gun show more than a decade earlier.<\/p>\n

\u00a0I didn\u2019t strain international relations by asking him to let me hold it, but I did give the gun a proper once over. It was indeed a Norinco AK that originated from the same factory as my own. As they say, it may indeed be a small world, but you wouldn\u2019t want to paint it.<\/p>\n

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By Will Dabbs, MD In the late 1970\u2019s, Kalashnikov rifles were the most common firearms on the planet. Despite tens of millions of copies in service, they yet remained vanishingly rare on our side of the pond. Vietnam bring-backs were an option, but they were and always have been both rare and expensive. Even if […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":525,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=524"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/524\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}