The AKM-63 assault rifle was developed at the Hungarian FEG factory during early 1960s. It was, basically, a licensed copy of the Soviet Kalashnikov AKM assault rifle, but with several peculiar features in its external appearance.
AKM-63 assault rifle with its original plastic furniture
It was officially adopted by Hungarian army in 1963 and mass-produced until mid-1970s. Starting in 1976, it was replaced on the factory floors with an AMM assault rifle (Automata Modernizált Magyarosított). A folding-stock version, designated AK-63D (Deszant) entered production circa 1980. There also were two more distinct versions based on AKM-63, namely the AMD-65 compact assault rifle and the AMP-69 grenade launcher / rifle.
AKM-63 assault rifle with a more durable wooden furniture
FEG AK-63D (Deszant) assault rifle
Many of those rifles were exported from Hungary, especially after the fall of the Warsaw pact in 1991. FEG also produced a semi-automatic version of the AMM for civilian sales, known as the FEG SA-85M rifle.
FEG SA-85M semi-automatic rifle, a civilian version of the AMM assault rifle
The last version of this rifle is the AK-63MA, which was introduced circa 2013 as an upgrade of older guns. It has a side-folding, adjustable shoulder stock made of plastic, a new top cover with a Picatinny rail, and several other modern features. In 2018 it was decided to replace this rifle in Hungarian service with a license-build copy of the 5.56mm Czech CZ Bren 2 assault rifle.
Upgraded AK-63MA assault rifle
An AKM-63 assault rifle is mechanically similar to the Russian Kalashnikov AKM. It has the same stamped steel receiver, rotary bolt, long stroke piston operated action, and uses same 7.62x39mm ammunition and magazines. The key difference is in the furniture. While Russian guns used mix of a laminated wood and bakelite, Hungarian AKM-63 rifle originally used plastics of various colors: green, gray or grayish blue. The lower handguard was made from a stamped steel and fitted with a forward vertical grip; no upper handguard was provided at all.
After several years of hard use, it was discovered that the plastic is not sufficiently durable, and it was replaced by wooden parts of similar shape. With introduction of the AMM rifle steel handguard was replaced by more conventional wooden handguards, similar in appearance to a Soviet AKM.
AKM-63 assault rifle basic specifications:
Some photos by http://www.ak-info.ru/
Encyclopedia of firearms and ammunition of the XX and XXI centuries
All texts are written by Maxim Popenker © 1999-2024
