Molot VPO-185 carbine (Russia)

The Molot VPO-185 carbine was first announced in 2019, and it sales in Russia commenced in early 2021. Developed by the Molot Oruzhie Ltd in the city of Vyatskye Polyany, this pistol caliber carbine is suitable mostly for plinking or home defense. A dedicated “IPSC PCC special” version of this carbine is still in the works at the moment of this writing (February 2021). It seems that original intent was to produce a less expensive competitor to the highly popular Saiga-9 pistol caliber carbine by Kalashnikov group, but initial pricing for the VPO-185 is very close to that of Saiga-9.

Molot VPO-185 carbine

The VPO-185 carbine is a semi-automatic weapon with simple blowback action. It fires from closed bolt, and uses AK-type hammer-fired trigger, fitted with ambidextrous safety levers. The bolt group of the carbine is of rather complicated design, and has as many as five parts, including the removable bolt handle and not counting the firing pin and its spring. The upper receiver is made from aluminum alloy, and the lower receiver (trigger housing) is made from glass fiber reinforced plastic. Upper and lower receiver are connected by a single captive cross-pin, located behind the magazine housing. The Molot VPO-185 carbine is fitted with the telescoped shoulder stock with steel struts and plastic buttplate. When collapsed, stock struts block the manual safety in the “On” position, so the gun cannot be fired with the stock folded. This is done to conform with specific requirements of the Russian “Weapons law”. Surprisingly, this little carbine is not equipped with any iron sights. Instead, its user is expected to obtain and install some kind of iron, red dot or optical sights according to his or her own preferences and budget. Ammunition is fed from detachable box magazines, compatible with the Saiga-9 carbine.

Molot VPO-185 carbine