Frag Out! Magazine

as a joke, they were made from dif- ferent types of plastic in different colors, topped off with a pistol grip made—naturally—from yet another plastic in yet another color. It's like a „jigsaw" edition, though I find the carbine incredibly appealing. Unlike the AK/AKM, the gas tube cover is not attached to the gas tube; instead, the handguard and cover are held in place by a retainer with an eccentric locking lever. Con- sequently, there is no characteristic gas tube locking lever on the rear sight base that we know from the AK/AKM. Incidentally, this retainer is perhaps the most annoying part of field stripping and reassembling the weapon, as it must be perfectly aligned and locked with a lever that is exceptionally stiff. The barrel ends in a very large and effective muzzle device, designed for launching rifle grenades with a bullet trap. Besides the fact that this „whistle" works great, it looks absolutely „badass." HOW DOES IT SHOOT? Like an AK in 5.45. Although I am a declared fan of the M16 and all its derivatives, especially those cham- bered in 5.56, I must admit the Tantal shoots brilliantly. The Russian „needle" is a fast cartridge with a relatively flat trajectory that works perfectly with AK-family car- bines. The recoil energy and the weapon's impact on the shooter are noticeably less than with the „original" AK caliber. The rifle shoots very flatly, with a minimal, easily balanced „kick." Without a doubt, the massive, so- phisticated muzzle device plays a huge role in reducing muzzle rise and felt recoil, but... so does that controversial stock. It is positioned much closer to the bore axis than the stocks on AK/AKM carbines, whether fixed or folding. Lest I sound too sweet, that „wire poker" serving as a stock is highly controversial—many hate it, but the „kolekcja061" website, which fe- atures a universal zeroing target for the Tantal and several other rifles. WHAT'S INSIDE THE TANTAL? Actually, it might be better to ask: what isn't inside the Tantal? The ri- fle was adapted for the civilian mar- ket by disabling its ability to fire in full-auto or bursts and by applying new manufacturer markings and serial numbers. The latter are loca- ted on the bottom of the receiver, between the handguard and the magazine well. Fortunately, the „demil" process was done without destroying or stripping the weapon. Upon looking inside the receiver, you will notice the entire auto-sear assembly has been removed. The fire selector on the left side of the receiver was re- tained—it can be moved to any of its three positions, but it obviously does nothing, as the weapon fires only in semi-automatic regardless of the setting. Otherwise, it is simply a wz. 88 Tantal. We have the characteri- stic wire-style side-folding stock, equipped with the previously men- tioned bumper and a very reliable latch that locks it firmly in both po- sitions. Interestingly, the stock mo- unt uses the original fixed wooden stock trunnion from AKM. It turns out that if someone were stubborn enough, they could easily mount a wooden stock on a Tantal (and such prototypes did exist). The stock is a Polish version of the East German MPi-KMS-72 one and is the most distinctive and con- troversial element of this weapon. It was used solely because the carbine needed the capability to launch rifle grenades, and no other folding stock—especially the one from the AKMS—could withstand the recoil of a grenade launch; they all simply bent. For the same re- ason, the rear of the recoil spring guide rod, which passes through a hole in the receiver cover, has an identical locking latch as the Polish kbkg wz. 60 (Carbine-grenade laun- cher model 1960 - yes, they are cal- led that way here). The Tantal's handguard and gas tube cover are polymer. Perhaps www.fragoutmag.com

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