The Arsenal SAM7K-44: The AK Pistol With a MILSEPC AKSU Pedigree

The SAM7K-44 AK pistol is one of the current configurations of the SAM7K system, a platform that has been coming to our shores and enjoyed by Americans for well over a decade. Owners have experienced the quality, fit, and function you would expect from Arsenal, but there is a deeper-rooted military lineage with this model than simply being an AK pistol—one tied directly to Russian and Bulgarian AKS-74U history.

In the U.S., we like to call them “Krinks,” but they are more commonly known by their military designation: the AKS-74U. A shortened, compact AK—hence the use of the letter “U,” ukorochenny (Russian for “shortened”)—the rifle has captured the imagination of Americans. Designed as a companion weapon to the full-sized AK-74, the AKS-74U was intended for rear-echelon troops, officers, tankers, and pilots. Its size makes it a small easy-to-carry package—a true personal defense weapon.

Its compact size is achieved by shortening the barrel and piston, and by using a compact front sight/gas block combination with M24x1.5RH threads machined into it. The most common muzzle device was the conical flash hider or for some variants the PBS-4 suppressor. Other components unique to the design include the handguard/retainer, and a hinge block (instead of a rear sight tower) used to capture the AKS-74U’s gas tube with a spring-loaded pin, activated by its unique rear sight/dust cover when closed. Though not exclusive to the AKS-74U, it featured a folding steel triangle buttstock that was used on the full-size AKS-74 paratrooper rifle. Most early examples were produced by the Tula factory, but the rifle was also manufactured by Izhmash and Arsenal of Bulgaria. Over time Russia had moved away from the design, but it is at Arsenal where the design lived on, and where the parentage of the SAM7K is revealed.

Arsenal Bulgaria, is the only manufacture outside of Russia to produce a true AKS-74U, under the production name AR-SF.  For those familiar these are the same models Arsenal Inc. would import into the US for consumers as the SLR-U series starting in 2006.  This included the SLR-106U in 5.56×45 NATO, SLR-104U in 5.45×39, and the SLR-107U in 7.62×39.  Arsenal Bulgaria produced the AR-SF and its variants from the 1990s through the late 2000s.  As the world continued to change after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the beginning of the Global War on Terror, so did the needs of the end users. No longer a rear-echelon PDW, the Bulgarian AR-SF evolved its role into a firearm geared toward police and special forces units who needed a weapon suitable for close-quarters use. This is where Arsenal evolved the AR-SF into what we now see as the AR-M4SF/ AR-M14SF. The design moved from a stamped sheet-metal receiver to a more robust milled receiver, an integrated flashlight handguard (installed on the AR-M4SF model), a ghost-ring rear sight/dust cover, a right-side folding stock, an ambidextrous fire selector, a four-piece flash hider, and chamberings in 7.62×39 and 5.56 NATO. This is the model from which the SAM7K derives, and at its heart is an AR-M4SF/AR-M14SF.

Arsenal Inc. has been providing the US military the AR-M14SF for years. These units were so impressive that Arsenal Inc. wanted the American civilian market to experience this unique AK platform. So, in 2012 a pistol variant was imported. This is how the SAM7K was born. Using the nomenclature of the SAM7 series of rifles, the “K” was added to denote Krinkov, due to familiarity with Americans. Many users enjoyed these pistols as-is, but for some, they were registered and converted as short-barreled rifles. As time progressed, the 1913 became the de facto rear attachment method, and SAM7K design changes followed. Making it compatible with many 1913 QD sling mounts, arm braces, and stocks for registered SBRs. Newer variants, such as the SAM7K-56, were also introduced which included updated furniture, a ribbed handguard designed by Tula, manufactured by Arsenal Inc. With the current NFA tax stamp amount set to $0 effective January 1, 2026, we will see more SAM7Ks converted to SBRs and brought closer to their AR-M4SF/AR-M14SF roots.

Today’s SAM7K-44 isn’t a clone built to chase trends; it’s the American expression of a proven lineage rooted in the AKS-74U concept and carried forward into AR-M4SF/AR-M14SF development. With the SAM7K, influencing further development of the original platform, including the SM-22 side scope mount, and the AK-227 aluminum stock being fielded around the globe.  These were designed and manufactured here in the US, by Arsenal Inc., based on consumer feedback.  From the Russian technical groundwork to Arsenal Bulgaria’s refinement of the compact AK into a milled, duty-oriented system, the SAM7K carries a pedigree that’s earned. Whether it stays a pistol with a modern 1913 setup or is brought closer to its original intent as an SBR, the SAM7K-44 stands as a compact AK with a serious heritage.