This is my first AK; a 7.62x39mm Hungarian AMD-65 rifle that came from Missouri.

In the 1960's, the Hungarian military developed the AKM-63 and later AMD-65 for the Hungarian Army. The AKM-63 was a modified AKM rifle with a forward slanted grip instead of the standard handguard on the Soviet AKM. The AMD-65 was developed in 1965 for airborne troops and mechanized troops. Instead of the standard 16 inch barrel, the AMD-65 had a 12 inch barrel for tight maneuvering. The smaller barrel affected accuracy and range, but for close in fighting, this tradeoff was deemed acceptable. Instead of the solid stock of the AKM-63, the AMD-65 introduced a side folding wire stock as seen here. The Hungarians used the AMD-65 until the early 1990's when they were finally retired and sold elsewhere. Many are now in use for the Afghan Army and private military contractors (PMC's) are seen using upgraded AMD-65's.

My rifle here is a semi-automatic built on a AMD-65 parts kit. It has an American built receiver, and has a 16 inch barrel, by welding on the flash hider with a small extension to prevent this rifle from being a "short barrel rifle" (SBR). The only problem I have with this rifle is its tight spaces for the standard 30 round magazines. Some magazines are completely incompatible with this gun due to its foregrip. The wood grips were actually rare on military AMD-65's which usually used black polymer grips. These grips give a slight splash of color on a otherwise monochrome rifle.