I watched a "tales of the gun" episode a few months back on Mr. Kalashnikov and his AK series of weapons. On it they showed a next-gen AK with a reciprocating barrel that would fire two shots before the recoil his the soldier's shoulder.

I have since been unable to find any other information on it. Does anyone else know about that weapon?

I saw that too.

The reason why you probably can't find anything on it is because it is not being mass produced, the Russians can not afford it and probably won't allow anyone else to get their hands on it.

It's the AN-94 "Abakan" rifle.

It fires on semi, auto, and 2-round burst selections. On auto, the first two rounds are at an 1800 RPM rate of fire, and on two-round burst, each burst is 1800 RPM.

Currently, it's being issued to Spetsnaz and other special units only, as far as I know.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AN-94
http://world.guns.ru/assault/as08-e.htm

Yeah, if that thing works as advertised it's got to be devestating.

They were probably referring to the AN-94, but there are also the AK-107/8 rifles, which have recoil compensation built into their firing mechanism. In 5.56x45mm NATO, I believe the AK-108 is one of the world's finest assault rifles.

Then there are the AEK-971 prototypes, which have similar systems.

Originally Posted by Whispering Death

Yeah, if that thing works as advertised it's got to be devestating.

It's hard to maintain and not very reliable.

The AN-94 is alright compared to the recreated version of the AK-47, called the Galil Arm. It has thirty percent more accuracy than the AK-47. And the range of it is doubled.

The AN-94 is now standard issue to the Russian army. It replaced the AK74, which was standard issue from 1974 to 1994. The AK-74 replaced the AK-47 as standard begining in 1974.

The AN-94 fires the Russian standard 5.45X39 MM cartridge, the same as the AK74.

The first AN-94s were issued to special units in 1994, but the transition process is still not complete. Many units are still issued the AK-74. The AK-47 still issued to reserve units. The SKS is now relegated to ceremonial use by honor guards, etc. Just as we have done with our M-1 Garand.

While I have no personal experience with tre AN-94, many people that I trust consider it the finest assault rifle in the world today.

Time and the battlefield will tell.

Originally Posted by localgrizzly

The AN-94 is now standard issue to the Russian army. It replaced the AK74, which was standard issue from 1974 to 1994. The AK-74 replaced the AK-47 as standard begining in 1974.

The AN-94 fires the Russian standard 5.45X39 MM cartridge, the same as the AK74.

The first AN-94s were issued to special units in 1994, but the transition process is still not complete. Many units are still issued the AK-74. The AK-47 still issued to reserve units. The SKS is now relegated to ceremonial use by honor guards, etc. Just as we have done with our M-1 Garand.

While I have no personal experience with tre AN-94, many people that I trust consider it the finest assault rifle in the world today.

Time and the battlefield will tell.

I do not think the AN-94 is being issued to the russian army. Where did you get this info?

The AN-94 is a strange weapon. It's being issued to Russian Special Forces. But that's about it. Currently, the Ak-107 is the main issue arm. Yes, there are many Ak-74s still in stock. This is due to the fact that the Russians live by a simple idea. IF IT ANI'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT.

The AK-74, AK-107, and AN-94 all use the same cartridge and same magazine. So, it's going to be a long time before they just have one weapon system in stock.

The AN-94 is not going to stay around for a long time. First, the ergonomics of the AN-94 is not the best one. The shape of the pistol grip, and the inclined from the vertical plane magazine are way from being comfortable. The rear diopter sight has small apertures, not protected from dirt, and is hard to clean in the battle conditions. It also has sharp edges and can snag in the clothes or make a scratches on the skin when handled roughly. The grenade launcher mount under the barrel is a little weird, since it uses a large "bridge" between the stock and the launcher. The folding butt interferes with the trigger when folded, and the fire selector, which is separated from the safety, and it is hard to operate, especially when wet.