A US congressman is making AK-47 rifles like the ones he faced in Iraq

Nov 1, 2018 8:41 PM PDT

1 minute read

SUMMARY

A U.S. congressman and former Army infantry officer has started a company that makes an exact replica of the rifle wielded by soldiers he fought against in Iraq. Dubbed the “Tabuk,” the Iraqi-made AK-47-style rifle remains a rare coll…

A U.S. congressman and former Army infantry officer has started a company that makes an exact replica of the rifle wielded by soldiers he fought against in Iraq.

Dubbed the "Tabuk," the Iraqi-made AK-47-style rifle remains a rare collectible and cannot be brought back to the United States. However, veterans who want a souvenir of their service in Iraq can get one made in detail to look and act the part.

And best of all, they have Iraq veteran to thank.

Army Lt. Col. Steve Russell is one of the founders and owners of Two Rivers Arms in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and is making the replica Tabuk rifles and other Iraqi-designed arms. Retired from the Army in 2006 after helping lead the mission to capture Saddam Hussein in Iraq during Operation Red Dawn, Russell is now a Republican congressman representing Oklahoma's 5th district.

Two Rivers Arms co-founder Steve Russell, retired in 2006 after 21 years of service. In that time, he served in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq receiving the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal with Valor Device and Oak Leaf Cluster. While serving in Iraq Lieutenant Colonel Russell's unit played a key role in Operation Red Dawn, the capture of Saddam Hussein. (Photo from Jorge Amselle)

The replica Tabuk his company makes is a semi-automatic, long-stroke gas piston operated rifle chambered in 7.62x39 mm with a rotating bolt and firing from a detachable 30-round box magazine. And all of the original markings on an Iraqi Tabuk have been replicated to exacting detail.

In the Late 1970s Saddam Hussein ordered his Ministry of Defense to start production on a domestically made variant of the AKM. This was in the middle of the on again, off again war between Iraq and Iran and a reliable supply of small arms was needed. As the Iraqi military already had a good relationship with the former (at that time current) Yugoslavia an easy partnership was formed and tooling and training delivered.

The new Iraqi made AKMs were dubbed the Tabuk and were identical copies of the Yugo M70B1 and M70AB2 rifles.

Russell and his company spared no expense in making the replica Tabuk as close to the ones U.S. troops saw in Iraq as possible. In fact, they're so authentic looking, Two Rivers Arms-made Tabuk rifles were used in the movie "American Sniper."

The right side of the rear sight base on the Two Rivers-made rifle is marked "Tabuk" and "Cal. 7.62x39mm" in English just as on the original. Two Rivers Arms took special care to match the style, size and font of all the engravings using original samples. On the left side of the rear sight block is found the same text as on the right but in Arabic.

(Photo from Two Rivers Arms)

In between the name and caliber designation is the lion circle emblem that appears on all Tabuks. This is supposed to represent the Lion of Babylon standing in front of a pyramid and surrounded by a circle. The lion is standing over a prostrate man and has a saddle on its back as in legend it was ridden by Ishtar the Babylonian goddess of love and war.

A final touch of authenticity is that every rifle comes with an exact reproduction of the Iraqi instruction manual issued to troops and manufactured from an original and hard to find manual. It is of course in Arabic.

The Two Rivers Arms Tabuk replica rifle comes in at about $1,200.