9mm Comrade: Kalashnikov Concern’s PL-14 Pistol

By Maxim Popenker

The PL-14 pistol was first announced to the general public during the 2015 Russian Arms Expo, which was held in the Moscow suburb of Kubinka. Produced in the experimental works of the famous Kalashnikov Concern in Izhevsk, this handgun is intended to replace various service-type pistols now in use by the Russian army and law enforcement. It will also serve as a basic platform for sport shooting modifications for IPSC, IDPA and other similar competitions.

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The pistol was created because existing service pistols are either obsolete (like the venerable 9×18 Makarov PM, which is over 60 years old) or not entirely satisfactory according to current needs of shooting professionals (such as the more modern 9×19 Yarygin PYa or the 9×21 Vektor SR-1M).

The PL-14 pistol is a service-type handgun designed by Dmitry Lebedev. Development for this handgun commenced in 2014, with the intent to create a pistol suitable for use as a defensive sidearm for military and law enforcement personnel, with future modifications aimed at SWAT-type units that use pistols as primary weapons and for competition.

The other key figure who influenced the design of the PL-14 was Andrew Kirisenko, who holds several …Read the Rest

Source:: Tactical Life