AMD 65 – A Great Collectable That is Still Affordable

by Jack

AMD 65: Automata Mdostott Deszant[fegyver] 1965; Automatic Modified Landing Assault [weapon]. 7.62X39 mm cartridge. There is not a lot of history available on the AMD series of the Hungarian variant of the famous AK’s (designed by Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov), however I have accumulated as much of it as I could for you gun enthusiasts and AK collectors. Enjoy!

The basic design for the AMD’s originated in Hungary around 1962 and the first AMD was built in 1963, which became the AMD 63 and the AMD 65 followed and as you might guess it was built in 1965. The AMD 65 is the most collectable of the AMD’s as they had the lowest production numbers of all the AKM variants as it was purpose built for the elite airborne soldiers, but it was also well suited for armored forces due to its… (Original AK 47 shown below)

compact size. Size and weight was the major design factor that led to a short 12.6 inch barrel and light wire type folding stock and this also explains the stamped receiver. The short barrel made it a little less accurate than the full size AMD, AKMs or even the old AK47’s, but then none are known for their long distance accuracy.

The AMD 65 was really designed to be used with a radius of about 150 yards and as the Hungarian drill instructors were found of saying, beyond that… its for the artillery. It’s also designed to use either the 20, 30 or 40 round magazines, however true combat soldiers seemed to prefer using the 20 round magazine which was lighter and slightly less prone to a jam, although jamming in any of the AK variants is fairly uncommon, even with high capacity magazines. Because the AMD 65 was such a reliable and badass looking weapon, many other countries wanted it, including Iraq. Some of our troops and their Iraqi counterparts found the 7.62X39 cartridge had a superior knock

down compared to 5.56 cartridge in the M4. The punch and size made the AMD 65 very well suited for fighting in an urban environment going from house to house. Some of the AMD’s were modified it to use a 75-round drum magazine and turned this weapon into a fire breather that could really put lead down range. The Blackwater group loved them and modified them even further adding recoil springs to tame them down a bit during full auto.

One of the unique features of the AMD is the unusual muzzle break/flash hider which really does a pretty good job as both.

Overall, there’s just not much to go wrong with it and that’s what soldiers love. The design is near fool proof and like it’s cousin, the AK 47, it can go uncleaned for thousands of rounds and fire the first time and every time. It’s basic design is considered to be the most reliable of all automatic rifles ever built by anyone anywhere. The only complaint I’ve ever heard is it can get fairly hot when cycling a lot of ammo through it, but then what automatic rifle wouldn’t? And besides, that’s why it has those ventilated stamped steel hand guards and hot or cold it always shoots and that’s what really counts.

About 50,000 total AMD 65’s were built and I know that sounds like a lot, but in comparison to the AK’s over all it isn’t. Over 50M AK’s have been produced to date!

All the AMD variants came from the original design of the AK-47 and most all the parts, including the receivers are easily interchangeable.

The AMD saw service from 1965 thru 2006 and it’s turned up in the arsenals of many countries like Afghanistan, Cuba, Georgia, Honduras, Angola, Laos, Palestine, Panama, Vietnam, Somalia and Yemen.

The fact the AMD 65 is no longer in production and given it’s popularity, the retail price has been climbing about 10% per year, which makes this AK one great collectable with serious appreciation above and beyond all the others.

You will be pleased to know this weapon is available to responsible, law abiding citizens all over the United States, however, this fine rifle is… NOT AVAILABLE IN CALIFORNIA. Some liberal lawmakers, including some men and women who have no clue about guns and what they passed into law, only saw this as another nasty gun and they decided that YOU didn’t need it. Too bad, huh? You can own it next door in Nevada, Oregon and Arizona.