Krebs Custom KTR-03S Rifle/Carbine: A Kalashnikov for the 21st Century.

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by David Crane
david@defensereview.com

Marc Krebs, of Krebs Custom Guns, has designed/developed a very interesting custom AK-47/AKM/Kalashnikov variant called the KTR-03S rifle/carbine. Basically what Krebs Custom has done with the KTR-03S rifle/carbine is bring the AKM/Kalashnikov series rifles and carbines kicking and screaming into the 21st Century.

The KTR-03S rifle/carbine is semi-auto-only, and thus civilian-legal. Based on the Russian Saiga receiver, it features a proprietary 3-position M1913 Picatinny rail system/forend rail tube for attaching/mounting optical gunsights, ir/visible lasers, and tactical white lights, along with an AR-15/M16 windage-adjustable rear sight and elevation-adjustable front sight post with a 64% longer sight radius than a standard AK-47/AKM. Krebs has also added a left-side Galil-style manual thumb safety, FN M249 SAW/MK46 MOD 0-style pistol grip, and AR-15/M16-style birdcage flash suppressor/flash hider. The KTR-03S even comes with a…

a M4/M4A1-style telescoping/retractable Vltor ModStock.


Krebs Custom also makes an in-house designed and developed offset vertical foregrip and tactical light mount that can be utilized with the KTR-03S rifle/carbine. The KTR-03S even features a 2-stage trigger. Empty weight is 6.5 lbs. Barrel length is 16.25". Caliber is 7.62x39mm, but a 5.45x39mm (AK-74) version should also be possible, one would think. Since the KTR-03S rifle/carbine is an AK/Kalashnikov, it utilizes standard 30-round AK-47/AKM box mags. Retail price is $999.00.

All in all, a slick little package. This one looks like a winner. We here at DefenseReview love our AK’s/Kalashnikovs, and the Krebs Custom KTR-03S rifle/carbine looks to be the AKM/Kalashnikov taken to its highest evolution, without going the final step and incorporating a recoil attenuation/mitigation system, a la the AK107 and AK108 assault rifles, which utilize a "recoil synchronization unit", or "recoil balancing" mechanism.

If the Krebs Custom KTR-03S runs as well as it looks, the author definitely sees one in his future.

You can reach Krebs Custom Guns by phone at 847-487-7776. Ask for Marc Krebs.

Currently, the KTR-03S rifle/carbine is only available through RGuns. You can contact RGuns by phone at 847-428-3569, or via email at rguns@voyager.net.

Click here to read an excellent and very informative Peterson’s "Rifle Shooter" Magazine article on the Krebs Custom KTR-03S rifle/carbine (Kalashnikov), titled "Modernizing Mikhail’s Avtomat: The KTR-03S from Krebs Custom Guns, a more user-friendly AK". The article was written by noted and prolific gunwriter, David Fortier.

You can read all about the AK107 and AK108 assault rifles at Valery Shilin’s "Genesis of the AK107 and AK108 assault rifles" page.

Krebs Custom KTR-03S Rifle/Carbine: A Kalashnikov for the 21st Century. by

About David Crane

David Crane started publishing online in 2001. Since that time, governments, military organizations, Special Operators (i.e. professional trigger pullers), agencies, and civilian tactical shooters the world over have come to depend on Defense Review as the authoritative source of news and information on "the latest and greatest" in the field of military defense and tactical technology and hardware, including tactical firearms, ammunition, equipment, gear, and training.

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