CHINESE 30rd
Description: Norinco had plans to market a semi-auto AK-74 in the United States by the designation of 88S, but only a handful of sales samples (3 confirmed, possibly others) made it in before the 1989 assault rifle import ban was made permanent in July of that year. The subsequent Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, completely eliminated any further plans for Chinese AK-74s. The Chinese 5.45 magazines are steel and of a "flatback" design, lacking the dorsal spine found on the Polish and Romanian types. In November of 2006, one of these mags was sold for $180 by an individual in Switzerland on an AK-related internet forum. I have heard from a knowledgeable source that a small number had previously made it into the US in a similar manner, and that there were also a few sales samples in-country prior to the ban. (Photos courtesy of guns_in_switzerland on Instagram [magazine on left] and AK-47 & Kalashnikov Variation © 1993 Masami Tokoi [rifle on right])
