KUSA KR9 “Kali9” deep dive

[zhyla]

I bought a KUSA KR9 right before the company stopped shipping things. I posted another thread about the company problems but I wanted to post a bunch of pictures of some interesting aspects of this gun. Specifically there are some details in the California compliant model that are of interest. This isn’t a review more just a detailed look at the gun.



First off here is my gun as it’s configured currently. It comes in a “featureless” configuration and I’ve kept it that way.



The Cali version of this gun ships with their faux suppressor. This looks cool but it’s quite heavy. I think I read it weighs 1.2 lbs. It adds weight at the end of the gun which makes it unwieldy. I’ve replaced it with a thread protector.

I also did a quick paracord wrap which is a common addition to triangle stocks. I use some cord to secure the sling swivel here as it rattles a lot. A better solution is I think to put a rubber O ring on the swivel mount to give it some tension.

 

[zhyla]

On to the grip.



This is what it ships with. I don’t hate it as far as featureless grips go. I think the more angled MonsterMan grip makes overall manipulation of the gun easier. There’s no perfect solution to California’s oppression against pistol grips. KUSA made a good choice here I think.


Here the tiny pic rail segment under the barrel. I was surprised to find this is actually a feature of the original Vityaz. I would like to find an easy way to mount a small flashlight here.

 

[zhyla]

On to the magazine area




The mag release is faithful to the original from what I can tell. It’s a short thin piece of sheet metal. It’s not hard to actuate but it just feels more awkward, small, and stiff compared to a regular AK pattern mag release. Somebody (I think Krebs) sells a replacement which KUSA resells (if they ever sell things again). If I were doing competition this would be a good upgrade.

The magazine well bolts onto the trigger guard and appears to hook into the receiver as if there is a regular AK magwell in the receiver. It makes me think someone could make a CZ compatible magwell if magazines become hard to get.



The magazine itself is a straight forward double stack double feed design. It’s hard to see but there is some steel reinforcement near the the lips but not the lips themselves. I don’t expect any issue with the magazines wearing but tbh the weirdest thing about this gun is the magazines don’t feel like they could be used as a hammer.

We of course get 10/30 capacity magazines. There is a pop rivet in the base plate. I’ve not found any photos of what’s inside there but a Reddit post says you can drill that out, remove some simple piece inside, and reinstall the rivet and have a full capacity magazine. Good to know in case the Duncan case goes in our favor in the end.

Also note that there are Russian magazines under the brand PufGun out there. I’ve read they work fine. They can be had in 10 round capacity but the 10’s are short.

People keep repeating that these are “proprietary” magazines. They are not. They are Russian military pattern magazines. They just aren’t very common.

 

[zhyla]

The rail is well done and locks up tight. I think most people will put a red dot on this gun. The triangle stock gives a very high cheek weld which makes the irons feel cramped. I’ve compared the geometry with my regular AKM and I can’t quite see why it feels different. Iron sights still work fine but it just feels a little tighter.

I’m going to try to get used to a red dot on this gun. It makes sense.



On the inside things look mostly familiar. Recoil spring, bolt, standard AK trigger stuff. The bolt is a single piece as this is straight blowback.



The recoil spring is interesting. It has this two piece collapsible guide rod. This is something we will be wanting spare parts of.

 

[zhyla]

Let’s talk about the folding stock. For compliance reasons it’s not foldable in this configuration.

You can’t push that button.


This metal sleeve over the latch plunger is pinned in place. If you want to restore the folding capability what I’ve read is you need to remove the stock and tap that pin out from the back side. Then you replace the sleeve and pin with the proper spring and pin and you’re back to regular operation.


Note that even if you convert to a fixed mag somehow this gun is 24” long with the stock folded, which is a problem in California.

 

[zhyla]

We have to talk about the firing pin!


The original version of KP9/KR9 had some problems with the guns firing out of battery. KUSA fixed the issue and retrofitted early guns with I think just a new firing pin. The round button on the rear of the pin indicates it’s the new design. Older ones had more of a slat on the end.

My rifle is in the high 90009XXX serial number FYI.

I think that’s all I wanted to say in my show and tell. I’ll have more to share after I shoot it.

 

[kzspec]

If you want more comfort and don’t mind switching out the triangle, you can still knock out the pin and swap stocks as long as they are a 5.5mm pinhole

 

[carsgomoo]

Awesome write up! Makes me want to check my serial number to see if it's the newer retrofit.

With the impending and rumored bankruptcy that KUSA is facing, it's kind of scary the lack of parts and support these guys will be getting..

 

[zhyla]

I would just eyeball the rear of the firing pin. If it looks like mine you’re good. They started fixing these a while ago.

 

[zhyla]

Got some extra magazines (someone on Gunbroker had a bunch of 10 rounders for $22/ea, not a bad deal). I took one apart for science.

There is a thick U-shaped steel wire that hooks into the lock plate at the bottom of the magazine. The follower butts into this which limits the capacity. The lockplate has a hole in it that accepts a pop rivet. To make this a "permanent" 10 round magazine a pop rivet is installed thru the floor plate into the lock plate. There are a couple washers to make it all work with what appears to be the standard floorplate. I don't have a standard magazine but I think the lock plate is the only part that differs in the 10 round magazine -- it lacks the ability to actually lock the floorplate, it's missing the nub.

To reassemble a "permanent" 10 round magazine once you've opened it up you need to reinstall a new pop rivet. The hole diameters are around 0.140" which is suitable for an 1/8" pop rivet.

To reassemble as a 30 round magazine (should this ever become legal) you remove the lock plate from the spring, remove the limiting wire from the lock plate, and then reassemble. You could reassemble with a pop rivet. It makes more sense to fabricate a piece that has a nub on one side that fits the lock plate and another on the other side that fits into the floor plate.

 

[Caliber]

Funnily enough, a few issues that the KR9 had also lined up with issues the actual production Vityaz had. Which lines up well if we follow the story that they got all their TDPs from KC.

Their plunger solution is funny. It's the more advanced version of how Meridian Defense would jam California stocks with hose clamps.

As for mags and general product availability, I hope Klayco's purchase of KUSA yields a better product like when the Mossbergs had more control over the direction of the company before everything went to hell. I really wanted their AK101 clone to come out to have more mags for my Saiga AK101 clone. The real mags sucked to source.

 

[zhyla]

I’d never heard of Klayco before this week but yeah good to see there’s a potential solution.

The Pufgun mags seem to be a workable solution if KUSA never makes mags again.