Bulgarian AR-M1 AK 74

During the 1980’s Bulgaria adopted the Soviet 5.45x39 cartridge and began producing AK 74’s from Russian supplied parts. The Trunnions were blank, or had Russian arsenal marks, and the selector markings were Russian Cyrillic characters. The state owned Arsenal J.S. Factory eventually started indigenous production of their version of the Soviet AK 74. Bulgaria designated this rifle as the AR-M1. Early models of the AR-M1 used hardwood furniture and later evolved to the more robust laminate furniture. By the late 1980’s the Bulgarians began using polyamide plastics for furniture. The Bulgarian AR-M1 are almost identical to the traditional Soviet design. Bulgarian selector markings consist of Cyrillic AB and EД.