SAW - 7.62x39mm Soviet - Russia/CIS - 600 RPM - Replacing the RPD in the late 1950s, the RPK is little more than a Kalashnikov rifle with a long heavy barrel and a bipod.  The RPK can accept standard AK47 magazines, but it is more often seen with a long 40rd magazine or a 75rd drum magazine.  Once again, the barrel is not of the quick-change type seen on Western-SAWs; so operators must be careful to keep the rate of fire down lest the wooden handguards burst into flames. ©D.E. Watters