A cartridge or Bore / Goli as they are most commonly referred to as within Pakistan and/or Afghanistan, have held various names in the expansive Pak-Afghan region for decades. The most widespread and in current use is known to some; however, their etymology or source is unbeknownst to most. There are some names used which can be attributed to both a firearm and a cartridge, this can also be found to refer to multiple different types depending on a region. It is also important to note and understand that the sound, ‘V’, is mainly heard to be said as ‘PH’ with a pronounced H, because the ‘V‘ sound is not present in Pashto. Some speakers do pronounce the V as such, however, it is not common to hear it so. Let us cover the cartridges used, up to 12.7mm.
Pakistan Ordnance Factories
Afghan and Pakistani Craft-Produced Kalashnikov Variations
This post originally appeared on The Firearm Blog in March of 2018.
What does an average person know about the Pakistani weapons and the military-industrial complex? Nothing. Ordinary people are not interested in this kind of weird stuff. OK, so what does an average gun enthusiast know about Pakistani weapons? Probably not much either.
Pakistani Ordnance Factories POF-4 Pistol
POF 4 is a semi-auto weapon made by Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF) which has been classified as a pistol after some changes in the basic select fire version. The automatic version is being used extensively by Law Enforcement Agencies (LEA). It was a few years ago that POF decided to remodel this compact machine pistol for civilian use. It is based on the H&K MP5 design and employs a delayed blow back , roller locked system. POF has been making various weapons under HK licenses, such as the SMG PK/PK1, the SMG MP5A2/MP5P3 and the G3 rifle. The civilian version dubbed as the POF 4 has a 15 round magazine, it is semi-auto (irreversible) and has no buttstock. These changes have enabled it to be classified as a pistol. A similar weapon has been exported to the US named as POF 5KX pistol (minus the front hand grip). The weapon has received good reviews in the US according to some websites. In fact some time ago POF was not selling this weapon to anyone within the country because of orders received from overseas. This may explain its popularity, perhaps.