Miles joined Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons to discuss the series of domestically-produced Iraqi Kalashnikovs known as Tabuks. Largely based on the Yugoslav M70 they were produced from the 1980s up to the Coalition invasion of Iraq in 2003. Both rifles are provided by Two River Arms and like the original rifles both are chambered in 7.62×39mm. Iraq’s Al-Qadisiyah manufacturing facility produced these weapons as well as a less well known version of the 7.62×54mmR SVD. Miles and Ian do some shooting with the rifles, discus the Tabuks’ origins and share their thoughts on the rifles and their capabilities.
Tabuk Sniper
Tabuk Sniper Rifles Turn up in Baghdad Small Arms Cache
At a recent weapons cache that was turned up by Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Forces in Baghdad, what appears to be two Iraqi Tabuk Sniper rifles were among the rifles discovered in the buried cache. The Tabuk Sniper is uniquely identified by the cutout in the rear stock. Based on the Yugoslavian M70, the Tabuk sniper is a variant of the standard Tabuk rifle with full wooden stock, and the shorter version with a folding stock. It is unique among designated marksmen rifles in that it is chambered in 7.62x39mm, a round not known for its accuracy in the years it was adopted and used.
The two Tabuk Snipers in this photograph are distinguished by the aforementioned stocks and the three vents in the wooden handguard. On the above rifle there does seem to be some doubt as the receiver looks to be milled instead of stamped due to the magazine cut out portion. In addition, it is difficult to tell if the pistol grips are plastic or wooden, a key identification point about the Tabuk and M70 series. The stocks themselves are actually reversed, you are looking at the left side of the stock when it should have been the right side if aligned properly with the rifle.
The Twitter account “The Golden Power” shared the images.
