Wish the Toyota dealership sold these with mounts.

A friend of mine was in a special forces unit in Afghanistan, and he said everyone ADORED the PKM. Their Humvees were usually issued with either a Ma Deuce (M2 hmg in .50BMG) or an M134d minigun from Dillon Aero, and then 2 m240's for the other static mounts. But then they would literally go to the local arms bazaar in whatever village they were near, and buy up as many PKMs as they had and mounted those things at every other point on the vehicle that could take a weapon. They were often leftover captured ones from when the Mujahideen were going toe to toe with the Soviets, but they just worked! Plus, even if they were in some God forsaken corner of the world, ammo was still so easy to come by. I've seen pictures of Special Forces Humvees that looked like a freaking porcupine of death, with one M2, two m240's, one 249 SAW, and THREE PKMs hanging off it! They just had them there so that if one of the other guns choked, or they ran through a whole box of ammo on one of the 240's and didn't have time to reload, they could just swing it out of the way, grab one of PKMs, and continue doing work. Yeah, the PKM is incredible.

I served with this gun in Yugoslav army in 1980's, it is a beast!

A toyota truck's best friend.

The little-known fact is that the license for the production of this machine-gun was bought in package with the T-72 tank from Soviet Russia. That's why the Yugoslav tank is called M-84 and this machine gun is also called M84. Just without a dash.

"It's rimmed for the extractors pleasure." Dugen Ashley

This gun has some amazing design features. I’m a mechanical engineering student and those weird springy hooks are basically snap fasteners. They undergo repetitive deflection and experience fatigue for so many cycles until a fatigue failure, equivalent to the expected number of rounds put through the gun. I’m sure the Kalashnikov team applied some super classic engineering principles to many features. I’m too excited about this gun.

Seeing the PK field-stripped fully illustrates the insanity that was the M60: over-complicated, impossible to barrel-change without an asbestos glove and having the barrel attached to the bipod so the weapon fell into the dirt. US troops went through a hell to keep their weapons in action that PK users would- and will- never understand. Why did it take so long for the US to accept the FN MAG?

Can't go wrong with Zastava

That camming handle for barrel removal is freaking genius.

The PKM and HK21 are my favorite GPMGs. I always bring up those two machine guns whenever someone claims that the MG-42 or MG-3 is the best machine gun still to this day.

I know it's little but that lever on the carry handle which cams the barrel out made my eyes light up. I love little shit like that.

I will never forget the first time i picked up a PKM in Iraq. They are incredibly light guns that look heavy

It really amazes me just how far ahead of the curve the Soviets were for small arms design compared to the West during the 50's and 60's.

*accordian music plays faintly in the background*

Ran with this for a year in the army. Amazing machine gun and even better with a red dot! Very easy to maintain and easy and ergonomic to shoot. Only negative thing is that ammo box that opens sometimes very easily and can break.

Russian firearm engineering never ceases to amaze me so simple and yet effective.

Piece of trivia connected to that gun that you probably won't hear from anybody who haven't served in Serbian army. Nickname for it is Ceca, short for Svetlana and svetlo means light in Serbian. It earned it's nickname because of it's excessive muzzle blast that would give up the position of the operator, which is, as you might imagine, highly undesirable effect for the army that leans heavily toward guerrilla combat. One more unrelated thing, you've probably seen Varusteleka review of your canteen too, and the reason why it's not easily accessible is that you are not allowed to drink water or eat except in when you are given the specific order to rest, and since such order would not be given except when you are perfectly safe and out of the sight of the enemy, you'll then have the time to open your pack. It's designed to discourage soldiers from breaking this rule, since your entire gear should be at all times strapped in such a way that even when you are running loudest sound you produce should be your boots hitting the ground.

M84 was mounted on M84 Tank, the Tank was copy of Soviet T-72 so when Yugoslavia got their licence to produce modified T-72 they also got the licence for PKM... That was story in article from military magazine Odbrana from a decade ago,but I remember it nicely...

Finnish person here, had the honor of using the PKM in the army as a machinegunner. Very good gun for what it's designed for, as Ian already said. I enjoyed my time using it immensely (save for a few problems that arise when you cannot use the bipod for whatever reason).It's interesting to see the few small differences between this and the PKM we were using. - The rails for the optical sights were missing on the side IIRC, but I do remember hearing that the PKM we used was compatible with some of the night-vision scopes we had. No idea how it would mount though, The only ones who ever got to use them on their guns were snipers and some squad leaders. - We didn't have a flash hider like that, ours was akin to a funnel. But considering how easy it was to remove and the fact that we used blank-firing adaptors semi-often, I could kind of see why. - I'm surprised the stock doesn't have the cutout in it like most PKM's do. I'd like to know why that is? That's where we would hold the gun with our free hand while firing. - The part of the weapon where the gas piston would be and where the gas would be directed (under the barrel, I can't figure out the term for it) did come off as well. You'd depress on the part closest to the body of the weapon and it would detach, though it rarely required any real cleaning or maintenance.

l used a tanker version of the PKM in the military, for about 5000 rounds. There were just a handful of malfunctions, which were probably caused by the old and sandy belts + careless cartridge placement in the belt, not the gun itself. One time l had to use a hammer to get the action open after it had rusted shut because of the lack of use and plenty of sand and moisture. Worked just fine after l cleaned it. The AK of MG's, no doubt. Also, all the ammo was 50+ years old Soviet crap.

18:25 "Perfect is the enemy of good enough."

Proudly carried it for 9 months. Barrel can be cleaned with a piece of cloth, a string and a little oil in 30 sec after thousands of rounds fired.

Damn, that simple cam for barrel removal is awesome. I had to blast the carry handle of my SAW with my palm like I was trying to end someone everytime I wanted to do a barrel change.

I was gunner on this GPMG and i can say that it was reliable, easy for cleaning, surprisingly precise. The handle was good but just for short distances because the weapon is heavy and its hard to carry it with one arm. The sling was a cosmos scale piece of crap. The metal ammunition box always find a way in front of your knee and I hated here. A couple of time the box opened just for no reason and my bullets and belt fell out. I know that Israelis made a leather ammunition pouch for they FN GPMG and i thing that for this one it would be also an advantage.

The PKM is a exquisite example of elegant simplicity!

When my platoon machine gunner was hit, fortunately not seriously, I had to drag him and that damn thing almost 300 m back to the line, where the company commander told me that I could have left him and taken more ammunition left behind because machine gun more important. The situation was that bad in the fall of 92.

I mean anyone can disassemble and assemble back gun, but what I just adore here is the story behind the gun. Bravo !!!

the optics for this gun and many others are made in my town of Sarajevo, a company called Zrak makes them.

Sokolov? That famous rocket scientiest?

The dust covers are set to keep weather out of the gun as much as possible. It is not weather tight, but little chance is given for snow, blown sand, or rain to get in it. Great stuff Thanks.

Having shot quite a few of these I have to say that the PKM, while maybe crude ergonomically, they really executed the operating and feeding system very well. The short comings of the 240 are mostly that the various mounts and drums don't really feed very well nor are they particularly very convenient to carry. When I was in a gun team most of our ammo bags and carriers we put together our selves.

Now i want a PKM because jesus approve it and also called it the best belt fed..

"The ejection port cover is tensioned by this little coil spring here, just like the dust cover on your AR-15." I like that he assumes that we all have AR-15 at home. Everybody must have one, right? :)

Awesome review. I know marstar has some nice guns, hope Ian does some more from their selection

Nikitin (you pronounce in right first time) machine gun used proprietary push-through belt, PK used standart belt from Maksim and Goryunov. That's the reason.

ABRAKADABRA!

This was the most feared weapon during Bosnian War, I was there as a kid

Cheers mate for extremely well explaining all the useful details!

This thing is truly a marvel for its time, it weighs like 8.5kg empty which is lighter than most general purpose machine guns even today

i was in Army and i was mashinegunner and we had M84 as primary weapon i can say its most finnest lmg,i was hitting targets at 1km without optic like a joke

If we can ever get the class 3 registry reopened, these things are going to be SO popular here in the states.

All your documentaries are fantastic.

Funny story, I was trying to look at one of the guns in the background and you moved in front of it just as I brought my phone closer to my eyes. Talk about perfect timing

*_Hej Sloveni Intensifies_*

Is this before or after Sokolov designed the Shagohod?

I'm honestly really amazed how simple the field stripping on it is. Yeah i know i should expect it with what it's based off and the designers but still.

It would've been nice to see how the round gets fed from the "extractor" claw into the bolt. Otherwise great video!

this comment section has to be my favorite throughout all of youtube. such positivity and much gun jesus.

2:16 Oh yeah, the wheel mount. That's totally what I recognize Sokolov's name from... heh. I'm finished...

That big logo in the top-right early in the video was beautiful.

So this is pretty much one of the best youtube channels.

I hope he gets his hands on an RP 46 one day.

Ian, have you ever come across a belt-fed AR-10, or have anything lined up to do a video on one? While I understand your opinion(s) on the ARES Shrike, I do wonder how, what is basically it's precursor, just in .308, works & functions, and if you could see/think of any way(s) to fix the parts breakages that prevented them from becoming more of a thing. Great video as always, keep up the awesome work!

Its really cool to see you come up to my neck of the woods.

So much nice memories with this gun.

Ooo this brings me back......when i have served in the army. I called her my katjuska. She was so beautiful.

Was just reading about the sg43 after seeing it in "The Vietnam War" last night. How timely

You can say whatever you want about the soviets back in the day, but you can't deny that they really know how to make excelent firearms.

Strange seeing a PKM stock without its cutout

Can't stop looking at that sks with a drum mag...

Why does the FN Mag (M240, L7, Mag 58, ect) weigh more than the PKM when they do the same thing and fire similar rounds?

Great video! Thaks for placing.

I find it very good that you are explaining mechanics and parts of the gun; unlike other boring youtubers that only take it to range, like kids their toys, and shoot cabbages/baloons......

Does pkm stand for Phuckin Kool Machinegun? lol

Do the Yugoslavian mauser variant, M48! Greetings from Croatia.

Great showcase. I would have really liked a more extensive explanation on why you have them in high estemm (kind of what you did with the 7,35 Carcano)

Guns seem to be like musical instruments - the difference between a very good and very bad one is barely visible until you use it.

This is one of those rare videos that get instantly watched rather than thrown into the watch later queue.

Did you know that our soldiers use this with scope. Like DMR from fixed position.

Cool video, only thing I would've liked to be elaborated on, is how the round gets seated from the piece that pulls it out of the belt, into the area where the bolt moves it the final part of the way into the barrel before firing.

This is the exact gun my father carried in the 90s not just a pkm but an m84 i still have the manual

-Ni-kitten - *Meows in distance* , yes comrade

I waited for it the whole video, and the whole shooting video after, but you completely skipped what happens to the cartridge after it is pulled out of the belt! It was left to the viewers to find out that there's a spring loaded arm in the top cover, which strips the cartridge down from that double claw thing on top of the bolt and holds that cartridge in the tray until it's picked up by the bolt going forward. I mean, I didn't know that before. But I guessed it has to be there while observing the feed tray in slow motion as you were lifting it, and then found another video that shows the top cover from below :D

Nice, I've recieved basic training of operation and done cleaning on pkm's , though never shot one. This was quite informative, I knew that it is bit like an upside down ak in ways but I didn't understand how it actually worked before this. Would've liked still a bit more info on the feeding system.

Such a satisfying bolt handle

Considering I've seen Kurdish and iraqi soldiers use them whilst liberating Mosul, yep, it holds up!

I was hoping that it would be explained why it's a right side feed /left side case eject design. PKM seems to be the only gpmg I've seen do this. Is it for ease of use in coaxial versions (PKT) or something?

Those are so much fun to shoot!

Nikitin-Sokolov PN1 was a gas operated, rotating bolt design. I guess the PKs gas operate, open bolt design was superior in the end. Nikitin Sokolov later on went to make the NSV machinegun

Me as a Slovenian love this video both thumbs up for me keep up the good work greetings from the most beautiful country in the world Slovenia hehe (I feel very patriotic today)

Do the zastava M21 please gun jesus

Czeck BXN green laquer'd 149 light ball, silver tip....the right ammo for the gun. The Soviets got rid of heavy ball (yellow tip) whenthey got rid of the Maxims, and when they got rid of heavy ball, they no longer had to color code the tips because every thing was light ball after that.

If we get a disassembly video today, we will soon get a shooting video....which makes me very very happy

"A" is added at the end of last name much like "s" in English. So "Pulemet KolashnikovA" as in "Kolashnikov's machine gun"

Wait, isn't there an RPD missing in between WWII and the introduction of this opinion amplifier, is it?

Beautiful machine gun

I agree Ian about the quality of the Maching gun. Love that weapon.

Well-sealed gun? I smell mud test!

I loved that gun in JA2. :D

I'm gonna keep an eye out for that dust cover flapping at twice the guns rate of fire now on the shooting video. I don't know why but that detail amuses me.

Lol that shot of the box that is saying AR-15 magazines full capacity/new you gotta know the canucks were like super proud of that one

CECA

Црвена застава - гарантия хорошего оружия! Хотел бы себе заставу М59/66-А1 :c

The only weakness of the PKM is the lack of a disintegrating link. Great gun. Very comfortable to shoot.

Never expected you to come to Canada! Welcome!Are you at Marstar in Vankleek Hill in this video?

wouldn´t you horribly burn your fingers if you try to change a red hot barrel after a long burst?

Yugoslavia was my country, what a beautiful country she was.

Very Good reviee. Thank you Sir

love the sks with drum mag on the back