by J.M. Ramos

The 1980s signalled the beginning of a new era in firearms designs and innovations. Hi-tech firearms started arriving in the North American market by storm. The cold war between US allies and ComBloc nations had reached its boiling point with both superpowers spending billions of dollars developing advanced weapon systems for their military forces. The sudden popularity of military-type sporting guns in the US market was no doubt fuelled by fear of communist invasion and the possibility of a third world war, not to mention the rise of survivalism among doomsday believers. The Arms Corporation of the Philippines (Armscor), having exported their wares in many parts of the world for decades, was very much aware of this ongoing focus, which ultimately initiated a new wave of commercial arms known as “exotic weaponry.” The popularity of the famous Russian-made assault rifle, the AK47, in the west proved to be a major selling point for a new product and was the inspiration behind the making of Armscor’s AK-4722 later to be know simply as the AK-22 for the standard model and AK-22F for the compact folding stock variant. In order to produce a new model in its series of battle rifle clones chambered for .22 LR without going through extensive re-tooling, the company once again made good use of their well-proven Model 20 self-loader. Armscor’s rimfire AK was introduced in the early part of the 1980s. To achieve the exterior configuration of the AK rifle, Armscor utilized a cast alloy clamshell to enclose the M-20 receiver and trigger housing. Below the exterior casing was another cast extension containing the stamped trigger guard. When the clamshell was fully assembled to the M-20 action, the bottom extension containing the trigger guard was connected below the clamshell by a large screw to the front and by the pistol grip connecting screw at the rear. The usual buttstock is attached to the rear of the clamshell by a long screw. While the technique employed in creating this AK-22 rifle variant was quite clever, I would have preferred a one-piece casing that connected from the bottom of the action and a stamped sheet metal cover in the AK pattern mounted at the top. This would have been more realistic looking and created a lighter rifle that would not have required a screwdriver for disassembly.

A non-functional gas tube was mounted above the barrel via the top front end of the clamshell exterior housing. A cast alloy AK-style front sight base connected both barrel and fake gas tube at the front. An authentic-looking functional one-piece cleaning rod was attached below the barrel in the AK manner. Both rear and front sights were patterned after the assault rifle it emulated, but much simpler and less sturdy. The magazine and magazine catch arrangement were similar to the one previously incorporated to the earlier Baby Armalikes. The lower half of the regular 15-round magazine was enclosed by a wide cast alloy curved exterior casing to simulate the look of a full bore AK. The magazine activator was mounted at the rear of the exterior casing. When depressed, the top end of the activator would push the lower end of the normal magazine catch, thereby releasing its connection with the magazine. The AK-22 featured Philippine mahogany for its buttstock, forearm and matching foregrip. The rifle was somewhat heavier and bulkier and less proportioned in size than the real AK. For this reason Filipino gunsmiths preferred to lighten up the gun by slotting the buttstock and trimming the forearm where it was out of proportion, resulting in a lighter, much streamlined and better-looking AK look-alike. This procedure was also applied to the M-16R (telescoping stock model) which was wider on both sides than the standard fixed stock version that required the extra thickness to accommodate the dual metal rods which telescoped inside the side-mounted twin tubes containing the springs that automatically deployed the stock into firing position when the push button latch was activated.

As the exotic gun market peaked out by the mid 1980s, the company introduced their compact version of the AK-22 called the AK-22F. The AK-22F was basically identical to the standard model but with a side folding stock patterned after the FAL Para design but in a much-simplified form. A push button latch to operate the side folder was mounted at the rear of the clamshell exterior housing. This model is introduced primarily to compete with more sophisticated clones from Italy, France and Germany. The compact AK-22F also found much favour among the local security agencies and wealthy rural landowners who maintained their own perimeter security workers. In the later part of the 1980s, the company introduced yet another look-alike, the Model 50S, a PPSh41 submachine gun look-alike made famous by the Russians during World War II.. The M-50S is basically the old Model 20 with a full-length ventilated barrel shroud added. Unlike its original Italian-made counterpart, the Bingham PPS-50, the Philippine version is not designed to accommodate a drum magazine. However, Armscor produced a long 20-shot magazine, which they offered as an optional accessory for this new model. The 20-shot magazine was highly prized among the underground workshops that utilized it for their popular invention, the “Sanvik” machine pistol, an Ingram M11 machine pistol clone. This rimfire machine pistol was very much in demand in the black market, primarily in the city of Manila. While externally resembling the M11, the Sanvik’s internal mechanism was different.

FULL AUTO CONVERSIONS OF THE AK-22 AND M-50S

As noted in Part One, full-auto modifications for the Squibman or Armscor self loaders and look-alikes have long been undertaken by local gunsmiths in the Philippines since the introduction of the first Model 20 back in the 1960s. The earliest and most common modifications to provide full-auto operation were the open-bolt fixed-firing pin system. These early attempts were not reliable and were soon superseded by better conversions, such as the two-piece bolt arrangement from the same underground workshops that had been building full-auto shotguns long before the US military embarked with their Close Assault Weapons Shotgun (CAWS) program. These gunsmiths created their product line from actual battle experiences provided by their clients.

While there are numerous selective fire M-1622’s and AK-22’s floating around in the Philippines, that are legally owned or black market specials, it was not until about the early 1970s that reliable Squibman full autos start coming out from the famous Paltik town of Danao in the Visayas islands. These weapons were mostly offered to highest bidders in the black market. Armscor only sold their product line through authorized dealers. However, few of these weapons eventually ended up in the wrong hands. In a country full of corruption and bribery, this should come as no surprise.

The two-piece bolt conversion for the Armscor rifles were a remarkable improvement over the early open-bolt fixed-firing pin design. Unlike the original problematic fixed-firing pin system, the later two-piece bolt arrangement proved highly successful. The modification technique involved cutting the original bolt in a half past the cocking handle. The front of the rear end of the bolt contained a small spring-loaded plunger just below the striker assembly groove. The function of the small plunger was to force the front end of the bolt to partly retract so that the firing pin was not sticking out of the breechface during the loading process to allow for smooth unimpeded feeding. In the early open-bolt conversions, the protruding tip of the fixed firing pin in the breechface restricted the upward movement of the rim, resulting in a stoppage.

To work with the two-piece bolt arrangement, the striker was also modified. A new re-positioned elongated notch in the striker was cut to clear the cocking handle, which controlled the slight retraction of the two-piece bolt. The replacement cocking handle was no longer retained by the striker, but by the receiver recoil travel slot. The thick flat striker held the alignment of the two-piece bolt inside the receiver as controlled by the cocking handle. A new sear with an extended rear end was fabricated. A matching new trip connected at the front of the trigger utilized a bottom front end extension (toe) to act as a disconnector acting against the fire selector pin when it was set at semiautomatic. The fire selector is in the form of a pivoting lever assembled at the left side of the gun. When the lever is rotated to the rear, the solid portion of the pin will be engage by the trip toe at the last stage of the trigger pull. As the trip toe hits the selector pin at the end of the pull, its front hook will pivot rearward forcing it to disengage its connection with the sear, allowing the sear to bounce back to its normal position ready to catch the bolt on its forward recoil. To fire the next round, the trigger pull must be released first to allow the trip hook to re-connect with the sear.

To fire the gun in full-auto, rotate the selector forward. In this position, the trip toe is now facing the pin’s deep notch and will not make any contact with it when the trigger is pulled. Disengagement between the trip hook and sear is avoided; resulting in full-auto fire while pressure on the trigger is maintained. In this conversion, the original sliding type safety functioned the same. The weapon fired an average of 1,200-1,300 rpm on full-auto. The slightly slower rate than normal (1,500 rpm) can be attributed to the slight delay in closing between the two-piece bolt arrangement. Ignition only takes place after the rear halve of the bolt, which controls the striker joins the front end piece, which functions solely as a cartridge loader to the chamber. By the time the rear half of the bolt hits the back of the front half, the cartridge has fully chambered. The firing pin tip will only protrude in the breech face to fire the loaded cartridge after the two halves have joined as one unit when the resistance of the small spring loaded plunger positioned in between is overcome by both the recoil and striker springs pushing the rear of the bolt. As the bolt starts its forward recoil, the small spring-loaded plunger will force the two-piece bolt to once again retract in order to prevent the firing pin from interfering with the loading process. The system proved highly reliable and was widely copied. The two-piece bolt modification can be adapted to all rimfire self loaders produced by the company, from the earliest Squibman Model 20 to the latest Armscor rimfire military-type clones. Although enthusiasm for exotic type weaponry in the North American market has long waned, sales of the Armscor exotic ..22’s remained very strong in the local market. This can be attributed to the Philippine government allowing civilian ownership of firearms once again after being banned for over twenty years by previous martial law regime. The Armscor look-alikes are definitely a good choice in this part of the world where commercial arms are highly revered by both licensed and unlicensed individuals.

by J.m Ramos

The Philippine islands are well-known for their hundreds of illegal underground weapon workshops which were credited to almost half a million home-made guns that were confiscated or turned over during the military weapon sweeps in 1972. Squires Bingham Manufacturing Company (Squibman) was the only legal commercial arms producer in the country. It was founded in 1905 by two enterprising US Army servicemen named Roy W. Squires and William Bingham. It was originally a print shop called Squires Bingham which was to market motorcycles and other imported goods. Between 1925 and 1941, the company began importing firearms and ammunitions. In 1941, just before the war, a wealthy Filipino named Don Selso Tuazon bought out the American interest in Squibman. However, during the Japanese occupation, the company came to a complete stop, no longer selling or importing firearms and ammunitions.

After the war, when increasing demand for weapons far exceeded the imported supply, the demand for local manufacture of these products became extremely favourable. Thus, in 1952, the decision was made to engage in arms manufacturing. From a small rented space and a purchased few machineries, begun the long history of Squires Bingham which has grown to be one of Southeast Asia’s largest weapons and ammunition producers. Soon faced with major expansion program, the company moved to its present location in Parang, (a suburb of Manila) in 1958. The factory now occupies more than 80,000 square feet of floor space. On February 1, 1980, in line with the expansion and modernization restructuring, the owners of Squibman invited new investors whose names are well known in the business circles and formed the new Arms Corporation of the Philippines (ARMSCOR). Presently, the company produces a wide variety of arms to include Colt-style revolvers; and standard and high-capacity 1911-type pistols (the latter appropriately nicknamed “Parang Ordnance”). In addition, the company continues to produce its popular pump-action shotguns and sporting rifles for both hunting and law enforcement applications.

THE MODEL 20

The first .22 semiautomatic rifle produced by the company was the Model 20. It was a conventional sporter utilizing a striker-fired mechanism and had a 15-shot box-type magazine. A Cutts-Compensator-style muzzle brake was attached to the muzzle. This rifle was extremely accurate once it is sighted in properly. The machined ordnance steel used on Armscor guns is imported from Australia. Quality-wise, it is on par with most US-made commercial arms. The Model 20 continued to enjoy commercial success both locally and internationally. In addition to the standard M-20 model, a beautifully crafted “pistolized” version with a 12.5-inch barrel was also produced, although only in limited numbers and aimed primarily for the local security market. This gun features a telescoping metal stock mounted in the left side of the gun. The pistolized version is called the M-20P and is also equipped with a 15-shot magazine and a muzzle brake. The M-20P was often converted to selective-fire by local armourers and found good acceptance among rural law enforcement agencies that operate on limited budgets, many of which are still issued with antique Iver Johnson break-open revolvers.

INTRODUCING THE BABY ARMALIKE – M-1622

When the Armalite-designed M16 assault rifle began replacing the old M14 in the hands of US servicemen posted at American bases, the new rifle became the talk of the town. The M16 rifle became the most coveted “must have” for the many political warlords vying for power in that turbulent era, when political assassinations by both military hit men and NPA rebel death squads became a daily headline in the media. This fascination among the locales for the M16 rifle did not go unnoticed among the marketing brass at the Armscor offices. It was this interest, spurring an unprecedented demand for this type of rifle that led to the eventual creation of Armscor’s “Baby Armalike.” The Baby Armalike became an instant sensation among weapons aficionados, more so among landowners in the rural areas infested by cattle and water buffalo rustlers. The exterior configuration of the Baby Armalike gives the impression that the operator is carrying an M16.

In order to meet the tremendous demand for the new M16 rimfire clone, for both the local and international market, the designers at Squires Bingham made good used of the original M-20 action. This decision minimized both time and retooling costs. The first model of the M-1622 featured a straight wooden stock patterned after the American assault rifle it emulated. The wood had a black lacquer finish. To give this ..22 rimfire rifle an authentic M16 styling, a new exterior housing was cast and mounted below the wooden stock. The usual plastic pistol grip was attached below the rear of the exterior housing. The M16-style carrying handle was connected to the top of the receiver, via the scope mounting grooves. A matching front sight base was attached to the barrel. A prong-type flash hider was also added for authenticity. This early production model had no upper handguard. The bottom end of the original 15-round box magazine, which protruded below the receiver, was enclosed by a wide, cast aluminum housing to give the appearance of a wide body magazine. At the rear of the magazine casing was a built-in magazine catch/release. The actual magazine catch in the form of a flat spring was attached to the trigger housing. The one-piece flat spring magazine catch was eventually replaced by a spring-loaded cast alloy component. The protruding bottom end of the catch releases the magazine when the magazine activator is depressed. The shell deflector system found at the rear of the ejection port of the original M-20 was also incorporated into the M-1622 series including the new M-50S but not with the AK-4722 models. The first production model of the Baby Armalike was introduced in 1970. Following the standard model was the compact M-16R. This version comes equipped with a spring-loaded telescoping metal stock. A push-button-type release mechanism for the stock was mounted at the rear of the stock just behind the pistol grip. The M-16R had an upper handguard added that was fabricated from a sheet metal stamping. The addition of the metal handguard, and telescoping stock added more weight and also made the gun more bulky.

The peak of exotic gun weaponry finally levelled off in the mid to late 1980s. The North American market is now virtually flooded with rimfire military clones as produced in the USA, Europe and the Philippines. In order to be able to compete with these new hi-tech entries, Armscor upgraded its M-1622 line up and added few more models in their rimfire clones, which included the Russian AK47 look-alikes, the AK-4722, AK-22F and the M-50S, and a PPSh41 SMG clone.

FULL-AUTOMATIC VERSIONS

Full-auto conversions of semiautomatic guns are not new to the Philippines. This art was actually taught by US military armourers fighting alongside Filipino guerrillas during World War II and carrying .30 M1 Carbines. The selective-fire M2 versions were highly favoured by the guerrillas who soon converted their issue M1s to full-automatics. After the war, these peasant armourers continued to practice their skills privately and in most cases illegally, making home-made guns as a means of livelihood. These underground-produced weapons are popularly known as the infamous “Paltiks” or black market specials. In central Luzon, the towns of Ilocos (Marcos province) are well known for their homegrown Paltiks most notably pistolized box-fed, bolt-action shotguns, revolver shotguns and break-open shotgun pistols. Commercial gun modifications were also a specialty in these mountain workshops converting almost anything that fires semiautomatic-only to selective-fire. Most of these handmade guns are crude by American standards; few specimens can be considered work of art and no two guns are alike. Over the years, I have examined numerous full-auto modifications by underground workshops of the Squibman rifles. Most common are open-bolt-types with fixed firing pins. The first one that I saw in the late 1960s was a converted Model-20. This particular specimen had a fixed firing pin.. The original striker was modified at the tip. The front blade of the striker had been trimmed off level with the breech face except a small fraction at the bottom edge, the actual portion of the part that hits the rim of the shell. This remaining small piece was rounded to form a fixed firing pin pattern with only a slight protrusion above the breech face. The rear of the striker had been cut off and a vertical pin was pressed in to lock it in place. Both the striker plunger and recoil spring assembly were assembled in the usual manner. The underside of the bolt had been filed off to create a step for the sear to engage in the open-bolt position. A new sear was fabricated; longer and higher at the rear in order to hold the bolt in the open, “ready to fire” position. The original sear was too short and low for this conversion. The original trip (disconnector) had been cut off at the top, leaving only the hooked portion to clear the new sear’s rear end extension. This gun fired full-auto-only. When I tested this rifle, it proved unreliable. The gun would usually jam an average of 3-4 times per magazine. The problems were mostly failure to feed and misfires. Failure to feed appeared to have been caused by the fixed firing pin restricting the proper seating of the rim on the breechface while the cartridge was travelling from the top of the magazine, resulting in a crushed bullet or bent cartridge case. Misfired cartridges appeared to have been caused by light hits. Overall, this was not a satisfactory modification.

In my last visit to the Philippines in 1993, I was introduced by a friend to a Barrio captain (village official) while attending a wedding. The captain was a member of the military-trained militia originally formed during the Marcos era to help the army fight the NPA rebel groups who targeted remote areas to recruit new members. After the wedding, the captain invited me to his house and showed me his selective-fire Baby Armalike.. The captain’s gun was converted by a workshop in Ilocos province. This Armalike fired in the original closed-bolt manner, utilizing all the basic mechanism with only the addition of a long arm above the receiver and visible through the slotted portion of the carrying handle. The original sliding-type safety now had three positions instead of the usual two (SAFE and FIRE). After picking up 500 rounds of ammo from my dad’s ammo supply, I picked up the captain and drove to a nearby riverbank and to test fire his full-auto Baby Armalike. There was absolutely no recoil and the cycling was extremely smooth. Accuracy was also very good. There were only three malfunctions experienced out of the 500 rounds fired. When I noticed that the gun only malfunctioned when the magazine was fully loaded to capacity, I reduced the number of rounds to 14 and the gun worked flawlessly.

The captain allowed me to completely strip the gun at his house while we cleaned it. To my amazement, the conversion technique was incredibly simple. Everything remained the same except for a new index hole that was added between the usual safe and fire positions. To match the new middle index setting of the selector, a middle step was cut beside the usual safety clearance in the top rear of the trigger for full-auto functioning. The added step on the trigger allowed a controlled trigger pull just enough for the trip hook to pull the sear down to release the striker. The top end of the disconnector remained in line with the camming shoulder of the bolt, which, in turn, forced the trip to disconnect as soon as the bolt recoiled. When the selector was pushed all the way forward, the deep notch of the trigger lined up with the back of the selector bar and this allowed a longer pull on the trigger. In this sequence, the sear was cammed farther downward by the trip hook. In turn, the top end of the trip, with a horizontal pin (disconnector), could no longer be activated by the camming shoulder of the recoiling bolt after a shot was fired. Since the sear was now out of engagement with the striker, the long arm mounted at the top of the receiver served as a secondary sear (middle lug) and doubled as a tripper (front end toe). After a shot was fired and the bolt was travelling in counter-recoil, the middle lug of the long bar (secondary sear) would engage the striker step on top and hold the striker in a cocked position until the front end toe was forced upward by the bolt face at the last stage of its closing action.

If the selector was set to semiautomatic, the normal sear would catch the striker as soon as the secondary sear releases it during bolt closure, holding it back on cocked position until the trigger was re-pulled to fire the next round. In the full-auto setting, the same action takes place.. However, since the normal sear is out of engagement with the striker, the gun will fire automatically each time the bolt closes and the secondary sear releases its connection with the striker. The design modification was quite simple but amazingly reliable. The captain used his full-auto Armalike as a personal defence arm and as a hunting gun for small game and birds.

While these Armscor clones take a back seat in terms of exterior authenticity to their European counterparts, they still represent solid value for the money. They are economically priced, outright accurate and reliable with a proven action that remained a flagship of the company’s rimfire autoloader line for the past 40 years.

Note: Part two of this article will cover the AK-4722 Series plus another interesting full-auto conversion (with a two-piece bolt) of these .22 rimfire assault rifle look-alikes as converted by the weapon workshops in the town of Danao on Visayas Islands (the well-known site of Smith & Wesson and Colt revolver copies and full-auto shotguns).