TAPCO AK-47 Gas Piston

TAPCO® is a firearm parts and accessories manufacturer that is based in Kennesaw, Georgia. The company began as a small family business over 25 years ago, but has since exploded to become one of the nation's foremost manufacturers of aftermarket accessories. Unchanging, however, was the company's dedication to strong customer service and quality production. As such, TAPCO® offers a lifetime guarantee on all parts, many of which are marked "TAPCO U.S.A." to signify their proud heritage as an American-owned and operated company.

One of the parts marked "TAPCO U.S.A." is the TAPCO® AK-47 gas piston. As noted, the TAPCO® AK-47 gas piston is a full-length, 6.25-inch piston that is machined from high-strength stainless steel and is compatible with any AK-47, AK-74, Tantal or Saiga rifle. That means no more searching high and low for a suitable gas piston. Its versatility is made possible by a removable bushing, which serves as a point of adjustment that will allow you to tailor the piston to your specific rifle. Perhaps best of all is that this high-performance gas piston is a U.S. 922r-compliant part.

As with all TAPCO® products, the TAPCO® AK-47 gas piston comes with a lifetime guarantee that protects against any and all manufacturer's defects that are resultant from normal usage. For more information regarding the guarantee, please visit the company website.

So what is the role of the gas piston in an AK-47 and just how critical a component is it? In the AK-47 gas-operating system, a portion of the high-pressure gases from a fired cartridge is vented through a gas tube, where it forces the piston rearward. As the piston moves rearward, it acts upon the bolt carrier and forces both it and the bolt rearward. The rearward movement of the bolt provided for the extraction and ejection of a spent cartridge case and the chambering of a new cartridge upon being thrust forward by the recoil spring. In other words, the gas piston is absolutely necessary in any semi-automatic or selective-fire AK-47 or Kalashnikov-patterned rifle.