Following a very good reception of its first video about stress-testing an old trusty AK-74M rifle – that has already got nearly a million views – the renowned Russian arms maker decided to continue its “destroyers of weapons” series. This time, the concern’s expert got his hands on a modern AK-12 assault rifle, chambered for the 5.45×39mm cartridge.

The new rifle, adopted by the Russian military back in 2018, features a number of improvements – from the new gas-operation system and adjustable stock to the railed handguard. Moreover, AK-12s can have scopes attached to a rail on the receiver cover, while in earlier models, this part was quite shaky by design and the scopes would go only to the left-side assembly.

The new rifle has fared very well in the torturous test, firing 680 rounds – nearly 23 magazines – in full-auto before its barrel blew up. That is around 100 more than the previous test of the AK-74M.

Around the 500th round, the gun went so hot its handguard caught fire – yet the automatics continued to work perfectly. The shooter had no trouble reloading the flaming gun, unlike the AK-74M, which required a solid hit against a table to chamber.

Post-mortem examination showed that only the gun’s barrel assembly and handguard were damaged during the test – all the receiver parts got only a thick layer of soot. All in all, the new AK-12 performed better than the older variant of the iconic rifle. Both of them were able to sustain significantly more than ‘just’ 180 rounds in full-auto that is the requirement of the Russian military.

We can expect more gun demolition videos from Kalashnikov; the concern has already teased a new one, urging the viewers to try and guess which one from its arsenal will be destroyed next.

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