Type 79 SMG: China’s MP7 At Home

The Type 79 is an overly-complex submachine gun that uses a scaled-down AK operating system chambered for 7.62x25mm Tokarev. In many ways, this is akin to the H&K MP7 – it’s a miniaturized combat rifle. The locked breech system allows the reciprocating parts to be arather lighter than a simple blowback design would be, but at the cost of cost and complexity. Is this really a good design? Well, you can judge for yourself – but don’t forget that it was replaced only 6 years after its adoption, and it was in development for well over a decade. Today, the Type 79 remains in use by some police forces in China, and there is a significant aftermarket component market for it. Basically, there are a lot of police Type 79s that look they have been dragged mercilessly through the whole Tapco-China catalog.

For the fascinating story of the Type 79’s excruciatingly long development, you should check out Jason Clower’s video that posted today:

Curse of China’s Type 79: The Gun That Blighted Every Life It Touched