PKM
Пулемёт Калашникова модернизированный
V. A. Degtyarev Plant1969–presentEarly Cold War
Also known as Pulemyot Kalashnikova Modernizirovanny, PKMS
Image credit
- Title
- Machine gun 762 KK PKM 20180604
- Author
- Santeri Viinamäki(attribution required)
- Licence
- CC BY-SA 4.0
- Source
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Machine_gun_762_KK_PKM_20180604.jpg
How Muzzle energy is calculated
E = ½ · m · v²
Inputs
- m9.7 g149.7 grverifiedsourceBallistics table of the cited article.
- v865 m/s2,838 fpsverifiedMeasured with a 730 mm barrel, not this arm's 605 mm. Velocity outside the sourced range is not projected.
1 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Muzzle velocity is calculated
nearest sourced barrel length — no extrapolation (SPEC.md §8.2)
Inputs
- v at 730 mm865 m/s2,838 fpsverifiedsourceBallistics table of the cited article.
Assumptions
- This figure belongs to a 730 mm barrel. It is shown because it is the closest measurement that exists, not because it applies here.
1 of 1 inputs link to their source.
How Loaded mass is calculated
m_loaded = m_empty + m_magazine + n · m_cartridge
Not calculated: m_magazine has no sourced figure yet. Nothing is substituted for a missing input.
Assumptions
- One magazine, filled to the stated capacity. Spare magazines, optics, slings and lights are the owner’s, not the arm’s.
2 of 4 inputs link to their source.
How Free recoil is calculated
E_recoil = ½ · m_firearm · v_recoil²
Inputs
- m_firearm7.5 kg16.53 lbverifiedsourceMaker figure, gun with its integral bipod.
- v_recoil1.119 m/s3.670 fpsestimated
Assumptions
- Propellant gas momentum is excluded: ARMAG does not record charge weights (SPEC.md §14). This is therefore a lower bound on the real free recoil, consistent between entries but smaller than a figure that includes the gas term.
- Free recoil: the arm is unrestrained. Stock design, muzzle devices, stance and shooter mass are not modelled, because none of them is a property of the arm.
1 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Capacity is calculated
as published for the primary chambering
Inputs
- capacity100verifiedsourceRounds in the smaller of the two issued belt boxes. The maker also lists a 200-round box, and 250-round boxes are used on the tripod.
1 of 1 inputs link to their source.
Derived figures
Computed from the sourced values above. Open ƒ on any figure for the formula, its inputs, and the assumptions it makes.
How Momentum is calculated
p = m · v
Inputs
- m9.7 g149.7 grverifiedsourceBallistics table of the cited article.
- v865 m/s2,838 fpsverifiedMeasured with a 730 mm barrel, not this arm's 605 mm. Velocity outside the sourced range is not projected.
1 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Sectional density is calculated
SD = mass(gr) / (7000 · diameter(in)²)
Inputs
- mass9.7 g149.7 grverifiedsourceBallistics table of the cited article.
- diameter7.92 mm0.3118 inverifiedsourceCartridge maximum, dimension G1.
Assumptions
- Reported in the conventional lb/in² so it is directly comparable with published figures.
2 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Power factor is calculated
PF = mass(gr) · velocity(fps) / 1000
Inputs
- mass9.7 g149.7 grverifiedsourceBallistics table of the cited article.
- velocity865 m/s2,838 fpsverifiedMeasured with a 730 mm barrel, not this arm's 605 mm. Velocity outside the sourced range is not projected.
Assumptions
- A competition classification defined by the IPSC and USPSA rulebooks, stated in their units. It describes a scoring category, not an effect.
1 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Magazine dump is calculated
t = (n − 1) / (rpm / 60)
Inputs
- n100verifiedsourceRounds in the smaller of the two issued belt boxes. The maker also lists a 200-round box, and 250-round boxes are used on the tripod.
- rpm700 rpmestimatedsourceThe maker publishes a range of 600 to 800 rounds per minute and no single figure. This is the midpoint of that range; the schema stores one number.
Assumptions
- Cyclic rate held for the whole magazine, no stoppages, trigger held down. A theoretical figure for comparing mechanisms, not a measured one.
2 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Sight error at 1 mm is calculated
θ = atan(misalignment / sight radius)
Inputs
- sight radius663 mm26.10 inverifiedsource
- misalignment1 mm0.03937 inverified
Assumptions
- Shows what a stated aiming error costs. The misalignment is the reader’s figure; the site does not claim how well anyone aims.
1 of 2 inputs link to their source.
Variants
PKMS
The PKM on L. V. Stepanov 6T5 tripod, adopted with it in 1969. The tripod weighs 4.5 kg and the pair 12 kg.
PKMB
The armoured-vehicle pintle mounting version.
| Variant | Years | Changes |
|---|---|---|
| PKMS | — | no spec change |
| PKMB | — | no spec change |
Specifications
Every row here is generated from the schema, so a figure recorded on this entry cannot be missing from the table — and the same rows, read the same way, are what the comparison shows.
Identity
- Type
- Machine gun
- Action
- Self-loading
- Fire modes
- Fully automatic
- Operating system
- Gas, long-stroke piston
- Feed
- Designed in
- Soviet Union
- Produced in
- Introduced
- 1969
- Production
- 1969–present
Dimensions and mass
- Mass, empty
- 7.5 kg16.53 lbsource
Maker figure, gun with its integral bipod.
- Magazine, empty
- not recorded
- Length
- 1,160 mm45.67 insource
Overall dimensions given as 1160 x 215 x 372 mm.
- Length, folded
- not recorded
- Width
- 215 mm8.465 insource
- Height
- 372 mm14.65 insource
- Barrel length
- 605 mm23.82 insource
Barrel length for the PK series.
Sights and rifling
Chamberings
- 7.62x54mmRprimary100 rounds
Scale
A to-scale outline against family siblings. The dimensions are sourced; the shape is a representative outline for the type, and says so.
- PKM1,160 mm45.67 in
Representative outline — the dimensions are sourced, the shape is not. Overall length, and barrel length where recorded, are drawn from this entry's own figures; the profile is a generic one for the firearm type and says nothing about this arm's actual contours.
Gallery
Image credit
- Title
- 7,62 KK PKM Helsinki 2012
- Author
- MKFI
- Licence
- Public domain
- Source
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:7,62_KK_PKM_Helsinki_2012.JPG
Image credit
- Title
- PKM DD-ST-85-01257
- Licence
- Public domain
- Source
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PKM_DD-ST-85-01257.JPEG
Detail
The PK is what happens when a rifle action is asked to do a machine gun’s work. The bolt and carrier are the Kalashnikov mechanism turned upside down, with the gas piston underneath the barrel, firing from an open bolt so the chamber can cool between bursts. Around that sits a stamped sheet-steel receiver, a quick-change barrel with a folding carry handle, and a feed system that has to pull a rimmed cartridge backwards out of a non-disintegrating belt before pushing it forward into the chamber, because a rim will not let it go straight through. The 1969 PKM is the lightened production version: no barrel fluting, a stiffened receiver cover, a shorter flash hider and about 1.5 kg saved.
It belongs in the pilot batch because it sits at the edge of what this site covers. SPEC.md admits crew-carried tripod guns as small arms, and the PKM is carried and fired by one soldier from its own bipod while a second carries the ammunition, so it is in. The scope rule it tests is the next one along: the PKT, which is the same gun with the stock removed and a solenoid trigger fitted for a tank mount, is a variant of this arm and not an entry of its own.
Two figures show the strain the schema is under here. The cyclic rate is published as a range, and storing one number from it forces the estimate you see; and the magazine capacity field is holding a belt-box count, which is a property of the ammunition carrier rather than of the gun.
References
This entry's own bibliography. Every citation key on this page resolves into this list.
- 7.62 mm PKM Kalashnikov modernized machine gun · V. A. Degtyarev Plant · read 2026-08-27
- PK machine gun · 1369035270 · read 2026-08-27 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Last verified 2026-08-27 · review status: spot-checked