This Old Gun: Interarms FEG APK

Описание: Watch this American Rifleman Television segment of "I Have This Old Gun" to learn more about the Hungarian FEG APK handgun imported by Interarms.

In the 1990s Interarms, a firearms importer based in Alexandra, Va., sought a new manufacturer to replace Walther, which it was about to drop as one if its offerings. Interarms turned to Walther-style handguns made by the Hungarian manufacturer FEG. The FEG APK handgun that was imported by Interarms looks and functions much like the Walther PP series.

The connection between FEG and Interarms began in the late 1980s when the Hungarian manufacturer was freed from trade restrictions that were in place during the Cold War. FEG, a large manufacturing conglomerate that made many things from household appliances to firearms, then sought to offer its products to the Western market. As a result, the Hungarian manufacturer approached Interarms with some of its pistols for importation into the United States.

One of the handguns offered by FEG was a semi-automatic full-size 9 mm service-type handgun called the R9, which was based off the designs of the Browning Hi-Power and Smith & Wesson Model 59. The other was a smaller handgun based off the Walther PP series design, the APK, which the company produced in a number of different sizes and calibers including .380 ACP and .22 LR.

Externally, the FEG APK is largely identical to the Walther design except for a few modifications and added features. One of the distinctive features on the FEG APK that is not found on the Walther counterparts is the inclusion of a hole in the front of the trigger guard that can accommodate a punch or pin for easier disassembly. For disassembly, the front of the APK's trigger guard is pulled downward and out of its socket, allowing the slide to be pulled back, up and forward off the frame and barrel. Being a blowback-action pistol, the APK's main spring sits around and on the fixed barrel.

FEG was also willing to make changes to the design per consumer requests, something that Walther was not willing to do at the time. One of the inherent problems in the small Walther handgun frame design was slide-bite, which FEG mitigated by extending the backstrap and adding a beaver tail. This resulted in the APK Mark II, which became an ergonomically better handgun than the traditional Walther designs. Other variations of the FEG APK were also offered with different frame material, barrel lengths and sizes.

The FEG APK Mark II has a steel frame and weighs 26 oz. The barrel length on the standard model is 3.43" and feeds from a seven-round magazine. Both the Walther PP and PPK along with the FEG APK Mark II were featured in the Interarms catalog in the 1990s, with the APK being a quarter of the cost of the Walther handguns at the time.

However, the APK Mark II did have a drawback compared to the more expensive Walther handguns in terms of quality. While the FEG handguns were reliable and well made, the finishes and details on the APK were less than those on the Walther counterparts. FEG at one point changed its markings from roll marks to dot matrices, resulting in a less than desirable look.

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