Let's see what this Tantal can do!

Tantal with chest rig, before adding some other stuff.

When people first hear my name (and usually mispronounce or misspell it) a common question I hear is “Where is that from?” The answer is, it's Polish (or more appropriately, Prussian). Even today, there is a small cluster of Pakiesers in Northern Poland.

In fact, one Pakieser – to whom I am sure I'm probably related to, but not sure how – is the “Assistant Defense, Military, Naval & Air Attache” for Poland to the US State Department. Cool!

Humorist Dave Barry says this about Poland:

FIRST GERMAN: How many Polish people does it take to change a lightbulb?

SECOND GERMAN: I don't know. Let's invade Poland and find out.

MILLIONS OF OTHER GERMANS: Okay!

While it may have worked in 1939, anyone invading Poland during the Cold War would have found themselves facing the KbK wz88 Tantal, Poland's version of the AK74.

Not satisfied with the design of their Soviet “brothers” the Poles refined the Tantal by adding a burst fire mechanism and streamlining the design. Today, these rifles have been replaced by the Beryl (a 5.56 version of the Tantal, since Poland is now a NATO member) but in its day the Tantal was a highly sought after collector's piece for AK fans.

I recently picked up a Tantal, mainly because it was cheap to buy, and cheap to shoot. The rifle was about $418 out the door at Fleet Farm and I picked up a 1080 round “spam can” of 5.45x39 ammo for just $140. Compared to owning (and shooting) my AR15s, that's a steal.

In its original form, a Tantal cannot be imported into the US. Arbitrary and capricious laws require that the gun's receiver be torch cut into three pieces (destroyed) after which the gun's parts can be imported as a “parts kit.”

Importer Century International Arms (which I like to call CIA) takes these Tantal kits, rebuilds them on a NoDak Spud receiver, and installs additional parts to make them compliant with Federal import laws – aka 922(r) – another bureaucratic hurdle to owning one of these rifles is it must be assembled with a specific number of US-made parts – which, fortunately, are readily available.

Out of the box, my Tantal was a solid, reliable shooter, but I did a little bit of tweaking to make it mine. The wire stock leaves something to be desired; it's not comfortable to shoulder and has a poor cheek weld. 

Two accessories fixed this: the Tantal cheek piece from AMD65Tech and a Tantal grenade launcher buttpad from FSE USA.

Grenade Launcher? Well, the Tantal was optimized for using rifle grenades, which you can't get here in the US - but the buttpad makes the Tantal much easier to shoulder properly.

The AMD65Tech cheek piece is very simple, yet really adds a lot to getting a proper cheek weld on the gun. Installation requires carefully measuring, centering and drilling a single hole. Once installed, it puts a cheek weld right where you want it. While the cheekpiece comes with padding, I opted to make it a little more comfy with some paracord wrap.

Another improvement on the stocks was the addition of US PALM's AK Battlegrip. This grip is larger and has better ergonomics than the stock grip, and is easy to install (just remove the old grip and replace it with the new one). Those of you familiar with TangoDown's AR15 Battlegrip will like this one too.

The other area where the Tantal (and most AK rifles, I think) can be improved is the sights. The AK's rear sights don't have much potential for precision adjustment and the front sight can be hard to pick up rapidly. To fix this I installed an ULTIMAK rail with a Primary Arms MicroDot.

Installing an Ultimak on a Tantal requires some permanent modification; you have to cut the upper part of the handguard retainer to make it fit (you don't have to do this on other AK rifles). I used a Dremel and cleaned up with a file, then added some high-temperature paint on the bare metal.

The MicroDot sits just low enough to allow a co-witness with the irons and is well oriented for “shooting out of the tube” as well. In a pinch, you can center the front sight assembly in the MicroDot tube and get pretty solid hits. AK shooters refer to this as “Caveman EOTech.”

Tantal is just about where I want it.  Plum lower handguard is on order.  I'm getting the plum handguard 'cause it's cool.

So now that this rifle is where I want it, what am I going to do with it?

I'm glad you asked.

Next week, I'll be travelling to Sturgis, South Dakota with my Tantal to take JohnFarnam's Urban Rifle Course at the CorBon Law Enforcement TrainingCenter (CLETC).  On Wednesday and Thursday I'll be running the Tantal through John's Course, then returning to Minnesota on Friday.

Then, on Saturday I'll be running this rifle at the DPMS Outbreak Omega V zombie fun shoot in Morristown (joined by the rest of the QSI crew).

I figure when all is said and done, the Tantal will eat about 1000 rounds over two days of shooting, a day of travel, and another day of shooting. I'll keep the blog updated with a range report on the Tantal, John's Urban Rifle Class, and Omega.

We'll see how well the rifle (and I) hold up!

When Duty Calls

One of the questions we get most often asked in classes is “What do I do with my gun when I am in the bathroom?”

The other day I found myself using a fairly secluded restroom and, remembering this, took some quick pictures to illustrate what you should (and shouldn’t) do. So, if we can get through this without giggling, let’s talk about what to do with our guns when nature calls.


DO use the stall instead of a urinal (yes ladies, I know you don’t have a choice).

Using a urinal puts you with your back to the door, facing the wall, with your gun hand occupied. It’s very easy for someone to come up behind you and slam you into the wall. On the other hand, the stall door, while not exactly Fort Knox, slows down an attacker long enough for you to react.


DO keep the gun under control. There are some different options available, depending on how you are dressed.

If you keep your knees apart, tension on the belt will keep your gun and holster from falling to the ground. The heavier your gun, the less likely this is to work.

Sometimes the stall will have a handy shelf or other spot, such as this toilet paper dispenser, you can set your gun on. Before doing so, make sure it’s a flat surface. Many of these items have curved tops and the last thing you want is your gun clattering to the floor. If you have to “balance” your gun on the object, it’s not going to work.

I prefer taking the gun out of the holster and setting it in the crotch of my pants. It’s still immediately accessible and I’m not going to forget it’s there.

DON’T put your gun anywhere it can be grabbed, forgotten, or worse.

Stashing your gun behind you on the toilet might seem like a good idea, but once it’s there and you start to take care of business, it’s out of sight and difficult to reach. Being out of sight increases your chances of forgetting it.

Here in Minnesota, forgetting a gun in a bathroom isn’t just embarrassing, it’s potentially a crime. Minn. Stat. 609.378 makes it a Gross Misdemeanor to “leave a loaded firearm in a location where the person knows that a child under 18 is likely to gain access.” There have been cases of permit-holders being charged under this statute after leaving guns in bathrooms.

Placing your gun on the floor is also a bad move.  Don’t forget you may not be alone in the bathroom and the guy in the next stall will be able to see your gun.  He might either grab it and take off or whip out his trusty cell phone and call 911, creating an unplanned police encounter.

Please, please, please never do this: hang your gun on the hook on the stall door. I did it here with a triple-checked unloaded gun for demonstration purposes, and it still made me very uncomfortable. 


Aside from having your gun out of reach while you are doing your thing, it’s not a stretch to see how this could result in an accidental discharge when the hook hits the trigger as you try to retrieve your gun. Worse, the recoil from that accidental discharge could result in another discharge. A local gun show promoter was seriously injured in just this fashion.

Use the hook for its intended purpose: hanging up your concealment garment.


Going armed means your gun is with you and accessible all the time. Public restrooms have been the scenes of violent crime. It makes sense, if you are carrying a pistol, to keep it handy, even in the bathroom.