Agram 2000: Croatia's Gangster Gun
Croatia
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14m
The Agram 2000 was originally developed in the 1990s in response to a Croatian Army need for a submachine gun during the Independence War. It is a closed-bolt, hammer-fired, simple blowback submachine gun. The initial prototypes used a top folding shoulder stock, but the production model omitted this, and had no shoulder support. It uses a proprietary magazine design, with magazines of 15-, 22-, and 32-round capacity produced.
One of the interesting features of the design is the suppressor it was designed with. The barrel is vented just in front of the chamber, to reduce regular 9x19mm ammunition to subsonic velocity, and the suppressor telescopes back of the barrel to reduce overall length. However, a thread-on barrel sleeve is also included with the gun which can be used in place of the suppressor to seal off the barrel vents and maintain full ammunition velocity.
Overall, the Agram 2000 is a substantially smaller, lighter, and handier gun than one might expect from just seeing photos. Agrams were used by irregular forces during the war, but ultimately not adopted by the Army. After Croatia gained independence, the Agram continued to be produced, and has become notorious for use by organized crime in Eastern Europe.
Many thanks to the French IRCGN (Criminal Research Institute of the National Gendarmerie) for generously giving me access to film this exceptionally rare specimen for you!
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