A classic in a modernized design: the GSG Mauser AK47 Omega semi-automatic rimfire rifle in .22 LR

The author had already discovered it at the German Sport Guns (GSG) booth at IWA OutdoorClassics 2023 in March of this year. Now the rimfire self-loader was finally available for testing: the GSG Mauser AK47 Omega in .22 LR (HV). Already visually, the gun stands out, not only because of the unmistakable AK look, but because it differentiates from it. It comes completely in black. Whereas a classic AK47 has wooden elements accentuating the color in the form of the forend and buttstock, GSG used synthetic parts there. The rifle reminds (from a distance) of a more modern AK104 or AK74M. In addition, the Omega comes with some special features and functions, which we will take a look at first.

The GSG Mauser AK47 Omega in detail (.22 LR)

The AK from GSG is delivered in a simple cardboard box. The rifle comes separately from the buttstock. The new Omega owner will have to do some manual work first. However, this should not pose a challenge to less talented shooters. There is a hinge on the back, into which the stock is simply inserted. Then simply drive the enclosed cotter pin through – done: the rifle is assembled and ready for use. Once unfolded the buttstock makes a good and solid impression. It does have some play, but not to an extent that the testers would describe as annoying. By pressing a button on the left side of the rifle, the shooter can fold in the buttstock. It then locks in this position. This shortens the Omega AK a good bit and proves handy for transport. The receiver is made of metal and makes a solid and valuable impression. 

THE GSG Mauser AK 47 Omega is close to the original in terms of design, but less so in terms of markings, of course: on the right side, you will find the  logo of the manufacturer German Sport Guns, it is slightly covered by the handguard. On the left side, the AK shooter will find the familiar Mauser emblem just above the magazine well. Directly behind it is a very obvious mounting interface. This accepts an optic mount, unless you want to use the open sights. Speaking of which, the AK 22 comes from the factory with a tangent rear sight that can only be adjusted for elevation. The front sight can be adjusted in elevation and drifted laterally in AK style. For windage adjustment, the only other option would be to file the rear sight notch (replacement rear sight leaf at GSG: 12.95 euros). Directly in front of the rear sight is the handguard, which, like the buttstock, is made of polymer. It is AK-typically divided into two parts. The lower part has a coarse-textured grip surface. In front of it, the shooter will find a rail on the underside for mounting accessories according to the Picatinny standard. On the left and right sides, GSG equips the AK with M-Lok mounts. The top of the handguard also features a Picatinny mount. This equipment opens up a wide choice of options for customization including a front pistol grip, or laser and light modules (where allowed by law).

The option considered by the testers of attaching a red dot sight to the rail on the top of the handguard unfortunately turned out to be impractical: the upper half of the handguard does not sit tightly enough for this. It did not wobble uncomfortably much, but just too much to attach a precise sight. Otherwise, the quality of the stock is right. The grip feeling is good, the polymer makes a solid impression. The same applies to the pistol grip, by the way. It appears stable and conveys a clean grip feeling. Also made of polymer is the "gas block" of the AK22, which sits in front of the handguard. This is not surprising, because as is usual with rimfire guns, the AK47 Omega being a blowback action. To ensure safe operation, GSG markets the gun with the caliber designation ".22 LR HV", where HV stands for "High Velocity". This is to indicate that the rifle will only function safely with appropriately loaded ammo. More about this later. There is room for the cartridges in the included magazine, which holds 24 cartridges. Alternatively, a 110-round drum magazine is also available (79,95 euro). 

GSG Mauser AK47 Omega in .22 LR specs and price

GSG Mauser AK47 Omega: operation and our impressions from the range visit at 50 meters

As is usual for a rimfire gun, we also took the GSG Mauser AK47 Omega to the 50-meter line. Here, the objection that this is a rather dynamic gun for fun on the shooting range may be justified. However, in an accuracy test at around 25 meters, there would again be no comparability with other rimfire firearms. In this respect, the testers deliberately opted for the longer distance. Included was a selection of rimfire ammunition with special attention to semi-auto variants. The first thing to find out was, of course, which ammunition the .22 AK would work reliably with. The result: despite the HV suffix in the caliber designation, the test rifle worked flawlessly with any ammunition. This was no surprise to the testers. Other .22s from GSG, such as the StG44 in .22 LR, came with the HV designation but digested any cartridge. In this respect, the choice fell on a colorful mixture of cartridges, instead of working only with the HV loads, which experience has shown to be less accurate. When asked, GSG also confirms that the specification is about ensuring that the gun functions safely under all (even adverse) circumstances.

Shooting itself is simple and close to the original. The AK shooter loads the 24-round magazine using an integrated loading aid. A side slide helps to compress the magazine spring bit by bit during loading. The filled magazine then finds its place in the gun in true style: first it hooks towards the muzzle and then locks in place with a tilting motion at the rear. The shooter then pulls back the charging handle, lets it shoot forward, and the rifle is ready to fire. The testers shot the Mauser AK47 using its open sights, which is certainly a scenario frequently encountered in practice, especially with an AK. The sights are adjusted using a slide marked with numbers between 1 and 14. The assumption was obvious here (an explanation in the manual would be desirable) that this marks increments of ten in meters. And hit: with the setting to 5, hits were already very well at the right height. Only with the windage correction it did not want to work so properly. The manual did not provide any help at this point either. However, this did not stop the testers from the accuracy test. Because of the open sights, obvious aiming errors were removed from the score. In the end, Eley's semi-auto loads came out on top with 30 mm groups. In general, the loads were in a good range for a rather fun-oriented semi-automatic rifle with open sights. Only the trigger would have deserved improvement in our opinion. The range test went off without any malfunctions.

Our test conclusion on the GSG Mauser AK47 Omega

With the GSG Mauser AK47 Omega, the buyer gets a nice AK47 replica of good quality with high reliability. With the interfaces, one has many upgrade options, the optional drum magazine increases the fun factor. The negative side, the trigger, is relativized against the backdrop of the area of use in recreational shooting at short ranges. In this respect, the rifle with its price of 479 euros is a very fair offer for the AK fan and as a fun gun for the shooting range.