POF BW-20
- Category
- Battle Rifle
- Barrel
- 406 mm
- Weight, empty
- 3.90 kg
- Introduced
- 2021
About
What it is, and why it matters
The POF BW-20 is a select-fire battle rifle chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO, developed by Pakistan Ordnance Factories and publicly revealed in 2021. It revives the roller-delayed blowback locking system associated with the Heckler & Koch G3, which POF has long produced under license, but pairs it with a modern modular design using AR-10 pattern magazines, an inline buttstock, and a full-length rail. The designation 'BW-20' stands for 'Battle Weapon', designed in 2020, and the rifle is offered in 16-inch and 12-inch barrel lengths with planned 5.56x45mm and 7.62x39mm variants.
Bucking the trend of gas-operated designs, POF engineer Salman Ali deliberately revived the nearly abandoned roller-delayed blowback action for the BW-20, leaning on decades of Pakistani experience building the G3 so that about a third of its parts remain compatible with the older rifle.
Reduced to roughly 125 parts, with POF stating around 30% of components are interchangeable with the G3 to lower production cost. Weight is about 3.9 kg with a polymer magazine and 4 kg with an aluminum magazine. Still in prototype/development stage as of its public unveiling.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Pakistan Ordnance Factories
- Category
- Battle Rifle
- Country
- Pakistan
- Status
- Prototype
- Produced
- 2021
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 406 mm
- Overall length
- 935 mm
- Weight, empty
- 3.90 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Roller delayed blowback
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer fired
- Trigger
- Single stage
- Capacity
- 20
- Magazine
- Detachable box
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Polymer
- Finish
- Phosphate
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 750 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 2671 J
- Effective range
- 500 m
- Rate of fire
- 600 rpm
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Modular rail system
Inline buttstock
Ambidextrous controls
Ar10 pattern magazines
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 86 7.62x51mm NATO battle rifles | 3.90 kg | 4.30 kg | Lighter than about 80% |
| Overall lengthAmong 85 7.62x51mm NATO battle rifles | 935 mm | 1025 mm | Shorter than about 90% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 87 7.62x51mm NATO battle rifles | 406 mm | 458 mm | Shorter than about 90% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 87 7.62x51mm NATO battle rifles | 20 | 20 | Near the median |
Its place in the rankings
Answers
Questions about the POF BW-20
How much does the POF BW-20 weigh?
The POF BW-20 weighs 3.90 kg (8.60 lb) empty.
What caliber is the POF BW-20?
The POF BW-20 is chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO.
How many rounds does the POF BW-20 hold?
The POF BW-20 holds 20 rounds, fed from a detachable box magazine.
How long is the POF BW-20?
The POF BW-20 is 935 mm (36.8 in) long overall, with a 406 mm (16.0 in) barrel.
Who makes the POF BW-20?
The POF BW-20 is made by Pakistan Ordnance Factories (Pakistan). It was designed by Salman Ali.
When was the POF BW-20 introduced?
The POF BW-20 was introduced in 2021.
How does the POF BW-20 operate?
The POF BW-20 uses a roller delayed blowback action, and its firing mechanism is hammer fired.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- Pakistan Army
- Pakistan
Provenance
Confidence in this record
68%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/bw-20' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "bw-20", "name": "POF BW-20", "manufacturer": { "id": "pakistan-ordnance-factories", "name": "Pakistan Ordnance Factories", "countryCode": "PK", "foundedYear": 1951, "website": "https://pof.gov.pk", "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-04-05 22:24:37", "updatedAt": "2026-04-05 22:24:37", "version": "8f0b49c36dfe78bfe36766018c3db21f1e35c55cbdadb38a0cac59e79ee4fd81" }, "category": { "id": "battle-rifle", "name": "Battle Rifle", "description": "Selective-fire rifles chambered in full-power cartridges" }, "country_of_origin": "PK", "year_introduced": 2021, "barrel_length_mm": 406, "weight_empty_g": 3900, "action_type": "roller_delayed_blowback"}