AK 47

[Wodathunkit]

Folks,

I would like to ad an AK to my collection. I have 2 questions for folks with experience with them. Which brand/mfg should I be looking for, and what is a fair/good price? Maybe one more question, how much were they befor the backlash last year versus now?

Thanks for some tips.

[Beiruty]

Prices are down back to normal.
Check with http://centerfiresystems.com/.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; or http://www.atlanticfirearms.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What caliber are you interested in?

I have a Polish tantal o. 5.45x39 (Russian new rd) and I love it.
Yugo rifles are built like a tank.
Russian Arsenal are the best in terms of quality but they are over $1k new.

[rotor]

Check out K-VAR
https://www.k-var.com/shop/SAM7-Series- ... er-Rifles/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Their SAM7R-61 is what I have. These are the milled receivers. 7.62x39 metal cased ammo, very nice trigger, cheap to shoot, very accurate, no need to reload, They have a great scope mount too, KV-04S.

Their stuff is all top quality. Not cheap but you get what you pay for. They were very good about shipping to my local ffl. Have never had a failure to fire no matter which cheap ammo I feed it. They do best with Bulgarian magazines.

[cajunautoxer]

How much do you want to spend? Aks prices are dropping slower than ARs bc of availability.

CIA builds are hit or miss. If you want to do one right I'd buy a Saiga and have it converted. That way you can pick and choose what parts you want. Also helps if you don't have a good bit to spend at once. You can buy the rifle and slowly get the parts and then have a smith convert it. Kinda like a AR. I shoot with some guys that do conversions. I can get their info if your interested.

[AdioSS]

I very highly recommend the Molot VEPRs I've got a couple in .308 Win. Made in Russia on the heavier RPK machine gun platform, but that makes them much more solid. Both mine have really nice walnut furniture, but some had junk furniture to rush them into the country. Those take standard AK furniture much easier though. The VEPRs are available in 5.56x45, 5.45x39, 7.62x39, .308 Win, 7.62x54R, & even 12GA in a variety of barrel lengths.

[K.Mooneyham]

My personal opinion only of course, but stay far, far away from Century Arms International (CAI). From what I understand, they farm out their builds to various shops...some shops do a good job, and others have a team of trained monkeys with hammers putting AK kits together. Arsenal ranks about the best among the ones I've seen at various gun shows over the last several years.

[bnc]

VEPRs are the best quality AK, imho.

The problem with VEPRs is that they are imported in the "hunting rifle" configuration - thumbhole stock and low-cap (5 & 10 rnd) proprietary mags. The mags are in short supply and expensive. If you want a typical AK setup with pistol grip and 30rnd mags you'll have to comply with 922r. Slant-back VEPRs require an adapter to mount a normal stock, and you'll need to install a bullet guide for proper feeding using standard capacity mags. The .308 model does not need a bullet guide according to the internet. If you want to convert a VEPR plan on spending around $1000 when it is said and done (maybe more if you have a gunsmith do the bullet guide). Luckily, aftermarket support for these rifles is improving.

If you want to spend $1000 on a nice AK without having to fuss with it, look at Atlantic Firearms for one that has been converted already or get an Arsenal from KVAR. Top notch stuff.

If you want something more in the normal AK price range the Yugo O-PAP is the best one out there now. It has the milled heavy-duty RPK receiver and heavy barrel; a solid gun for sure. While Century does tend to mess up some guns, avoiding them means avoiding a large portion of the AK market. Many of their AKs are assembled from kits, but the O-PAP is made as a complete rifle in the Zastava factory in Serbia. Century just does the 922r conversion, which gives their gunsmiths less of an opporunity to mess something up compared to the other rifles out there - another reason for the O-PAP. The down sides are that the Yugo rifles do not have chrome lined barrels and they do not have standard AK furniture. There are adapter plates available in order to mount standard AK stocks and overall the aftermarket support for Yugos is improving too.

For an O-PAP, AIM has the best deal right now (that I know of): http://www.aimsurplus.com/product.aspx? ... groupid=11

For magazines the Bulgarian Circle 10 steel reinforced polymer mags are considered to be the best, but they tend to be $40-45. if you find them for less, buy a bunch! The Russian bakelite mags are good too and look great; AIM is said to be getting more in soon that will sell for $30. Other than those, go with surplus metal mags from eastern Europe (Bulgarian, Romanian, East German, Yugoslavian, etc.). They are inexpensive and reliable. Palmetto State Armory has a really nice deal right now for Yugo Bolt-Hold-Open mags for $12: http://palmettostatearmory.com/index.ph ... lower.html

[drjoker]

Folks,

I would like to ad an AK to my collection. I have 2 questions for folks with experience with them. Which brand/mfg should I be looking for, and what is a fair/good price? Maybe one more question, how much were they befor the backlash last year versus now?

Thanks for some tips.

Norinco makes the best, but they will be tough to find since they're banned from importation. However, Norinco also sold the most, more than WASR, more than Romanian, more than the Russians. So, they're not that hard to find at local gun shows if you look. The Norincos have a chrome lined bore and have sweet triggers. Expect to pay a bit more, about $700-800 for one in good condition.

[Weg]

I second the vote for Norinco's. I've owned several type of AK's, although they were all perfectly reliable, I preferred and kept the Norinco due to it's consistent accuracy as the barrel got hot. They are back down in the $1,000.00 range. I saw one on Texas Gun Trader just a few days ago.

[drjoker]

I second the vote for Norinco's. I've owned several type of AK's, although they were all perfectly reliable, I preferred and kept the Norinco due to it's consistent accuracy as the barrel got hot. They are back down in the $1,000.00 range. I saw one on Texas Gun Trader just a few days ago.

With high quality ammo, not wolf, can get 2 in groups at 100 yds.

[airborned]

i have a norinco and i like it very much once i figure out how to post pics ill send on up.

[Beiruty]

AK was never meant to be precision shooting rifle. It is meant to hit man-size target at up 200m.
With the new rd 5.45x39 you get lighter round, deadlier bullet and less recoil AND better accuracy.
At 50 yrds I was keeping all my hits in 2" zone with iron site of my Polish Tantal. Good enough for me.

[Iunnrais]

If you look down a few posts, you can see pics of my recently acquired Norinco.

http://texaschlforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=87&t=69588

The only thing with the Norinco is that the receiver is thicker than most of the Euro AKs so putting on an after market stock is a bit more challenging (Guntech makes a M4 stock tube that fits). Some of them are angled as well, but you can't tell which you have until you take off the thumbhole stock. Mine also needed some minor fitting work as it was assembled just prior to the Clinton ban. Some of the factory fitting that should have been performed with a file...was performed with a hammer. Not a big deal. Took me an evening sitting in front of the tube to clean up the rough spots so that you no longer need a hammer to strip and re-assemble.

They say the Chinese trigger is nice. I've got the Tapco G2 in mine now for 922r compliance and can say side by side, the G2 is good enough to not cry about moving the trigger group (My friend's Norinco is still in original config) if you need to. Granted, it seems silly to spend the $$ and only gain the US marking on the group and no functional difference. If you can live with the thumb hole stock, everything in front of it is actually pretty decent.

Mag wise, I've got several of the Chinese 30rnd mags (most still in plastic), the couple of 5 round mags that came with the rifle (great for sighting in on a bench) and some US Palms 30 rnd mags. The plastic mags seem to work just as good as the chinese ones in my Mak. I figure as long as they work, I can wear them out and leave the Chinese ones in the packaging.

[Wodathunkit]

Great feedback, given me a lot to consider.

[AdioSS]

I'm also a fan of the Norinco MAK90s.