OK I searched and did not find anything if I over looked it send me a link don't flame me pls just trying to get sound info.

Got plenty of AR's for the moment, looking to get a AK just because I don't have one.

Any thought's on what to look for. I have no knowledge about them except what they sound like shooting at you back in the 70's. I have heard they have a stamped or milled receiver, come . 7.62 and 5.45 and are piston operated and hard to break, that's about it. Any suggestions, maybe S&W will make one.

Looked on other forum's and here is where the information is that I trust.

There are so many outfits making/putting together AK's its hard to separate the wheat from the chaff at times. Check out Arsenal they do seem to have a very good reputation for quality goods. However you do need to use your own judgment. Also check out AR15.com they have a good AK thread and browse through it to get an idea as well. Good luck

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Stay safe people!

The AK 47s come in 7.62 x 39. The AK 74s come in 5.45 x 39. That round is similar to our 5.56. Some importers have also chambered some in our 5.56.
I like the milled receiver. The better ones come from Bulgaria. There are some companies making the AKs from imported parts. I have both AKs. I shoot the 74 more often. The ammo. is usually cheaper. As to price a couple of years ago you could buy them for $400 to $500. Now the going price is closer to $1000.

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Tom
NRA Pistol Inst

Everyone says that the Romanian WASR 10 is a piece of junk, but I disassembled and cleaned one for a guy and it seemed rather well put together for the ugly thing that it was. He paid me the going rate ($80) for a complete cleaning (which means I test-fired it as well) and it worked flawlessly.

I don't want one, but it seemed okay to me. They can be had (used) for $500 or less - at least in my area.

The AR15 forum has a good AK sub forum. Much of the discussion is
about what's available today. Bulgarian-Romanian, stamped vs milled,
US vs imported parts. For a can't go wrong recommendation, look for a
pre ban Chinese Poly Tech 7.62x39 stamped receiver, dark wood stock
rifle. Expect to pay at least $1,000 for a clean unaltered gun. The
"Legend" series guns with milled receivers are much more expensive.

It costs $80.00 to clean an AK?!?

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James L. "Jim" Rhiner

The WASR does what it says on the can. Just make sure you get one that does not have canted sights. The Bulgarian rifles are very nice but heavy. Many Americans gripe about the length of pull, but that can be fixed with a longer (AKA NATO pattern) buttstock. If you wish you can fit a collapsible stock but I think they look goofy. YMMV.

I used to own a Saiga in its original, no pistol grip form and hated it. The trigger was nasty and it was way, way overgassed.

Too much to type. Ho over to theakforum.com and ask away.

Most problems on cheaper AKs are with canted sightsand and cheap finish. Foreign parts are better then US parts especially barrels. Nodak makes top of the line US receivers.

Arsenal USA builds AKs using Bulgarian parts or converts full Russian Saigas. There are many other good quality builders such as PoHF, Krebs, Rifle Dynamics,

Century Arms and IO inc use bottom of the barrel US parts.

Saigas are Russian AKs that are imported in sporterized config and can easily be converted to "AK"

They come in 5.56x45, 5.45x39, 7.62x39, 308, 7.62x54

The stock is short for a reason.

Stamped vs milled has no functional advantage one way or the other however there are less milled ones so you will pay more just for that. Accuracy will still be about the same.

The Rolls Royce of AKs is the Vepr. All are built on heavy RPK receivers


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You cant go wrong with any AK at all. Even the cheap ones will eat up all the ammo u can possibly shove down their throat. And even during a time like we have had since December. AK ammo has been cheap and plenty available. While everyone else was running around worried about .22 rounds. I was out buying AK rounds still at cheap prices. I figure more ammo for less money compared to the .223.

Of all the AR's and AK's I have. I'll grab all my AK's in a time where SHTF. The AR's will be the last thing I grab.

this was going to be my advice, or at least the Legend part... I prefer milled AKs, so I'd recommend either a Poly Tech Lengend series or milled Aresenal like a SA M-7 Classic... unless things get back to normal (whatever that was) neither will be cheap

While I trust my Colt, in the ultimate SHTF/TEOTWAWKI/ANY WEATHER/ANY CONDITIONS ....AK....except no substitute!

On a more serious note. Overall they are all the same as far as function any bolt or carrier will fit any other so long as its the same caliber. They all shoot about 3-4 moa and i can easily keep rounds on target at 250 yards using iron sights. They will NOT do moa or sub so benching it for anything but sighting in is pointless. They are all piston operated.

All mags will fit all AKs in the same caliber. Surplus mags are best even the well used. Commercial mags Bulgaria makes the best, also Russia but they dont make a lot of commercial ones. Yugo mags are the only ones with the bolt hold open however its on the mag, not the rifle so once the mag is removed the bolt will slam home.

Furniture is not all same. Russian, Romanian, Bulgarian and Polish (i might be forgetting one or two) (possibly Egyptian) that are built on 1mm stamped receivers will be the same. Chinese stamped receiver furniture is different and will not fit. All milled receiver AK furniture is different from stamped and will not interchange. Yugo stamped or milled receiver handguards are proprietary. They are longer to accommodate the built in granade launcher.

Some AKs might have problems feeding cheap HP ammo.

Century Arms imported WASRs will have some mag wobble. This is because they are imported as single stack and Century opens the magwell up with a dremel to accept double stack mags. 99.9% of the time this is only a cosmetic issue and will not cause the rifle to malfunction or effect accuracy.

The Czech VZ58 is NOT an AK and only looks similar from 50ft away. The only thing they share is the 7.62x39 caliber

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I refused to purchase any imported an that's a century arms butchered rework. The ones I did look at had a poor fit and finish. Until I seen the
brand new Russia Izmash saigas. They come in 223 & 308win. In my state anyway. The 16" barreled 308win saiga shoots 1 1/2" groups @ 100yds. using surplus south African ball fmj ammo. Better ammo it's more accurate. It's in a sporter version but it's still an ak/akm. To me there is no other semi auto that can match the performance. We haven't shot the 223's for accuracy yet. I'd go with the brand new saiga I own six of them.
Every family member has one.

Sorry the saiga out performs any ar 15 they just don't jam, never.

Thanks for the good info folks. I knew I could get some good info here, will try the AR15.com site. Just thought about getting one 'cause I don't have one you know how it is.

Go to, IZHMASH Saiga-12 Shotguns

Then click on forum.

AR15.com has too many armchair commandos and childish attitudes. I recommend theakforum.com. its like the S&W forum for AKs. Friendly, knowledgeable, no politics no childish antics ......for the most part

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It's actually "theakforum.net", but yes, it's a good source of info. The akfiles.com is also good. A lot of the better AKs are actually built from parts kits by small builders, but there's a lot of junk built that way too. I'm also a fan of the Arsenal rifles...I have an SLR-106 in .223, but I have a couple of Yugos that are also a ball to shoot and the ammo is quite a bit cheaper. Here's the latest one, a Yugo M92 "Krinkov".

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Rick, W0FG
CTR2 68-72

My LGS uses Davidsons for on-line sales. They show 49 SA M-7's available at $1550 plus shipping and local tax. This is a milled receiver.

I own a Arsenal SLR-95 that I like a lot. The AK47 forum considers Arsenal one of the more accurate AK's.

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Corripe Cervisiam

I decorated one of mine in OD to go with one of FDE AR's. I needed 2 things that stood out a bit, lol.

Nice! I have an Arsenal SLR 107UR "krink".

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AK's are a lot of fun.
Can't really comment too much on brands, as most of mine are homebuilt (all but two in the picture below). The VEPR models are the best fit and finish of any I have seen.

This is just all I could fit in the picture. The family has grown since.

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Certified AR-15 / SIG Armorer.

They are fun and pretty easy to build yourself, if you are into that sort of thing. I have 3 AKs that I have done myself (using 100% receivers): Bulgarian AK-74, Polish Underfolder -47, AMD65 variant w/ side folder.

The Polish is my favorite look


The Bulgie


The AMD hasn't posed for a photo yet.

Rob

I've had all sorts and kinds of AK type weapons from folders to big ole Yugo squad machine guns. The best bang for the money and most pleasant to shoot are probably the Norinco milled receiver models, all of the purists are gonna gripe about the lousy "thumbhole" stock but a sweeter shooting AK you are not going to find for the money. There are any number of outlets on the market if you want to convert to a typical wood stocked pistol gripped type AK but personally I like the Draganov style with extra butt pad. I have mounted an Ultimak gas tube scope mount and use an Eotech for optics. Excellent combination, very pleasant to shoot and will easily keep a sub-3" group at 100 yds...not easy for most AKs, especially untuned units with ****** triggers...its all in the trigger, the weight of the milled reciever helps and a decent buttstock with nice cheek weld. Keep your eyes peeled for a Norinco "Match Rifle", they made quite a few with chrome barrels, no bayo lug, no cleaning rod...strickly for shooting accurately if that term can be applied to an AK. It never fails to amuse me anytime I see someone advertising a "sniper quality" AK, if its chambered for 7.62 x 39 there is no way you are ever going to get "sniper quality" results out of an AK. A Yugo Model 76 ZRAK in 8mm is about as close to an AK sniper rifle as your going to get, Romanian PSLs are pieces of **** by comparison, the ultimate would be a Russian Dragonov style in 7.62 x 54...a ton of money for a fancy AK. I have heard about some of the guys coming back from the sandbox with Iraqi sniper rifles that were re-worked Yugo squad machine guns, which had longer heavier barrels and a bipod, they had been lightened and scoped and delivered acceptable accuracy but certainly not what even a bone stock M4 is capable of.

Thats kind off true. The Iraqi Tabuk is a licensed copy of a Yugo. Most Iraqi guns were either Yugo bought or copies of.

The AK isnt really used as a "sniper" rifle but more of a "designated marksman" rifle. 7.62x39 ballistics dont lend themselves to sniper grade accuracy. A sniper AK does however extend the distance at which a good shooter can ruin someones day. Although more more accurate its similar to the Yugo M76 8mm Mauser and the Romanian PSL in 7.62x54. The actual Russian semi auto sniper, the Dragunov/Tigr is completely different in function. Instead of a piston attached to the bolt carrier like the AK, it has a short stroke gas piston like the FAL, SKS, Lunjmann (spelling).

There is one, and only one AK that i have seen that will hold about 2moa at 500 yards and thats a prototype built by Mark Krebs using the 6.5 Grendel caliber. A good friend of my was the beta tester!

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Here's a few of my. Norinco AK74 in 5.45x39





Norinco MAK90 7.62x39



Arsenal SBR 7.62x39

And here is something to encourage you!



An AK is not an AK without some hot rod flames



A well worn Romanian



Russian boyscout/summer camp

Complete disassembly and cleaning, reassembly and lubrication, test fire and second cleaning. There was still Cosmoline on it and in it. Yeah. $80.00 is fair for that.

I charge $60 - $80 for shotguns, as well. People bring me shotguns that have been shot for decades, with only a barrel cleaning. I asked a guy who brought one to me recently how long it had been since he completly disassembled it and cleaned it. He said "Since my Mom gave it to me in 1972?" and added "Uh, never, I guess". He thought it was broken, because it wouldn't chamber a round anymore. Turns out that it was so full of gunk, that the bolt wouldn't go fully forward.

I spent a full hour on that one, and it worked like it was new when I was done. He was so happy, that he gladly forked over $100.00. That was a bargain.

"Complete disassembly" as in everything? Removing the sights, barrel, trunion, pistol grip, stock, handguards (the last 3 are easy)?

And afterwards reassemble everything, re check headspace, re align the sights?

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Here are a couple more of mine. The top one is the Arsenal SLR-106 with a Russian Rakurs-A optical sight. The bottom one is a milled Yugolavian M70 built on an Ohio Rapid Fire receiver.

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Rick, W0FG
CTR2 68-72

I have a thing for military surplus so I like the bottom one with the wood, would go good with my WWll collection.

Can we close this thread now. Everyone posting pics of their AK's is making me want to add another to my collection. =-)

*Bangs head against wall*

Buy American:
Welcome to I.O. Inc.

Youre kidding right?!!? Century Arms and IO inc are probably the worst 2 companies to put AKs together. Not everything "American" is good, and especially when it comes to AKs. Who knows more about how to build AKs then the countries who have been fielding them for 50 years? Who has all the quirks worked out of their machinery? IO does import some stuff but they used garbage parts kits to build on and cheap outsourced barrels and now they build "100% American" using similar substandard, outsourced parts. I wouldnt be surprised if their front trunions are just scrubbed foreign made trunions.

Im not paying $500+ just so it says "made in America" while having my handguards melt because its cheap, thin plastic with no heat shield. Or their soft receivers, or their out of spec barrels.....but hey its made in America

This is like saying "buy an AR made in Russia"

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This one started life as a VEPR in 7.62x54, and I have modified it into a Dragunov clone. While perhaps not quite sniper rifle level, both my VEPRs (the other is a 5.45) are tack drivers.

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Certified AR-15 / SIG Armorer.

There is a new sight rail made by a company in Texas. It is a picatinney type rail that replaces the rear sight. It connects there and goes over the dust cover. It will fold up to allow the cover to be removed. It allows a red dot or scope to be easily mounted. It also has its own rear sight mounted farther back. I can't think of the name of it now but someone will.

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Tom
NRA Pistol Inst

TWS dog leg

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Must...resist...desire...to...own...a...AK...

Ah screw it, ordered a Waffen Werks AK in 5.45x39 and couple span cans!

Can't wait!!!!

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Molon Labe!

I own every norinco gun but an ak, I can't own a real ak but I got the brand new Russian izmash saigas when they went under the radar as sporters. I would go with the norinco if you can't find a Russian ak.

But for the best semi-auto rifle in 7,62x39 and accurate too it's the norinco sks.

I would go for an ak/akm in 223 or in 308win.

Actually, yes. And you're off by about half on the price.