Russian-Made AK-47's, AKM's?

Are they out there for sale? Where???

James River makes a build of Russian AKM , marking and everything all parts match . I have one and its been flawless looks like its been there done that now. 1000 to 1200 price

Not in the US as far as I know. Various Russian made sporters based
on the AK action have been sold in the US but I don't think any true
AK or AKM pattern rifles have ever been imported. There may be some
conversions of the sporters available but I don't know. But the older
Romanian and Egyptian Maddi stamped receiver AKs were basically
direct copies of the Russian AKM although not Russian made. Maybe
if the Donald is elected as our next president he will persuade Putin
to send us some genuine Russian AKMs. Be patient.

The Molot Factory in Vyatskie Polyany and the Izhmash Factory in Izhvesk, from 2006 to the ban, sent them as sporterized. A few came through earlier from them, too. Molot makes the Vepr and Super Vepr, while Izhmash makes the Saiga. They were mostly semi-auto that came in, though few were reported with the full auto sear in place and had to be returned/destroyed.
Conversions make them 922r compliant, but they shoot fine with five and ten round magazines. Izhmash mostly used plastic stocks and forearms, while Molot mostly used wood. Some of the wood was stunning.

This is a rather rare Izhmash with wood furniture from the factory. It shoots the formidable .308 Win.


This is an Izhmash .308 Win after modifications.


This is a Saiga compared to the formidable Super Vepr, which was built based on the RPK construct.


They are as good as any AKM sporterized, and most states may allow the 30 round mags for target shooting only that already allow the 30 round mags.

Standard Saiga in .308 Win.


Molot Super Vepr and Vepr in .308 Win.


Yes. I like 308 Win. Can't leave out the infamous modified Saiga 12 gauge:

Not a lot of choices out there with the Russian made AK clones, with the import ban. They are nice rifles.

Personally I like my Bulgarian made Arsenals better then the one Russian AK that I did own.

My two current Arsenals, a 107CR and a 107FR

The only ones would be Vepr, they are based on RPKs and Saiga. Both are imported as sporters and you'd need to do some minor gunsmithing to get them to look like AKs.....or buy from someone who has.





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RSanch111 said:

Russian-Made AK-47's, AKM's?
Are they out there for sale? Where???

Click to expand...

Bud Jr. said:

The Molot Factory in Vyatskie Polyany and the Izhmash Factory in Izhvesk, from 2006 to the ban, sent them as sporterized...........
Conversions make them 922r compliant.....

Click to expand...

Arik said:

The only ones would be Vepr, they are based on RPKs and Saiga.

Click to expand...

Glashaus said:

Not a lot of choices out there with the Russian made AK clones, with the import ban......
...I like my Bulgarian made Arsenals better then the one Russian AK that I did own.

Click to expand...

Short answer: It depends.

Longer answer: A "pre-ban" Russian AK-47 is mega expensive. Post ban Russian AK-47-like long guns are limited to the stuff already mentioned by Bud Jr., Arik, and Glashaus. The where you can find them would be on auction sites like Gun Broker, Gun Auction, Guns International, and a plethora of other sites. Depending on your location they may be very hard to find locally.

Even longer answer: Asking an AK enthusiast if Russian made AK's are out there is like asking a S&W enthusiast if all S&W's are the same. Are you asking about "pre-ban" AK's or "post-ban" AK's? For an AK enthusiast "pre-ban" AK's, all parts matching, made at a dedicated AK arsenal (European or Asian) are the most desirable. Then there's a debate if anything other than a Russian-made version is an AK and whether or not anything other than a select fire, Russian made AK, is really an AK-47? In 1994, under president Clinton, a subsection of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 specifically banned "assault" weapons with certain features. Long guns imported before this 1994 bill were grandfathered to be legal and many AK enthusiasts consider pre-ban (pre 1994) AK's to be the cream of the crop and more desirable and the price reflects this sentiment. An all parts matching, pre-ban, Russian AK is a fairly rare item and I cannot remember the last time I saw one? I'd guess if you could find one it might be $5K or more? After 1994 importers overcame or bypassed the rules in the 1994 bill by changing the butt stock to a "sporterized" version eliminating the pistol grip and changing to a thumb hole butt stock, grinding off or eliminating the bayonet lug, getting rid of flash suppressors or welding or pinning them to the barrel, and shipping them with low capacity magazines. The 922r compliance rule referred to by Bud Jr. refers defines the properties of an imported "assault" weapon and defines how many U.S. made parts make an AK legal. Another mechanism used to comply with the 1994 ban was to import parts kits and build the AK's on a U.S. made receiver and use enough U.S. made parts to make it compliant or legal. BE WARY of some of these "parts kit" guns as I have read stories about the quality of some being a bit suspect but I have no first hand knowledge. The 1994 assault weapon ban contained in the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 was allowed to expire in 2004 because it was determined it did essentially nothing to reduce crime. I have bypassed a discussion of non-Russian, dedicated arsenal built, AK's for sake of brevity but would concur with Glashaus the "Bulgarian" Arsenal (out of Las Vegas) are generally considered good rifles based upon reputation and personal experience. President Obama banned the import of Russian made AK-like rifles in 2014 so it might be a bit harder to find one now.

If you have any other questions, Arik is a wealth of information on this topic and I always appreciate his posts.

^ yep

I didn't feel like typing all that out. I can go into even more details but I don't think it will make a difference for such a general question.

OP when you're ready and before you buy ask first or PM one of us. There are good ones and there are bad ones. When I say bad I don't mean fit and finish but sub par quality with questionable materials

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+1 on what g8rb8 and Arik said. There are a lot of choices when it comes to AK's. There are some very good rifles built on parts kits. I have a VAF 47 from Atlantic Firearms that was built from a matching Polish Underfolder AKM from 1972, it has a US barrel, reciever, fire control group and other small parts to comply with 922r. It is a very nice rifle. Some US built guns are junk, it really helps to do some research before you buy.

The brand new Russian Izhmash Saiga ak/akm in either 223 or 308win is the way to go. There accurate and run ammo flawlessly. It's a great sporting rifle too. There manufactured by the same ak47 people in the same building in russia. Don't settle for nothing less.

I obtained an older Krebs built AK back in 2003 if IICR..Traded one of my Russian SKS's straight up even as I had several. The Krebs has a Saiga receiver and is a gun that I will have forever. Here's a couple of pics. Rich

Thanks much for the very comprehensive replies and photos, gents!

Well, I kinda like my C39V2........T'aint Russian but shoots mighty fine. Smith & Wesson ought to make these!! Call it the M&PM or M&P 47