New to AK47s and want to learn

I remember Polytechs AKS-762 guns for $329 in the 1980s. Cases of 7.62x39 were $89.99.

iu


Right before the ’86 closure of the MG registry, you could get select-fire AKs for insanely-low prices:

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One of the most forgotten US options for AKs were from Mitchell in the 1980s, which were imported Yugoslavian rifles. There were 2000 of them imported before March of 1989, followed by 5000. I remember the ads for them and articles in the gun rags, wishing I could get one. They looked like this:

iu


The 1980s US market for AKs was extremely scarce for the most part until the post-1989 Chicom guns started flowing in. Due to the 1989 import ban, US importers had to jump through some hoops to meet compliance, so the pre-’89 guns are all collectibles. The Valmet rifles are one of the most valuable options in that space in terms of an actual quality gun, and rareness/collectibility. The original Steyr import Maadis are what they used in Red Dawn, and were converted to select-fire.

iu


Then there was a period between Bush ban 1989 and Clinton AWB ban 1994, so those are another set for collectors.

From 1994-2004 during the Clinton/Biden/Feinstein ban, some of the guns were neutered with narrow 10rd mag wells, plain/non-threaded muzzles, and thumbhole stocks to meet importation infringements. It was easy to change the furniture but machining was required to open up the magazine wells. There were some nice Bulgarian guns that came in during that time with milled receivers.

Others just shipped with little short magazines. It was great when that stupid infringement expired in 2004. Parts kits were really popular after that, built on US receiver flats. A lot of people didn’t know what they were doing, didn’t know about the high lead content rivets that Russia compromised on to reduce the egging-out of their stamped receiver approach, so there have been a lot of abortions made on parts kits over the years.

From 2004-2014, the parts kits rose in price dramatically and many of them could no longer be found. One of the most prized parts kits were Beryls from Poland, since the Poles make better guns than their Southern neighbors in Eastern Europe.

In the US market, we saw the rise of specialty shops like Krebs, Rifle Dynamics, and whatever follow-on types that have emerged since then. This is where you see $1900-$3700 AKs with tons of US features, mostly-sober shop workers who are held to higher standards of fit, feel, function, and finish with lots of custom options.

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5.45x39 guns and kits used to be very easy to get, but have dried-up.

The AK went from being scarce to floodgates opened, then banned, neutered, un-neutered, floodgates opened again, market flush, then scarcity crept in, followed by high prices and custom shops. A lot of the cheap ones you see are not worth messing with from what old-hand AK guys tell me. AKOU is a much better source for info on them and does extensive testing on the various options to provide realistic expectations for the consumer. Here’s his selection process:

 
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I enjoy both AR and AK platforms...

I built my PSA GF5 more of what they call a "midwest alpha AK", as that's more my style, but I would like to get my hands on a true Russian import to add to the collection someday... And yes, that's a real Russian first-pattern slab-side mag. They made those from 1948-1953.

People joke on PSA, but they have done an amazing job with the AK's. Even Rob Ski over at AK Operators Union sings their praises, and that dude really tests the limits of their capabilities. The folks over at JMac Customs also love the GF5 and did a burn-down torture test on one. They did 2,100 rounds of continuous full-auto fire, the 3-part video series is on YouTube. It's worth a watch. Mine runs flawlessly, and with cheap Wolf 122gr steel case and a red dot, it has no problems consistently hitting dead-center of the 5" gongs at 100 yards. So, it's accurate enough to purposely make headshots if you were intending to. MUCH more accurate than any of the surplus or foreign-built AK's I've shot. Most of those shot MOC - Minute Of Comrade at 100 yards. 😂

The GF5 is PSA's top of the line, and it actually has an FNH CHF chrome-lined barrel in it. Which is one big reason why it's so accurate. It's worth the extra money over the other models to get that nice FN barrel. Plus, the FN barrel is threaded bore-centric, and you can safely run a suppressor on it without worrying about baffle strikes.

View attachment 8341301View attachment 8341315
Blue Jean Operator review of KUSA 103 and PSA variants
 
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My most recent AK74 build I ended up doing the combo gas block front sight, shortening the barrel to 14.5 and the rifle balances so much better than a stock AK74 or 100. I added one of the Russian or Ukraininan rubber butt pads to the triangle folder. It adds a little weight to the back of the gun and doesn't slip on the shoulder like the stamped steel will.

I used the RS Regulate handguard and Ultimak on top. It required some slight fitting on the handguard to get the Ultimak in the correct spot. I think it's lighter than the stock parts, or maybe close to the same. The big difference was how much slower it is to heat up and faster to cool down. It also allows me to run a front grip and get my hand in a better place for my long ass arms.

I used an AK12 safety on this one. It's sort of like a Krebs with the extra shelf, but it's knurled and the safety uses a separate spring steel detent so the safety body doesn't need to be bent to adjust the tension. This has the side rail so I am using an RS Regulate mount. Currently I'm running the Chinese mailbox (Holosun AEMS) and it works.

I'm happy with it for being a "modern" AK platform rifle. Some of the other stuff out there interests me, but its really expensive and much heavier. In the end the middle section is still an AK and that's the unergonomic and slow part to running the rifle. Once I get night vision and need a laser I doubt I will set the rifle up for it. I'll keep that on the AR platform. It has a Surefire on it for night use.

A couple of pics during paint work. Optic has changed since these were taken.
 

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didn't think anyone remembered the original steyr maadis. have seen exactly 1 in my life about 8-10 years ago it was sitting at $2K. story is they were made on russian installed machinery,russian instructed and supervised. they were superb fit/finish. many of later maadis are crap many wee built with chinese parts. chinese is fine here but asian and euro are different just like yugo is it's own thing.
 
I have an ACC/Intrac Maadi. I’ve not seen any US-available AKM variants that actually look like a Russian AKM, besides the Steyr and Intrac Maadis. The Romanian and other guns just don’t look right at all. There’s a certain character to the Russian AKMs that was never duplicated among any of the other variants I’ve seen, handled, and shot over the past 4 decades. Not saying they’re awesome, but just that look is rare to find in the US, which makes sense because Russian AKMs were made from 1959-1977.

I’m particular to the 1964-1977 AKMs. There were a few noticeable variations throughout the AKM production years, most notable being the lack of muzzle device, followed by the telltale slant brake that showed up mid-production. The later guns issued with phenolic resin (looks like red Bakelite) magazines were cool as well.

iu
 
didn't think anyone remembered the original steyr maadis. have seen exactly 1 in my life about 8-10 years ago it was sitting at $2K. story is they were made on russian installed machinery,russian instructed and supervised. they were superb fit/finish. many of later maadis are crap many wee built with chinese parts. chinese is fine here but asian and euro are different just like yugo is it's own thing.
A buddy of mine just got given one before Christmas...

A mutual friend said "You don't have an AK?" Went into a closet and handed him what turned out to be a Steyr Maadi and said "Merry Christmas." I didn't look at it until later in the day and saw what it was and just about had a cow.

Shoots very nicely!

Cheers,

Sirhr
 
The Russians had a small arms repair module shop for the ZIL trucks so they could drive it down to the units and do field repair work on weapons. The only reason I know about them is because my buddy who took me into Russia had one parked at one of his friend’s dachas, where I stayed. He had to sleep in his ZIL truck repair module shop because he had a habit of crapping himself after getting trashed. He had a little heater in there to keep him warm, which was mandatory in -40˚C.

iu



The Russian truck industry was literally built by US automotive engineers in the 1930s, which is why the ZIL trucks look so much like their 1930s US counterparts. We later sent hundreds of thousands of trucks to Russia during Lend Lease in WWII because they didn’t have the industrial capacity to manufacture anywhere near their wartime demands.

The small arms repair module shop could replace all the small parts, do general repairs, and I think I saw some type of press in there. He had a drill press for sure, because that’s how he lost his eye. A shard of metal went past his safety glasses and right into his eye. The Russian hospital just pulled his eye out.

I can’t express how backwards in time that place is. It’s like going through the wardrobe into Narnia.

US wasn't about to let there be a Batwing 6x6 maintenance truck Gap with the Rooskies.... We had our own mobile small arms repair truck. Full machine shop!

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There was one of these in a collection up here. Guy had tanks and half tracks, etc. All gorgeous. This was his 'maintenance' rig. At least on e like it.


Cheers,

Sirhr
 
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Well, Opie, has anyone actually answered your original question yet? How about I chime in...

My opinion, that's all this is. I don't give a shit what anybody else thinks about an AK.

Want to get an AK but don't know much about em? That sound about right? I will try to address this systematically.

Ways to get an AK :-buy one, or build one, or trade for one. Buy new, buy used, buy online, buy from a local gun store, pawn shop, gun show, or from someone local.

I suggest you do research to determine what you will enjoy. There are MANY, MANY different variations available. Sometimes it is easier to identify what you DONT want.

I suggest you stay away from: Anything full auto. Very expensive AKs (anything Russian except maybe Saiga. Expensive Bulgarian/Arsenal etc). Stay away from "pre-ban" (1989AW ban, not 1994 import ban) such as genuine Chinese pre-ban guns, as they are very collectable and super high priced. Also stay away from the cheapest/least expensive guns: Pioneer, ANYTHING MADE BY Century Arms (imports from Century are OK, just nothing built by them) stay away from anything I.O. (Inter Ordnance), stay away from RAS 47. Bottom line: pretty much any AK made in a Communist military arms factory will be OK. New guns made for the commercial market nowadays are often lower quality and not necessarily military quality. However... I always say a shitty AK is better than NO AK.

Variations of the AK include: .22, 9mm, 223, 5.56, 5.45x39, 308, 8mm Mauser, 30-06, and many more. Identify which caliber you want. It doesnt make sense to buy a gun if you cant get ammo for it. 7.62x39 is still available, dispite some ban on Russian ammo imports. 223 is available. Many 223/5.56 AKs need proprietary magazines, since everybody who made 223 AKs did their own magazine thing, sort of. But you get the idea. Some 223/5.56 AKs take AR magazines. Not a big deal, really, just be aware of it.

AK magazines may be milsurp metal 30 rd (which is STANDARD capacity, not high capacity) 20 round "tanker", ten round single stack, five round hunting magazine, 75 round drum, 100 rd drum, 40 rd magazine, polymer magazine, blah blah blah.

Variation of the AK include: shorty pistol, like Krinkov, Draco, etc. As well as fixed stock, side folding stock, underfolding stock, collapsing stock, wood stock, solid hardwood, laminate wood, polymer stock, "tacticool" stock, M4 style stock... identify which configuration you want.

AKs also can be stamped receivet type, or milled receiver type. Stamped receivers are bent sheet metal with rivets, milled guns are a solid chunk that has been machined. Neither one is a real advantage over the other, but people have preferences. I like milled guns. Weight isnt a factor, just do some push ups if its too heavy. Some Romanian AKs were imported with a narrow magazine well, for use with narrow 10 rd magazines and opened up (literally with a dremel tool) by the importer (Century). Inspect every gun carefully & KNOW WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT.

AKs can also be found in light machinegun configuration (RPK) which will be heavier built, longer barrel, bipod... yet dont be fooled - some of these are merely long barreled AKs, not true RPKs. Example: Chinese NHM91, Romanian AES-10 (not to be confused with the Romanian AES-10B, which is an excellent factory made true RPK). These also come in 7.62x39, 223/5.56x45, 5.45x39...

The Chinese also made 5 different versions of SKS that takes AK magazines.

AK variants include: pre-ban (pre 1989 assault rifle ban) with all the "evil" features such as bayonet lug, cleaning rod, muzzle device, etc. Ban era guns will be "neutered" by having these evil babykiller features ground off. Example: Chinese MAK90. Chinese guns, except for shotguns? have been banned from import since 1994, so they continue to rise in price but generally are good quality, imo. Many guns imported since 1994 have the evil external features in place, but almost EVERY rifle will have been neutered internally to remove the full auto features.

If you ever encounter a full auto AK, shoot it, but dont buy it without paying the tax/get the license/Stamps/ etc. A full auto AK is currently illegal without the appropriate yadda yadda. A full auto AK will have the infamous "3rd pin" where the auto sear rides. #1 : Trigger pin. #2 : hammer pin (normal for every semi auto AK) 3rd pin is full auto. AVOID.

Where were we?
AK producing countries were/are: Russia, Poland, E. Germany, Romania, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, N. Korea, Viet Nam, China, Egypt, Albania... plus some I forget. imported into the US you are likely to see Chinese, Romanian, Yugo/Zastava, Polish, Russian, Egyptian... plus some I forgot. Most likely nowadays you will see modern guns for sale new from Zastava, Century, Palmetto State Armory, etc ... in other words, US made vs imported. Decide which you want. Price will probably be a factor in your decision. Set your budget. But wait & do your homework/research before you buy.

Prices today are all over the place. I see AKs brand new at gun shows for as low as $650 all the way up to more vintage/collectible guns asking as much as $5,000 for a pre-ban Chinese. Please dont just buy the least expensive one available. People have a WalMart mentality. If one guy has a Chinese MAK90 for $1000, its a better deal than a low quality Pioneer for $700.

Some new AKs (Palmetto) dont even come with a cleaning rod. Genuine Comblock factory AK will have a cleaning rod & hole in the butt for the cleaning kit.

I'll stop here. I didnt get an AK until 2015. Then I got three of em the first day, two MAK90s & a WASR 10.
 
Concerning trading for an AK, it is completely do-able.

Trading for a used AK is imo, a great idea. For example, there were about a bazillion Chinese AKs imported into the US. I most often see them in pawn shops & used gun stores, but not so much in the gun shows any more because people finally realized they are pretty good & want to hang onto em. Often, gun shops that only sell new guns wont take used guns in trade, or if they do, they ass-rape the guy.

I think a lot of people bought AKs in the 80s, 90s and shot it a few times & put it in the closet or under the bed. Since 2015 I often saw 25+ year old guns in like new condition. If you can buy or trade for an old Chinese or Romanian or Yugo cheap, that would be my go-to option.

Some gun show guys will trade, I generally avoid those who wont. Buying or trading for a used AK is not a big deal. It takes thousands and thousands of rounds to shoot out a barrel. A Chinese gun will rust away before it wears out. Most people will never even come close to wearing out an AK barrel. The other parts of the gun are so robust, its just not something I worry about. The exception would be a Yugo AK with an original barrel that went through the war over there. Yugos are heavy built.

So, buy or trade for a used gun with pretty high confidence.
 
The long-assed ad read for the surrogate phallatio device made that vid a hard watch.
Yeah, he was blowing the KUSA pretty hard. Hard to deny that most people turn biased and into shills when someone gives them something for free, in hopes someone else sees it, and then gives them something else free to try, so they can pimp it to their viewers.
 
Next up: building an AK.

I would not recommend this for a couple reasons. While it is not very technically difficult to build an AK from a parts kit, using a new barrel & new receiver, it might be difficult for someone with no experience. Unless you are an experienced machinist/metal worker or just handy... the other reason is that AK parts kits have gone up in price to where it doesnt make sence/cents to build one from a kit. Now, if you're going to build a bunch of em, maybe... Tooling isnt that crazy. But LOTS of people have built AKs at home.

AK Files, AK Forum, and Weapons Guild are good starting places for learning about your new addiction. Just dont get on there & say, "I want an AK, which AK should I get?" because they go jeez-not-this-shit-again & will bite your ass off & tell you to use the search function. Read, read, read, grasshopper.
 
This would be your easy button
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WBP Jack, made in Poland. Hard to beat for $1100 new from Atlantic. Build quality is respectable.
Customizable with most anything that’s made for the AKM. I just swapped the pistol grip for something I preferred. This rifle consistently hits 5” steel @200 yards with whatever surplus ammo I choose to feed it, and my eyes are lacking. With that sling and steel Hungarian tanker mag it weighs 8 lbs flat.
 
Yeah, he was blowing the KUSA pretty hard. Hard to deny that most people turn biased and into shills when someone gives them something for free, in hopes someone else sees it, and then gives them something else free to try, so they can pimp it to their viewers.
I can link more videos of PSA AKs having unusual wear issues. Garand Thumb most famously I guess had the same issues. I know that most people won't shoot them enough for the peening to be an issue but unusual wear is not uncommon with them.
 
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I can link more videos of PSA AKs having unusual wear issues. Garand Thumb most famously I guess had the same issues. I know that most people won't shoot them enough for the peening to be an issue but unusual wear is not uncommon with them.
That wasn't the experience with JMac Customs and with Rob Ski...

My point being, some folks always find things "wrong" with certain brands that aren't their favorite flavor...Especially when it comes to dealing with YouTube shills who make a living based on the companies sponsoring their videos with the most money... You know that whole "don't bite the hand that feeds you" deal...
 
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FB Radom (Beryl) would be my pick if just grabbing one AK. WBP would be my second pick.
Arsenals have gotten way too expensive and their QC is meh. Arsenals older Sam 7s are nice but heavier. Zastavas are fine but are noticeably heavier.

WASR from century can be hit or miss on quality but is probably the best "cheap" AK on the market.
 
One of my friends has a KUSA and it's been good to go so far. The only issue it had out of the box was mag fitment. The mag catch needed a little file work and it solved that problem. It feels like it is gassed correctly. I did a little action and trigger work to make it somewhat smoother.

Another friend has the PSA Gen 5? It has the FN barrel. That is gassed perfect but he did a piston anyways and then it had issues running. There are some fit issues I would have been pissed about but it doesn't bother him. The gas tube doesn't have a spring which is odd to me. It doesn't rattle but it fits loose and the take down lever is loose. Dust cover fits a little loose. Aside from that it seems to be OK.

So far they both have been solid. No odd wear issues or accuracy issues.
 
To me, the AR assumes an uninterrupted military supply system with its planned breakage at the gas tube. The AR also assumes a smarter user.

The AK assumes a military supply system that has better things to do than repair small arms. While under intense heat the AK barrel droops and causes gas system problems. Once the barrel cools it can be bent back to shape in the field (see IraqVereran8888 video). Use and user-level maintenance for the AK is more simple than the AR.

I generally don’t like to compare these two rifles as they came from different mindsets that were trying to solve different problems at different times.

-Stan

Assumes or demands? We also should get into the discussion of comparable models and cant avoid the aftermarket. The discussion is also dependent, to your point, on if we're discussing military use or civilian use, which will be WILDLY different. The # of AKs still used globally attests to that. The rest of the world doesnt routinely taper off their supply (or raise the price) with import bans, when they need to wage war and arm in bulk.

Reliability was mentioned multiple times in here (with the AR being the implied more reliable item). I would argue that off the shelf, most real AKs (not PSA, romanian knock offs, or or other items introduced post-import ban) will cycle any AK ammo thrown at them, with minimal to no cleaning or maintenance at all. On the other hand, most off the shelf ARs (of similar spec, average grade, not precision, etc) will see more issues..over/under gassed, picky about ammo, cant run steel cased or required higher maintenance schedule, picky about magazines used...steel vs pmag, and the average consumer isn't remotely prepared to figure out buffer weights, springs, carbine vs rifle receiver extensions, gas blocks, gas tubes, gas system lengths, etc..

It wasnt until guys started having "AR expectations" or simply apples to oranges comparisons for AKs that people started complaining about AKs en masse. Yes the optic side mount isnt as easy as a rail on top of an AR upper, and that will limit your choices if you dont want to buy a side-mount to rail adapter. There aren't a million and 1 buttstock options to run, GOOD folding adapters are more expensive, many parts upgrades require manual fitting, and no one is making comparison videos talking about which AK stocks dont snag your beard hairs.

The accuracy discussion is funny to me in and of itself. I see so many guys at the range who cant shoot for shit with "precision rifles", that it becomes comical to even discuss, since potential accuracy is always going to be handicapped by the operator more so than any other factor. Is one going to come with a more accurate barrel than the other? Maybe. Depends on the barrel more than the platform.

At the same time, I have no worry about dropping an AK and shooting it. Plenty of ARs with the move to thin aluminum handguards for "lightweight operating" wont survive those falls without permanent damage. I just saw another post where a guy couldnt reliably shoot his AR off a tripod because the flex introduced to the handguard from the clamping force of the tripod, drove the handguard into the gas block.

With that said, I own a few of both. I would say that most current consumers on the market dont. Plenty of guys act like showing up with an AK to the range is like coming to the pot luck with spoiled food. A lot of it is based on nonsense thats shared online. People argue for brands like they represent their own family trees, and I dont have any warm feelings towards the russians either.
 
You ever tried to shoot 400-600y with the sights on an AK or sks vs an ar-15?

The largest private club in my area doesnt even allow irons on their 300 yard+ range, because of idiots yeeting rounds into neighboring properties.
I would bet that if you took a poll, the majority of average consumers will never shoot 400-600 yards with irons in the present/modern times.
 
The largest private club in my area doesnt even allow irons on their 300 yard+ range, because of idiots yeeting rounds into neighboring properties.
I would bet that if you took a poll, the majority of average consumers will never shoot 400-600 yards with irons in the present/modern times.
The average consumer will never shoot 400-600 yards.
 
One of my friends has a KUSA and it's been good to go so far. The only issue it had out of the box was mag fitment. The mag catch needed a little file work and it solved that problem. It feels like it is gassed correctly. I did a little action and trigger work to make it somewhat smoother.

Another friend has the PSA Gen 5? It has the FN barrel. That is gassed perfect but he did a piston anyways and then it had issues running. There are some fit issues I would have been pissed about but it doesn't bother him. The gas tube doesn't have a spring which is odd to me. It doesn't rattle but it fits loose and the take down lever is loose. Dust cover fits a little loose. Aside from that it seems to be OK.

So far they both have been solid. No odd wear issues or accuracy issues.
My GF5 is an early production (inside the first 200), and it’s been solid all the way around. Tight dust cover, which is a bitch to get back on, but it doesn’t rattle, and the magwell fitment is one of the best I’ve ever seen. Zero slop with PMags, and absolute minimal with the 1st pattern slab sides. I’ve been extremely impressed by it so far.
 
His GF5 seems good in the mag fitment. My other friend with the KUSA has good mag fitment too. The issue with the KUSA was all mags were hard to push in to the lock point. The catch was a little long. I did the file and test fit until all the mags styles I own locked in correctly. Now it works with everything, PMAG's, bakes, surplus steel from multiple countries, PSA, etc.

I had to go down the mag fit path with a Bulgarian 74 parts kit build. It was the opposite. The catch was too short because they drilled the pin too low on the trigger guard. Now it makes sense why that one became a parts kit later. Anyways I tig welded the catch lever and reshaped and adjusted the length until it was right. It ended up being about .030" too short. The rifle had bolt over round feed issues. The builder had a stroke and was not able to address it himself, so I took care of it. Fuck the mag catch spring in the AK platform. I ended up buying a special pair of pliers that made it so much easier to compress and deal with after multiple attempts with regular pliers and other methods. I even sourced a surplus trigger guard from Russia just in case that didn't work.
 
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was just looking and saw some stuff on beryl....any good?
The polish Beryl rifles are the only 556 AK's worth looking at. The zastavas have issues all over the place. I hate seeing them get recommended so much. They are garbage rods that you have a 70% chance of getting a gun that works and 30% chance of getting a gun that never will
 
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I have no experience with them....but ide trust pretty much anything coming out of FB Radom...

The polish Beryl rifles are the only 556 AK's worth looking at. The zastavas have issues all over the place. I hate seeing them get recommended so much. They are garbage rods that you have a 70% chance of getting a gun that works and 30% chance of getting a gun that never will
thank you both

looks like I'll be looking for a Beryl in my near future. I used to have an East German eons ago but have been way out of the AK game for a long time. I do know I'd only buy one in 5.56 now. will look

thank you both
 
Of all the Eastern European countries when looking at basic AKM variant guns, I like the Polish and East German AKs better than Bulgarian or Romanian for sure. Yugoslavians make a solid rifle as well. Every time I’ve run Romanian guns through high volume, they broke or had a stuck case in the chamber that had to be kick-started to break loose. Their quality has varied over the years, so you’ll get people who swear by them just because theirs ran fine, but I’ve literally run 5 of them side-by-side through thousands of rounds in a single setting and they broke.

Finns have the top quality bar none. I even told that to the face of some Russian GRU roid freak in a SCUBA diving club in Moscow while showing him my pics of all the different shooting events I had done up to that point. As soon as he saw some type of AK variant, he asked what it was and I told him a SAKO Rk92 with an accumulator (suppressor). He then proudly said how Kalashnikov was best, and I responded by saying if he had them both in his hands at that moment, he would acknowledge the superior quality and workmanship of the Finnish gun.

The Finnish guns don’t follow any commonality with the Russian guns though other than maybe being able to feed off their mags. Everything else is redesigned and made better, stronger, more accurate, and more ergonomic.

Then you take a step down to the Beryls, Tantals, and East Germans.
 
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not an AK guy but wouldn't mind one in 5.56

how are those designs and who makes them?


i’m in the same position but the cost of good mags always kept me out. i’d love an ak in 223.

the closest thing is the fnc. i regret selling the para inhad long ago. i guess some company is going to reproduce the fn-fnc so if they are GTG….i’ll give that a try.

for now my mcx spear will do but it’s still the AR style rotating bolt which, IMO is a downside for reliability if it gets shit in there. other than that it’s been solid and a smooth shooter
 
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i’m in the same position but the cost of good mags always kept me out.

i guess some company is going to reproduce the fn-fnc so if they are GTG….i’ll give that a try.

i still kick myself for selling my belgian fnc para.

for now my mcx spear will do but it’s still the AR style rotating bolt which, IMO is a downside for reliability if it gets shit in there. other than that it’s been solid and a smooth shooter
Gun Mag Warehouse, Bulgarian mags are cheap and work very well. I run them in Sam7-R, SAM5, and Saiga 5.45
Edit: im f’in tarded thought you was talking about AK mag prices not FNC mags - good luck with that endeavor I regret getting rid of mine.

I’m an autistic fuck who went from WW2 rifles, to the FAL/FNC, to AKs and sort of gotten into AR/LFARs and now back into my shit with building accurate AKs and enjoying the simpler life.

Always willin to help new AK guys get into the weird world of AKs - which ironically, is alot like the LR308/AR10 because there is norms, but not really as everyone has their own take on it in terms of parts/furniture

Pic: Heavily mod’ed Saiga 5.45x39 with 13” Barrel, suppressed. 2 groups of same bullet, different charge weights. Running Berger 77gr OTM resized to .222 (+.0005” large to engage rifling better), start load of H335 and mid load of H335, proved good nodes and velocity in the 2700 area. The first shot (high center) was to confirm that the scope was still on paper after I had taken off the Sureshot Mk3 chassis for maintenance.

Group to the right was starting load of H335, 5 shot string at 100 yards. Group center low was mid charge 5 shot at the same distance.

Accurate AKs are fun and can happen. Just gotta F around alot to see what they like.
 

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AK’s have somehow become this legendary thing in the US. I’d get used to the following dichotomy:
“AK’s are the most reliable gun in the world, but if you don’t spend at least $3k and only have it hand-made by the one or two American builders that put out semi-ok stuff it’ll be a piece of crap!”

What I’ve learned about AK’s is that they’re garbage at best, they’re an extremely overpriced niche product that shouldn’t be niche, modifying anything about them is a nightmare, and they’re grossly overrated for being reliable.

If 7.62 was 5 cents per round they’d be cool as a toy to dump into trash. At today’s market price of $.50+ for junk 7.62 they’re laughably useless.
Sort of this...

20 years ago, when comblock AK's were 300 to 500 dollars, and crates of .05 cent ammo were plentiful, they were a great value proposition compared to say some bullshit bushmaster.

Fast forward to today, and a decent mid grade is pushing 1500 to 2000 and IMO, I just don't think an AK is worth it.

I think AK's are cool, but I am more drawn towards something like a CZ bren for something different.
 
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AK's are like muscle cars.
They're raw. Less comfortable. Have their own feel. And a tuned foreign car (AR) will wipe the floor with them.
But darn if they don't have a particular sex appeal.
 
AK's are like muscle cars.
They're raw. Less comfortable. Have their own feel. And a tuned foreign car (AR) will wipe the floor with them.
But darn if they don't have a particular sex appeal.
I had a Poly Tech Legend AK for awhile , really well made considering it’s from China.
It was a step above a regular Norinco , ate everything I fed it , easy to strip and clean in case some corrosive ammo was mistakenly ingested.
Wished I had kept it sometime but it was part of a trade for my H & K model 93. Got rid of most of my 7.62 x 39 ammo , decided to focus on and hoard 5.56 , 7.62 x 51 , and .45 ACP & .22 LR. ammo. 🇺🇸
 
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How does one take a 4 MOA round and turn it into a 1 MOA round?

The same way the “new” all-transvestite military gets everyone through range quals.

By shooting the target at 7 feet and then writing 300 yards on it, of course…

Modern problems require modern solutions…

Sirhr

And they are not all transvestites… though the USAF has some real flamers, I hear.
 
I always say a shitty AK is better than NO AK.
Yes! An ak is like a 1911, everyone should own at least one.
I’ve owned my iron sight, wood furniture straight out of the rice paddies ak for probably going on 30 years now. Love it!! And the $350 give or take a little I paid for it BNIB makes it even cooler.
 
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How does one take a 4 MOA round and turn it into a 1 MOA round?
With military surplus ammo and used up AKs with low production quality control one can't do much better. In some cases use of suppressor might help to improve groups. Good 7.62x39 mm rifle+good,suitable ammo can do even better than 1 MOA.
Needless to say, the AK's barrel twist rate 1:240 mm (1:9.5") is an overkill for normal 7.62x39 mm, 123 grain bullet (that twist is even enough to stabilize beefy 200+ gr, 7.62x39 mm projectiles ), so any imperfection of bullet symmetry reareds it's ugly head accuracy vise.

BTW, regarding the ammo in the wiki article:
it stands that BC of original M1943 bullet is about 0.138 (G7). That's not correct. That figure corresponds to supersonic ballistics of a flat base M67, 124 grainer, which is about 0.26 (G1).
 
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