AK noob

[jb1911]

I've owned about every kind of firearm there is but never had an AK. I'm starting to get the itch. What's a good quality piece? I have no preference as far as furniture but lean towards wood. Any to stay away from? Thanks.

 

[sumphead]

welcome to the dark side....

Nope. I am no expert as I recently caught the affliction myself.....but now I own 3, so be warned.

Century has a reputation (Particularly the WASRs) of slapping parts together and having canted front sights. Just be careful and make sure the sights line up. Ask about keyholing or rounds tumbling down range.

shop around and be patient. They are awesome weapons and have proven themselves over and over...

 

[Czarcasm]

They are great rifles. Really, older CAI AK's, namely WASR 10's are the only ones you need to watch out for. And their only issues are canted sights, wobbly mags and poor fit, but a quick visual and you can detect these issues. Despite people knocking WASR's, any AK you pick is going to go bang every time and perform similar whether its a high dollar Arsenal or a low dollar WASR. Rare instances aside.

Edit, Sumphead included an important tidbit. Early Tantal 74's i think had key holing issues. One of the brands. Im not aware of too many 47's known to do this, but I could be wrong

 

[indykid]

AK makers to avoid: Hesse and Vulcan. Same company, same very poor quality receivers.

Chinese AK variants were very nice, Maadis from Egypt a bit rough but nice and were looked at as special as they were built using Soviet tooling. Just stay away from the MISR 90 version which was a parts gun built using a Maadi receiver and Chinese parts by Century that well known company who had the distinct ability to bugger up an easy to build rifle.

The only exception to the need to be careful when buying a Century rifle was the Yugo M70AB2 which they farmed out to another company to be built for them. They are great rifles.

There are many good versions out there. Try to handle one before buying to make sure the parts are on straight as it is easy to assemble an AK variant with the front sight or gas block on crooked.

If you find one and would like to ask first here see if the seller will hold for you. Remember, there are no stupid questions, only stupid answers to wade through.

 

[Tomfoolery]

So called lower end AKs will function and fire exactly the same as their more expensive counterparts. AKs is all I run. I literally live and breathe by Kalashnikovs. Have handled about every variant on the amrket, owned almost as many and am always pleased to see new product and companies trying their hand at them.

WASRs are fine guns. They do what you need them to. Century pulls a bad wrap off the WASR imo. They don't assemble them, they import them and widen the magwell. All WASR assembly is done in Romania so any beef about the build should be taken up with the Ratmill arsenal. Now Century could fix alot of those issues but that would raise the bottom line and they wouldn't be able to deliver them for the cost that they do then could they? I like WASRs. My range beater is a WASR and it is a accurate reliable weapon. On a plus note all new CAI WASR are using new production barrels since the barrel ban went into effect. These aren't surplus reject barrels like the past but brand new pristine.... gotta love it.

AMD 65s are another popular lower priced choice. TGI made quite a few of them on NDS receiver before the ATF shut them down and they are also fine guns. FEG receiver AMDs are what to get imo though. Beautiful little shooters for the $$$ and they have a special place in my heart. Ugly ducklings of the AK world. They grow on you.

M&M M10 series rifles are also another lower priced AKM. Think of them as WASRs built with a little more pride and flare. They have all but disappeared in the last few months and are one of the last AKs on my hit list. Damn this panic.....

Zastava PAP rifles are probably the best of the low to mid range AKs. They have a superb fit and finish. Are built like a Swiss watch and are probably one of the more accurate 7.62 AKs available. Most Serbian (Yugo) stuff is proprietary so if you go this route not much can flip to another AK. Be sure to get a Gen2 PAP if you do. All the Gen1 PAPs have single stack trunnions which were widened up and it destroys them... it isn't pretty. Gen2 PAPs are assembled with double stack trunnions and widened after being imported. I have one and it is my favorite AKM to date.

Good luck picking your fist rifle. Don't rush into anything to quick. There are so many variants of the AK you might find something 5 minutes later and you'll fall in love all over again.

 

[actop19]

Arsenal

Arsenal is my personal fav, but even the Century arms stuff is ok so long as you pick it out in person, make sure the sights are straight, and dont order online sight unseen. I have 2 wasrs, and a arsenal sgl20-41, and the arsenal is heirloom quality, but even the wasrs will last 2 or 3 lifetimes.

 

[actop19]

Lancaster

Lancaster makes some really nice rifles, and I love their furniture, but I would never place an order with the factory as I have heard too many horror stories on their terrible customer service, and crazy wait times even before that was the industry norm.

 

[twcrensh]

If you can find one i've had a CAI Sar-1 for about 16 years now. it's always been a very accurate and reliable shooter.

 

[Mordred]

ive had several AKs. The Arsenal SLRs Bulgarians or the Russian made ones are best, hands down. I also have a Yugo M70ab2 that is just as good.

 

[Tomfoolery]

ive had several AKs. The Arsenal SLRs Bulgarians or the Russian made ones are best, hands down. I also have a Yugo M70ab2 that is just as good.

SGLs are Bulgarian made
SLRs are Russian made


just sayin.

 

[Horse]

Just saying


Your backwards there buddy.

SLR are Bulgarian and SGL is Russian.



What price range is the OP looking to spend? What caliber? What intended uses?

 

[Spanky46151]

Question? Arsenal USA the same as Arsenal? I picked up a SA85M of their's and it's my first AK.

 

[jb1911]

Just saying


Your backwards there buddy.

SLR are Bulgarian and SGL is Russian.



What price range is the OP looking to spend? What caliber? What intended uses?

Price range = under $1000
Caliber = 7.62×39mm
Intended uses = home defense and punching holes in paper

BTW, thanks for all the great info so far.

 

[LarryC]

I bought one from a friend last year, a Chinese MAK 90. I replaced all the furniture with Walnut from Ironwood, put in a Tapco Trigger assembly, American made piston and added a Russian POSP scope with mount. Really like the firearm. My son has a milled receiver (can't remember the make). The older Chinese like mine have a heavier gage metal in the receiver - ultimate is the Milled version. I would stay away from the WASR's. Almost all are very reliable firearms, accuracy is supposedly better with the heavier or milled receiver due to the lighter ones "flexing".

 

[Yamadog35]

I'm new to the AK so I've only got one, but would like to get more when things hopefully settle down. I went with an Arsenal (SGL-21) for the perceived quality and I haven't been disappointed one bit. I said I only have one. Well, that's not entirely true I guess. Only one in 762, but I also have her sexy Russian sister, the S-12 shotgun. If you like shotguns you may want to look also at the S-12 or even better the VEPR-12.

 

[vitamink]

back when it was cheap and easy, i would've recommended buying a saiga and converting it. Essentially that's what you're getting with an arsenal SGL. Now it's cheaper to buy an SGL and have everything done for you, done well, and without old trigger pin holes and a need to refinish the thing. I'd get an sgl21. my $.02

 

[eric001]

Years ago, I took the opportunity to buy an Egyptian Maadi AK from a friend. Since then, everything I've heard is that the Maadi's are really well made, from the original Russian manufacturing equipment. Even if that's not true, mine has eaten every round I've fed it, never jammed, never had any issues, and is still one of the most enjoyable guns I've ever found to shoot. I'd highly recommend Maadi AK's based on that experience.

Hope that helps!

 

[Tomfoolery]

Just saying


Your backwards there buddy.

SLR are Bulgarian and SGL is Russian.



What price range is the OP looking to spend? What caliber? What intended uses?

LoL, did I do it backwards again? I always seem to do that

 

[tradertator]

back when it was cheap and easy, i would've recommended buying a saiga and converting it. Essentially that's what you're getting with an arsenal SGL. Now it's cheaper to buy an SGL and have everything done for you, done well, and without old trigger pin holes and a need to refinish the thing. I'd get an sgl21. my $.02

^ Bingo

 

[Kirkd]

I'm new to the AK so I've only got one, but would like to get more when things hopefully settle down. I went with an Arsenal (SGL-21) for the perceived quality and I haven't been disappointed one bit. I said I only have one. Well, that's not entirely true I guess. Only one in 762, but I also have her sexy Russian sister, the S-12 shotgun. If you like shotguns you may want to look also at the S-12 or even better the VEPR-12.

I've researching it as well, and I've think I have settled on the SGL-21. It is now made by the Fime Group, which I'm told is a patent company of Arsenal.

SGL21 (Saiga) - Russian made stamped receiver, 7.62x39 caliber rifle

It MRSP is $959.00. Funny thing is that it was just over a grand this past week.