Help from AK shooters

[OK Bowhunter]

I would like to buy an AK47 not interested in a high end, but no bargin basement rifles. I have read that the WASR 10 are hit and miss on what you get and you should stay away from Centry builds. My question on what to look for and where can I get a good deal locally. My top end budget is 500 to 600 dollars. I know that I can get one on the internet at a lower price, but if I am looking at 50 bucks difference I would rather spend my money locally. I thoought about a Siaga, but don't want to mess with the conversion. What I really want is a battle rifle.

Thanks for your help and have a safe and happy 4th

 

[Bassin'ForLife]

I was in the same boat as you...so I just built one. Picked up a numbers matching parts kit, compliance parts, receiver, and off I went. All you need for tools is a drill press, hydraulic press and some bolt cutters to make a rivet tool. It might sound like a big deal, but I was surprised by the number of people I work with that had those three items. Took me an afternoon, and I have a decent shooting AK for around 300 bucks.

Good article on building them: http://www.ak-47.us/AK-Build.php

If you just want to buy one without the hassle of building, I would suggest J&G sales, Atlantic Firearms, or East Coast Firearms.

 

[Jeff Freeman]

Hey bud here is a little info...

Top Tier AK's -

Arsenal - Pricey, well made & well fit, pay to play. Arsenal also did some Saiga conversion guns, and they are awesome. $800/ $1000+

Saiga- To make these a true battle rifle you need a good smith' to convert, will run you somewhere in $400-$500 in gunsmithing & parts, plus the cost of the gun. I have a Saiga conversion done by Chris & H&H and I love it.

I.O Inc- These are basically parts guns made with some U.S. parts in N.C. They are decent, they seem to be a little better fit than the Century guns, but they aren't an Arsenal. They make a STG-2000 (West German AK, Weiger) and it is fairly nice. It has a 240B/249 hooked stock on it, and all that means is it has a longer length of pull which is good! It has an AR style birdcage and it seems to be a pretty good fighting AK. These guns are $600-$800.

Tennessee Guns/ FEG- I think this is where you should be looking for what you are talking about, Tennessee has some Underfolder guns, as well as Hungarian factory AMD-65 builds, and if they aren't FEG they have NodakSpud receivers. These guns seem to be pretty darn good for the money, and if you can get ahold of one of the "Green Handled" AMD-65s' you would have a pretty darn good fighting AK. $600-$1000

Century- You are spot on with the "hit or miss" comment. If you want a gun to shoot the tar out of, but don't really care about quality or fit and finish, the WASR-10 is for you. These guns don't always suck, but sometimes they do. There are plenty of people that have WASRs that run really well, but others have to be worked over before they will do the job. In any event, Century has literally no customer service, and their guns are built out of cardboard boxes. They are a gamble, but then again with an AK there isn't alot that can go wrong, and if it does, parts are available and a good smith can fix em.

I hoped this helped some.

H&H in OKC has all of the guns I mentioned, with some of the Arsenal & Tennessee under-folders 20% of their original pricing.

Jeff

 

[AKguy1985]

i'd get an amd-65

 

[hard_r]

I bought a saiga and all conversion parts for 600. A buddy and I did the conversion ourselves in under 30 minutes. And it's in .223. Yay!

 

[ronny]

If you aren't in too big a hurry, wait for the next OKC gun show and look around for a Mak 90 or NHM 90 (91's if you like longer barrels).

These are quality AK's for a decent price (at least right now).

This is my NHM 90. The Mak 90 is only a little different with the thumbhole being the most notable. The Mak is less grip-friendly.

At the gun shows, you'll find them for $600 up. On most you'll have to dicker with them to get to the $600 level, but it's worth it.

Only problem is, if you're not into the thumbhole, you'll wind up spending more money on the compliance parts.

When you go to the gun show, pick one up and fondle it. Then compare it to a WASR.

 

[henschman]

A Yugoslav M70 would be a good choice for a good quality rifle that isn't too expensive.

However, I have had several Romanian rifles built by Century, and haven't had any problems at all with them. They have all been great shooters. They build them with Tapco double-hook triggers, which give you a great trigger. I don't know what these vaguely referred to problems are that some are referring to on here, but there is nothing at all wrong with a Century rifle if you ask me. Mine is a 400 yard rifle, no problem.

I would say to avoid some of the newer ones that are being built with American-made barrels though... they are not chrome-lined like the mil-spec ones are, and I don't trust them. I would call and ask whoever you are ordering from whether the model you're interested in has a chrome-lined barrel. You want this.

I agree, www.jgsales.com is a great place to order from.

 

[septic_shock]

Saiga- To make these a true battle rifle you need a good smith' to convert, will run you somewhere in $400-$500 in gunsmithing & parts, plus the cost of the gun. I have a Saiga conversion done by Chris & H&H and I love it.

That seems awfully high for the conversion. Maybe H&H are doing other things than the basic conversion. I am not a smith by any means, but I was able to do the basic conversion conversion in my garage in about a couple of hours. I think all of the conversion parts that I used ran just under $200. All you need it a tapco trigger group, a dremel, US Grip and screw, US buttstock, Grip nut, and a bullet guide kit (bullet guide, drill, and tap) (at least for the 7.62, I don't know if you need the bullet guide for any of the other calibers.)

Did H&H also convert the forearm to a standard ak configuration? If they used a press-on forearm retainer, then I can see the price going up since they would have to press-off the front sight and maybe the gas block to get it on. This does look better, and is truer to the original AK configuration. Right now, I saved the bucks and just stayed with the saiga forend.

 

[BrandonM]

http://www.okshooters.com/forums/showthread.php?t=92665

The Polish ak on a milled reciever is a good way to go. I have owned one, not this one, and liked it quite a bit. One of the smoothest actions I have felt on an ak.

 

[pak-40]

I own 4 AK's. As stated above, the Aresenal AK's are second to none...though pricey. I have an SGL-21 that shoots less than 2MOA all day with milsurp Yugo 7.62 ammo. You can pick these up for around $700. The only thing I dont like about them is the finish. It is basically spray paint over parkerized. CLP wont harm the finsish, but just about any other cleaining solvent will harm the finish.

I have a Yugo underfolder. It is almost up to the Arsenal standard, but the barrel is not chrome lined. I happen to like chrome lined barrels since I shoot mostly corrosive milsurp ammo. When it is humid outside, I can literally see rust start to form inside the barrel of the Yugo AK. As long as you clean well ASAP after you are done shooting, there is not much to worry about...but IMHO chrome-lined is just better.


I have two WASR's. They shoot just fine. You just have to be careful ordering online as they do have issues wth canted sites. You can pick these up for around 400 bucks. Both of my wasr's print @3.5" groups at 100 yards. PLENTY good for an assault rifle. I bought my first WASR form Classicarms.us and it came with canted Rear...and front...sites. I was able to send it back to Century and they fixed it, but it was kind of a pain in the @$$ and took about 7 weeks. You will want to refinish the wood as it comes "in the rough", but it is very easy to do and makes the rifle look like you paid a lot more for it than you did. I have a recipe for "russian red" using rit dye that works like a charm. A little sandpaper and some elbow grease goes a long way towards making a WASR look pretty darn nice.

The next one I bought I got from Henderson defense industries. THey "hand pick" their wasr's and guarantee straight sights. THey are on sale right now for $399.

Don't be afraid to buy a WASR. THey are built like a tank and I have never had one misfire. None of My ak's have ever misfired BTW. I would trust my life to any of them that I own. If you are on a budget, buy a WASR and and case or two of ammo to practice with. Centerfiresystems.com has the Yugo milsurp ammo at $199 for 1K shipped.


http://www.hendersondefense.com/store/pc/-Certified-AK47-Stimulus-Sale-3p194.htm