I built my own. I got a New Romanian receiver, then purchased a kit, a new barrel and additional 922r compliant parts. I then had my gunsmith set the head space. It is nice.
I built my own. I got a New Romanian receiver, then purchased a kit, a new barrel and additional 922r compliant parts. I then had my gunsmith set the head space. It is nice.
I use Tapco Magazines and have had no problems. I like them because they are easy to disassemble and clean. I use a slight amount of Rem Oil to keep the cartridges feeding smoothly.
I want an AK pretty bad but I know NOTHING about AK's. I can decipher this AK talk just as much as Paris Hilton could if she were reading this.
Here's a quick overview.
Arsenal SGL or SLR = Colt of the AK world. They're built right and function right out of the box. For the longest time, they were the only production built AK's done right. About $1000 for one of these now.
Boutique AK's (Rifle Dynamics, Tromix, ect.) = Built with extreme attention to detail. Is an AK worth that level of craftsmanship? It might be for you. For me, not so much.
Norinco AK's = Very good AK's for the money. If you don't want or need an AK100 patterned rifle or current issue styled AK's, then these are great options. Used to be the best kept secret when they were $400-$600. The downsides is that you may need some additional "upgrades" to get it into the right configuration as most of these are in the sporter configuration and may or may not have a threaded muzzle. These are typically the thicker 1.6mm receivers. Some see it as a pro, but some see the added weight as a con. Up to you if you want the thicker receiver or not. Now, people are asking for close to what you could get a new Arsenal so to me not as worth it anymore if it's over $700.
Parts kit built AK's (Waffen Works, Century Arms, ect.)= Can range from very good to very bad. Like assembled AR's, you're at the mercy of the maker. Most parts kit guns come with a US made receiver and most are US made barrels. I'm a fan of DCI / Nodak Spud receivers, but there's some US made receivers that are just piss poor. Most US made barrels are cheaply made & doesn't compare to the cold hammer forged barrels overseas. Due to lack of understanding of the AK platform, US AK barrel manufacturers have often cut corners by making barrels with incorrect twist rates for the barrel length or wrong bore sizes. This contributed to AK's reputation to just being "cheap, inaccurate bullet hoses." You'll also see things like an increase in canted gas blocks or canted front sights and the rivets can be off in places.
That's just an overview of the AK market. It's very similar to the AR market now. If you just want an AK that you know is properly built, will go bang, and will always retain it's value then get an Arsenal. If you know what to look for and just want a shooter, then go for the parts kit guns made by the various manufacturers. Even Century Arms has a few gems out there that was put together properly. I remember AMD 65's being almost a steal back when they were in stock. Hungarian receiver and CHF barrel made them excellent shooters.
Thumbs up on the posts!
IMHO I think Two Rivers Arms Builds the best aks. Find a parts kit order it get a nds receiver and have them build it for you.
http://armsofamerica.com/partskits-2.aspx
http://www.nodakspud.com/page2.htm
http://tworiversarms.com/
Two rivers is currently accepting custom orders.
I've had Two Rivers build me a kit & bought the ones in a box. I love my two rivers AK but I wouldn't go that route again due to cost (not just two rivers, any builder) By the time you get all the parts together and then pay the builder you end paying more than if you just bought an Arsenal in the first place. But you do get to 100% customize it. Just to be clear I am in no way disparaging Two Rivers - they do excellent work for reasonable price. Just stating I wouldn't commission another kit from ANY builder.
I own several different Ak's(Saiga, Bulgarians,Maks) and have shot just about every variations. Personally I like Veprs. Hands down you can't beat the quality and craftsmanship. If you want one to look identical to a Ak, just switch out some furniture and gas tube. I love my Veprs.
Ak's are ment to be shot and be reliable. No have a ton of tactical crap added. Stick to Ar's if you want to play dress up FFS.
Ak's are ment to be shot and be reliable. No have a ton of tactical crap added. Stick to Ar's if you want to play dress up FFS.
This is a copy/paste of something I put on another forum earlier this year. Just because you're buying a reputable name doesn't mean it will be without fault. Inspect your **** before purchase!
Ek
englishkanigit said:
Ok then, I'll chime in on this one.
I work at a shop that sells a fair amount of guns. I've been noticing different things with the Arsenals and some Saigas that we've been receiving in the last year. Some fit so tightly they're a terrible PITA to disassemble. Others have had canted FSB or FSB/gas block combos, most are noticeable but not an issue and others are extreme... like the witness mark for windage zero on the front sight drum was made damn near to one extreme of travel and then the whole thing was re-centered before shipping to our shop. (?? Yes, seriously. This was on the rifle I got.) Side-folders on some SGLs or SLRs will be so tight that they need excessive force to move through their whole range of motion. Many further rifles are totally fine. It's an inconsistent but noticeable change in the product for me.
To expand a bit on my personal, direct experience: I bought a SLR-107CR a year ago. This is the rifle with the above mentioned canted FSB. The rear sight base/trunion also appears to be canted a bit too which makes for a funny sight picture but it can be zeroed. I bought this rifle a year ago, roughly zeroed it and then put it in the safe until I had further time and money to mess with it. To prepare for a 2+ mile Run&Gun event I wanted to use this gun. I chopped 1.5" off the barrel and perm. attached a phantom, added a TWS rail, RS light mount with a SF FURY and an Aimpoint micro. I would estimate that between function checking, zeroing after purchase and modification as well as beginning to practice for the upcoming event I had approximately 350-400 rounds through this gun plus a crapload of dryfire. While on the range with a friend checking zero the week before the event I began having malfunctions with the rifle. After firing the hammer would follow the bolt home and I would discover this due to a dead trigger. It could be replicated live fire and dry. A call to Arsenal on 2July lead me to talk with their CS lady. I gave her a basic run-down of the rifle's symptoms and history. As it was going in to the holiday no one was available for further assistance but I told her I planned to swap the FCG from another known-good Arsenal gun into my troublesome -107CR and see if I could isolate the issue. The lady at Arsenal asked that I please let her know what the result of that was and to email her the serial number. When I pulled the gun apart I found excessive wear on the striking face of the hammer and the engagement surfaces of the disconnector and hammer. The hammer, to be frank, looked like hammered ****.
Swapping the FCG brought the rifle back on-line and I went through 200 rounds without issue. An email and several phone calls to Arsenal with the information requested over the next week yielded a reply on 12July that the rifle was out of warranty and their production manager did not think that the problem was as indicated. They were however more than happy to look at and fix the rifle for a cost of $50 and an extra $20 to cover shipping costs. The next day I called and firmly explained that I would not be shipping them a rifle and paying them to find and fix what I had already found and diagnosed and I ask again for them to exchange the FCG within the rifle.
With no positive response from the manufacturer I figured I was on my own. Once I clued him on what was going on, my manager at the FFL where I bought this gun agreed to replace the parts from the store's stocks next time I was in town. Surprisingly, I received an email from Arsenal on 17July asking for my address so the could send the replacement parts with the caveat that I would return the originals for inspection. To this I agreed.
Shown in this picture, going from from left to right is the original hammer from my SLR-107CR (<400 rounds), the brand new replacement hammer from Arsenal( 0 rounds) and the hammer from my SLR-107UR registered SBR ( >2500+ rounds). I made the parts swap today and function checked it on the range. I will be returning the whole original FCG to Arsenal this coming week.
I hope these new parts last at least half as long as those in my krink. Maybe I'm strange but if I drop a kilo-buck on an AK I at least want the damn thing to be well-made and work.
Ek
I almost bought one of the Veprs in x54, but chickened out. Would still like to have one, but have heard replacement parts may be a PITA to come by (but how often do AK-pattern rifles break, anyway?), and I'm a mag whore - so the $50+ 10 round, polymer mags kind of ran me off, too.
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