Questions about an AK

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Quoheleth

Quoheleth

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I'm curious - not really shopping - about the AK. From what I read here, et. al., the AK and its variants are the Timex of the rifle world. You can practically melt it into a block and it will still function. Accuracy may or may not be all that hot, but one thing you can count on: an AK will run whether dirty, dry, wet, or anything between.

That said, I've got an AR (Doublestar) and a Marlin 336 in .30-30. I've got a Garand on the way. My rifles are rounded out by a slough of .22s. Handguns run the gamut from .22 up to .41 Magnum.

Always looking for a way to burn my wife's shoe money (just kidding, dear...see the smiley? :) ) and then seeing the post about best places to find AKs, it got me wondering, with the collection I have, what niche would the AK fill, other than to represent the Com-Bloc countries. Yeah, ammo is relatively cheap, but so is .30-30 and .223/5.56 is coming back down. The .30-30 and 7.62x39 are roughly ballistic cousins. While the Marlin doesn't have the rate of fire a semi has, it's just as portable and "off the radar" as an evil "assault" gun. My AR has the EBR corner in my safe, offers the higher rate of fire (should the zombies ever rise up out of the neighboring graveyard), and it's reliable - both from personal experience and from reviews of Doublestar.

Putting aside the inevitable "it's a gun, get it" type comments, do I gain anything by pursuing an AK? Serious answers, please. Why should I, or why shouldn't I, consider an AK?

Edit: I forgot to ask: If I wanted a one-stop crash course about AKs - variants, countries of origen, best bang for a budget buck, etc. - where do I look? Just looking at JGsales, they have Bulgarian, Yugoslav, Hungarian, Romanian; folding vs. fixed stocks; WASR vs. AK; etc. Where to begin???


Thanks,
Q
 
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it'll more or less fill the same niches of four of your guns: cheap plinking, reliable, zombie-slayer, and hunting with .30-30esque ballistics. It's a bullet-hosing, deer getting, fun-to-shoot and cheap-to-shoot platform for far under the cost of probably most of your other guns. Because of how inexpensive and ugly it is, you also won't have to worry about it getting dinged up if you drop it off a cliff, because AKs aren't supposed to be pretty anyway.
 
The niche it fills is that of owning perhaps the best battle rifle that ever existed. Need I say more?
Click to expand...

An AK is an Assault Rifle not a Battle Rifle...:);)

And yes, it is the best Assault Rifle ever conceived.
 
i'd say get one for the history behind it. Think if it, it was designed in the 1940's but has a very advance design far beyond it's years. The doctrin behind it (conscript weapon), made it so reliable and easy to service (i fully broke down my AK after a range trip in the rain). It's very reliable and just so much fun to shoot - it eats any steel cased cheap comblock ammo.

As far as quality, generally you need to watch out for WASR - Romanian variant. Recent quality has been good from what i've read but common issues included canted sights and gas block.
Bulgarian is pretty up there with the Russian quality and generally more expensive. Hungarian AMD's has a unique look to it with backward pistol grip at the forearm; haven't heard anything bad about them. Norincos are highly sought after because of their quality and because they're no longer imported. There's also the Maadi - Egyptian made.

I got a yugo M70B - fixed stock model. They have a thicker reciver and the only AKM (variant) to have a grenade launcher sight. The build is solid but some parts are not interchangeable with other AKMs. The buttstock attaches to a rear trunion with a long screw going through it and the front wood furniture has 3 holes instead of 2.

Well, hope that helps, also if i'm not accurate with the description above, please feel free to correct me.
 
stchman:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=482267

I think they go around that price now unless you find a really good private deal. I got my (pristine) yugo for 700 bux with 650 rds of ammo and 9 mags, including 2 original bolt hold open mags. With all that, the cost of the gun came out around $400.
 
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check Classicarms.us for Romanian ones. They have them from $370-400 right now. They also have a couple Yugoslavians up there for a REALLY good price as well. I wish I wasn't a college kiddie and was made of money, or else I'd jump on both.
 
Quoheleth,

First go check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AK-47, print it out if you want to thumb through at your leisure. It will give you history from the beginning on up plus all the variants, countries that manufacture, countries that use, etc.

Also check out http://thegunwiki.com/Gunwiki/BuildAkVerifyCompliance to comply with 922r a more simplified site would be http://home.comcast.net/~navy87guy/home/922r.html

I bought my AK from Arma Rifle, they basically 922ify it...it cost me $900, BUT I didn't have to go and find all the parts to change for compliance, plus shipping, plus time to actually do it or have a smith do it.

It does look like a very evil black rifle now, more along the lines of an AR/M16 then an obvious Allah Akbar AK.
 
Everyone should own at least one AK... I own one.

My Norinco 7.62 AKM with a few upgrades :evil:

Suppressed-Norinco-AKM.jpg
 
Quoheleth said:
If I wanted a one-stop crash course about AKs - variants, countries of origen, best bang for a budget buck, etc. - where do I look? Just looking at JGsales, they have Bulgarian, Yugoslav, Hungarian, Romanian; folding vs. fixed stocks; WASR vs. AK; etc. Where to begin???
Click to expand...
The AK is produced in many countries to the same specifications. There are cosmetic differences in some of them. They are all currently produced for about $100/rifle (yes, all of 'em).

Do not fall for the marketing department when it tells you that their AK is "better" than any other AK (and you should pay 2x or 3x the price of those others) - it is simply not true.

chuwee81 said:
Recent quality has been good from what i've read but common issues included canted sights and gas block.
Click to expand...
ALL Kalashnikovs have 'canted this" and "canted that" to some degree. If your particular AK has such a drastic cant that you CANNOT zero the rifle or it will simply not function (gas block cant) - THAT is when you have issues.

Same thing with "mag wobble". All AKs have it. If it's so extreme that it causes malfunctions, THEN you have a problem.
 
Niche? The "fun" niche.

I never saw the use for one, until I ran into a great deal on one a few months before the election. It is an absolute hoot to shoot. Plain and simply fun as heck. It is also a great rifle for defense if that need should ever arise. Just a great rifle. (I have a 30-30 too, but the AK is a great deal more fun)

I like the round as well. Now I want a bolt action CZ Carbine in 7.62 X 39. :)
 
As usual when it comes to AK stuff, Nalioth has nailed it. I can't verify the $100 production cost, but I have all the variations Chuwee81 mentioned in additional to an Arsenal (Nevada) and there is no statistically significant difference among them when shooting them. How much more its worth to have one that "looks good" only you can decide.

Everything bad being said about the Romanian guns today was said about the Norinico MAK90 and other Chinese guns with Polytech brand substituted for the current role of the Bulgarian -- 2-3X the price for one that looks better, back in the 90's when they were about $200 at the low end vs. ~$400 now for the Romanians.

Supply, demand, and inflation account for most of the difference.

--wally.
 
I've been shooting my AKs at our local Practical Rifle match for the last two years or so. Some observations:

AKs are generally 4MOA rifles. Fine for hitting a 12" target at 300 yards, not so fine for longer ranges or drastically smaller targets.

Just because some guy can bang rivets together doesn't mean he's an AK builder. AKs require fitting of parts and have to be assembled correctly. They can be put together so badly that they just won't work.

7.62x39 is cheap. It also has a trajectory like a rainbow. Know the ballistics of thhe round and use your sights.

The stock sights are just fine. They are awesome quick at close range and are capable out to 300 yards or so.

The design of the AK is just fine. The charging handle is in the same place as the M1 and M14, the mag release is in the same place as the FAL and M14, and the safety is run perfectly adequately with your right thumb, like the guy in Tantal's pic.

Run an AK like an AK. Don't try to turn it into a crappy AR. BSW

entersite.jpg

Me at matches:
IMG_0996Medium.jpg

452697481_zFK2j-O.jpg
 
The stock sights are just fine. They are awesome quick at close range and are capable out to 300 yards or so.

The design of the AK is just fine. The charging handle is in the same place as the M1 and M14, the mag release is in the same place as the FAL and M14, and the safety is run perfectly adequately with your right thumb, like the guy in Tantal's pic.

Run an AK like an AK. Don't try to turn it into a crappy AR. BSW
Click to expand...

Well said sir!

/beer
 
Are AK's fairly southpaw friendly? I understand the charging handle is on the right; I'm used to that. I can even handle a wierdly-placed safety on occassion. I'm talking will the average AK smack me in the forehead with empties or should I be OK?

Q
 
mine spits it out high and a bit forward, roughly around 2-3 o'clock position. haven't tried left handed though. I was at ASC and it was hitting the bench next to me and the support beams on the ceiling when i was standing up.
 
Are AK's fairly southpaw friendly? I understand the charging handle is on the right; I'm used to that. I can even handle a wierdly-placed safety on occassion. I'm talking will the average AK smack me in the forehead with empties or should I be OK?
Click to expand...

AKs are even better for lefties. You can keep your primary hand on the pistol grip while running the bolt and swapping mags.

The empty brass on my AKs goes about 30' front-right, about 2 o'clock. I've shot mine at times left handed at times. Never been hit by brass that wasn't bounding off an obstruction. BSW
 
I just learned a few days ago from my Chief that the first patrol rifle the PD ever had (before caliber restrictions from Police Standards) was an AK-47 with a laser mounted on it. He couldn't remember the brand but 'loved it'. For a long time 30-30, .308, 7.62x'anything' and other calibers were banned for several reasons (I'm learning more about this as I go). My understanding is that it was a concern of 'commonality' between PD's, Govt. auctions, etc. (e.g. buying too many varied models of rifles), Govt. grants, and the concern that the caliber was 'just too much' for the officers to handle (all shapes and sizes of people). For a long time these bigger calibers were limited to special response teams and SWAT (in NH it's called the SOU team and the bigger towns/cities have teams within) and you actually had to take a special course for certification to be able to carry these calibers. Currently we are all issued surplus Colt AR-15 A2's from Govt. auction or grants.....but as much as I love the AR platform, for the thicker woods and tougher conditions of northern (weather and such) NH I really would love an AK sitting next to me from time to time.
The good news is......last I checked...they have lifted the caliber restriction on a state level and leave the decision up to individual departments. A local PD is now carrying a Springfield SOCOM for example.
 
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