Romanian bullpup AK

[jojo200517]

Well despite reading the reviews of how crappy the trigger pull was I decided I had to have a bullpup AK a few weeks ago. I got it and the other day I finally got a chance to go shoot it with a couple friends. I had fired 5 or 6 shots thru it just to verify that it would function beforehand and see how bad the trigger was. It wasn't that the pull is so heavy or so long but more of a combination of the 2 it felt like shooting a revolver double action to me.

Well we went out in my friends woods and I discovered a couple other things about it. I had read that the fore grip beyond the trigger gets warm, my friend's blistered finger after about half a mag says it gets slightly more than warm (turns out the bayonet lug sticks down into one of the vent slots almost out the bottom).

The heat didn't stop there tho. I knew I shot a couple shots 1 handed with it before when I tested so I said what the heck I'll shoot it some like that then to finish the mag. Well it turns out the trigger gets equally as hot. I couldn't get over 2 or 3 shots off before I had to remove my finger from the trigger due to the burning.

I can understand how the lug gets that hot its on the barrel, and I can work around that with a piece of clamp on rail and a vertical foregrip, but how in the world is the physical trigger getting that hot? All I can figure is it is up against the barrel and conducting the heat from it. The pistol grip or gaurd around the trigger isn't nearly as hot. Has anyone tried to shield the heat from the lower parts and direct it up? Has anyone else experienced the hot trigger?

 

[zhyla]

I've never seen one of these. Is the receiver enclosed in something? If so I guess I could see the receiver heating up eventually (and then the trigger). Seems pretty odd though.

 

[jojo200517]

http://www.jgsales.com/product_info.php/rifles/ak-47-and-rpk-rifles/p/romanian-bullpup-ak-rifle%2C-7-62x39-caliber-/cPath/209_214/products_id/1680

This is what I have and where I got it for anyone that doesn't know what it looks like.

 

[tkopp]

Trouble is you're holding on to the gas system with both hands. It's the hottest part of the rifle.

 

[jojo200517]

Yeah, well you still hold the gas system/barrel with one hand on the normal models. I know my normal AK gets warm but good gosh I never got blisters after 5 or 6 mags let alone 1.

I guess I'll have to pull it apart and see if the trigger is against the barrel, already read on another message board that someone else's was and that was making the pull worse, nothing a little dremel work didn't fix. I can't possibly see it getting that hot without actual contact to transfer the heat to it. As far as the bayonet lug, i'm not willing to grind it off simply because if I change this to a standard AK I'd like to have it.

Aside from these hot parts, it is surprisingly easy to shoot 1 handed and still hit a target.

 

[nalioth]

Normal AKs don't have thin metal hand guards. The wood or plastic that they have does a lot better job at keeping the felt heat down.

As far as "Why does the trigger get hot?", just look at where it is:



It's just a bad design, any way you cut it.

 

[jojo200517]

Yeah after looking it over I say its a bad design from an engineering perspective. The handgaurds are plastic not thin metal. What i'm saying about the trigger itself being hot is that none of the rest of the area gets as hot as the trigger, so I think its conducting heat directly thru contact with the barrel.

 

[WardenWolf]

I've been looking for one of these kits for a while, actually for my Saiga .223. Unfortunately it seems they've all but disappeared. K-Var had their own version, but it, too, is gone.

 

[beeenbag]

oh wow, thats a really ooogly gun. Does it have the same reliability of a standard AK?

 

[nalioth]

Does it have the same reliability of a standard AK?

Inside the ugly Chinese suit, it is a "standard AK".

 

[CornCod]

Funny, but these bullpup AK's have been on the market for years, but this is the first review I read about their performance.

 

[cbrgator]

I always thought those things were some kind of gimmick.

 

[wally]

Here is how I made mine usable.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=369290

Actually shoots pretty good once you solve the heat problem and get used to the trigger. Still more novelty than practical as a weapon.

Its actually better than my Norinco AK bullpup in that 30 round mags rock right in whereas the grip on the Norinco interferes with getting the 30 rounders in and out, so its best used with the 20 round mags. Sights on the Romanian bullpup are way better that the average AK, but the extra height doesn't help accuracy.

I've yet to shoot a bullpup with a trigger better that tolerable -- Romanian & Norinco AK, MSAR, & Bushmaster AR are the bullpups I have. I suspect I get one of the Kel-Tecs if they ever get into full production.

I've been looking for one of these kits for a while, actually for my Saiga .223. Unfortunately it seems they've all but disappeared.

Price of the kit + and an AK doesn't really make sense compared to the cost of the "factory" Romanian, but Sportsman's Guide has them in the latest catalog I got in the mail. Check their web site.

 

[Maverick223]

First let me state that I absolutely love bullpups...my favorite rifle is a bullpup, and IMO the best designs in the past decade or so have all been bullpup configuration rifles.

However, the bullpup AK conversion is an abomination, it gives the bullpup a bad name. In fact I think it might be the root of all that is evil in the world.

IMO your best options are to sell it to fund a real bullpup, or convert it into a standard configuration AK. Some rifles may require a few tweaks or modifications, but poor design work and shoddy construction has doomed that particular rifle, there is just too many inherent problems to correct, it would be easier to redesign it from the ground up. You simply cannot remediate poor ergonomics (mainly the safety, but also the LOP, handguard, magazine insertion, horrible trigger, awkward sights, and overheating issues) with a few little adjustments.

I don't say this often (because it typically it simply doesn't apply), but you bought a complete dud, you can choose to live with it, or try to fix it, but it will never be right...i'd send it off into the sunset.

 

[Quiet]

K-Var had their own version, but it, too, is gone.

Actually, K-Var created this bullpup kit. They came out with it in 1994 and called it the AKU-94.

Due to horrible reviews and slow sales, they sold the design & rest of their stock off to Century International Arms.

Century uses the bullpup kits in combination with Romanian AK parts kits, US made recievers and US made barrels to make what they offer the "GP 1975 Bullpup".

The main problems with this bullpup kit are:
* crappy trigger.
* overheating issues.

 

[Hammerhead6814]

Wear gloves. You have now solved your heating issue.

If that doesn't slake your concern, you could always try and float the trigger some other way. Maybe from the stock instead of the barrel?

 

[Quiet]

 

[jojo200517]

Well I pulled it apart last night, the side of the trigger that the wire hooks on is sitting right against the barrel. I think I can either space it over or bend it out enough it doesn't heat the trigger thru contract. Shouldn't be so hard to fix.

Wally how ya got that rail piece attached? Looks better than leaving that nose off and just putting a barrel rail clamp on deal on.

And maverick we all know that's really just a dust cover that ya don't need no stinkin' safety lever.

The trigger guard is a tad bit small for my welding gloves Hammerhead Oh and the trigger piece mounts in the lower hand guard, thank heaven they didn't try to hinge it off the actual barrel they just let it touch it.

Let me just go ahead and say I love the rear sights over a normal AK sight, even if they are way the hell too tall looking.

I'm going to post up some pics when I get a chance to work on this and let everyone know if it fixes the hot trigger issue.

 

[Maverick223]

And maverick we all know that's really just a dust cover that ya don't need no stinkin' safety lever.

True...I don't even use mine on the Saiga-12, so it is somewhat of a moot point.

 

[wally]

Wally how ya got that rail piece attached?

Its a rail for an AR carbine hand guard that I cut a little shorter. I used the mounting hardware that came with it and a little JB weld to fill in the oval holes so it doesn't slop around.

I didn't have any problems with the trigger getting hot, but the hand grip was too hat to hold onto while shooting the first mag, the vertical grip solved that issue -- I've done a couple of mags rapid fire, back to back without getting burned.