Romanian Dragunov?

[Nightcrawler]

Anybody have one of these? You see them for sale once in awhile, and a buddy of mine was drooling over one. Are they like the Romanian AKs? (Meaning they're good shooters but with a little TLC they can clean up nice.) Can you actually find the 10-round 7.62x54mmR mags for them?

I know the Dragunov isn't a tack driver by western standards, but can it reliably hit a man sized target out to, say, 600 meters, if the shooter does his part?

 

[Nightcrawler]

Hmm...little research shows me the Romanian guns aren't really Drags, they're AKs. And the magazines are like $70 a piece.

Ick. I think my friend would maybe be better off with a Saiga .308 with the 22" barrel, hey? The mags hold two less rounds, but you can buy them for $20.00. And, if you really wanted, you could modify the Saiga to take one of those ATI Dragunov type stocks, and a regular AK trigger group.

 

[telewinz]

I have had one for almost a year now and I favor it more than my NMM14. I did a grat deal of research into the Dragunov and the Romak3 BEFORE I bought mine. Its kind of hard to get an objective opinion, if you paid $1500 + for a Dragunov you would like any competition either. I got into the NATO evaluations and they rate the Romak 3 and the Dragunov equal in performance, about 2 inch groups at 100 meters and both rifles meet the Nato standard for sniper rifle performance at 600 meters. The short operating rod stroke of the Dragunov is only a valid improvement when compared to the very long operating rod of the SVT40. The M14 has an operating rod longer that the Romak 3 or Dragunov yet no one questions their accuracy. IMHO being an AK design is a BIG plus, not a negative, fit & finish on mine was just fine, I have not done a thing to it. There is no factory recall on the Romak 3, the Dragunov has a recall in progress. Go to the FIRING LINE achives. I wrote a great deal of information on my research. Magazines are available from time to time, try CDNN but they are so well made, wearing-out isn't a concern. I've been giving serious thought to buying another Romak3, I like them that much. PM me if you have any particular questions, I might have done the research for you already.