School me on AK74

[preston1026]

I am looking at getting a AK74 for cheaper shooting and range time with the FAL's costing a lot to feed. I know next to nothing about AK's in general and AK74's at that.

What should I look for? What price range do you suggest? A buddy of mine has a krinov with a triangle folder that I really like. I would really like the same thing but in 5.45 and maybe 16".

Any suggestions?

[GreatKing]

For the most part stay away from Romanians. I have a buddy at work that is huge into AK's. He has fixed/built a lot and he has shown me a lot of the romys that are just horrible. Canted front sights, horrible finish, and just poorly manufactured overall. Russian and Chinese are the way to go imo and maybe some polish. I have noticed that AK's have been recently jumping up in price. I have seen some selling for 350ish and have seen some in the 8-900s.

[GW870]

That is a way fun round to shoot! I have a super nice AK74 I talked
Wolfsburg Bob out of a few years ago. I'm not sure on its history, but
it is a hoot to shoot.
I Really wish CZ or somebody would make a bolt gun for this round.
I bet they could sell a buttload just to Files members!

GW

[crsswift70]

Convert a SAIGA, get a SAR-2 or even a Tantal. Century Tantals can be found for about $450 but don't have chrome lined barrels. Very early models had bad barrels, so be sure and google that. I think that's about it in the budget 5.45 arena. Many will suggest an Arsenal, but just to shoot and beat around, i think they are too pricey.

[preston1026]

Originally Posted by crsswift70

Convert a SAIGA, get a SAR-2 or even a Tantal. Century Tantals can be found for about $450 but don't have chrome lined barrels. Very early models had bad barrels, so be sure and google that. I think that's about it in the budget 5.45 arena. Many will suggest an Arsenal, but just to shoot and beat around, i think they are too pricey.

Can a Saiga be converted to look like one in this parts kit link?
http://www.akfiles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=116319

I really like the krink type of triangle folding stock, that one be attached to a Saiga in 5.45?

[crsswift70]

I'm not a builder but i have seen Saiga's built with that stock. It takes cutting the receiver behind the front trunion for the "hook" to catch the stock in the closed position and the rear to install the "button". If you are mechanically inclined and have the tools, i know it can be done.

edit: see here http://www.ar15.com/mobile/topic.htm...=122&t=1014922

[ByronF]

Seems like a good round, long-term ammo availability kept me away.

[crsswift70]

The ol' "Buy it cheap" applies i think It's gone up, but still much cheaper than 7.62. Both of which are supposed to be coming in later this year.

[Bubacus]

I've got a 74 that was made from a Bulgarian Kit on a NoDak Spud receiver. I really love it. Got the Spud receiver that was already set up for the metal triangular folder..........I went a little heavy on the ammo purchase for the gun about 10 years ago for 5.45 and don't regret it at all.

[SSGsoandso]

Originally Posted by Bubacus

I've got a 74 that was made from a Bulgarian Kit on a NoDak Spud receiver. I really love it. Got the Spud receiver that was already set up for the metal triangular folder..........I went a little heavy on the ammo purchase for the gun about 10 years ago for 5.45 and don't regret it at all.

I have the exact same set up and do not regret it at all. It has become more my wife's weapon then mine. But ammo is cheap and it is alot of fun to shoot.

[FALRifle]

??

[SSGsoandso]

Hornady does make 5.45 x 39. I bought a spam can of 5.45 when I first got the AK74 but haven't shot any of it because my local range wont let me shoot it.( steel penetrator)

[ftierson]

Originally Posted by FALRifle

What are you going to do for ammo if some stupid ass treaty gets passed and no more ammo from overseas is coming in? I have been wanting to get one for a while but am afraid to buy without the long term guarantee of ammo.

Is this a trick question?

Buy enough ammo now to get on all the .gov shit lists and you'll never have to worry about what they do with ammo imports tomorrow.

Forrest

[crsswift70]

What guarantee is there that ANY ammo will be available forever? If there is a demand, there will be production. As cheap as it is now, it would be silly if you didn't take advantage of current prices. This is the FAL site, yet .308 may no longer be coming in as surplus. No one is saying don't buy a FAL. You can't find .308 ammo for 13 cents a round and haven't been able to in a long time. There is a current shortage of 5.45 (surplus), but i keep reading suppliers saying more is coming, so.. might be time to buy one while people are having a hard time finding ammo. There is always reloading as well. The brass will be made available if there is a demand.

[preston1026]

Also with dwindling presence in the middle east military contractors will switch to commercial production for ammunition. Until anything is definite it's all speculation and I will think worry about it when it happens.

Also can a Bulgarian 16" kit/rifle be cut down to a krink legnth or is that a totally different beast?

[0302]

don't be hating on the romanians, my sar2 gas canted sight & gas block, its ugly, but has a chrome lined barrel & runs great. i would pick the sar2 over the ar15 anytime if reliabilty is the prime consideration. the 5.45 round really does tumble as advertised. i use the red bakelite mags, kind of garish but functional. my kids enjoy shooting it. i think the 74 is what the ar should've been.

[Thorack]

Well,

Any decent kit build with an original barrel should do you well. Dont sell the Romy guns short with little work they can be fine guns.

Thorack

[WarriorPoet]

Where the parts from doesn't matter at all. It's who BUILDS the rifle that matters.

Go with a quality gunsmith (like CMParmory.com) and your sights won't be canted, your trigger won't suck, etc. etc.

Or, buy from known outfits like Arsenal Inc. (though pricey).

Create a budget. Price out a quality '74. Price out some surplus ammo (even if you can't shoot it at the range), and price out new manufacture. Buy some for plinkin' and some for defendin'.

Good luck and have fun.

-WP

[JohnnyV1966]

When dealing with AKs I think having a chrome lined bore is a real plus given all the inexpensive 5.45x39 ammo that is corrosive. Green Mountain Barrels manufactures low cost chrome line replacement barrels for AKs, Uzis and AR15s.

They also produce muzzle loading replacement barrels in various calibers for TC/ Lyman and other ML rifles.

[crsswift70]

Seems like chrome lined barrels and dimples are always high on the list of must haves when people review AK's. Even fit and finish can be overlooked if it has dimples and chrome lined barrel, but is reliable.

[Brian in MN]

Well, you could listen to member number sixty six thousand seven hundred four who has a grand total of thirteen posts.

Or.....

you could listen to people like 0302 and Thorack with member numbers in three digits.

IMHO, the Romanians make very ugly rifles that shoot very well.

Thorack gave the best advice in this thread. "Any decent kit build with an original barrel should do you well."

You'll have to pay for this, however. If you are searching for a $350 dollar AK you are going to end up with a $350 dollar rifle. It will treat you exactly the same way a $350 FAL or a $350 AR-15 will treat you. Spend what you would expect to spend on a quality FAL or AR-15 and you will very likely be happy with your new AK. This seems to be a really difficult concept for most folks. For some reason trailer park logic rules in the AK world. People feel entitled to a quality AK for 1/3 the cost of any other quality rifle. They pay a garbage price, receive a garbage rifle and then bash AK's as garbage rifles because their POS does not run properly. You can bang some people's heads against a wall and they still cannot accept this simple idea so I will repeat it. If you are searching for a $350 dollar AK you are going to end up with a $350 dollar rifle.

If you want a decent AK go back to Thorack's simple sentence. "Any decent kit build with an original barrel should do you well." My personal favorite is a Bulgarian 5.45 kit on a NoDak receiver. If you want 7.62 x 39 there are lots of choices. Two excellent choices that are fairly easy to find are Romanian or Polish kits. I'd again recommend a NoDak receiver although there are other decent receiver options out there.

Another option is to take a good look at pre-bans. If you buy a super nice parts kit, receiver, US parts and then pay a good smith to build and refinish you are approaching the cost of a low end pre-ban. The real beauty of kit builds is that you can build a clone of something that was never imported as a pre-ban or build a clone of a what would be a very expensive pre-ban.

[preston1026]

pretty much I have decided on a Bulgarian unissued kit with triangle folder, just looking for someone that wants FAL kit(s) for trade.


BTW: what does dimples on the barrel mean?

[crsswift70]

Dimples aren't on the barrel but on the receiver. They hold the magazine in securely and keep it from wobbling back and forth. One dimple on each side.

[gaijinsamurai]

I have two Romanian AKs and they run every bit as well as my Polish, Hungarian, and two Bulgarians.

[bill3542]

I swapped a older FAL kit gun that i didn't have a lot of money in for a Bulgarian AK74 unissued matching # kit gun with the Bulgarian barrel built on a Nodak reciever and 10 Bulgarian AK74 mags. its a great shooter, so far about 400 rds put through with no problems at all and very accurate. i added the Bulgarian surplus plum furniture a few weeks back which made it even better.

try to get a kit with the original barrel if possible, there are issues with U.S made barrels.

[gunplumber]

there are dimpled barrels too - a batch of Saigas where they used swaging to attach the barrel components. major pain in the ass to correct. I'd not include one as an option., unless you are going to leave it as is (neutered).

[Drtrumpet]

Originally Posted by preston1026

pretty much I have decided on a Bulgarian unissued kit with triangle folder, just looking for someone that wants FAL kit(s) for trade.


BTW: what does dimples on the barrel mean?

There was a beautiful AKS74 kit listed on akfiles a little while back. If I were you I would sell the FAL kit and have the cash ready to pounce on the 74 kit. That kit, listed at $800, sold fairly quickly.

[preston1026]

Originally Posted by Drtrumpet

There was a beautiful AKS74 kit listed on akfiles a little while back. If I were you I would sell the FAL kit and have the cash ready to pounce on the 74 kit. That kit, listed at $800, sold fairly quickly.

It's looking more and more like that will be the case.