kit sets?

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somoss

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I keep seeing rifle kit sets, like uzi, sks, akm and others....for what seems like very low prices. i understand that they dont come with a receiver. so what do people buy these for? hanging on the wall? or do they buy the recievers somewhere or make them?
i am very curious.
 
you buy the parts kit, required US parts and assemble. You can usually end up a little ahead, get exactly what you wont, anything from the uber tactical to battlefield pickup and the satisfaction of B.Y.I.
 
i have built 20 for my personal collection, and had a hand in making 50 or so more with other guys. i did this at a time in which a kit gun could be built for half the price of factory. today, kits are higher.

these days i am into making things you can't buy.
 
still confused

so these kits that you have made, do you make them functional at some point? what kind of parts do you get in the kits? i like some of the items they have in ki format even if it is just to put them together and hang on the wall but if possible i would like to have them as legally funcioning as possible?
 
Yes, the kits are usually turned into fully functional pieces. Most will include all the parts that the donor firearm had, minus the complete receiver. Some include the chopped up receiver parts. Most will require you to use a number of US manufactured parts so that the completed piece is considered a US made sporting arm rather than an imported assualtrifle/machinegun/bulletsprayer/babykiller.

Some kits are easy to build into working firearms, some are hard.

You'll need to get more specific if you want specific answers.
 
Some people buy them to have spare parts for a legal machine gun they already own.

Building kits into a functional gun can be tricky. For example, ATF wants semi-autos to be closed-bolt so they are harder to convert to full-auto.

Other people make them into a dummy gun, just for wall hanging.
 
into working firearm

I've also wondered about parts kits.

Which ones would you guys say are the "easier" ones to build into a legal, working firearm?
 
I've been thinking about getting 1 or 2 AK parts kits. I don't have any
immediate plans to buy and bend receivers so I could build up guns but
they won't be around forever since the Feds have cut off importation.

Its something I'd like to do someday plus it makes a good parts dump if
you shoot or are planning to shoot that type of gun.
These kit prices will really seem cheap in the future
 
SOG akm in 7.62x39

I was curious about SOG's akm in 7.62x39 kit for $99. anyone have any expperience with it? i am looking for my first one to put together. with the hopes of making it legally functional down the line. any recommendations? the cheaper the better, cause I am cheap
 
silhanek said:
I've also wondered about parts kits.

Which ones would you guys say are the "easier" ones to build into a legal, working firearm?
Click to expand...

Easier would be the FAL and AK, maybe the 1919 although I haven't done one of those. Harder would be the various subguns. Difficulty really depends on how skilled you are. I have zero skills, other than the ability to read. I managed an FAL and AK.
 
skills?

i have a good amount of tools and am prettt handy but what kind of skills are we talking about? manufacturing a reciever? welding? the AK and FAl kits that you did, do u remember how much they cost yo buy and to complete, where and when u got them?
this is such a new thing for me i am trying to go into it well informed.
 
I bought a FAL kit from Tapco back when they were $130. I picked up a receiver from www.gunsamerica.com for another $230. I prepared all the part and cut the old receiver off the barell then made a trip to the local smith for headspacing. Wham! I had a fully functioning FAL for under $400. It's not the prettiest thing in the world but it shoots 7.62x51 just as good as all the others. I suggest picking up some of these kits for future projects as they will become harder to find but you can always find a U.S. made receiver. Good luck.
 
With an AK, you can get a parts kit for $100 or so (romanian in pretty good/real good condition). Then you need to get a reciever--you can buy one of those for about $70-80 (plus any ffl fees. I get mine at a local gunshow). Or you can make one yourself--that would be probably the most difficult part of an AK build. You'll need a bending jig and a press, then a welder to attach the rails. And if you make your own receiver for your own use, don't think it's legal to transfer to another owner.

Then you need to get compliance parts (the legal part is long and stupid, so I'm not getting into that discussion here...). Basically, you buy a new trigger, hammer, sear, etc that are made in the US. Figure maybe another $60 on that stuff.

Now, you've got to strip it down to get the rivets out of the trunnion. Supposedly, some folks can use a punch and a hammer, but I'm using a 12 press and a powersteering pump pulley puller to get mine stripped down.

Some folks drill out the old rivets then tap and screw the rifle together--I'm not sure how they can get all the old rivet bits out without removing the barrel, but supposedly its possible.

Anyhow, it's a blast and rewarding, but you should research it thoroughly before deciding to go that route. If you're making one or two, it'll probably not be cost effective. If you're like me, you'll want a Yugo model, a Romanian model, an AK-74 and a Polish Tantal. Not to mention the best of the AK kits (IMO) an AMD-63 from Hungary. If you're doing it to save a few bucks to get an AK, I'm not sure it's the way to go.
 
For an AK most builders use an already manufactured receiver or they use a bending jig with a flat. The pre-built receiver is obviously going to be less work. An AK build isn’t hard but it isn’t easy either.

For a first project I would recommend you build a 1919. It's hard to screw up the build and when you are done you’ll have a fun, belt-fed semi-auto piece of history.

You can get an 80 or 100% complete right side plate, a parts kit, a semi trigger and sear and ship your internals out to be machined to semi-only and you'll spend about $800.
 
price

I am not looking for a way to save money on buying an AK I like tinkering and learning a new skill. this would definetly be a very cool think to shoot a gun that i assembelled or made a part for and maybe even handloaded some rounds for.
so the ak kits are what you would recommend, any particular place you would recommend i get them from online?
 
just goggle it. you will usually find people are competitive in price the only difference is in the goodies. the goodies on average rang from 0 to 2 mags, ammo poaches, slings, tripods, bayonets. it saves you money in shipping to do the one stop shop.
 
Go here they have a ton of info http://www.akfiles.com/forums/index.php?

Here is where to get the receiver http://207.176.137.9/shop/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=292&cat=AK+Receivers, get the ewbanks receiver with predrilled holes 49.99 or 59.99 duracoated

This is info on the parts count to make it legal http://www.sksboards.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=278 , just get the rifle to 10 non USA parts or less so basically you have to change 6 of those parts on the list to us made parts to make it legal the receiver counts as 1 so you really only have to change 5
 
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