AK47 or AR15

Both the S&W or DPMS are fine choices. The M&P 15 has come down in price a lot lately, so there are some good bargains to be had.

Don't have an AK but I've always wanted a Molot VEPR, probably just because they look unusual. $1000 is a realistic price. Many to be had for less.

For $1,000 for an AK I'd look for an Arsenal. They recently came out with the SLR 107 R which should be around $850 or so. If you can find one though, I'd personally recommend going with the SLR107 FR which is the same rifle but with a side folding stock and a AK-100 series muzzle break. An Arsenal AK should be a good step up from an IO Inc rifle.

On the AR, I'd also include Colt in the list, but of the two you mentioned I'd lean to the M&P.

Im not a fan of the DPMS rifles. They cut a lot of corners and have a reputation for poor QC. For the AR-15 you can easily buy a Colt 6920 for that price.

I just bought an Arsenal SLR-107R a couple weeks ago for 850 bucks. I haven't shot it yet but it appears to be a well made AK47. Ive shot several Arsenal AK47s that friends have and they are definitely a step above your run of the mill WASRs and IO rifles.

A S&W M&P15 or a Colt LE6920 would both make for a decent choice in an AR. Might try looking at Atlantic Firearms for a nice selection of currently available AKs.

At this moment in time, buy an AR. This coming from an AK guy. Ruger Ar556 or SW MP Sport II can be found below $500 all day long. There are many other options that are even cheaper.

Now is NOT the time to buy AKs. Veprs were just banned from import last week and prices have began going through the roof. Arsenals aren't coming in on a regular basis due to foreign contracts. Wasrs are your best bet, but those are still $650-$700. You can find Saigas on the used market, but be careful with who did the conversions. Do NOT buy any American made AKs, they aren't up to snuff with their metallurgy and how they are manufactured.

I have an Arsenal AK with a milled receiver. I like it very much. I have a Bushmaster Police Carbine. I like it very much. The Ar has never jammed in the 1200 rounds I have put through it, including a 500 round stretch with no cleaning. The AK has never jammed either. Used to be, you could say an AK has a reliability edge over an AR. I don't think that is true anymore.

So it boils down to a few things. The AR is going to be more accurate, hands down. The AK is infinitely easier to clean and maintain. Arguments can be made in favor of either caliber. The late Peter Kokalis said that he would choose the flat based 123 GR bullet in the 7.62X39 hands down over any 5.56 bullet. We are talking Mil-spec ammo here. Soft points can change everything in this discussion, the edge probably goes back to the 5.56.

I guess it kind of boils down to which one you are more comfortable with.

You can build an AR for 3-350, and still buy a decent AK.

entropy said:

You can build an AR for 3-350, and still buy a decent AK.

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+ 1 on this build your AR skip the AK and get a good bolt gun

Yes but it will not be a rill good shooter! I have put 2 AR together that I wanted 0.50 and I have around 800.00 in each one. Yes I could had bought AR from around 400.00 to 500.00 but they would not shoot like I wanted!! I have a DPMS that is my play gun.

LUCKYDAWG13 said:

+ 1 on this build your AR skip the AK and get a good bolt gun

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This is my vote for comment of the day!

Having owned both, I currently own three AR's and recently traded off my only AK, so you can guess which way my advice will lean. I personally do like the heavier bullet of the 7.62x39 round, and that is one reason why I own an AR in 7.62x39. Its not the cartridge I have issues with, its just the AR fits me infinitely better, allowing me to shoot infinitely better using that platform. In 30 years of gun ownership, the AK was the first gun I disliked enough to get rid of. It was easy to maitain, and always went bang. Along with being chambered in 7.62x39, thats about the only good things I have to say about the AK. I wanted one forever, and when I finally bought one, I couldn't figure out WHY I wanted one so badly LOL

I can access the gas cylinder on my AR in less than 20 seconds without removing handguards. Yet some AK owners still claim their gun is "easier to clean." Whatever.

Both get dirty, once the brass has released from the chamber and extraction starts, gas flows around it into the action where it pushes most of the residue you see collect on parts. AK's get just as dirty as AR's. Buying one over the other for that questionable quality is mostly uninformed myth.

At present and in the very near future you will be able to buy TWO AR's for the price of one AK. The market isn't providing AK's cheaply any more, collector value is now the biggest mark up and they are significantly overpriced and getting worse. Ask around, nobody will trade you theirs for a S&W or DPMS straight up.

If the cartridge is the real issue then it's more a matter of what does the OP really want to do with the bullet - what range and target is being shot at? 7.62 isn't a long range flat shooting round, it's a .30-30 short ranging bullet with medium velocity which drops off after 300m. 5.56 is much flatter shooting further. If the point is to learn how to figure in bullet drop then the AK would be the choice for all it's inherent ability.

There is also the follow on ownership - two years down the road finessing the AK with alternate parts to enhance it's operation will offer far less on the market compared to the AR. It's basically a proprietary design and most of what is offered are AR parts modified to graft on. And in terms of accuracy these days a $850 AR will be much better at it, overall, than an $850 AK. The AR will also be a lot easier to mount optics on it.

AR's are shooters rifles, AK's are collectors rifles. You can improve the first one but it's double the cost to improve the second one as gunsmith fees apply - changing the barrel on the AR is kitchen table work, with an AK its a shop operation involving pressing the barrel into the trunnion while checking headspace simultaneously. It means AK's are pretty much left alone because of the extra expense having someone else do all the work.

AK's are rapidly approaching the category of older guns like FNFAL and HK's on the market. And they weren't all that in the first place. Like the P7 or Colt Anaconda, people are willing to spend more to own one and say they do than actually need one to shoot. Other guns are simply cheaper and better for that.

If somebody absolutely wants one, now is the best time to buy since the market has demonstrated the price is going up. Like 3Gen S&W auto pistols they won't likely get any cheaper. They are a nice bit of history considering the first ones made are past eligible for C&R status. 1947 was a long time ago.

I'd take an SKS over an AK any day.

Between an AR and AK, I'd absolutely take an AR.

DrewAK47 said:

Well im going to buy an AK or AR next weekend. As far the AR15 i think im gonna get a S&W m&p or DPMS. When it comes to the AK i don't know which name brand, $1000 is the most i can spend on AK. what AKs are the best in 2017. I bought an I.O AK47C about 6 yrs ago. Nothing wrong with it i just want one with a better reputation. Thanks for your time

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First question to ask is, why do you want either one?

Do you want an "assault-type" rifle, do you want something to shoot coyotes, do you want a modular platform you can easily customize, do you just want a semi-auto to plink with (cheap ammo), do you want something to reach out longer ranges, do you want something for home defense?

For a grand, you can almost get one of each, but then you're looking at 'bottom of the pile', quality-wise. If all you want is a plinking gun, then fine. Buy one of them and have lots of $$ left over for ammo.

I'd buy a 300BLK over a 7.62x39 if you want a versatile .30 cal AR-style rifle capable out to 300-400 yards, or just stay with the .223. If you want something with longer legs and still bigger than .223, get a 6.5 Grendel. Good up to and past past 1000 yards.

DrewAK47 said:

Well im going to buy an AK or AR next weekend. As far the AR15 i think im gonna get a S&W m&p or DPMS. When it comes to the AK i don't know which name brand, $1000 is the most i can spend on AK. what AKs are the best in 2017. I bought an I.O AK47C about 6 yrs ago. Nothing wrong with it i just want one with a better reputation. Thanks for your time

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I suggest you pick up each rifle and see how each feels to you. I also suggest trying for an opportunity to fire each on a range and see how they shoot. Me? I like the black rifle but that is merely my choice based on my likes and dislikes in a rifle. My taste really matters not as this will be your rifle and not mine. You are the guy who needs to live with your decision and not me. Both rifles have their good and less than good features so you decide which features you want in a rifle, make a decision and move on that decision.

Ron

Yes the 7.62x36 is so obsolete the U.S. Army is looking at the .300 Blackout (a 5.56x45 necked up to 7.62 and actually is 100 fps slower than the 7.62x39.) Yea yea it can be silenced but the regular load is supersonic.

Strange, eh?

But the AK platform is, well, 'battle accurate' to charitably call it.

I have both AK and AR and my go-to gun is the AR! The AK is a training platform to me in case I have to 'borrow' it from an enemy!

Deaf

He had (or has) an AK, so I'm guessing he's familiar with them. I'll amend my previous suggestion; build an AR, take that I/O AK, and sell/trade it and the $600 or so left over from the build and get a Krebs AK. Best made. The Arsenals are very good, too.

Tirod said:

AK's get just as dirty as AR's.

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Everything you've said is true, including this; However an AK will keep firing long after an AR has started it's well-known pattern of failing to come to battery due to carbon collecting in the bolt carrier and bolt. You'll note the is no forward assist on any AK model. (Though, I suppose the hook on the bolt carrier would suffice were it needed)
I was an Armorer in the Army. I've seen many malfunctions with M16's (both A1 and A2) of just about every type possible. I've seen exactly ONE AK malfunction, and that was due to an improperly re-installed "shepard's crook" pin retaining spring. It was replaced with the flat type. I've built several AK's, and although I am a gunsmith, the only thing I needed to do in the shop was pemenantly affix the longer muzzle breaks. (They were all AMD-65's) Many people poo-poo srcew builds, but all of mine have several thousand rounds through them. Yes, I check the screws as a part of maintaining them. For the ease of building, I deemed it a good trade-off. The days of $80 parts kits are long gone, and as has been pointed out, AR are now the cheaper rifle to buy or build. (and certainly easier to build!) I predict a lot of dealers are going to be sitting on their AK's; For a few years, they became popular, as AR prices were high, and Gabe Suarez and some other trainers started offering AK courses. But as things are today, unless one really wants an AK, the AR's are by far the better bargain. The high-quality AK's will always have a market, and will always have value.
That said, I'm keeping my AK. But I just might have to buy or build an AR in the near future. I did build one in '89, right after I got out, but the $$$ they went up to due to the impending Klinton Ban was too much to resist.

I have faced the 223 vs 762 choice many times.

My grandfather (veteran of WWII and Korea) and my father (veteran of WWII, Korea and Vietnam) both had a lot of respect for the AK and the 7.62x39 cartridge which they had faced in combat. Further, my father had lived through the M-16's problematic introduction into service in Vietnam. The gun trucks the Transportation Corps had to extemporize in Vietnam (see, for example, http://www.vietnam-guntrucks.com/eve-of-destruction/) were vulnerable to the AK and this did a lot to establish the cartridge in people's minds. But both my grandfather and father were quick to point out that I wanted the rifle for harvesting game and self-defense against someone trying to kill me, not ventilating convoys in Southeast Asia.

I bought a Ruger Mini-14 and learned to reload 223 Remington so as to optimize the Ruger's shorter barrel. My father liked it so much that he started using it all the time and left me to go buy another to replace it. They have both been fine rifles that have always done what was asked of them and I anticipate my father and I will use them until we die.

When it came time to buy modern sporting rifles for my sons (rather than waiting around for them to get banned), I looked at the current crop of ARs versus the Ruger Mini-14 and decided that between considerations of price, availability of accessories and commonality of parts, the AR was the way to go and bought two S&W M&P-15s.

So with that as a background, I would suggest the OP consider something like a 223/5.56 AR first.

If the current trend continues, then AK's will continue to become more expensive, and AR's will continue to drop in price.

Just on this basis, I would recommend getting a high end AK now before prices get even higher.

I'd get the M&P, I've shot both them and the DPMS. The M&P just seems like a much better AR. Shop around get the best price you can on it, then use the rest of your budget for the best optic you can find.

Tirod said:

I can access the gas cylinder on my AR in less than 20 seconds without removing handguards. Yet some AK owners still claim their gun is "easier to clean." Whatever.

Both get dirty, once the brass has released from the chamber and extraction starts, gas flows around it into the action where it pushes most of the residue you see collect on parts. AK's get just as dirty as AR's

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Lol, whut??
I've got thousands of rounds through both platforms, and with the same number of rounds and brand of ammo, the AR will be dirtier (which, frankly, likely doesn't have any practical effect, provided sufficient lubrication is present). (Granted, the "AK" I shoot most is a Valmet, perhaps a lower quality one will have more fouling)

The "AK's are easier to clean" probably comes from two things: it's easy to lift the dust cover to see what's going on (no bolt override malfunctions either) and far, far fewer nooks and crannies to clean (e.g. a bolt with 2 lugs vs 7 lugs and an extractor, all sorts of other crevasses on the carrier, forward assist, etc.)
Important note: frequent cleaning appears to be unnecessary for general range use, given a quality AR or AK that is adequately lubricated, so this is an academic discussion. Deploy to the wrong theater, in the wrong season, and YMMV.)

The Battlefield Las Vegas reports are a darn good read - write ups on weapons that have seen 50,000 or 100,000 rounds in a shockingly short timeframe.
An AR has a fair number of parts that will need replacing as round counts go into the thousands and 10's of thousands. An AK may not be as easy to replace parts on, but it also doesn't need nearly as much replacing of parts, either. I've seen ARs go down for all sorts of fiddly little springs and things. As long as the shepard's hook is correctly installed, the AK will go on and on.

No reason not to own the two iconic weapons of the latter 20th century (which is about the only reason I have an AR - an S&W M&P - great quality and prices are fantastic these days - if I had a crystal ball I would have waited until now to buy)

The AR is:

Less expensive
More accurate
More ergonomic
Easier to modify
Easier to put optics on
Easier to suppress

Reliability, durability and ease of maintenance are about a toss up.

Pretty easy choice in 2017, when ARs are going for peanuts due to economy of scale and $250 Romaks are selling for $700.

I am by no means an expert on such things, and I suspect many who claim to be experts probably aren't either, but from what I can tell for most purposes there is not going to be a lot of difference in reliability and practical accuracy between the two platforms. Most people are getting range guns to shoot for fun and they can both be enjoyable to shoot. neither beats you up when you shoot it, unlike some bolt guns.

If you are looking for a home defense gun, the AR platform probably has the edge, maybe by quite a bit, just because of how easy it is to customize it as needed. It also seems to me to be easier to handle than an AK, but that may just be my preference.

As a battle rifle I would suggest few of us are going to take either platform into battle so it is kind of a moot point.

Ammo cost is not much different so there is no real reason to go one way or the other for most of us casual shooters.