Short Barrel Suomi

Yup, that's how it works. Once you receive your permit to build an SBR, you can build it at any point after that.

Assuming the parts fit - and don't assume that on a semi conversion.

For the record, that gun is a LOT bigger than it looks just from pictures. I was at J&G Sales last weekend and they had one on the wall. Seeing it immediately ended my wants of owning one. It's huge. You look at it in pictures and expect it to be some little compact thing. Oh no. It's a full size rifle stock with a big, heavy-looking action on top of it.

By the way, everyone says the drum doesn't work properly with it. The stick mags work fine, but the drum doesn't. Atlantic Firearms also wants WAY too much for it. They're $400 over at J&G (http://www.jgsales.com). Anyone who pays Atlantic Firearms' more than 50% markup is crazy.

The semi-auto Kp31 conversions are specifically modified in such a way to prevent a short barrel from seating without modification, so that the BATFE wouldn't find them easily convertible.

Well, that pretty much kills the "want" factor for me.

For someone wanting a cheap 9mm SMG-style carbine, they're a good choice. They're very reliable with the 36-round stick mags. They thus put a lot of firepower in your hands at short range. They'd probably be very good for home defense. However, they're just too beastly for my tastes.

macadore said:

Thanks. I thought it was a small rifle. It looks like converting a Draco would be a better way to go.

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Good call. I actually handled a Draco while I was up there. Nice little guns. Very lightweight. I may get one for myself in a few months. Everyone says they run great. You can't one-hand them like you can a PLR-16 (pistol AR-15) but they're cheap and already set up for a muzzle brake. If you're going to build an SBR, though, they'd make a fine platform for the reasons already mentioned. Even better is that the Draco takes a standard AK handguard, so you have a world of options for customizing it. These guns are just begging to be SBR'd.

I would like to get a registered SBR AK74u but they are too expensive.

Is it possible to take an existing AK74 and after doing the SBR process get it converted into an AK74u? Would that end up being just as expensive as having a gunsmith do that for me from a parts kit?

Is it possible to take an existing AK74 and after doing the SBR process get it converted into an AK74u? Would that end up being just as expensive as having a gunsmith do that for me from a parts kit?

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If you started with an AKS-74 (triangle side-folder) you could get close by having him shorten the barrel and the gas system, relocate the front sight block, and come up with an adapter to let you remount the flash hider/comp, though gunsmith time is not terribly cheap. The problem lies in that the AKS-74U has some unique parts so getting it right wouldn't be as simple as cutting the -74 down.

The rear sight block and top cover are very different as are the sights, barrel, gas piston, handguards, and flash hider.

Almost certainly you'd have a better product by starting with the right parts kit to begin with. A good friend of mine has an SBR AKS-74U that is immaculate. Having shot it quite a bit, it is worth doing it right if that's what you want.

Oh I forgot about the triangle side folder receiver. My 74 doesn't have that and I'm sure the rear mounted side folders that I've seen on Kvar would look lame on a SBR version.