AK-47 - Recommendations

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Huntzman

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Hi Everyone, need to ask for some input here. Looking to buy my wife an AK-47 for Christmas. But I'm a novice in this area. Have been doing some research and getting overwhelmed: hungarian, russian, chinese, yugo.....

I would like to know what insight any real world shooters might be able to offer.

Thanks
 
That's easy. How much are you willing to spend? The best AK's available are the VEPR, the Arsenal SA M-7, and the Krebs products. The VEPR is built in Russia, the Arsenal is Bulgarian and the Krebs is made in the U.S. The VEPR is technically not an AK clone, since it is built on the heavy duty RPK light machine gun receiver, but for all intents and purposes it is an AK, and a top quality one at that. It's also the cheapest of those three, with a retail price around $550-600. The Arsenal SA M-7 is built on a milled Bulgarian receiver, and is also top quality. Retail price is around $700-900, depending on configuration. The Krebs products tend to be even more expensive.

With any one of those three, though, you'll have a top quality AK that will work right out of the box, and be about as accurate as you can get with the AK operating system.
 
Couple of ways to go. Here are the ones I have:

If you're looking for a no-frills gun that is combat accurate and reliable and you don't care about looks, SAR-1 or WASR-1 conversion all the way. It's not pretty, but you said you wanted an AK. It will go bang. It is cheap, and it is fun. $300-$400.

If you're looking for better accuracy and better fit and finish, and don't care about a traditional AK look or added weight, Vepr all the way. It's a bit more expensive ($500-$600), but also probably about the most accruate you can get without going really really really high end. And maybe not even then. Buy one from Correia on this board, he has about the best prices you can get on new guns.

High end. Krebs custom will make some beautiful AKs, for upwards of the $1k mark. Are the better fitted and finished than your baseline AK? Yes. Are they more accurate? Yes. More reliable? Well...not really, but that is the strength of the basic design. Worth the money? Maybe, maybe not. Depends. If I was looking to just dabble in the AK area, this would not be my first choice *cough*$$$$$$*cough* Krebs guns are better, but they're also 4 times the price of a SAR-1, sometimes. Are they 4 times better? Hard to quantify that, but probably not, by any rational evaluation. I'd save that for a purchase where you have decided what you want, and it is X, and you're willing to pay for it.

Entry level AK? I'd go SAR-1.

Mike
 
AK's, prices and quality....

I think what she is looking for is your basic mark 1 mod 0 AK. Not looking to hang it on a wall, nor is she going to shoot it competitively. Just your basic shooter at first. I don't mind paying the money later on down the road if and when she decides that she wants a higher end model.

But I'm gonna be doing this purchase as a present and don't want to screw it up :eek:
 
Recoil Question

Nope, she doesn't have any issues with recoil. But I appreciate the post & info. I wasn't aware that they made the AK in .223, but I'm not really quite up to speed on long guns just yet. Spent the last twenty in the handgun arena. So I really appreciate all the help.
 
SAR-1 or a WASR that is converted to take standard AK mags is pretty much your basic AK. There are varaitions in fit and finish and general quality, but for your basic AK, one of those would be the way to go. They might look rough alongside an Arsenal AK, but it is the same basic gun shooting the same round, with the same ergonomics and reliability (assuming you're not getting something fancypants like a KTR). The only real practical difference is that the Arsenal AK will probably group more tightly.

Shop around, find one that has the front end attached properly (most do, now, I'm told...a few years back stuff from Century was sometimes canted), look over the fit and finish, and you should be OK. The only other problem they sometimes have is trigger slap (the trigger rebound and stings the finger), and that is easily fixed, either with a file or a new trigger group (not at all spendy).

Mike
 
The Hungarians are light stamped 1.mm thick guns and work flawlessly for many thousand rounds. They are VERY accurate. I have two hunkys.
The Yugo's were like the Vepr with 1.5mm thick recievers and heavier rivets ect. They are hell for stout but weigh as much as an M-14 ; 8 1/2 pounds.I have two, but more for fire support work:cool:
the Bulgarian forged gun are nice , if the work and thats what Krebs fixes, I believe;)
 
The Vepr's are somewhat heavy at 9 lbs. Good guns otherwise.

Those WASR's I have seen at the shows look like handly little self defense rifles. With the 5.45 or 5.56, they ought to work pretty well.
 
I picked up a WASR-10 that accepts standard AK mags. No trigger slap as the FCG had been modified before I owned it. What did irritate me is the lousy furniture on it. The bakelite and plastic forend and pistol grip were small, sharply angled and not at all ergonomic. Spend a few extra dollars and get new furniture. I installed the Tapco Galil style forend and the SAW pattern pistol grip, much better ergonomics now, and it comes to ready much more naturally.

Another recommendation is the Black Jack Buffers swift lever with the bolt hold open cutout. With this little no tools mod you can engage and disengage the safety without taking your hand off the grip.
 
My AK47 is a parts kit build with Romanian kit,Tapco pistol grip and G-2 trigger group and K-var stock and hand guards. Looks great and works the same, smooth trigger with no trigger slap. Jim.
 
I have a WASR.. no trigger slap and its a Tack-Driver! Got it cheap too because it was a Clinton-gun, no bayo lug, you all know the rest.......... AIM has never steered me wrong either.
 
Saiga AKs are great as well, though you have to convert them yourself to pistol grip configuration. I bought mine for $250 and converted it for $120 in parts. Can't wait to take it out to the range.:) They should be importing them again soon.
 
I just traded for a WASR-10 at the local gunshow this weekend. It's the GP model with the bayo lug and a G2 trigger group installed. The rifle also has laminated stocks with no shellac coating.

The bonus is that it doesn't have the canted gas block! I've seen a few of them around at the shows and don't care for one, even if it doesn't seem to affect reliablility. For those who don't know or haven't seen one, take a Romanian Ak and hold it at hip level directly in front of you (with the butt close to the center of your body so you can look down at the rear sight, gas block and front sight. Everything should line up pretty straight. You will definitely see a difference if you have a canted gas block.

Although there are a jillion WASR-10s out there, I'll try to post a review soon.

Good Shooting
Red
 
I have the 7.62X39 VEPR with 16 inch barrel and compensator. I am VERY happy with the fit and finish of it as are all who hold it and compare it to some other AK variants. I have it scoped with a Leupold 2-7 Rifleman, and with Cheetah ammo it will shoot 3 shot cloverleafs at 40 yards from a sandbag rest. I was advised to get the shorter barrel by a custom AK builder because the long cycle action of the AK design can cause vibration of the barrel as the slug travels down the bore. His comment was that the faster you could get the slug to exit the barrel, the less opportunity there was for the slug to be affected by this vibration. I don't know this to be true, but it made sense to me. Also, as heavy as the VEPR is, what with the larger diameter barrel and heavier RPK style receiver, the shorter barrel helps trim some weight. This is only, as they say, my opinion.
 
Huntzman said:
Nope, she doesn't have any issues with recoil. But I appreciate the post & info. I wasn't aware that they made the AK in .223, but I'm not really quite up to speed on long guns just yet. Spent the last twenty in the handgun arena. So I really appreciate all the help.
Click to expand...

Stay away from the .223 models. The magazines are hard to find, and expensive when you do. Mags and ammo are cheap and plentiful for the 7.62x39 models.
 
You can get 4 mags a pouch sling and cleaning kit for $49.95.

http://www.interordnance.com/Mercha...e_Code=INTERORDNANCE.com&Product_Code=SARPSET

For a first AK I'd say just get a SAR or a WASR. SARs are excellent values IMO. They're about as close as you can get to a real euro AKM. They're made on the same dies as the romanian AIM, hence the Y stamping for the auto sear hole.

The WASR is very similar, and if its got a good mag well and straight parts theres nothing wrong with them. I'd want to check one out in person first. Make sure mags fit ok. Tight is ok, you can fix that pretty quickly with a file. You dont want it to be too loose (it would still work, but it bugs some people if the mags are loose). Look at the sights and make sure they arent noticeably canted. If neither of those problems are apparent, buy.

A SAR-1 will be about the same price, maybe a bit higher than a WASR-10 GP. The SAR is better (in a desireability/authenticity/resale sense), but it doesnt have a threaded barrel or bayo lug. (its relatively easy to add them though, it just adds to the cost)
 
I am also considering an AK clone for Christmas. I handled an Arsenal SAM7 last weekend, and quite frankly I was pretty darn impressed. The gun felt exceptionally solid, seemed very well puttogether, and the trigger was surprisingly smooth. Very much so, in fact.

I don't think I need to look any further.
 
Thanks for the recommendations

It looks like I am going to start her off with a GP WASR-10. Let her devlop her own appreciation for it, and see where she wants to go. I don't want to buy her a gun "I Want".

Have a local shop here that has one, but the price is a little over $400. I have seen them at AIM for just over $320.00 with the accessories setup. I have never made a purchase this way before (FFL). Anyone that has care to give me a heads up as to how to handle this?

Thanks,
Andrew
 
This is how I usually go about it..

1. First, make sure the dealer doens't have the item already in stock. If so, look at the AIM price, add about $45.00- $50.00 to the price and make that offer. ($25.00 for dealer, 20 for shipping). If he won't take that, there is a 90 percent chance he won't order it for you either, so find another dealer.

2. If you can't find one offhand, try this link from gunbroker http://gunbroker.com/User/DealerNetwork.asp. From there you should be able to locate a dealer. Ask the dealer if he has a FFL on file with AIM. More than likely he will have. If not, he will have to send a signed ink copy of his FFL before you can order your rifle.

3. Negotiate a fee with the dealer for the transaction. I won't do it if it's over $25.00. There are dealers out there who will work with you on the price.

4. Either send your money order for the item, plus shipping in the envelope with the dealers FFL or wait until they get your dealers FFL. In most instances you can use your CC to order. This FFL also covers any future purchases you might want to use the dealer for. I prefer to use my CC just in case they are out of stock when your dealers FFL reaches them.

5. Patiently wait and try to not make the dealer go nuts with phonecalls!:D When he calls you, you fill out the normal paperwork as a standard gun transaction, to include the background check. This is when you pay the dealer his fee and whatever he charges for the bg check.

6. Take rifle home and immediately burn through several magazines of ammo!! But then you might not get to do just that immediately if you have wacky gun laws in Illinios. Here in Fl you leave with your rifle the same day.

Good Shooting
Red
 
1 Ak

I'm a new shooter and not a tithe as knowledgeable as your other advisors, but I do have a NORINCO AK. It was used, but I think not since it got a little pimping. flash hider, black furniture, nice, light trigger. It is as accurate as I am, and a ball to shoot, esp at reactive targets. Two pieces of advice, also get a couple of 30rnd mags, they were banned and no they're not, and a "sardine can" of cheap Wolf ammo, JHP or FMJ. Commie ammo in a commie gun, how appropriate.
Good luck.
 
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