dont worry, i seriously doubt this will end up an AR vs AK thread, my questions a bit more detailed and specific than that
so, ive mentioned before with the astigmatism my need to get better optics and the difficulty of finding decent mounts for the AK, as some of the best optics are made with built-in picatinny bases that would mount the sight pretty high on an AK or require a dogleg rail i do not trust to hold zero, this has had me considering an AR
the other thing is ive been on a search for a new caliber to standardize for the majority of my uses.. doing a lot of research i've found i REALLY like the ballistics and low costs of the 5.56 with 75-80 grain bullets such as hornady 75gr HPBT, sierra 77 grain OTM, and even the new 77 grain sierra TMK bullets.. problem is my current 5.56 AK has a 1 in 9 twist
there are three ways to get an AK with a 1 in 7 twist as kvar makes barrels, they are however for a 23mm trunnion, my options include machining out the 22mm AK-74 trunnion, turning down the 23mm barrel shank, or combining parts from a 7.62 AK and a 5.45 AK (7.62 kit with an AK-74 bolt and carrier, alternative the 7.62 carrier may work with a yugo 5.56 bolt) and then i could make up the differences in trunnions and magazine wells with an AR-15 mag adapter
considering how much work this is, and that my astigmatism at this point in time dictates a changes in optics i cant help but think i should build an AR-15 instead
thoughts? comments?