AR vs AK - Who'da Thunk?

[WinThePennant]

Never thought I'd see the day when AKs would be fetching $1,000+ prices and be almost UNAVAILABLE for purchase at the same time when very nice ARs are plentiful and going for less than $700.

PSA has a very nice M4 carbine going for $699. Heck, seems like everyone has a very nice AR going for around that price...

And, I can't find an Arsenal AK or Saiga at any price.

GO FIGURE

 

[MIL-DOT]

I know what you mean,I saw a new AR, a DPMS I believe, at last wekend's gunshow, priced at $599.
Basic,unconverted Saigas were running $499.

 

[silicosys4]

Nothing makes you want to buy American more than comparing what $700 in an AK will get you vs $700 in an AR. The AK is the Saturday night special of long guns.
AK's will only ever be worth $300 to me, because they are a $200 gun. Sheet metal, imprecise "machining", and slop galore. I'm not maligning them, I own one, and they are a great design....but most have the craftsmanship and quality of assembly of a saturday night special
Now if you are talking about the Bulgarian AK's...different story.

 

[briansmithwins]

I think the price convergence is a result of a few things:

1) Millions of AR parts being made, driving the price of those parts down.
2) AK-47s requiring American made parts, which are more expensive than foreign made surplus parts.

BSW

 

[MachIVshooter]

AK's will only ever be worth $300 to me, because they are a $200 gun.

I tend to give a decent AK a little more value than this, but otherwise I agree. I would never spend more on an AK than an AR, and given the falling prices of ARs and rising prices of AK's, it looks like I won't likely be giving the AK pattern a 4th try.

 

[Certaindeaf]

People will do all kinda crazy stuff to be able to shoot slightly cheaper mil-surp ammo.

 

[Warp]

Nothing makes you want to buy American more than comparing what $700 in an AK will get you vs $700 in an AR. The AK is the Saturday night special of long guns.
AK's will only ever be worth $300 to me, because they are a $200 gun. Sheet metal, imprecise "machining", and slop galore. I'm not maligning them, I own one, and they are a great design....but most have the craftsmanship and quality of assembly of a saturday night special
Now if you are talking about the Bulgarian AK's...different story.

No it isn't. Not at all.

AKs work, and will work even when you actually shoot them, and then shoot them some more.

 

[jim243]

AKs work, and will work even when you actually shoot them, and then shoot them some more.

Maybe, maybe not. There is a lot of replacement parts available for them, probably from the ones that didn't work. But one fact is true a used Mil surplus is still a used gun that has seen better days, not a new one and a $700.00 price tag will not change that fact.

When they were $350.00 it wasn't a bad deal if you needed to spend more to make it accurate and right. But for a 25 year old AR-47, I forgot when they changed over to AR-74's, that is quite a bit of money for a rifle without any guaranty as to useablity or life. You guys can keep your AK's I'll stick with my AR's. When they stop importing 7.62x39, I will still have plenty of surplus 5.56 to shoot.

Just my view.
Jim

 

[fatcat4620]

Most AKs are new production rifles from the same factories that produce their military counterparts these days.. My M+M M10 was $548 out the door. All new parts with new CHF chrome lined barrel. It seems like a lot of people are a few years behind on AKs and where they are at now. They have come a long way and people pay for them.

 

[wally]

The "high quality" AKs always make me think of sow's eras and silk purses

I love the AK for what it is -- simple, peasant proof highly reliable TEOFWAWKI weapon, but when they cost as much as a decent AR, its IMHO a no-brainer, get the AR!

 

[badinov]

All this talk bout aks had to dig mine up.

 

[barnbwt]

I think the price convergence is a result of a few things:

1) Millions of AR parts being made, driving the price of those parts down.
2) AK-47s requiring American made parts, which are more expensive than foreign made surplus parts.

also add:
3) Devaluation of the dollar (we have to pay more for import guns, while I don't suppose we're exporting too many S/A AR's)
4) Turns out the Soviet Surplus wasn't endless, after all. See what SKS's, SVT's, and even Mosin's are going for (let alone ammo prices) and their increasing scarcity

TCB

 

[fanchisimo]

And the prices start going up just when I start looking for an AK. Dang.

 

[trigga]

wow that cheap for an ar? i still want a standard a2 configuration and the retro a1. maybe i should look around more.

 

[Warp]

wow that cheap for an ar? i still want a standard a2 configuration and the retro a1. maybe i should look around more.

A decent AR can be had for $700ish

 

[Rob G]

But one fact is true a used Mil surplus is still a used gun that has seen better days, not a new one and a $700.00 price tag will not change that fact.

You can't buy entire Mil surplus AKs, it's illegal. The barrel and receiver will always be new when manufactured in to a semi auto only rifle and most of the time so is the FCG. As for the $700+ ones, those are almost always entirely new rifles. The one exception to that is specialty historical models such as Type 3 builds or AKSU-74s.

When they were $350.00 it wasn't a bad deal if you needed to spend more to make it accurate and right. But for a 25 year old AR-47, I forgot when they changed over to AR-74's (They did that in 1974), that is quite a bit of money for a rifle without any guaranty as to useablity or life.

You're kidding right? It's an AK. They set the standard for useability and life. There are people in afghanistan right now carrying AKs that are probably 50 years old (possibly older) that are barely ever cleaned and yet function just fine.

You guys can keep your AK's I'll stick with my AR's. When they stop importing 7.62x39, I will still have plenty of surplus 5.56 to shoot.

Remington, Winchester, Federal, Hornady, etc. --- They all make 7.62x39. The Russians just make the cheapest stuff. It's a popular enough caliber that an import ban won't kill it off. Maybe raise the prices a bit but availability won't be a problem.

I'm glad that you like your ARs and that they work really well for you. They work pretty well for me too. But my AK is also a very good rifle and although I paid about $800 for it I've never regretted that price.

 

[firesky101]

It is obviously the truth coming out from all those on the internetz about how you can run an ak over with a tank and it will still work, but the AR will surely KB if dust gets inside. Anyways, yes I would have to assume that the answer above it correct. It is simply cheaper to get parts for the AR. Now if we didn't have some silly laws about importing them we could probably count on Russia(and all the other nations with the tooling) to send us more than we can buy. For the record, I like them both like the new coke commercials I don't do "OR", give me "and".

 

[stubbicatt]

I picture those silly Calvin and Hobbs stickers on the buttstocks of these AR guys peeing on a bronze bust of MTK. LOL.

 

[fatcat4620]

It is obviously the truth coming out from all those on the internetz about how you can run an ak over with a tank and it will still work, but the AR will surely KB if dust gets inside. Anyways, yes I would have to assume that the answer above it correct. It is simply cheaper to get parts for the AR. Now if we didn't have some silly laws about importing them we could probably count on Russia(and all the other nations with the tooling) to send us more than we can buy. For the record, I like them both like the new coke commercials I don't do "OR", give me "and".

Why would you need parts for an AK (and you can pick up a bolt and bolt carrier for like $50}

 

[tarosean]

Now-a-Days a 1000.00 dont go as far as it used to period...


I guess I should have kept all those SKS's and AK's I bought back in the 80's..

 

[Zoogster]

Yes SKS were probably the best investment possible.

You could buy a whole crate of them in the 90s for around the cost of a single American firearm, and they are higher quality guns than AKs, but not as glorified so command lower prices.

Some people stocked up as evident by such pictures posted online:







AKs function well, but the primary brilliance of the design is not performance, but ease of manufacturing. They are so simple and inexpensive to turn out in mass that you can arm an entirely military inexpensively. Easily made inexpensive parts, bent flats as recievers, there is no forging or milling required.
The only part that results in wear to tooling is manufacturing the barrel, everything else costs almost nothing.

Of course to be fair turning out relatively soft aluminum AR receivers is not that expensive either. It is not like you have to mill out steel.

 

[winterhorse290]

buy american, shoot american. what are people going to do when all that ak ammo dries up?

 

[breakingcontact]

Love the picture of the SKSs on the trailer!

I suppose I never had enough interest in SKSs or the cheap/rough AKs even at their lowest prices to buy them.

However, I do kick myself for not buying the Bulgarian ones at $500.

 

[fatcat4620]

buy american, shoot american. what are people going to do when all that ak ammo dries up?

How could it ever dry up?

 

[Certaindeaf]

^
They don't make old surplus any more and everyone's shooting that up like crazy. They could also implement import restrictions.