how can you tell if an "AK-47" in a museum case is "real"?

[Detritus]

or one of the much more common semi-auto versions??

what outward physical characteristics distinguish a true full-auto AK from one of it's civvy market, semi-only brothers??

saw a gun in a museum the other day that i'm not sure about, thought i'd ask the gurus.

 

[max popenker]

it's simple. just look at the fire selector area. if there's only one "non-safe" notch for fire selector, ist 100% semi. if there's two "non-safe" notches with different markings, it is most probably the selective fired one.

 

[MaterDei]

Lock and load! Oh, you mean without removing it from the display case? I don't think you would ever know for sure without handling it. I've seen rubber ice cream good enough to eat.

 

[cordex]

Even if it began its life as a select-fire rifle, if it is in a museum case it has probably been "demilled", meaning it has been intentionally damaged beyond repair and no longer is capable of firing.

 

[Kharn]

Field strip it?

Kharn

 

[762x51]

Full auto AK's will have this third pin:




Or if the internals have been removed, will at least have a hole drilled.

 

[Sunray]

If there's any English stamped on it is a big give away. Mind you, museum pieces are usually big paperweights like the other guys have said.

 

[Detritus]

gun in question is "real" in the sense of being a real gun not a plastic/rubber prop. most likely IS demilled, and it has two distinct "off-safe" notches for the safety/selector/dust cover.

thing ALSO looks like it was made by somebody with too much time on his/her hands and too few tools/skills to do it right. looks functional but even for an AK the thing is FUGLY.