My Yugo M70 Underfolder Experience (complete w/ AD!)

[.455_Hunter]

Greetings,

I bought a Yugo M70 folder a year or so ago, but have not shoot it that much. It has two main problems that I can see-

1. The back sight looks crooked compared to the rest of the rifle- is this a CAI screw-up or an optical illusion? Any way to fix this?

2. Safety lever detents are very poor- allowing the lever to over-travel up and down easily. On most AK clones, the action cover has a small formed rib that keeps the safety lever from rotating too far counter-clockwise- the M70 does NOT have this, leading to the next problem

3. My buddy and I were shooting it yesterday. He stopped firing midway through a mag and was going to hand it back to me to finish the mag. When he flipped up the safety, it traveled WAY TO FAR, and actually FIRED the weapon !?!? Lucky for us, we had it pointed downrange so no harm was done. Turns out the "safety bar" that blocks the trigger when in the "safe" position will actually release the hammer when turned further.


4. While trying to get the safety lever back in place after yestday's excitement, the main hammer pivot pin backed-out of its starboard hole and won't go back in- any clues or tips?


I generally like the fit and finish on the rifle, just some of the attention to detail is poor.

Should I complain to CAI?

I like the concept of a folder AK for a vehicle SHTF gun. Who makes a comparable underfolder with a better build quality?

Thanks,

Hunter

 

[Evil Monkey]

All AK's will release the hammer if the safety lever is pulled to far up. My WASR even does that. But with the dust cover on, that should NEVER happen. So was the dust cover on or not? What kind of dust cover was it, ribbed or smooth top?

Mine is the ribbed variant. The area on the cover where the safety lever makes contact on "safe" is thicker and more protruded. So there's no way to have the safety lever go further upward than the "safe" position.

 

[.455_Hunter]

The smooth dust cover was on while we were shooting. There is NO formed area to prevent the safety lever's overtravel.

 

[MudPuppy]

militarygunsupply, I think, has polish underfolders.

 

[uzimon]

i've heard WAY TOO MANY complaints about parts build guns
i like my aks made in commie land myself
my bulgie
http://www.mocospace.com/html/album/photoalbum-view.jsp?postid=301978

 

[Evil Monkey]

Wow. I learned alot more about the differences between yugo's and WASR's

Here we have a Yugo with a smooth cover. Notice how the contact point on the safety lever does not have a tab. Only the bottom does.

Here on the WASR, we see the ribbed cover and the reinforced contact area. But also notice how the safety lever itself also has a tab onto the upper contact point as well as the lower part of the lever.

 

[gp911]

My Century Yugo has the upper tab, FWIW. It will not let the safety overtravel upward. It will let it travel pretty far down though, well past the detent. Complaining to Century will get you nowhere, most likely. They are not known for customer service. Drop a glob of solder on the cover to stop the overtravel (hey, its an AK, it'll fit right in, just shoot the whole cover with stove black afterward!) if you plan on keeping it.

I have heard many good things about the Polish underfolders, but they are somewhat lighter than the Yugos and the stock fit is a little different. I really want a Polish sidefolder Tantal-style 5.45x39 to go with my Yugo underfolder, but that'll be awhile... I'm pretty sure Vector offers the Polish underfolders and they get good press for quality, so they're worth checking out.

Good luck in your search, and sorry you had a bad experience with your Yugo.

gp911