Need advice before 1st AK purchase

[Kramer Krazy]

I've got two Norinco MAK-90s, both in 7.62x39, and one with a stamped reciever and one with the forged reciever. I bought both of mine in 1993 or early 1994 for only $199 each. They are pretty well made, fun to shoot, ammo is fairly cheap, and I don't have any functional problems with them. Accuracy at 100 yrds is a joke. My old 1944 M1 carbine can outshoot both of them. To add to the AK vs. AR and ammo issue, I also have a Colt AR-15A2 and a Bushmaster CAR-15A2. As a comparison to 7.62x39 and .223, I used to have some home-made steel targets made of 1/2" cold-rolled steel. The 7.62 made a bigger surface area hit, but the pentration was only about halfway through the plates. The .223 looked like I'd taken a drill press to them. The holes were perfectly made, had about 7/8 penetration, and the back of the steel had big dimples where the bullet tried going through it. Overall, I'd rather shoot the ARs for accuracy, less amount of recoil, and they are just a whole lot of fun.

 

[MAUSER88]

If you set on the .223, try to find a SAR 3 and use the East German steel Weiger mags. They cost about $12.00 a magazine and were specifically made for the SAR 3.

 

[Intune]

Kramer, a 45-70 wouldn't have penetrated the steel either. Shoot me with the .223. Please. No flames, just messin' with ya!

 

[Gewehr98]

I was starting to think the same thing...

I'm trying real hard, but when I shoot 10 rounds at a target at 100 yards and there are no hits on the freekin paper it gets old fast.

I've got a couple AK's of my own. My Bulgarian SLR-95 has no problems showing up on paper at 100 yards, and has several 2" 5-shot groups witnessed at that range. What am I doing wrong?

 

[vitiaz]

Ditto what Maruser said. Its tough to beat the SAR3...the trouble is finding them.

If you have the $$$ go to Mark Krebs,

http://www.krebscustom.com/KalashnikovRifles.html

Global Trades & Ohio Ordnance make stamped receivers and Mike Friend down in OK makes excellent milled receivers if you want to build one.

From my experience, the .223's are inherently the most accurate caliber in AKs whether its Chinese, Bulgarian, Finnish, Israeli or whatever(the only 5.45 I have is good too)

 

[jmartinson]

my .02

If you really want an AK, I'd get a Saiga in .223 and convert it to high cap & pistol grip.

My main gripes about the AK are the weight & the rear sight. I can't shoot for a damn with dovetail rear sights, and there is no good solution for putting peep sights on.

Replacing the rear blade with a peep puts it too far forward to get the benefit of a blurred out, naturally centering sight picture. Mounting it further back on the receiver cover only works if you can make sure the cover doesn't move on you (which is hard considering it is a thin piece of sheetmetal held down by a spring loaded tab. Some Saiga owners at ak-47.net report theirs hold zero well, but all it would take would be a little knock to dent the cover & then you've got to rezero again. People with eastern european AK's (esp the WASR) say it won't hold zero at all.

I would stay away from 7.62x39 if it would be the rifle you pick up for any sort of defensive situation. If you are just going to load up on milsurp ball ammo, you can shoot clean through the passenger compartment a truck or cinder block walls with it at close range. Which is bad if you live in a residential area.

If you can shoot well with the AK sights & don't mind a heavy rifle, I would get a Saiga in .223 from CDNN and convert it, buy a stack of 5.45 mags and convert them.

Saigas in .223 are reported to be the most accurate reasonably priced AK's, I like the look of a synthetic black AK w/Saiga style furniture, and I enjoy tinkering with things.

I wish I would have bought mine in .223 instead!

Good luck!

-Jacob

 

[beerslurpy]

Basically there are 3 grades of AK:
generic stamped: most of the "reasonably priced" Aks fall into this category
rpk-receiver: stamped, but with thicker metal- this is the VEPR category. These guns tend to be decently accurate and cost a bunch more
milled receiver: this is what I got, the bulgarian arsenal variety. These tend to cost a bit more and be a bit more accurate than the VEPRs, but it is very close by all accounts.

I have a PK-AS sight for mine and I like it.

Mine is in 7.62x39 and my only gripe is that the recoil prevents you from taking lots of rapid follow up shots. You have to recenter slightly after each shot for anything beyond 30 yards. That being said, the gun does hit very hard when it does hit.