Russian AK47 from Atlantic Arms Question:

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jon_in_wv

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I'm thinking of buying one of the Russian AK47s listed on Atlantic Arms website. I was going to get the Bulgarian with the 1.6mm receiver but for the same price I can get an honest to God Russian AK with a side rail and a chromed barrel. What do you guys know about these Russian AKs. I here good things about the Saiga conversions and this appears to be the equivalent. I also like the look of the newer forearm. It give the Russian AK a more modern look. Are there any drawbacks to this particular model?
 
SJDigriz said:
Those ARE SAIGA's.:eek:
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....and be careful, if those are the same lot as AIM is selling (and looking at the price and picture, I believe they are). They're reportedly shipped w/o a bullet guide.
 
I guess it all depends on who did the conversion. My Tromix Saiga is a great rifle. Shoots great and looks superb.
 
SJDigriz said:
At least they SAY these will take standard AK mags.
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You can relieve the magazine latch on a Saiga, but if you don't install a bullet guide, you'll just look cool with your standard AK mags.
MechAg94 said:
I guess it all depends on who did the conversion. My Tromix Saiga is a great rifle. Shoots great and looks superb.
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At $549, these are NOT anywhere close to a Tromix grade conversion.
 
We have shipped several of these rifles with no problems and we stand behind the products we sell , we will offer 1 week firing inspection to quash any suspicion , if there is a legitimate problem we will be more than glad to refund the money & pay for return ship. We have test fired one of these units with NO BULLET guide and it chewed up 4 -30 round mags of ammo with no problems .
 
Atlantic Firearms said:
We have shipped several of these rifles with no problems and we stand behind the products we sell , we will offer 1 week firing inspection to quash any suspicion , if there is a legitimate problem we will be more than glad to refund the money & pay for return ship. We have test fired one of these units with NO BULLET guide and it chewed up 4 -30 round mags of ammo with no problems .
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There are US made mags that just happen to be manufactured so they will function in a Saiga w/o a bullet guide. The quality of these range from "total waste of money" to "serviceable for a non-military Kalashnikov magazine".

Did you use a military surplus magazine during your 4 magazine test, or the US made mag they ship with?
 
but for the same price I can get an honest to God Russian AK with a side rail and a chromed barrel. What do you guys know about these Russian AKs. I here good things about the Saiga conversions and this appears to be the equivalent. I also like the look of the newer forearm. It give the Russian AK a more modern look
Click to expand...

Personally I'd get a more historical looking AK:

http://www.atlanticfirearms.com/programming/expand.asp?Prodid=462

http://www.atlanticfirearms.com/programming/expand.asp?Prodid=219
 
the master molder mags are reported to work just fine without a bullet guide and seem to get good reviews.

they're only ~ $12/pop as well

unlike their predecessors at $40/pop
 
So are these AKs made by the Russian armory in that configuration or are they Saigas that have been converted somewhere else? THe Russians do still make AKs as far as I know. A bullet guide can be added if thats all its lacking.

I do like the looks of the Lancaster Consulting AKs and I've heard good things about them. How thick is the receiver of the Lancaster ? DO they use chrome lined barrels?

I see the Russian is missing the side dimples also. I suspect this is a conversion, who does the conversion and what is the quality of the conversion? DO the mags wobble without the dimples? Do they fit right? What about accuracy? The Saigas appear to have a rep for above average accuracy for an AK.
 
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jon in wv said:
So are these AKs made by the Russian armory in that configuration or are they Saigas that have been converted somewhere else?
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These are Saigas with minimal conversion. Someone here in the US is doing it for AIM and Atlantic.
jon in wv said:
I see the Russian is missing the side dimples also. I suspect this is a conversion, who does the conversion and what is the quality of the conversion? DO the mags wobble without the dimples? Do they fit right? What about accuracy? The Saigas appear to have a rep for above average accuracy for an AK.
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Please tell me you've read at least one of the 9 gajillion saiga threads here. . .

I have a suspicion who is doing this work, and I don't like it one little bit...

You cannot beat a Saiga rifle (except maybe these particular ones). They have no dimples, because dimples aren't required. They have no mag wobble, because nothing is cut on them.

These are very expensive for what they are. You can convert yours on your own and know it is a quality conversion, know all the parts are there for your application. You can also convert your own for far less than the price of these.
 
These are very expensive for what they are.
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What they're selling is the BASIC Saiga conversion (sans bullet guide, which is apparently not needed to get new poly high caps to work any more).

Let's see if this adds up....

$280 Saiga sporter 16" x39 (the days of the $249 Saiga are gone)
$20 shipping on rifle
$20 FFL transfer on rifle
$50 Kavar poly stock
$15 Basic PG
$8 PG hardware (receiver nut and bots)
$35 G2 trigger group
$15 Mag
$20+ shipping on the parts (which can't all be had at any one supplier)
__________
$463 total cost to average Joe

So what is the time for researching, shopping/ordering, and putting all of this together worth to this average Joe? Then factor in that average Joe might make a costly screw up and order a stock for a milled receiver, or a double hook trigger group, etc...or botch up drilling out the spot weld on the sporter trigger.....

Cost to buy it complete..
$549 + $20 SH + $20F FL = $589

So for $126 more you get it all done for you and get a 1 year warranty by a reputable company as well.

Now these guys are buying in qty. and get FFL discounts, etc.... So they're cost to make these is less than average Joe's cost....

but...

they pay somebody labor to make the conversion, man the phones, pack and ship the order....

then they have their business overhead....insurance, utilities, phone, rent, advertising, etc....

Oh, and somebody, who has their life savings on the line and risks being sued by the mayor of Liberal City USA when said rifle is used to wax the next classroom full of college students, thinks that making a few bucks in profit is an O.K. idea.

I think the rifle is priced very competitively and average Joe is getting a pretty darn good deal.

Now guys like me, who already have a drill press and die grinder, spend 20 hours + researching and shopping price, buy a set of good drill bits and an end mill, and then putter in the basement several nights after the kiddies go to bed over the course of 6 months, can pull the conversion off for < $463 and enjoy the process and take pride in doing it themself.

But not every one is like me....and frankly, at the price Atlantic is selling these for, I feel a little bit like a fool for wasting so much time and energy. And I pulled off my basic conversion for $400 (at 2007 prices).

And that my friends....is the rest of the story.
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MechAg94
I guess it all depends on who did the conversion. My Tromix Saiga is a great rifle. Shoots great and looks superb.
At $549, these are NOT anywhere close to a Tromix grade conversion.
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The Tromix I bought is only $50 to $100 more. I think there is a wait on them now. I was just pointing out that the rifle itself is good.
 
The Tromix I bought
Click to expand...
how long ago?
is only $50 to $100 more
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Tromix does great work.....but he's usually backed up months and I suspect his pricing has gone up as well (especially given that the rifles run $40 more than they did last year).

As with any import....the week dollar is undoubtedly having an effect.
 
It's a converted saiga.. convert one yourself, save money, know what you are getting. Check the saiga forums, they probably have reiviews of this rifle.
 
I converted my Saiga shotgun in about 6 hours, not 6 months - with just a cobalt steel 1/4" bit and a hammer. I love AKs. :D
 
Well I'll start by saying I'm not interested in doing the conversion myself.

How is the conversion "minimal" if all thats missing is the bullet guide? Is it a "maximum" conversion if it has one?? Most conversions I've seen are pretty much whats offered there.

The Lancaster, Bulgarian, and the Converted Saiga are about the same price. I was giving the nod to the Russian because I already have a Russian SKS, Russian Mosin Nagant M44, a Russian M91/30, and a Makarov (Bulgy, I cheated on that one becasuse its really nice) If the Bulgarian with the 1.6mm receiver or the Lancaster are a much better weapon than I would get that. Which is better then? From what I've read the Saigas have a good reputation for quality and accuracy compared to the Romanians or even more expensive AKs.

I only intend to spend about 600 bucks. I know there are some other there for much more than that.
 
I checked some of Atlantic Firearms other posts and it seems the conversions were done by Red Jacket Firearms. I checked their site and they seem to carry a lot of Tacti-Cool rifles. Maybe the conversion is a good one?
 
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