Saiga Ak 74 vs AR 15

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xxxleafybugxxx

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This will likely draw a strong response from all the AR fanboys, but have heard great things on both. One advantage I see with the AK is very cheap ammo.
What are you opinions? I've also heard the Saiga 74 accuracy is surprising for an AK. Also, can you change the trigger on the Ak?
 
I have both (Saiga is converted and decked out in AR furniture), and yeah, I put an adjustable trigger in my 74. I'll still take the AR hands-down, any day, but the 74 is a fine weapon in its own right. I like it much more than any 47 I own. It is accurate, but the AR is much more so. 5.45x39 is cheap, and mags aren't too pricey, either. If my plan is to just go out and shoot the crap out of stuff on my personal range, the 74 is usually what I grab, due in part to ammo cost.
 
I have a Colt 6720 and a Russian Arsenal 74. The 74 with surplus mil ammo, 7N6, is pretty much the same and the 6720 with M855 in the accuracy dept. The colt will do sub moa with match ammo but no such ammo is available for the 74 so who knows how accurate the 74 could be. There are several AK trigger options out there but i'm a fan of the Arsenal. The 74 is not designed for a "sniper" trigger but neither is the 6720. I'd put a fancy AK trigger on a decked out .308 saiga in a SDM configuration but for a standark AK i find those triggers to be not applicable. If the zombies arose tomorrow I'd grab the 74 first.
 
Thanks justin. I did find that hornady had 62gr steel cased hunting ammo for the 5.45 that had a ballistic tip. Not sure how good this stuff is. My debacle is I'm a fan of the AK platform. Never had an AR before. But I cannot argue with the prices of the 5.45.
Also, I could buy a 74 for roughly the price of a build I was looking at.
What are scope mounting/red dot mounting options for this platform? Anything reliable, and sturdy?
 
I love my 74 but ammo is not readily available locally. Academy Sports wants $8.95 a box for Tula 5.45 and $4.19 for Tula 7.62 so buying a couple of boxes is not a good idea. None of the local stores have good prices on the 5.45 either but I can buy online for around the same price as the 7.62 or the .223.
 
My Saiga with a side mount 3-9 scope is a 4 moa shooter. I had issues with feed ramps, the online kit finally fixed it. My AR shots steel but make sure you have a H2 buffer and a good extractor and spring set up if you are running a carbine upper.
 
I own several AR's plus two converted Saiga's (5.45 and 7.62x39). I agree with JustinJ, my Saiga with 7n6 is as accurate as any of my AR-15's with Russian steel case ammo...but it costs ~50% less to feed it. If SHTF, I would feel comfortable with either of my Saiga's or AR-15's.
 
What are scope mounting/red dot mounting options for this platform? Anything reliable, and sturdy?
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The midwest industries sidemounts i've handles felt good and they have 30 mm rings so you can cowitness an aimpoint or just a standard rail. I have one of their ak quadrails and it is very solid if you like the scout mount. They make them various top sections so you can cowitness a variety of optics with the irons.

My POSP mount is completey solid. Kalinka Optics carries a number of other traditional AK mounts but i've heard mixed things.

Another popular option is the Texas Weapons Systems. I've heard great things and the one i handled felt great so one of those is on my "to get list". They even have a rear sight available so your irons are still available.

Supposedly the current UTG side mounts are solid but the one i had years ago was junk and anything but sturdy.
 
Saiga, and AK-74 in general, have accuracy almost on par with the M16. You can change an AK trigger to one that better suits you. Some of the more modern polytech/tactical AK's come with picatinny rails for mounting accessories, but for the old fashioned wood furniture models, you will need rings and mountings for the scope.
 
Also, can you change the trigger on the Ak?
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Look up Red Star Arms adjustable triggers. I have them in both my AKs, one of which is a converted Saiga 5.45. Once properly adjusted, they're as smooth as some 2-stage AR triggers. Look to JG Sales for some good steel mags.
FWIW I'd go with Saiga 5.45... mine cost half as much as my AR and is cheaper and more fun to shoot.
 
xxxleafybugxxx said:
Also, there is non corrosive ammo for 5.45
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Yes, at twice the cost. The most effective ammo is the corrosive Russian 7N6, but I wouldn't want to run that through a DI gas system.

For 5.45, the only choice for me is the AK-74, as in Saiga. I own two and they are both capable of 1.5 MOA with just about any 5.45 ammo/4x scope (converted to PG or not). The Arsenal SLR105 I owned would not shoot quite as well...

YMMV

M
 
Silver Bear, Wolf, Tula, Brown Bear, All of these say NON CORROSIVE. Unless they are lying, ?????????????????????

Also, I'm a big fan of the AK platform. I have a WASR 10. I feel like this could be almost a better option vs an AR, for money reasons, and if it really is almost as accurace, why not?
 
Quote:
Saiga, and AK-74 in general, have accuracy almost on par with the M16.

Yeah, no, they don't. If that were the case, you'd see people using AKs to win rifle competitions.
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In my experience, an off the rack Arsenal AK74 with military surplus ammo will hold its own against an off the rack Colt 6920 with military surplus ammo. There is certainly much more one can do to improve the AR's accuracy which would certainly give it an advantage in many types of competition. Not to mention there is no match grade ammo for the 74 and it is much harder to reload. Also, i would suspect many people in competition use the AR because there are biases towards it in our country that are not based on the merits of each weapon. Those with military and LE experience will of course also gravitate to what they know. If one doesn't exist it would be cool if "stock" gun competitions were created in which competitors must use guns in standard infantry configurations with standard issue ammo.
 
Get whichever you like, and tweak it how you want it. At this point, there's just as many do-dads to slap on a AK as there are for an AR. Texas Weapons Systems and Parabellum armaments are your two choices for a top-rail cover for a scope. The latter also is working on a prototype HK-style non-reciprocating left sided front charging handle for the AK (replaces the gas tube, and probably the gas piston).

In terms of bleeding edge accuracy, an AR15 can be made to be very accurate. In terms of AE Black Box or XM855 in an Colt 6920 vs a 5.45 Saiga with surplus 7N1, you won't see much difference, other then ammo cost, and the saiga needs to be washed out with a garden hose after shooting (corrosion prevention).

A lot comes down to what you want to do with your rifle: Is it going to be a weekend range plinker shooting soda cans and washing machines? Are you going to hand load and try to print that perfect 1/8th MOA 10 shot group? Something to keep behind the back seat of the truck? Or something to keep stashed away for a rainy day? If you want bleeding edge accuracy, naturally go with an AR. If you want a plinker, either will suit you fine, truck gun? I'd go with a saiga, and rainy day? I'd invest in property and camping gear myself.
 
saiga ak-74 rifles are nice after you add the extra parts for the conversion. You should be able to utilize the very good arsenal 2 stage trigger group. The ak74 is not picky when it comes to function. They function 100% with any milsurp 74 mag, and any milsurp 74 ammo most of which is excellent in performance. It is corrosive though so quick cleaning with water based cleaner is a necessary step.
Now if you want MOA (or close to it) accuracy you want an AR-15. These have a solid top receiver for mounting optics which is a huge plus. There are supremely accurate barrels available for the AR-15, free float tubes and excellent triggers. All of this allows the AR-15 to far surpass the 74 in the accuracy department. But the 74 Is adequate.
I own both.
 
Yeah, no, they don't. If that were the case, you'd see people using AKs to win rifle competitions.
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I've never personally used a 74, but according to the specs I've looked up, the accuracy is quite respectable. Secondly, not that many 5.45 AK-74 type guns are imported, nor are they anywhere near the popularity of the AR. The AR has quite the entrenchment in the American gun culture, especially in competitions. Considering that it is the civilian sister of the our military infantry rifle, it makes a lot of sense for it to be popular with the general public. TBH, I'm not so sure that even 50% of gun owners know about the 74.

http://www.enemyforces.net/firearms/ak74.htm
http://world.guns.ru/assault/rus/ak-74-e.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AK-74

Effective range for sighted fire according to the Wikipedia article is about 625 Meters.
 
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