thinking about an arsenal ak47

[xd9fan]

/www.arsenalinc.com/about.htm

I shot the 7.62x 39mm caliber standard black rifle yesterday from a friend and had a blast!! He said there is a guy at Bills Gun shop in Minnesota that has shot 9000 rounds through it without cleaning (he testing it to see how long it will take to get a failure of anykind). So I'm serioulsy thinkin of getting one. Anybody have thoughts on this rifle (by this company)? thanks!!

 

[gunlover_06]

7.62x39

you should buy one they r so much fun and cheap to shoot i have a russian rpk sniper rifle in that same caliber and as u say it is a blast to shoot my 18 year old daughter loves it also.. cant go wrong with one so buy and enjoy

 

[1 old 0311]

CK www.akforum.net those are the die hard AK guys.

 

[busterbrown]

arsenal is considered to be the best- highly recommended

 

[50 Shooter]

I have an SLR-95 with a milled receiver, never had a problem and it loves 75rd drums.

 

[beerslurpy]

I have an arsenal and I like it. Also, RPK was a squad LMG, not a sniper rifle.

 

[dfariswheel]

The Bulgarian AK's are generally considered to be the best of all the AK import or US built rifles.

Arsenal imported Bulgarian factory personnel to do the builds here, from Bulgarian parts, and the quality and workmanship is first rate.
Unlike most other AK's on the market, the Arsenal's are extremely smooth rifles, with none of the burrs, rough machine marks, and sharp edges common on others.

The barrels are made in Bulgaria on hammer forging machinery bought from Steyr of Austria, and the harder hammer forged and chrome lined barrel is the best ever used on an AK.
Barrel life is said to be at least 20,000 rounds, and possibly more.

Due to the quality of the barrel and the receivers, many owners report groups as good as 2 inches at 100 yards. This of course, depends on the ammunition used, and how well you can work with the typical AK trigger and sights.

All in all, the current Arsenal rifles are the Cadillac of the AK's.
They're expensive, but you get the best for your dollars.

 

[grimjaw]

An AK by any other name . . .

. . . is still an AK. The Arsenal series suffers from some of the same banes as the rest of the AK clones. The sights are still on a short radius. The windage-adjustable rear sight on some models is an improvement. If you don't like the manual of arms on an AK, it's no different for Arsenal. Standard safety requires removing your hand from the trigger/grip; magazines are still rock 'em in. Upgrades for some parts are available, though.

Although it's not the 7.62x39 model and cheap magazines aren't readily available, I love mine in 5.56x45. You see the rifles go for $650-750 occasionally, and at that price they're a good buy.

jmm

 

[xd9fan]

Although it's not the 7.62x39 model and cheap magazines aren't readily available, I love mine in 5.56x45. You see the rifles go for $650-750 occasionally, and at that price they're a good buy.

what worries me about getting a rifle in 7.62x39 is that wolf is the only maker of the ammo. And ammo prices are going up all the time. Should this be a concern??

OHH and (newbie on this) what is the diff between and milled rilfle and a stamped rifle??

thanks for all the input everybody!!

 

[1 old 0311]

Milled is a block of metal that is machined to shape. Stamped is a flat piece that is bent into shape. Milled goes for a bit more money, but there is really no difference in preformance, or longevity.
Wolf is the biggest maker of 7.62x39, but many others make it also. Wolf was in short supply for a bit but is available now from Midway, Natchezs, Sportsmans Guide, Ammoman, and others. It was as high as $179.00 per 1000 for a while, but many have it for $129.00 per 1000 now.

 

[Kymasabe]

In the US...I'd say that Arsenal and Krebs are probably the two best AK makers...but a real close second place is Armory USA in Houston. You can find them at www.globaltrades.com and they're Bulgarian made as well. I own the 85C2 that they make and it's a great gun. My receiver is stamped but is 1.6mm thick instead of the standard 1.0mm...and wall thickness is the same as a milled receiver. All the holes are CNC machined after bending and heat treating so everything lines up nice and it came with a parkerized finish, chrome lined barrel and all that. I paid $550 for it.

 

[MisterPX]

Used to have a SLR95, excellent rifle. Arsenal is my top pick for AK's.

 

[Gun Wielding Maniac]

I own three Arsenal AK's. An SAM-5R in .223, an SAM-7A1 in 7.62x39mm, and an SLR-105A1 in 5.45x39mm. All are excellent rifles and quite accurate. I've had Romanian AK's, and also plenty that I've built myself and the Arsenal's are the best. Of course... that may change when I build my M95 and my M92 Krink

 

[xd9fan]

sweet info guys thanks. You have helped me out.....again.

 

[hso]

I've got a milled Arsenal and a stamped Madi. Both run. Neither has suffered a failure of any kind. Both are reasonably accurate at 100 meters.

The Arsenals (along with AKUSA and Krebs) are the best commercial AKs out there with no manufacturing problems. The bottom priced AKs (Romaks) have some QC problems, but if you get a good one at $400 it will perform as well as a $800 Arsenal (it's getting a good one that's a little more difficult at that price) or the $1,200 Krebs.

If you want it for a realiable, toss behind the seat of the truck, fun gun that will do defensive duty also they're excellent. If you want it as a serious defensive self-loading rifle then you should take an AK course like Paul Gomez's if you want to learn to run it hard and fast.

 

[grimjaw]

what worries me about getting a rifle in 7.62x39 is that wolf is the only maker of the ammo.

They aren't the only maker, just the only one that sells it on the cheap, and even that's not as cheap as it used to be. 5.56x45 can be found in the same price range regularly, when both are available.

I have a SAR3 that manages to run just as well as the SA M5, just doesn't have the same accuracy.

jmm

 

[Father Knows Best]

I have an Arsenal SA M-7S (milled receiver, optics rail). I bought it for $395 in "like new" condition, and it was worth every penny. It is accurate (for an AK, anyway), reliable, and a hoot to shoot, especially with the authentic Russian Kobra red dot sight I put on it. Fit and finish are far better than the Romanian versions. I wouldn't sell it for twice what I paid for it.