VEPR 7.62x54R Review

[sturmgewehr]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1aruqM7Py8

I recently picked up a VEPR chambered in 7.62x54R. I was immediately impressed by the quality of the rifle as compared to other AK's on the market. The thumb-hole stock is made of nicely finished wood and fits Western shooters very well as opposed to the rather ugly short stocks found on rifles like the PSL. The fit and finish is noticeably better than even the Arsenal SGL series of rifles.

Questions and comments are welcome.

 

[Cal-gun Fan]

Liked the review! What would you recommend for a barrel length, 20 or 23 inch?

 

[1KPerDay]

haven't had time to watch the vid yet (but I will). Can you let us know whether this rifle has issues with the heavier (200 gr) ball loads? I've heard that some of this type do.

 

[mortablunt]

Like the review. I'm definitely going to add that one on to the list of guns to try.

 

[sturmgewehr]

I didn't have any 200gr load, but I did fire around 100 182gr loads and it had no issues at all and gave respectable accuracy.

 

[savage1r]

Been a big fan of your channel for a while, great job on all your reviews. Wish I had the scratch to play around with some of those toys . The Vepr is cool as all get out, but not using the PSL/Dragunov mag for a 7.62x54r semi-auto rifle was kind of a ridiculous move. A while back we got my dad a 20" Saiga in .308 and having those 25rnd mags makes it like having a super FAL. Same kick as the 7.62x39 in a .308. I don't know if you're interested, but my business partner and I are coming out with a rail compatible camera (as in any video/still camera)mount for picatinny rails. Will definitely need some testers once we get the final beta model finished.

 

[sturmgewehr]

Savage,

I don't really mind the 5 shot polymer mag that comes with the VEPR. I don't view it as a fighting rifle as much as I view it as a really fun range rifle. Wolf will be releasing a 10 round magazine for it here shortly, so that should satisfy those wanting more rounds in the gun. I don't blame them for not using the PSL mags, they're pretty poor quality. About half of them I've used weren't reliable and required tweaking or just tossing out they were so rough. I think Molot wanted to protect their reputation for quality and reliability by using a dedicated magazine.

Right now I use a GoPro Hero 2 and I have a gun mount for it. If you guys are working on something new, let me know and I would be glad to check it out.

 

[Dr.Rob]

That's very respectable accuracy.

 

[sturmgewehr]

To answer the question about the use of heavy ball in the VEPR. This letter from the Molot factory states that they have tested the VEPR with 200gr loads and it is good to go with their use in the rifle.

 

[Adam123]

Wolf will be releasing a 10 round magazine for it here shortly, so that should satisfy those wanting more rounds in the gun.

Please provide a link. Where did you see/hear this? I was going to buy one of these a while back, but the 5 round mags are definitely a major downfall in my opinion.

 

[sturmgewehr]

Go to the Wolf site, they list 5 and 10 round mags. I don't have a link outside of Wolf site and the fact I've talked to Wolf directly before shooting the review and they told me they were in production.

 

[Orion8472]

I'm pretty interested in getting one in .308 and have heard good things about their accuracy. Add the reliability of the AK platform, and you have a winner.

 

[Bojangles7]

I've been deciding on which .308 semi auto to get for some while, but after that review I might have to go with the x54R.

 

[Adam123]

Also, the 7.62x54R VEPR looks to have a longer barrel then 20". That's gotta be a typo.

 

[Countryboy7]

I would live to have one. You can buy loads of surplus ammo for it for nothing and i don't know why but I've always wanted to hunt deer with a ak style rifle and I'm sure I'd be way better off hunting with a x54 then the x39 even tho I love the x39

 

[atti_mac]

atlanticfirearms selling 2 different 7.62 X 54 Vepr. One called "Druganov style"
the other called " Vepr Hunter"
The Hunter comes with a scope mount. Do you guys have any idea which would be a better buy?

 

[mshootnit]

vepr's are indeed sweet AR's. A couple things. If you do a conversion to pistol grip you may want to change the trigger group due to 922r. There is a cross pin in the receiver that will require a special hammer. The 20" 308 version was an accurate rifle going about 2 moa or a little better with good ammo. Fit, finish and reliability are second to none. Be prepared for mangled brass if you shoot brass cased ammo.

 

[henschman]

As for which to get between the 20" and the 23", I would opt for the longer one myself, unless I was going to be shooting hand-loads out of it or running suppressed. I had an MN M44 with a 20" barrel, and that thing was a friggin flamethrower with light ball. They apparently used some pretty slow burning powder in that old surplus 7.62x54. Hell, I would prefer to go a little longer than 23", actually.

I think I will hold out for Saiga to make a 7.62x54 though. If they can do it at the same price point they have their .308s at, it would be the way to go. I'm sure they would actually give you a double stack mag, and not purposefully try to make it hard to convert by using a slant cut receiver and whatnot like the Vepr.

It seems like Molot is playing along with the ATF's little game, and trying to make it hard to convert the rifles from a "sporting" configuration; whereas Izmash is trying to help out the U.S. gun owners by purposefully making them easy to convert back to real AK configuration.

 

[Shrinkmd]

Surplus?

Would it be a horrible sin to shoot surplus light ball through this rifle? I promise to take it apart and clean it right after every range trip. Lots of windex, then some Mpro7.

I have over 1300 rounds or so through one of my Mosins, and the bore seems shinier and nicer than when I started. Would this just be a terrible thing to do to a nice, shiny new rifle?

I enjoy my AR, but something tells me that with a good scope I would enjoy this more! I wonder what kind of trigger the "hunter" model has compared to the regular one? Also, for more time at the range, would the standard heavy barrel hold up better than the fluted one?

 

[henschman]

Shoot, why buy a rifle like that in that caliber if not to blaze away with that dirt-cheap light ball on semi auto? The only difference between it and a bolt gun is that you have to clean the corrosive salts out of the gas tube and piston as well as the bore. Oh well, it's an AK action... they are super easy to pull the piston and tube out of. I bet I could do it in 5 seconds flat.

 

[Shrinkmd]

Does anyone know if it would be compatible with the AKARS system? That would be nice to mount real optics on, and still be able to take down the rifle for cleaning. Is the dust cover the same as a standard one?