I live in CT and can answer this definitively. The AK-47 "type" must meet all three of these criteria. This came straight from the SFLU.
1) Does it look like an AK-47?
2) Does if function like an AK-47?
3) Can AK-47 parts be installed in the rifle and it function correctly?
So, my AK-74 fails the first two, but not the third hence it is perfectly legal. I don't even know if AK-47 parts would fit, but you sure as sh^t aren't stuffing a 7.62 down a 5.45 bore.
Prince Yamato said:
You can own an AK in any other caliber, provided it doesn't have more than the standard "2 evil features".
Sorry, Charlie...you got that last part wrong. You can only have ONE evil feature if it is a semi-automatic rifle that has the capability to accept detachable magazines.
Straight from the law which defines what comprises an illegal "assault rifle" in CT:
http://www.cga.ct.gov/2007/pub/Chap943.htm#Sec53-202a.htm
" (3) Any semiautomatic firearm not listed in subdivision (1) of this subsection that meets the following criteria:
(A) A semiautomatic rifle that has an ability to accept a detachable magazine and has at least two of the following:
(i) A folding or telescoping stock;
(ii) A pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon;
(iii) A bayonet mount;
(iv) A flash suppressor or threaded barrel designed to accommodate a flash suppressor; and
(v) A grenade launcher; or"
Here's my AK-74 and SKS. The only ONE evil feature on my 74 is the pistol grip. The muzzle device is a muzzle brake and NOT a flash suppressor, which is listed as an "evil feature". My SKS is legal and can have all the "evil bling" on it because it does not use detachable magazines. Do NOT go giving out into that could put people in jail, OK?