Decided to Re-Do the furniture on my Arsenal SGL-20

[Skarekrow88]

Currently have it all Tapco'd out. Decided my Arsenal deserves better. Tapco stuff belongs on WASRs (except for the awesome G2 Trigger and the Retaining Plate) which I plan to get later so I think I will save the Tapco stuff for it. Thinking about going with the Hogue Forend and Pistol Grip, K-VARs NATO Length fixed stock, Tango Down Short Vertical Grip (maybe), ALL in OD Green. Usually, my philosophy has been all black everything, but now I have a safe full of a bunch of black guns (except for a few wood guns) and I want a little variety. My question is would all these different pieces look right together in OD Green or will the shades of green be different and make it look stupid? Would it be better to just keep it all black?

[Fishbed77]

The shades of green will likely all be a little different (the overmolded Houge stuff especially, due to its texture), but it will not look stupid. All OD sounds like a cool idea to me. Be sure to post pics!

[Skarekrow88]

Well here is what she looks like now. The Tapco furnitire has served me well and I haven't really had any problems with it but it just feels and looks like it belongs on a "beater" AK like a WASR-10 or something like that.

[Fishbed77]

Yeah - the sooner you get all that Tapco nonsense off, the better.

The KVar sets are good stuff. I have the black US KVar stock and handguards on my Saiga conversion (for 922(r) compliance) and they are well-made and look very good.

[Jo6pak]

Sorry, someone had to say it

If the OD shads don't match on the new furniture, you could always Duracoat them all the same.

[Skarekrow88]

The KVar sets are good stuff. I have the black US KVar stock and handguards on my Saiga conversion (for 922(r) compliance) and they are well-made and look very good.

I had the black K-Var set on it but I wanted to be able to put a light and VFG on it which isn't an option with that and the Warsaw length stock was too short for me (I'm 6'4") so I ended up with the Tapco stuff because I didn't know any better...

[DubC-Hicks]

What about foliage green? It's a less common color, and breaks up the color of the rifle a little more. From what I've seen, OD green is usually quite dark and can sometimes look black too.

Only problem is K-var doesnt have the color, so you'd have to do Duracoat or a collapsible setup with a Magpul stock or something. My AK is going foliage green to match my AR in the near future.

[Mrgunsngear]

It'll look good with the OD green as long as it's done right. I like FDE but OD's nice as well.

[Skarekrow88]

Alright, I'll give the OD Green Hogue stuff a shot at the very least. Maybe I can find something else to replace the stock that closely matches them

[Fishbed77]

Alright, I'll give the OD Green Hogue stuff a shot at the very least.

I've only heard good things about the Hogue grip and AR handguards. I've just personally never been a fan of rubbery style grips.

[Skarekrow88]

Think I'm just going to go ahead and order these tonight. Yea or Nay?

http://www.k-var.com/shop/AK-020GUSL.html

and

http://www.hoguestore.com/index.php?...oducts_id=6684

Any OD Green mag recommendations? Can't seem to find any of the OD Green Tapco mags in stock anywhere. Did they stop making them in that color?

[Mrgunsngear]

Those parts will work just fine on your rifle. As to the mags, OD green have always been a little tough to find. There are some Circle 10's out there floating around (check the classified sections of gun boards) but they'll be more than Tapcos for good reason---they're much more durable/dependable. Tapcos seem to run just fine though.... as long as you don't drop them on hard surfaces.

[FrosSsT]

Think I'm just going to go ahead and order these tonight. Yea or Nay?

Go for it. Dont forget that its what YOU like - not anybody else.

[Skarekrow88]

Go for it. Dont forget that its what YOU like - not anybody else.

Yeh, I just hope it all looks ok in OD Green. We will see though

[Skarekrow88]

Ordered the black hogue kit since I can't seem to find any OD Green mags except for the promag ones and I know better than that. Also ordered the black K-Var NATO length stock but its on backorder. Which is no big deal because I wanted to put the Warsaw length stock it came with back on first to see how it feels now that I have a scope. If I like the Warsaw length with the new stuff I will just cancel the backorder. Most likely I won't though, I took it off for a reason the first time. I'll post pics once I get the hogue kit and Warsaw length stock on and see what you all think.

[Fishbed77]

Be sure to post some pics when you have it all together. I think it's gonna look neat.

[mellow_c]

I really only see one thing wrong with the way you have your AK set up right now.

The stock...

It's one of those folders that comes down at an angle rather than straight back, and there is no way your going to get a good cheek wield on that thing to line up with your scope sitting so high... that is, if your still using the scope.

I'll assume the bayonet is just for display

I think everything else looks good. leave it black if you haven't already bought the green stuff.

Part of my reasoning for leaving it black is because I like the hand grip you already have on there. They are bigger and for most people provide better spacing for your finger to the trigger than the smaller finger grooved ones. And although I'm not a fan of using a vertical forgrip, I warm up to them when they are smaller like the one you have, and then I use them as an angle grip putting my two smaller fingers on the vertical grip and my middle and pointer fingers up on the regular part of the hand guard.


I guess in the end, you should think more about how you want your AK set up, and what is comfortable for you, more than the way it looks and colors and what not

Edit:
Woops, I see that you are using your scope and that you already ordered stuff. Well, hope it works out for you.

[Skarekrow88]

I got my Hogue AK grip and hanguard kit in the mail today. Pistol grip went on fine and its awesome. The bottom half of the hand guard went on fine too but the upper hand guard wouldn't allow the the gas tube to snap down as its a little too far forward and the hand guard clamp on the barrel interferes. I had this same problem with the Tapco hand guard but I just used a dremmel on the plastic to make it work but I'd rather not have to do that with the Hogue part because it will most likely end up looking like hell. I think I'm just going to order a K-Var upper hand guard (I know it would work as it was what I used to have on it) unless I can find something else that might work. I was looking at a metal ventilated upper hand guard. Anyone have any experience with these? I think it would look good but I can't tell if I would have the same problem with it.


Here's the ventilated hand guard I was looking at. I wouldn't really need the gas tube but I would buy it all if I had to. I cant find this or just the hand guard part for sale anywhere. Anybody know where I can get one?

[Skarekrow88]

Well, after some more research it looks like the ventilated upper wouldn't work so I just ordered the US made upper from K-Var. The NATO Length stock will be here on Saturday and the upper hand guard part should be here soon after. I'll post before and after pics when I get everything together.

[SGTactical]

plouffedaddy

I really like your setup. What kind of scope mount is that? I know Larue used to make them but they are discontinued. Does that scope/mount cowitness to the ak sights?

Whats the weight on that setup?

[Skarekrow88]

What kind of scope mount is that? I know Larue used to make them but they are discontinued. Does that scope/mount cowitness to the ak sights?

It's a Midwest Industries Optic Specific mount. I heard that they do not co-witness but I am not entirely sure. According to the website some optics will and some won't.

Here's a link to the mount http://www.midwestindustriesinc.com/...ategory_ID=401

[Skarekrow88]

Here's what she's looking like now.



The Hogue hand guard and pistol grip are awesome. Feels so much better than the Tapco stuff. The NATO length fixed stock is definitely more comfortable even though the Tapco is the same length. The angle of the Tapco stock was just kind of awkward and didn't provide a good cheek weld. Now I'm just waiting on the K-Var upper hand guard, it should be here tomorrow.

I think I'm just going to use the Tapco sling since there's really nothing wrong with it. If I don't I might get a Blackhawk 3 point sling for it.

Also, I took the rubber eye piece off of the scope and it made a world of difference. I couldnt easily get a clear sight picture with either the Tapco or the K-Var stock on. Now I can actually see out of the scope without hurting my neck.


Here's a pic of the problem I have with certain upper hand guards. In case anyone didn't quite understand what I was talking about



That little corner of the lower hand guard retainer gets in the way.

The K-Var upper hand guards have a little recess cut out (might just be the way they are made) of them that compensates for this.



Anyone else have this problem?

[Skarekrow88]

Before:


After:


Not exactly thrilled with the way the whole hand guard turned out. The big gap in between the two parts isn't very pretty but oh well, it's functional.

I like the feel of the hogue hand guard too much to take it off and put the K-Var one on. I also like the fact I can put rails on the hogue if I want and I plan on getting a surefire mini scout to mount on it.

I think I'm going to put the Tapco sling back on because I like how I can quickly detach it if need be. Might do a little looking around for some other quick detach slings though.

Other than that I'm going to look into the Krebs Custom aperture sight and that will be the end of it.

[Venom1956]

US palm makes THE ak grip IMO. It's looking alot better for sure! Whats that magwell thing for? Also just me but I would lose that plastic mag release thingy not a fan.

[Skarekrow88]

US palm makes THE ak grip IMO. It's looking alot better for sure! Whats that magwell thing for? Also just me but I would lose that plastic mag release thingy not a fan.

I've heard good things about the US Palm grip but I prefer the finger grooves of the hogue grip.

The magwell thing is a Solar Tactical AK MFER (Magwell Funnel Enhanced Reload) and it makes mag changes effortless. Here'd a vid on it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j84nL6ytII

As for the plastic magazine release, I'm not exactly a fan either. Unfortunately it's the best (non-permanent) aftermarket release I could find to improve the pitifully small, sharp, and just plain uncomfortable original magazine release lever.