Quick M10-762 AK47 Review

[Mr Budha]

Hello! A little disclaimer, I am totally new to firearms so forgive me of any newb-ness :p

Okay, So this is my first AK, choose this after quite a bit of looking around. The sights were a little off, needed to be adjusted. Luckily there was a guy at the range who happened to have the adjustment tool with him. Sighted it in, and boy was it accurate (I was only able to shoot up to 50 yards, but will be going soon to try 75 and 100). Feels good and shoots good. Plan on putting some accessories in the future.

The gun came pretty heavily coated in oil from the factory but wasn't a big deal. Gun was easy to take apart and clean (although I didn't clean the gas tube because I didn't have the correct hex key) before shooting. The finish on the gun also isn't that great, you really need to keep some oil in the metal to keep it looking good. But I plan on taking good care of it so that isn't too big a deal.

I did have one issue, but that was with a bad Tula round. Primer didn't completely ignite, most of it ended up in the receiver, and the bullet got stuck in the barrel. Field stripped it, pushed the bullet out with a cleaning rod, wiped out as much as the grain that I could and loaded her back up. No problems after that. Again my only gripe is that you need an hex key to get the front gas chamber off, and of course they don't include it. Also the pro mag it came with is meh but I ordered a steel magazine from aim surplus that worked beautifully. Overall, very happy with my purchase.

One last thing..this gun is LOUD. Although I think the muzzle break is part that. Not a great sample but here is a link to me taking a few shots the day from the pics. Thanks for looking!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5I41FcqP5k

Some pics:
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a87/Julian305/538230_10150860093602271_34517279_n.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a87/Julian305/599833_10150860098222271_323997721_n.jpg

[Mrgunsngear]

The M10 is a decent AK for the money. If you're looking to get into the WASR AK world but don't want to worry about canted sights and don't plan on putting a high round count through the rifle it's tough to beat. Enjoy your new toy :D

[Mr Budha]

Can you elaborate why?
I definitely plan on shooting a lot of rounds through this gun over the next decade :D

From what I've read even the WASRs (what I understand are bottom of the barrel ak's) are suppose to last quite a long time and can take a ton of abuse.

[Mrgunsngear]

Sure. The barrel on the M10 is a non mil-spec thin profile barrel. There have been several user reports of degraded accuracy beyond 10k rounds. But I always say this about barrel life----if you can afford that many rounds you can afford a new barrel (good ones are like $150). Most com-bloc AK barrels (including WASRs) will go 30k without blinking an eye, a little less if you're running full auto.

A really good article to read if you want to learn about AK barrels can be found here:

http://www.ak47.net/forums/t_4_64/140152_Aborted_article_intended_for_Book_of_the_AK47.html

There are some good US AK barrels out there but they're rare at this point. They're getting better as AKs get more popular here but they're just not there yet.

[Mr Budha]

Thanks for the info, that article was really informative.

So are there any AK-47's on the market with mil-spec barrels? Or would you have to get into something like an RPK?

[Mr Budha]

Update on the Gas Tube: I finally got to taking off the gas tube to clean it and when putting it back together I noticed that the rail system is just barely off the left side.

What I mean is the screws are just slightly angled in order to get the rail on totally straight. Now this isn't a bid deal but getting the thing on properly was frustration and a rubber mallet helped.

I don't see me taking off the gas tube often for cleaning often. Planning on buying one of those big soft hop brushes the clean it without removing it.

[Mrgunsngear]

So are there any AK-47's on the market with mil-spec barrels?

Tons. WASRs, SAR1s, the new Polish AKMs at Atlantic, Arsenals, ect... just to name a few. Basically, any AK barrel made in a com-bloc factory.

People always knock WASRs because their builds (US conversions/assembly) are crappy and the finish sucks. But, if you get a properly built one and refinish it---it's tough to beat in terms of performance/durability.

[Mr Budha]

Hm..I was under the impression that the M10 was basically a dressed up WASR (both made my FA Cugir) and that the barrel was the same.

[Mrgunsngear]

It is a dressed up WASR (receiver, trunion, ect...) with a new US made chrome lined barrel.

[Mr Budha]

Ohhh I see. That's a bit dissapointing actually. I guess if I ever actually manage to shoot out the barrel I can always replace it. I'm verya curious to know who manufacturers the barrel.

[Mr Budha]

So I was really curious to find out about the barrels on this gun. I just received an email from Colorado Gun sales, and according to them the barrels are made in Romania. I'm assuming at the same Cugir plant.

[Mrgunsngear]

That's good to know; maybe it's changed since they were first imported. Atlantic Firearms stated that they were US made barrels back when they first came in---if they're now coming in with new Rommy barrels that's a good thing for sure.

[ROCK6]

Good review, thanks. I have one awaiting my return from vacation, although my son is trying to talk me into giving it to him:eek: I had a couple dozen magazines and a couple cases of ammo...needed another AK:D

ROCK6

[Mr Budha]

^Glad I could help. You're definitely going to enjoy the rifle. Still waiting on some funds and them I'm adding a:

1. Foregrip
2. Phoenix Kicklite Stock
3. Side mount w/ red dot (eventually).


EDIT: I forgot to add this is the main review but I wanted to go over the reasons i choose this rifle over so many others:

1. I wanted a new rifle, not something built with old parts & a chrome-lined barrel.

2. I didn't want to spend more than $700.00 on an AK.

3. After looking at WASRs, Saiga, Yugo Pap, Russian "Cold War" Style, and multiple others I decided that I didn't want to chance it with a WASR, or convert the Saiga. The other rifles were just barely more than I was willing to spend and one or two of them didn't accept double stack mags which was a deal breaker for me.

4. There were a few negative stories but the overwhelming majority of people who purchased the M10 seemed very happy and CO Gun Sales seemed to have pretty good customer service. They also answered all of the questions I ever sent them, and I could always talk to an actual person.

All of these things are what pushed me in the direction of this rifle. I'll be adding some pictures from the range in the coming weeks (just bought some 10" Glow Shot targets :D).