I'm thinking about getting an AK 47

[Django11]

I'm thinking about getting an AK 47 mainly for the purpose of adding to my collection with something I don't already have and general plinking at my range. I really like my ARs and I have 3 of those but who knows, I may fall in love with it and use it more for possible defense purposes so I want something reliable. I'm fairly new to the platform and only shot one on a couple of occasions. I like the traditional wood stock look but I'm open in that idea. Let me know what brands I should look at. Also as far as ammo, does it really matter if I shoot steel case (I won't run it in any of my other firearms). Finally I don't plan on adding any optics. Tell me what you like and don't like as well as any other options to consider

[kymasabe]

Well, it's been a while since I had AK's, been thru a dozen or so of them. Back in the day, the WASR's were very common but had mag wobble (sometimes) and front sights were often canted and had to be repaired. Some people will say stay away from Inter-Ordnance but I had an I.O. AK47C and never had a problem with it. Saiga's are the cats @ss if you can find one. I converted half a dozen of those from their funky import "sporter" setup to a traditional AK format, very nice guns, though none of mine were any more accurate than any other AK I owned.
Early on, I tried Tapco furniture and products, were OK then, I'd go Magpul these days.
I hated 30 round mags, were too long and heavy and a pain in the butt at the range, I found Hungarian tanker mags (20 round) were just about perfect. I used to have a pile of them, now I hear they're hard to find.
Ammo: AK's eat (almost) everything. Steel cased is their daily diet, don't worry about stuffing steel cased crap down it's throat. FMJ and HP were never a problem, but most of mine did NOT like soft point ammo.
I used Krebs rear peep sight on one, was very nice, paired with Tapco front sight (orange) was VERY easy to see.
At the end was using Texas Weapon Systems rail and rear site, very nice kit.
Absolutely the BEST AK I ever owned, and the only one I regret getting rid of was an ArmoryUSA gun, assembled in Texas from Bulgarian parts, blond furniture. Fit and finish were excellent.
AK's are fun, I had them for over a decade, but now that I have AR's, I find AR's to be much easier to work on, easier to find parts for, and more accurate. AK's are definitely easier to disassemble and clean however.
If you need a scope mount, I found the Belarus BP-02 low rise scope mount to be the best (for me at the time). Centered, sturdy, holds zero. Make sure is genuine and is pinned ( you'll understand when you see one.) Mine was shipped from Belarus and took a month to arrive, but was worth every penny !!

[5whiskey]

kymasabe wrapped it up pretty well. I will add one thing... before you step into the AK realm be prepared to deal with the accuracy. I had a Saiga one time, got it stock and did the conversion. Absolute best groups were with the forearm furniture removed and handloads, and it still was slightly more than a 2 minute rifle. I hear some of the milled receiver American made AKs can do better, but I also understand you pay handsomely for them. If it is purely to add to the collection go for it, but go eyes wide open. I sold my Saiga and I don't miss it. The trigger was God-Awful (better after conversion, but still bad). I find a Marlin model 60 or a Maverick 88 shotgun more refined. AKs made a lot more sense when they were half the price of an AR.

[riffraff]

Just to offer another perspective and option outside of AR - a mini 30 is another option for 7.62X39 with a similar reputation for reliability on steel case ammo. Barring any "great deals" that trigger an impulse buy, that will be my next complete rifle. Mini 14's also come in vanilla 5.56 as well as 300 BLK.

[kymasabe]

Originally Posted by 5whiskey

. AKs made a lot more sense when they were half the price of an AR.

I'm with 5whisky on this one. I can't understand why AK's are so darn expensive right now when I too was buying them for almost half the price of an AR. They're loose and sloppy, cobbled together and accuracy is iffy. Prices would have to come way down before I'd consider buying another one.

[TruthTellers]

The AK was the first gun I ever bought with my own money. I had the choice between a WASR with 4 (or was it 5?) steel mags, mag pouch, bayonet, oil bottle for around $450 I think or a Mosin with a few hundred rounds of ammo for around 2-250. Given my youth and video games, it was an easy choice and even today I don't regret going with it over the Mosin even though Mosins are not worth the prices we see them for now.

I think the AK, if you buy one that's good, has its strengths, but to get the most out of it, I think you should put a folding Magpul Zhukov stock on it and the Tec sights AK rear sight so you can greatly increase the sight radius and shoot it more accurately. I think that a lot of the issues with bad AK accuracy is the crappy rear sight being so close to the front sight.

I don't think the AK is a good platform for using a scope, the max distance you'd be shooting directly at personnel is 250 yards, beyond that the trajectory makes the bullet drop like a rock. 7.62x39 is a close to medium range cartridge. For 250 yards, iron sights are fine. I think you're thinking clearly on only wanting irons.

The 800 pound gorilla in the room is the Mini-30. I haven't shot a Mini-30, Idk what kind of accuracy they're capable of, but I do have to bring up the Mini-30 because over the years, they've gotten better and I think they're easier to work on in switching parts than AK's are. AK's weren't made to be tweeked with, they were mass production rifles that were cheap and worked really well for the Soviets in the mid-late 1900s.

Given that Ruger also came out with the American Rance in 7.62x39 and it uses the same mags as the Mini-30, if you have any inkling you might buy that bolt rifle, you'd be a fool not to get the Mini-30. That's the bummer with the AK: nobody wants to make 7.62x39 rifles that use AK magazines because of the variations and such. I've always been of the opinion to use the Magpul and Tapco AK mags as the basis for a rifle that uses AK mags, forget about the steel mags anyway, those things aren't as good as the polymer mags are today. Besides, polymer mags don't wobble in the AK, didn't in mine at least.

I guess it depends on your use. If this is a range gun only, I'd get the Mini-30. If this has a use for self defense or TEOTWAWKI, the AK is the best 7.62x39 rifle you can own. The AK will run forever, it will never die. Modern AK's are better than the ones we were getting 10-20 years ago. Just stay away from Century Arms and IO.

Mmmm, this AK talk is giving me some nostalgia of when I got mine when I was still in high school.

[TruthTellers]

Originally Posted by kymasabe

I'm with 5whisky on this one. I can't understand why AK's are so darn expensive right now when I too was buying them for almost half the price of an AR. They're loose and sloppy, cobbled together and accuracy is iffy. Prices would have to come way down before I'd consider buying another one.

Yeah, it's very on point. The reason the AK was a competitor to the AR for such a long time was the cost was lower. Now we can get sporter AR's for $500 and I sure haven't seen any AK's go for under $500 since before Obama was elected. My guess is it's a supply/demand thing. If people are willing to spend $700 on an AK, that's what the manufacturers are going to sell them for.

[Fishbed77]

I sold my Saiga and I don't miss it. The trigger was God-Awful (better after conversion, but still bad).

This is the exact opposite experience of most converted Saiga owners. There are plenty of decent AK trigger options, and even the ~$30 Tapco G2 trigger (used in many Saiga conversions) has a a pretty good feel (better for sure than the majority of stock AR triggers).

[kymasabe]

Originally Posted by Fishbed77

This is the exact opposite experience of most converted Saiga owners. There are plenty of decent AK trigger options, and even the ~$30 Tapco G2 trigger (used in many Saiga conversions) has a a pretty good feel (better for sure than the majority of stock AR triggers).

Yup, Tapco G2 was my go-to trigger when I did my conversions, wasn't a bad choice, was far better than what was in most WASR's at the time.

[gshayd]

x2

[zukiphile]

Originally Posted by Whiskey5

AKs made a lot more sense when they were half the price of an AR.

Indeed. I had a Norinco with a thumbhole stock, iirc. I never suffered trigger slap, it was good for 4 MOA with its iron sights and young eyes with chinese surplus that was less than $100 for 1440 rounds. Magazines were $5. It was easy to keep clean too.

A last round bolt hold open and more easily employed and intuitive safety would have been significant improvements, imo.

It was a good value and a 100% reliable carbine. I sold it because that wasn't enough to keep my interest.

[Skans]

Tell me what you like and don't like as well as any other options to consider

What I like about my AK - I can rapid-fire off a 75 round Chinese Drum full of Wolf 7.62, and it doesn't hurt my wallet much nor my AK!

What I don't like - it will hurt my shoulder - I have an underfolder!

Everyone should have an AK - they are fun range toys. They can be practical weapons too. And, they scare the Anti-gun crowd.

FWIW, my AK is a high-quality Polish #'s matching parts-set built on a 1.5mm NDS underfolding receiver. Black poly furniture. I think I paid about $600 for it 10 years ago.

[kenny53]

I like AK'S, they are fun to shoot and look cool in a rough way. Don't look to shoot tight groups with run of the mil guns. Ammo is not too hard on the wallet. I watched a video on you tube and it showed (wolf I think) hollow point ammo expended just as much as FMJ. So if there is a cost difference in ammo go with FMJ.

[Road_Clam]

Bought an Opap back in 2011 when prices began to creep upwards. Wasrs of this era were garbage as far as assembly quality. My Opap is assembled perfect, very nice wood. Current wasrs are much better quality as is the Npaps. Keep in mind the Opap / Npaps are "Yugo" (Serbian) designed and some parts don't interchange with standard AK parts

[Django11]

Thanks for all the great info. Very helpful

[stagpanther]

Everyone should have an AK - they are fun range toys.

Pretty much why I have one--hard to call one's self a semi-auto rifle fan and NOT have one. I bought PSA's zhukov, while arguably not a "true" comblock AK (what really is these days?) it is very nice IMO--I've come very close to MOA at 100 using handloads that go faster than what you typically hear the cartridge is capable of. The "underpowered" stuff is often bunk IMO.

[jetinteriorguy]

Get an AK, they are a blast. I've had my Norinco since the late eighties and it's been so much fun. Bought it for $118.00, it is my second one. Paid $108.00 for the first one and sold it for $950.00 after the first gun scare. Then a couple years later got the MAC 90 for $118.00. Nice to have a few friends who are FFL dealers and can get things at cost. The MAC is in original AK style furniture now and will never leave my safe.

[TXAZ]

I've had 2 both pre-ban Norinco, excellent weapons, regretted selling either.

Well designed for man-sized targets out to 200m, very forgiving, low / no maintenance.
You won't regret it (unless you get rid of it)



DO IT!!!

[kozak6]

Seems like your best bet is something Romanian at this time, although it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye out. There's a ton of worthwhile used guns out there.

If you want a Yugo, you need to jump on it and buy one right now since they have just dried up. What's on the shelf is it until the next importer picks them up. I'm scrambling to pick up an NPAP DF myself.

American made AK's tend to have issues due to severe cost cutting, so watch out there.

[stagpanther]

American made AK's tend to have issues due to severe cost cutting, so watch out there.

Such as? The one I bought is extremely well-outfitted at a price point that is a bit under what I could find in lesser-featured "importo- part" jobs. Unless you might be referring to billet receivers--which is akin to finding and scoring illegal drugs.

[Targa]

I'm thinking about getting an AK 47 mainly for the purpose of adding to my collection with something I don't already have and general plinking at my range.

Great reasons to get one imo. I have an uncoverted Saiga and it will always be my fun range gun. Nothing fancy, just iron sights, eats any ammo without a hiccup, easy to break down and clean.

[kymasabe]

Originally Posted by Targa

Great reasons to get one imo. I have an uncoverted Saiga and it will always be my fun range gun. Nothing fancy, just iron sights, eats any ammo without a hiccup, easy to break down and clean.

What? Unconverted? With 3 hours and some basic hand tools, you could seriously improve that gun !!
http://www.dinzagarms.com

[Fishbed77]

American made AK's tend to have issues due to severe cost cutting, so watch out there.

Such as? The one I bought is extremely well-outfitted at a price point that is a bit under what I could find in lesser-featured "importo- part" jobs. Unless you might be referring to billet receivers--which is akin to finding and scoring illegal drugs.

Many issues and cost-cutting measures have been noted with the all-US made AKs, and to date, none of them have matched the quality of former Comblock factory-built (not parts kit) rifles (Saigas, VEPRs, Arsenals, etc.). These issues with American-made AKs have included the use of cast front trunnions and bolt carriers, soft steel in bolts, poor tolerances, etc. These are well-documented. I suggest you watch Rob Ski's videos where he tests various US and foreign-made AKs.

You have to remember, these imported rifles, while they may not always be the prettiest, come off lines that make rifles that have to meet rigorous QA standards for military issue.

On the other hand, the all-US made rifles are a consumer product made to reach a price point.

[ilmonster]

You may want to check out the AK Operators Union youtube channel. Rob reviews all manner of AK's, and points out what to look for, what can wear prematurely on poor samples of AK's (mushrooming tail of bolt carrier for instance).

Based on that, I own a WASR and couldn't be happier with it. Not as cheap as they used to be, but ammo is still less expensive than .223 and it's a hoot to shoot. I also just bought it as a range toy. I have to need for an AK, but it's fun to have. Let us know what you decide!

[Targa]

What? Unconverted? With 3 hours and some basic hand tools, you could seriously improve that gun !!

It does what I want...as in provides a big grin when I shoot steel with it... Honestly, I am not a fan of pistol grip rifles, a big reason I picked up the IZ. The only pistol grip long gun I have is an AR, that would have been gone long ago if my wife didnt like it so much, so it is basically hers.....like everything else I guess..