Do I need a...

[CJB]

Lots of guns are nice. Thinking about a "good gun collection" and I have had it, and sold it. Lugers, Walthers, Berettas, CZ, Sauer & Sohn, Savage, Remington, even a Mamba.... and Smith's and Rugers and Colts.... ARs , AK's, FALs, HKs...

Ok, they're mostly all gone.

But I've been thinking... maybe one of the CA Pitbulls, yah I can see the utility in that.

Also been thinking that maybe I need to pick up another AK. Ammo's cheap, and I can personally vouch for the reliability of those things, never seen one that didn't work at least decently well, never seen one that was accurate enough to hit a man beyond about 100 meters too!

Anyway, opinions on AK's are sought. Talk me out, or tell me what to get. I had two old Yugo made made ones that really ran well, never gave a problem. One thing - I'm 6'2 and those guns are made for little'r folks it seems, both in length of pull and sight placement (or rise).

so.... thoughts?

[Bawanna]

JohnH is our resident AK go to guy I think.

I never had one myself, been wanting one myself but lots of options.

I keep hearing Arsenal, not sure that's helpful.

[BEARDOG]

Zastava M92...Keep it a pistol, add a brace, or do the SBR thing and put a folding stock on it. Anyway it is a whole lot a fun! :D

https://youtu.be/qukk9sS4QYc

[b4uqzme]

I want one of those VZ58 things...just to be different.

[happypuppy]

The VZ2008 are nice but they use non standard mags that are hard to find and at least 25 each

I prefer the AK over the AR for its simplicity. I have had a lot of them in the past and if I was just getting into them it's hard to go wrong with a WASR. The things are tanks.

I like the Hungarian AK Variants but they are a bit harder to find but the build quality is superb.

The ones made by FEG are the best. I like the SA 85 and the AMD-65 thats used by afghani police. It's a side folder and really well made.

The poly and arsenal are nice but really expensive for what you get and the build quality can vary.

I'd look hard at the latest Kalashnikov USA rifles. The specs are great but I have not seen one yet just from friends at the last shot show that saw them

[ltxi]

Not a bad idea at all, CJB. I never really got into AK-47s. Picked up a handful of SKS's to shoot and gunsmith mess with about 20 years ago when they were running between $69 to $99, for the nicest ones, with no paper. Turned a few into really decent, nicely stocked guns suitable for hunting. Also bought a restored, laminated stock Russian copy as a collector and then a Ruger Ranch in 7.62x39 to keep them all company.

[CJB]

Ha! Got a Russian SKS, myself, made in, and stamped.... my birth year, with a big Russkie star over where the year is stamped in the metal.

Was thinking about one of the Century Hungarian folders... or alternately a Century USA milled receiver with Yugo parts.

[TheLastDaze]

don't buy an underfolder if you want to add something other than that later, side fold is MUCH better and you can adapt anything aftermarket...look for a milled receiver if you can get one at a decent price, something from the Izhmash factory a major plus in my book...

looking for one myself, I have a TON of ammo and an all original numbers matching laminated Russian SKS that is super accurate with iron sites, beyond 100yrds.... seriously, human torso can easily be hit at 150yrds... with iron sites......

[CJB]

My SKS is accurate too, even with that low grade ammo. Last time I shot it was 100 yards off my friends back porch (he has a backstop at 100 yds from the picnic table!), had no problem hitting clay birds set on the side of the hill

[Bawanna]

Thought of this thread last night as I watched Enemy At the Gate. Great movie.

[DXTAC]

I have an IO AK and love it. It has never once jammed or given me any attitude. I changed the furniture with all Tapco so the collapsible stock is great for me and my 11 year old twin boys. It's a new model manufactured in the Florida plant after their move so the quality is outstanding. It also LOVES the cheap Tula ammo from Wally World as well as Brown Bear. The best part is it's made in the U.S. So none of the importation parts issue apply, mod until your hearts content. http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/30/94c03d0d634c880873911e4f52ee3a2c.jpg

Cheers!!!

Derek


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Bob T]

Thought of this thread last night as I watched Enemy At the Gate. Great movie.

Oh thank you for this....

The wife is out of town, which means I watch all my favorite westerns and war movies....I haven't seen Enemy at the Gates since it came out. Tonight, I watch it.

Bob

[Barth]

Only AK I've got is an Arsenal.
Technically it's a pistol.
So it's 100% Bulgarian.
Trigger is outstanding.
Also it's 5.56/.223.
And is surprisingly accurate with brass US ammo.

The downside is that Circle 10 mags tend to be ridiculously expensive.

Barth

[CJB]

Ended up with AK63D....

Hungarian with USA milled receiver.

[CPTKILLER]

M14 or M1A in a SOCOM 16 or Scout is more accurate and much more capable. 7.62X51 NATO is usually available.

[greg_r]

The AK platform is stupid simple. Does not generally require as much upkeep. It just works, but as a whole not as accurate as an AR.

[CJB]

http://www.jgsales.com/images/70316-caiak63dakstylerifle762x39milledreceiverunderfoldi ngstock-s1.JPG

That's the item. Its shown with a TAPCO magazine, which works ok, but is a little finicky to load (but can probably be corrected. The MagPul magazine is better, and easier to load. Trigger is really nice, smooth, decent engagement. That surprised me. These have USA made receivers, barrels and trigger/FCG parts. The rest made by FEG in Hungary. Not crazy on the light colored wood, but it seems to be a decent hard wood. Bore is chrome. Under-folder is tight, which I'd rather have, as opposed to loose. The upper hand guard was a finicky puke to get locked back down, but once it was, the alignment was correct. They're all a bit of a finicky puke though. The machined receiver is thick walled where "dimples" would be to hold things tight. Happy with the fit and finish (Gasp! It's not bad).

And the price was right (sub $600).

I'll grab a case of ammo after I start checking the sales.... and just squir'l it all away for when the rag heads come visit

[Bawanna]

Woods easy to fix, sand it down and throw some military stock stain on it, darken it up.

Detective at work just went through this with his new AK.

Had a hankering for one myself, maybe one of these days it'll happen. When sheet heads (not politically correct to call them rag heads since it's actually a sheet, some say to be buried in and I'll go along with that rumor) arrive we'll link up and do what we can to hold em off.

[CJB]

Got to shoot it some tonite. Not much, and not for accuracy. Just function of the two mags with the rifle.

Both mags functioned perfectly. Each had no problem with the first five shots from 30, and only five shots in the magazine.

Had to shoot in the back yard, so I limited myself to 20 shots total, into the dirt.

Put a little grease on the bolt, and just a dab on the bolt carrier rails. Done.

Will say, I miss the 7.62x39. Soft shooting, loud as f*@# out of a 16.5 inch barrel.

Not sure what to do with the wood. Something darker... I can sand it, or strip it. Not sure. I'm good with wood finishes though, so no big deal there.

Guess I need to get a range trip in.

[gunmut]

I have one of the new C39v2 and an stamped Arsenal. ...the c39 is a very soft shooter the Arsenal gives you a bigger punch; both have been reliable. The C39v2 is really finished out and nice but does have some weight to it
Can to the AK platform late but it grows on you

[CJB]

Of what they had in the store, this was the heaviest by a notica noticeable amount. The shots I fired through it... few that they were... I'd call soft. But I'm the wrong guy to really compare recoil with, as they're all the same to me.

[TheTman]

AK and the SKS are good home defense and 100 yard or so weapons. SKS are sturdier, supposedly more accurate, although I've seen some shoot outs where the AK came out on top. I don't think the SKS is a LOT more accurate than the AK, think maybe a 3-4" group at 100 yards vs. a 5-6" group. Either one should take out a deer or man sized target easily enough. SKS has a milled receiver for the most part, while most AK's are mostly stamped although there are some milled ones. As an extra SKS bonus you usually get a fold under bayonet with one of those, either a blade type or one of those t shaped things that came on the Norinco SKS. For hunting I'd go SKS, for home defense I'd go AK. For a foot patrol type situation, I guess it comes down to whether you want to carry a bunch of stripper clips or a few banana clips. One nice feature of the SKS is the bolt is held open after the last round, while it's not on the AK.
Adding too long of an optic will disable the use of stripper clips to load the integral 10 round mag and don't buy one of those cheap rear dust cover scope mounts that often come with a short 4 power scope, unless it has the bolts that screw it tight to the receiver, or else it jumps around and won't stay centered. Better yet is to buy a scope mount that you have to drill and tap the receiver to mount. You can buy 20 and 30 round mags for the SKS, that I don't believe require modification to the rifle, and I think they still hold the bolt open. I forget, its been awhile since I've used one of the 30 round mags. Some folks load a tracer as the last round or two on the AK to let them know they are at the end of the mag. Some mags have a window cut in the side so you can see how much ammo is left. I also had heard a lot of bad stuff about WASR AK's, with feeding problems and mags that were wobbly and didn't fit tight. Surplus AK mags used to be fairly cheap at Gun Shows, but I don't know if that is still true or not. Adding an optic to an AK is even worse than with the SKS, since mostly you only have stamped metal to attach the scope mount too, or use one of those wobbly dust cover scopes. The long eye relief mount that take the place of the rear sight make a much more solid mount. If you like that type of optic. I'm not sure I'd even bother putting an optic on an AK. It looks like you got yourself a decent AK there CJB. They are pretty light on the recoil.

[gunmut]

I think you will enjoy your Ak, and suspect you may feel the need to get one or two more. When I find something I like I tend to find some reason to get another one or two