Scott7891
Love those Combloc guns
Preban --- ummmm yea!!!! lol! Are they full auto? Not that that's a requirement but ..... wow! Would be cool!!!
Full-auto conversions were in the minority and were done up until the 1986 ban on new machine guns.
The vast majority of pre-ban AK's are semi auto only and were imported in their original format from the factory until 1989.
On the VEPR Chad is right they are going to be the most accurate and durable rifle however jimbob and rob-cubed have a point though that veprs are usually acquired from AK people who already appreciate the design especially with the amount of coin you pay for them and their non-standardization with other AK's. With pre-bans suggested by other posters they are not all going to be 100% from the start either. Be sure to inspect one if you can before buying. I bought one that I paid $1175 for because I really wanted the spike folding assembly but ended up paying more to get it running right. Had to buy a new recoil spring, extractor, extractor spring, firing pin, and had to grind and smooth out not only the hammer but also the dust cover to keep the bolt carrier from getting caught on the hammer. It runs like a raped ape now but took some work. There were periods when I thought of selling it at a loss for my frustration at it not working but in the end turned out to be a learning experience on not only learning more about how an AK works but also that they are not fool-proof either. They will require maintenance over time especially when used hard like mine was.
If this is going to be your first AK I would probably go with something a little cheaper to see if you even like the design and that you can use it before dumping a lot of money into one. VEPR's and even pre-bans are for the die-hard AK'ers who already appreciate the design but want something different.
Just something to consider.