I'm planning on adding a 7.62 x 39 rifle to my collection in the near future, so I'm starting to do my research now. However, the wide number of countries that have made AK-47s, AKMs, etc. is staggering so I'm trying to get a handle on what's considered a good purchase.
Teach me about AKs!
- Thread starter Simon Yu
- Start date
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smores
Creepy-Ass Cracker
ROMAK - looks like crap
Arsenal - pricey but they look great. I love my SLR-106FR (not 7.62x39 but they make them in that caliber too)
Saiga - you can find them with a pistol grip, and they're made at Izhmash. If I had to do it again I would have gotten one.
Basically, find out how much you're willing to spend, then pick one with the finish you like. An AK is an AK. They should all work pretty much the same, reliable as hell, not that accurate.
Arsenal - pricey but they look great. I love my SLR-106FR (not 7.62x39 but they make them in that caliber too)
Saiga - you can find them with a pistol grip, and they're made at Izhmash. If I had to do it again I would have gotten one.
Basically, find out how much you're willing to spend, then pick one with the finish you like. An AK is an AK. They should all work pretty much the same, reliable as hell, not that accurate.
armedsks
Active Member
They range from 350$ up to 900$ depending on what make and model. 99% of them run great out of the box. (depends on who made it that day) Like others have said the romanians are bottom of barrel but they do go bang and are a good deal for the $. I have a century wasr-10, yugo rpk and a yugo UF. All run great. Pretty accurate till 200 yrds and then you have to start using your elevation and the rounds stat to lob at 300.
Mags are still cheap in PA gun shows and ammo is still tollerable at 200$+- a case deliverd.
Once you get one....kinda like m1 garrands they start to multiply!
Mags are still cheap in PA gun shows and ammo is still tollerable at 200$+- a case deliverd.
Once you get one....kinda like m1 garrands they start to multiply!
coinboy
Yeah, Sweet Lemonade.
Stay away from the WASR-10 from Century. The fit and finish usually sucks.
I bought an AK-47 variant from Lancater Arms and was very happy with it and it's only $100 more than a WASR-10 if you get a good transfer fee.
http://www.lancasterarms.com/New Standard Gun Page.html
They can even do a little custimization for no fee.
If you find a good transfer fee, it should cost around $600 and it's WELL worth the extra money over a WASR-10. Even the dealer I bought it from (Jessup Pawn) said it was the nicest AK he had seen.
I bought an AK-47 variant from Lancater Arms and was very happy with it and it's only $100 more than a WASR-10 if you get a good transfer fee.
http://www.lancasterarms.com/New Standard Gun Page.html
They can even do a little custimization for no fee.
If you find a good transfer fee, it should cost around $600 and it's WELL worth the extra money over a WASR-10. Even the dealer I bought it from (Jessup Pawn) said it was the nicest AK he had seen.
trbon8r
Ultimate Member
Take a look at the Yugo AKs. Yeah I know, they are Century Arms products.... 
But according to some of the stuff I've read on the errornet, Century has subcontracted out the builds for their Yugo AKs, to DCI who makes the AK receivers for Century. If you ask around about DCI, you will find they have a very good reputation for building a quality product. I paid $429 for my Yugo AK underfolder. I took it out for the first time last week, and ran 90 trouble free rounds through it, and found it to be a decent shooter, around 4 MOA at 100 yards, which isn't bad in the world of AKs and cheap Russian surplus ammo. The only downside on the Yugo AKs is the lack of a chrome lined barrel. Even the original Yugo AKs didn't use chrome lined barrels. The Century guns come with new U.S. made barrels.
The Bulgarian Arsenal guns are nice, but pretty spendy for an AK in my opinion.
As others mentioned, the Romanian WASR guns probably wouldn't be my first choice.
Saigas are a good choice, but the only problem is that by the time you convert the rifle to a true AK, pay for refinishing (you have to do some grinding and drilling during the conversion) and really do the job right, you will have nearly as much money in the gun as you would just buying an Arsenal. I have an unconverted Saiga I'm thinking about selling, just for this reason. After I did the math I decided I was better off just buying a gun that was already completed.
Good luck whatever you decide. With the price of 7.62X39 ammo versus .223, my ARs will be staying home more, and the AKs will be seeing more range time.
But according to some of the stuff I've read on the errornet, Century has subcontracted out the builds for their Yugo AKs, to DCI who makes the AK receivers for Century. If you ask around about DCI, you will find they have a very good reputation for building a quality product. I paid $429 for my Yugo AK underfolder. I took it out for the first time last week, and ran 90 trouble free rounds through it, and found it to be a decent shooter, around 4 MOA at 100 yards, which isn't bad in the world of AKs and cheap Russian surplus ammo. The only downside on the Yugo AKs is the lack of a chrome lined barrel. Even the original Yugo AKs didn't use chrome lined barrels. The Century guns come with new U.S. made barrels.
The Bulgarian Arsenal guns are nice, but pretty spendy for an AK in my opinion.
As others mentioned, the Romanian WASR guns probably wouldn't be my first choice.
Saigas are a good choice, but the only problem is that by the time you convert the rifle to a true AK, pay for refinishing (you have to do some grinding and drilling during the conversion) and really do the job right, you will have nearly as much money in the gun as you would just buying an Arsenal. I have an unconverted Saiga I'm thinking about selling, just for this reason. After I did the math I decided I was better off just buying a gun that was already completed.
Good luck whatever you decide. With the price of 7.62X39 ammo versus .223, my ARs will be staying home more, and the AKs will be seeing more range time.
smores
Creepy-Ass Cracker
You could also get a Hungarian AMD-65. Probably the ugliest AK ever made, but the Brady's toss and turn in their sleep over their existence.
- May 22, 2005
- 122,900
You guys got me thinking about a 7.62x39 AR Upper 
smores
Creepy-Ass Cracker
- May 22, 2005
- 122,900
BLASPHEMY!!!CAST OUT THE HERETIC!
Not dissing the AK lovers amongst us. I just don't need another platform to train on. I need to shoot the platform I have enough to get better at it
VNVGUNNER
Ultimate Member
AK's in any form are bad and should only be in the hands of third world cops and military.
I love mine.
I love mine.
Take a look at the SAR-1, if you can still find one. I'm really pleased with mine.
HoChiWaWa
Ultimate Member
If you don't mind doing the conversion yourself Saiga's are freaking hot
JCB003
Ultimate Member
- Sep 10, 2007
- 1,212
Vector Arms makes a nice AK too. I have a milled Vector and it is sweet.
AKbythebay
Ultimate Member
Say what you want about AK's, but when the shit hits the fan .... THAT'S the rifle I want in my hand. It fires EVERY time you pull the trigger, period
alucard0822
For great Justice
Romanian wasr's are pretty cheap looking, and probably the least accurate of all the AKs, but they use standard furniture, have a chrome barrel, and are currently pretty cheap, about $350 look out for the goofy single stack "low-cap" models, they won't take normal double stack mags
Yugo M70s can be had with wood furniture and a fixed stock, or plastic handguard and a really sturdy metal underfolder stock, they are not chrome lined, but have very thick stampings, and are one of the more accurate and rigid AKs, the furniture is not standard, so most of the tacticool stuff around for AKs doesn't fit. The wood stock sits a little high, and gives a good cheek slap for tall folks, and while the metal is nice, the wood is practically unfinished and rough. presently around $450
Bulgarian AKs are very nice, with crisp stampings, and a better finish, I belive this is what Arsenal builds on, but they are pricey, and a little hard to find. $600-700
Hungarian AKs are decent, and well made, with a goofy forward grip and sometimes a really flimsy folding stock on the 65 ($600), and a nice and sturdy 1 peice thumbhole stock on the mostly post ban 85 ($700), nice but pricey for what you get.
Russian, good luck finding one in a standard AK pattern, they are very nice, but prices are currently inflated to around $800, robarms used to import the veprs, but stopped, however the saiga is basically a sporterized version, also available in several other calibers, and for $300-$500 depending on caliber are an honest bargain, to swap over to AK style furniture is a PITA(sometimes you can find ones already post-swap, or imported with plastic "standard" AK furniture), and can be expensive, but you will have a very nice and accurate AK when done, with the possibility of it being in an alternate caliber, like 308win, 223, or even 12ga.
MAADI egyptian AKs, thicker barrel, and usually have a built in bipod, they are accurate and sturdy,finish is sometimes crappy, but for $500 are a fairly nice AK for the money, they are getting hard to find.
Finnish Valmet M76, the king of AKs, highest quality, very accurate (seen one group just over 1" at 100yds with cabellas v-max ammo) fit and finish are superb, non-standard furniture, but who in their right mind would change it? For $1500 I would probably rather have an M1A, FAL, or about a dozen other rifles.
czech VZ58- high quality milled reciever (up there with the best russian and german) accurate, good fit and finnish, and starting to be imported directly via CZ arms, the price is high, but IMO they are worth it if you are looking for a superb quality turn-key AK, like the Yugo they use non-standard furniture, mags, and many other parts, but CZ furniture is beautiful, unlike the yugo, $800 for mil-surp, close to $1K for a tacticool or sporter from CZ arms.
Chinese Norinco mak90 I havent seen around in a while, they are of average quality, and the finish is more blued than parkerized, I think we burned throuh most of their surplus in the dark 94AWB days as most have very light colored thumbhole stocks, non-threaded barrels, and normally include a 10rd mag. They were decent, but priced around $500 between the yugo and bulgie, which both seemed to shoot better, at least IMO
There are a few other AK type rifles (Galil, E.german, Indian) but they are either not chambered in 7.62X39, or I don't really know much about them, and certainly have never shot one, so your guess is as good as mine. An AK74 pattern rifle may also be a consideration as there is currently a lot of 5.45X39 surplus around for decent prices, but it is hard to find anything other than a wasr-2 locally that is chambered in it.
I personally like the Yugos as an all around good rifle for the money, They are not chrome lined, but 7.62 is not a barrel burner by any means, and the chrome was to keep chambers from rusting more than to prevent wear. I have also seen a good number of low mileage chrome lined wasr's and even a russian where the chrome started flaking off near the gas port and muzzle, therby making the rifle severely inaccurate. I bought mine from Shooters discount in Mt Airy for $400 or there-a-bouts a couple years ago, I have refinished the wood several times to try and get a decent looking stock, and to shave some wood off of the comb to fit me better, finally think I got it set up how I want, for $400 and some elbow grease I think it holds its own.
Yugo M70s can be had with wood furniture and a fixed stock, or plastic handguard and a really sturdy metal underfolder stock, they are not chrome lined, but have very thick stampings, and are one of the more accurate and rigid AKs, the furniture is not standard, so most of the tacticool stuff around for AKs doesn't fit. The wood stock sits a little high, and gives a good cheek slap for tall folks, and while the metal is nice, the wood is practically unfinished and rough. presently around $450
Bulgarian AKs are very nice, with crisp stampings, and a better finish, I belive this is what Arsenal builds on, but they are pricey, and a little hard to find. $600-700
Hungarian AKs are decent, and well made, with a goofy forward grip and sometimes a really flimsy folding stock on the 65 ($600), and a nice and sturdy 1 peice thumbhole stock on the mostly post ban 85 ($700), nice but pricey for what you get.
Russian, good luck finding one in a standard AK pattern, they are very nice, but prices are currently inflated to around $800, robarms used to import the veprs, but stopped, however the saiga is basically a sporterized version, also available in several other calibers, and for $300-$500 depending on caliber are an honest bargain, to swap over to AK style furniture is a PITA(sometimes you can find ones already post-swap, or imported with plastic "standard" AK furniture), and can be expensive, but you will have a very nice and accurate AK when done, with the possibility of it being in an alternate caliber, like 308win, 223, or even 12ga.
MAADI egyptian AKs, thicker barrel, and usually have a built in bipod, they are accurate and sturdy,finish is sometimes crappy, but for $500 are a fairly nice AK for the money, they are getting hard to find.
Finnish Valmet M76, the king of AKs, highest quality, very accurate (seen one group just over 1" at 100yds with cabellas v-max ammo) fit and finish are superb, non-standard furniture, but who in their right mind would change it? For $1500 I would probably rather have an M1A, FAL, or about a dozen other rifles.
czech VZ58- high quality milled reciever (up there with the best russian and german) accurate, good fit and finnish, and starting to be imported directly via CZ arms, the price is high, but IMO they are worth it if you are looking for a superb quality turn-key AK, like the Yugo they use non-standard furniture, mags, and many other parts, but CZ furniture is beautiful, unlike the yugo, $800 for mil-surp, close to $1K for a tacticool or sporter from CZ arms.
Chinese Norinco mak90 I havent seen around in a while, they are of average quality, and the finish is more blued than parkerized, I think we burned throuh most of their surplus in the dark 94AWB days as most have very light colored thumbhole stocks, non-threaded barrels, and normally include a 10rd mag. They were decent, but priced around $500 between the yugo and bulgie, which both seemed to shoot better, at least IMO
There are a few other AK type rifles (Galil, E.german, Indian) but they are either not chambered in 7.62X39, or I don't really know much about them, and certainly have never shot one, so your guess is as good as mine. An AK74 pattern rifle may also be a consideration as there is currently a lot of 5.45X39 surplus around for decent prices, but it is hard to find anything other than a wasr-2 locally that is chambered in it.
I personally like the Yugos as an all around good rifle for the money, They are not chrome lined, but 7.62 is not a barrel burner by any means, and the chrome was to keep chambers from rusting more than to prevent wear. I have also seen a good number of low mileage chrome lined wasr's and even a russian where the chrome started flaking off near the gas port and muzzle, therby making the rifle severely inaccurate. I bought mine from Shooters discount in Mt Airy for $400 or there-a-bouts a couple years ago, I have refinished the wood several times to try and get a decent looking stock, and to shave some wood off of the comb to fit me better, finally think I got it set up how I want, for $400 and some elbow grease I think it holds its own.
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HoChiWaWa
Ultimate Member
I'd avoid the WASRs they can be good, and they can be crap, canted sight blocks and poorly refitted to high cap magwells aren't uncommon. That said my buddy has one that is in great shape.
I really like Saiga, a bonus being they are built in the factory that made most of the early AKs. However, rather than have crappy low cap magwells they have rifle stocks to get past import laws, this means you'll have to move the trigger group forward to put a pistol grip on it, its not exactly a difficult process but its kind of a pain.
I really like Saiga, a bonus being they are built in the factory that made most of the early AKs. However, rather than have crappy low cap magwells they have rifle stocks to get past import laws, this means you'll have to move the trigger group forward to put a pistol grip on it, its not exactly a difficult process but its kind of a pain.
trbon8r
Ultimate Member
The Valmet M76 is an outstanding rifle. I've bought, sold, and traded many guns, and the M76 I had years ago is the one and only rifle that I ever regret trading off. As mentioned prices today hover around $1500. Parts are virtually non-existent. If you get lucky and do find parts you will pay through the nose. For this reason, these rifles are more safe queens than actual shooters. It's a sad state of affairs, considering what a great rifle they are.
Whatever you do, if you decide to go into the "non-standard" world of AKs like a Galil, stay far far far and even further away from anything to do with Ohio Rapid Fire receivers. Their Galil receivers are garbage. All the Galil clones you see out there these days are built on Ohio Rapid Fire receivers, so run don't walk away. Unfortunately, for a nice Galil there is no alternative to an original Israeli gun which will set you back somewhere in the $2500 range.
Someone also mentioned the VZ 58. Just to clarify, be advised that while the VZ 58 may look like an AK, it has nothing in common with them. The parts and operating mechanism are totally different. They look to be very cool rifles. I've seriously considered picking one up. The biggest downside is getting magazines. The only mags I've found are mil-surp 30 rounders, and that means you have to deal with the headaches inherent in the Maryland 20 round limit law. It's not like you can always go to a gun show and count on someone having VZ 58 mags for sale like you can with an AK.
JCB003
Ultimate Member
- Sep 10, 2007
- 1,212
The Arsenals are nice. I have three Arsenal AK's - SLR 107UR which is a stamped receiver Krink setup with a 16" barrel - I have it as an SBR but have not cut the barrel and installed the cone yet. Two are milled Arsenals- SASM7and SAM7 Classic with blonde furniture. They are more expensive rifles at around $1000 ea.
A good choice would be either one of the Lancaster or Vector stamped rifles. Good quality a little more $ that the Century WASR's and a little less than the Arsenals. I read about a bunch of people having issues with the new Arsenals coming out SLR 107FR I believe that would not sight in properly.
I have been looking for a Polytech Legend for a while, I had a chance at one NIB for $1500, but that is more that I would spend. If it were closer to $1000 I might bite. A converted Saiga is on my list too.
A good choice would be either one of the Lancaster or Vector stamped rifles. Good quality a little more $ that the Century WASR's and a little less than the Arsenals. I read about a bunch of people having issues with the new Arsenals coming out SLR 107FR I believe that would not sight in properly.
I have been looking for a Polytech Legend for a while, I had a chance at one NIB for $1500, but that is more that I would spend. If it were closer to $1000 I might bite. A converted Saiga is on my list too.
houserocker
Guero Loco
Whats legal in MD and where would be the best place to pick up good, basic AK that will take high cap mags in the DC metro area for around $500?
