I’m new here guys and have a few questions. I owned an Ak Wasr 7.62x39 and a Bushmaster 24 inch stainless barrel a year ago and had to sale because of unseen circumstances. I just picked up a Daniels Defense DDXV monday and I want to get another AK or another AR for back up parts etc. But I got a line on a good deal for a Bulgarian AK 74 which I never owned or shot before. I’m not familiar with the caliber. What would you do first. I do plan on getting another varmint/LR type Ar15 again or AR10, and an AK47, but would you buy or can you recommend the 74. I know the ammo is cheap now, but I’m worried about availability and price down the road. I here their more accurate than the 47. What say you. By the way, Im mainly a bolt action hunter. But started into the semis and want to dive deeper in using and knowledge. Thanks for any input.
If you like the idea of cheaper ammo and dont mind stocking the .223 and 5.45, go for the AK74, its a good buy in terms of economical/practical-ness. If the cost of ammo isnt as big of an issue, look into one of the .223 Saiga rifles, either converted, or pre-converted. Many people question the AK in 5.56/.223, but I owned one for years without any issues. I’ve since moved on but would wholeheartedly reccomend them.
Or, sell your AR, and get a high end Galil build that is basically the best of the two guns combined
First off, welcome to M4C. Secondly, and I’m not trying to sound like a dick, try putting relevant information in your title thread rather than “hello”. Maybe something along the lines of “Need help or suggestions with XYZ…” and then you’ll get a lot more helpful information in your threads. Best of luck.
So the Bulgarians aren’t chrome lined thanks for the info. I think I’ll stay away from them. I do clean my rifles after every range session. Well it depends I guess. Depends on what I’m shooting and how many rounds I sent down range. But with the corrosive ammo out there I want the extra protection that a chrome lined barrel offers. I don’t like the thoughts of having to hurry home after a range session after maybe shooting some corrosive ammo and having to plunge my rifle parts into water and using ammonia to clean. I hate the smell of that stuff. Am I wrong about this guys? This is my understanding of what needs to be done after shooting corrosive ammo through a non-chrome lined barrel… Can any of you more knowledgable fellas enlighten me please. Am I correct in thinking this or am I off my rocker? Thanks for the input!
I can handle the smell, the problem is I work in Quality control Lab within a refinery and breathe nasty stuff on a daily basis. Furthermore, I’ve recently been diagnosed with a certain lung problem and was told by my Dr. that I absolutely shouldn’t be around second hand smoke and should think about a career change. Its not that I can’t handle the smell of windex…lol…its I don’t want to breathe in the junk, after breathing in Naphthas, Acetone, H2S …etc… all day long.
I understand you need to still clean that way with chrome, but my understanding is that it needs done immediately with a non chromed barrel. Like I mean immediately. Plus, I actually am going to try and stay away from the Mil surplus ammo. I hear thats the worsed. Thanks for your input though.
When I say Milsurplus I’m talking about the ammo like the Yugoslavian 1200 round wooden crate type ammo from the 80’s.
Whats the new wolf ammo, brown bear, silver bear like? I’ve never tried any of them. Is that stuff real corrosive? That Yugo stuff I mention above I ran a case or two through my old AK and that stuff was wicked corrosive.
Corrosive ammo is easy to clean up after, just use a mix of boiling water and 10% ballistol. The water dissolves the corrosive salts and because it’s so hot (boiling) is will evaporate quickly, and combined with the ballistol will keep rust from being a problem. 5.45x39 is an awesome round, cheap, accurate, and has even less recoil than .223/5.56. Just buy a lot of it now, while it’s plentiful, I’m sure when the surplus dries up and importation becomes a problem a domestic source will become available, but at a significantly higher cost.
Corrosive just deposits salts inside the gun - which then cause rust when exposed to moisture. Just wash or neutralize the salts and you are good to go. I use hot water and then WD40 to get rid of the water. No Windex needed.
The Century Bulgy AK74 with the bad poly furniture and the non chrome lined US barrel is not so good. Bought one when they where $350.00.
The fit and finish are pretty good on them (NDS2 rcvr), the problem is the barrels. Some keyhole and some do not. Mine does every now and then. Even though thats not good for accuracy it’s intended use is HD. So I figure as long as accuracy is acceptable up to about 50 yards I will keep it which it is.
I haven’t heard anything on the WASR 2 5.45’s.Centerfire has them for about $400 with original chrome lined barrels and wood stocks. I would figure that there quality is on par with the 7.62 WASR’s.
As far as cleaning the corrosive ammo residue, I just use boiling hot water to flush all the salts out and then clean as normal.
Where did you pick up the WASR 2?And how is the accuracy say around 50 yards? I don’t mind the fact the barrel is threaded for 14x1 was really curious if it jammed allot or not.
It’s not at all that Bulgarian kit based 74’s aren’t good. The Bulgarian rifles are great, as AK’s go, and a Bulgarian kit based build can be fantastic, when done right. It’s the CENTURY-built Bulgarian kit based guns, and some of the other bottom feeder builds, that aren’t so great. When Arsenal has Bulgarian kit based guns available, they’re very nice, just as the Arsenal Saiga builds are. There’s nothing about a Saiga that’s inherently better than a Bulgarian 74. If you handed Century a truck load of Saiga parts, they’d soon be selling a truck load of Saiga based POS rifles.
