I know just enough about AK’s to have a clue about some of what I don’t know.
I will be creating an AK pistol from a flat and parts kit. The people I am working with are highly experienced in AK building , and my friend is machinist , and has a home machine shop. So I will have lots of guidence . Obviously all state and federal laws will be followed , etc. I’m not going to pretend an Ak pistol is “practical” , but having watch aspects of constructing AK’s , it’s intreaging , yet totally different from building AR’s.
So my question : I don’t want to have to reengeneer the wheel from a rectangle, I’d like to use parts that are known to work together. The obvious choice is an AMD-65 parts kit. But the only catch is I already have a 12.5in AMD SBR ( my only AK , and I like it) , and feel it might be redundent to have two identical firearms , except for the folding stock.
Are there other readily ( and semi-reasonable $ ) available proven combinations out there ? Preferably with shorter bbl? Or do I just suck it up and do another AMD ?
Nothing at all wrong with having multiple similar guns. Less spares to inventory, muscle memory, ammo. Go for it!
Sounds like you need a Suka/Krinkov in your life.
Why is an AMD kit the obvious choice? The stock sucks balls…
He’s building a pistol from a parts kit. The stock won’t be used.
Hooked on Phonics didn’t work for me.
Since new parts kits don’t come with barrels, and you’re not using the stock, the only way an AMD kit would be an advantage is if you found an old one with a barrel. I do like Hungarian AKs, and think the quality is among the best, but pretty much all of them will work well if you do your part. You machinist friend can cut and thread your barrels, so that shouldn’t be a concern.
Stay with the European pattern, in 7.62x39, and shop for deals.
might i also suggest an m92 zastava/yugo/serbian? out of all the ones ive built these kits were superb but ymmv. I built a m92 khyber pass using a russian 74 side folder in it as opposed to the stock underfolder but you could just as easily have a flat rear trunnion with no stock…
i would look for an already headspaced (barrel to trunnion) parts kit as that will make things much easier and everything should already be pinned in… but since you have a friend with machinery a vertical mill could be used to headspace a virgin barrel just as easily with a little patience and allot of reading.
also there are a few ak specific parts that he most likely wont have… assuming he has a shop press you need the receiver jigs, jig to press out barrel pin if you are getting a de-mil’d parts kit, jigs for riveting trigger guard, center rivet, and riveting tool for trunnions. you will also need some way of spot welding the rails and heat treating. im sure im leaving some stuff out but at the end of the day buying these parts will pay dividends because you can build all your own aks from there on out.
if you wants 7.62 platform then i suggest the m92… otherwise a 74su parts kit would be awesome
the ballistics of a 7.62x39 out of a barrel like that though leaves much to be desired
you will also need some way of pressing out and in the barrel