Vickers recent video featuring the AK74 has spawned my interest in an AK74 or AK105 clone. Does anyone have both a SBRed 107CR and a 12" AK74? Are there any noticeable downsides of going with a 12" AK74 vs a 16"? I’m trying to decide if it would be worth the expense to add a 12" '74 to the collection or if I’d be better offer just buying 4-5 cases of 7.62x39 ammo instead and shooting my 107CR SBR more.
If ammo is an option, always go with the ammo. Especially when it’s primarily imported ammo.
107CR…keep in mind while it looks like an AK-104 clone there are subtle differences between the Bulgarian including no 100 series parts and more importantly Bulgy 102/104/105 style combo blocks are different than the Russian versions. The Bulgy barrel is a tad longer also.
5.45 is not as velocity dependent as 5.56 but I’d much prefer the .30 cal out of a shorter barrel.
This^
Well some say that the 7.62x39 was the original 300blk out. :-). I tend to agree that the expense to purchase a new 104FR, cut the barrel and replace the gas block with a sight/gas block is probably not worth the benefit over having the equivalent value in 7.62x39 ammo for my 107CR. Still curious to see how people like a 12" AK74.
Not to mention a decent supply of magazines is going to easily equal the cost of the rifle itself.
I had a couple 5.45 AK’s, but decided to let them go. They were not SBR’s, but they were still pleasant to shoot and very accurate as far as AK’s go. I just decided in the end that the difference between 5.56 and 5.45 was not big enough, so I downsized to just 7.62 for AK, and AR in 5.56.
I’ve been tempted to get another 74 a few times, but when I started factoring in the price of everything to start up again it just didn’t make sense realistically.
An excellent point about the mags as I’m a staunch advocate for having enough mags to last the lifetime of a gun and then some. Looks like I’ll be forgoing adding a new gun and just enjoying what I have, which is probably a good rule of thumb in general.
I honestly think it doesn’t matter much and both are VERY well suited for barrels shorter than 16’’ in terms of terminal ballistics. I personally prefer the accuracy and speed of follow up shots with the 5.45 but both are good options.
While I still prefer the .30 cal, I agree. Ammo, mags, and $ would be a bigger determining factor here for me.