how come there are no american manufactures of aks?
i would think that somewhere along the line, even if the price was crazy, someone would want to buy a wholey american made ak.
922 doesn’t apply if it is made in america right?
are there patents that the united states would respect? or is it just purely economically unviable?
I would imagine you might have many issues.
1st being that your not going to bring it in anywhere near the price point of an imported AK.
If you were going to build AK’s you might want to start with tweeking a bit of the bad stuff and then some of the good stuff to make it better and before long it isn’t an AK anymore.
At what point are you going to equal the quality of the AK and then at what point are you going to do it better and then when would it finally give you a return on your investment?
The myriad of logistical and legal issues aside, there are somethings just better left alone…
It is what it is, either like it or leave it.
The current spike in prices and the uncertainties of import availability due to current and potential future roadblocks make the possibility of a high-quality US made AK more likely now than ever. I’m not trying to discount previous efforts, but they were not well accepted.
Kansas and Montana might be places where “made in america” state only - built and owned - could happen soon.
correct me if im wrong but arsenal inc makes full US made AK’s. I’m not referring to the bulgarian SLR or Russian SGL series. These are the milled receiver models like the SA variants such as the M-7 classic http://www.arsenalinc.com/usa/SA_M-7_CLASSIC.html I agree with you though, I would like to see more AK’s manufactures especially if we could get more cool variants like AKSU’s or even other Russian style rifles like SVD’s.
Those rifles still use Bulgarian carriers, bolts, fsb, rsb, and I believe muzzle device. But there are a lot of parts being made in the US now, including quality gas blocks. I just wish Daniel Defense would start making hammer forged barrels. US made carriers and bolts would be nice too, but quality affordable barrels are a major stumbling block. I think we’ll see an all American AK within the next five years as long as no major legislation derails the industry.
Uhhh… I have an American made am? Even says made in USA on the side of the receiver
Yes…IO and Century have made aks in the US. As stated previously, neither of these has been well received. If its not one of those two, then it’s likely just the receiver and 922r parts.
This is as close as I’ve gotten to an American AK so far - 
Keep in mind that most of the equipment used to make AK’s was paid for long ago by the communists, so they have very little capital equipment overhead. If you were have the money to invest in the equipment necessary, you could instead spend a similar amount of money to manufacture a newer design rifle that would sell for more.
If I were to buy an AK I think I would prefer a foreign build or at least genuine foreign parts for collect-ability/cool-factor. One of the coolest things about the AK is the number of variants and countries in which it was produced. The AK is not an american platform. Now I like my AR15 parts made in American. It’s an American Gun.
Basically you need to be able to make barrel (hammer forge is a plus), casting line, some 2 and 3 axis CNC machines, stamping press, coating/hardening facility, some specialized assembly equipment, set of feeler gauges, good dimensional testing station. Plus good TDP. That is how they make Beryls here in Poland. Some things like casting or extruding alu profiles (for railed handguard) can be easily outsourced.
What is key component here is good TDP, good QA process at every step, having proper gages for everything and specialized assembly line (no, you do not use hammer to install gas block and front sight on quality AK).
There are several locations and people who have the knowledge and ability to make them, but people always complain about the prices, so what is the incentive?
At least a half dozen respected manufacturers already make receivers and other components in the US, with several others who are less well regarded making more.
It’s simply a question of economics.
This is the truth of it. I think a lot of the American manufacturers know how much profit margin is being made on the foreign parts. K-var overcharges for their stuff, we all know it. If an American company started putting out rifles, they’re probably not going to be cheap. K-var could simply reduce prices and edge them out of the game while still making a healthy profit. There’s not a lot of incentive there, and that’s a shame.
I was doing research on that. US market for AK style rifles is spoiled by prices of surplus kits, that were sold per kilogram by ex-Warsaw Pact countries and companies that were selling under cost just to have any cashflow. Serious manufacturer, with quality product never will fill this kind of price expectation. Realistically good AK should cost about same as good AR.
SIG 556 is 85% AK.
…and 5% AR, 10% SIG garbage, and 0% Quality Control.
I’d rather see the inexpensive imported rifles come in again than see a US manufacturer tool up, sell a bunch of expensive rifles, find out where they screwed up, and turn out a second generation of rifles that are “new and improved! Made to true(er) AKM Specs!”
Does anyone remember the days of the $289 SAR-1?
My thoughts as well. I lucked out just last week and found a Polish underfolder for $300. Dude needed money, and I worked him pretty hard. He was originally asking 800 bucks.
For that price, I’d be worried that it’s stolen.
Normally I would be too, but I had to work the guy really hard. And I insisted on a bill of sale and copy of his driver’s license. He just needed money more than the AK.