I recently purchased my first AK-47. I’m hoping some of the more experienced members here can provide some info on this rifle’s background and overall quality.
It’s an Arsenal SLR-100. I know these rifles were imported around the 1999-2000 time frame; Bulgarian receiver with Hungarian parts kit.
Does anyone know more about the builder, Blue Ridge Precision (BRP)?
Receiver has an ‘MD’ serial number prefix and the parts kit has a ‘BM’ prefix. Barrel has a different serial number with the ‘F’ circle stamp shown below.
Blue Ridge was one of several builders producing rifles with the Bulgarian SLR-100 receivers. G-Tech was the best, the rest are more hit-or-miss. It’s built using good parts, so it really just depends on how well that particular rifle was assembled by BRP. It’s not collectible persay, but just a good milled AK using good mismatched parts, if it runs it should serve you well.
Tennessee Guns sold some similar Type 3 guns and used the same builders. It’s a parts kit gun BUT it should have a factory original barrel, it has a in spec receiver and generally the build is night and day above a Century Arms “parts kit” gun.
Some of the parts kits used in the Tennessee Guns Type 3s were pretty worn out but if yours runs right and the barrel isn’t pitted, has rifling, etc. you have a pretty authentic Type 3.
Given the absence of true T3 parts kits with original barrels you could fairly call the rifle “collectible.” It won’t really be valuable so long as SAM 7 rifles are imported, just as 6920 prices keep SP1 carbines from climbing too high.
These were made during the ban so it should feature NO bayo lug and a slant brake that is non removable. You also have a nice red stock set. Looks like a nice keeper.
That rifle was never supposed to have a bayonet lug, the bayonet affixed to the gas block. It would have a muzzle nut, instead of a slant brake, to be correct.
Hmmmm, might be later production. I’m hoping you have an original barrel.
Just when you start to think you know everything.
Is the slant brake exclusive to the AKM? I thought some later production 47s had them.
I knew there were two kinds of bayos, I didn’t realize the early ones didn’t need some kind of lug. Currently I don’t own any milled AKs so we are in an area where I don’t have a lot of first hand knowledge beyond what I’ve seen customers purchase.
When AKs were cheap, I got very excited and started learning and accumulating. I, like many here, grew up in the cold war, and had the privilege of going to Europe and looking over the fence at the other side, bearing AKs. I never considered myself a collector, and came to the conclusion that while produced in numerically superior numbers, its significance isn’t any particular genius, just the right gun at the right time in massive quantities… not the right attitude to be welcomed on any hard core AK forum. So, my interest tapered off, and though I still have over a dozen variants, I’m kind of like ‘meh’ about AKs these days.
Having said that, I think the slant brake is an AKM development, but couldn’t say for sure, without research. Anecdotally, if you search images, nearly all will have the muzzle nut rather than the slant brake. My AK geek mojo tapered off a few years back, though, and I have lost the drive. I do still have a soft spot for them.
