Today I managed to get a FREE Russian SAR-1 AK from my dad
I just had to clean his 13 Colts, 3 Glocks, and load 60 V-Max bullets for him… which wasn’t to bad.
Anyhow, I went out to the farm today and let off about 60 shots ( I didn’t have a lot of time). Already I can tell I hate the wood stock, grip, and the wooden handguard.
First things first, it’s a Romanian AK not Russian.
SAR-1s are stamped receivers so it will accept most stocks made for stamped receivers EXCEPT Chinese and Yugo stocks which use thicker stamped receivers than most AKM variants.
The Strikeforce set is probably Tapco quality shit that will melt. My first word of advice is don’t try and turn your AK into an AR. If you want polymer furniture try this.
By no means am I trying to turn this AK into my M4, I just want it to be comfortable to me. I REALLY hate the wood feel as compared to my Magpul gear on my PSA. And the stock feels very… narrow and to long.
I ONLY want to a micro-dot from Primary Arms and that’s it. I’m not going to dress this up with stuff I don’t need.
You will probably find the Arsenal military grade stock set to be a big improvement. And if all you are gonna run is a Micro Dot then just grab an Ultimak top handguard for it. Keep in mind that Arsenal stock is available in Plum, OD green and FDE if such things interest you.
Take a look at Dave’s thread, he pretty much covered everything under the sun.
The stock you recommended is nice, but I don’t know a lot about it, and it looks… long and thin, I’m a big guy, and I don’t want something that feels like it’s cutting into my arm because it’s so narrow. Is there any way I can add a Magpul stock to it instead? I take it there’s no buffer tube extension like on an AR.
Do I need an adapter or something? What’s the adapter called?
There are other cheaper (price & quality) options. I believe Ace (www.riflestocks.com) sells one too, but my company blocks blocks their website. So, I can’t confirm it for you.
I was looking for a way to improve the ergonomics of my AK’s stock and have it as folder to boot. I bought the Bonesteel/CNC Warrior folder with the integrated mil-spec buffer tube and put a Magpul MOE stock on it. So far it has been awesome, love having the best of both worlds.
If it looks too long buy the WARSAW stock, it is shorter than the NATO length stock. Both are almost as thick as a AR15 A2 stock and both are THICKER than any M4 style stock on a buffer tube.
The current wooden buttstock on your SAR-1 is Warsaw Pact length.
I would put a light and RDS on it and leave it be. The furniture is serviceable and adequate. The article is very good.
I wish I had followed that advice.
But ended up going the folding stock route for some other reasons. Most of the options that are reasonably priced to outfit an AK are mediocre quality.
The folding Tapco stock, for example, will let you slide an AK under your seat for when SHTF, and will serve you well for a while when needed.
But I don’t think it would last too many trips outside the wire
The following simple mods have made my SAR-1 a pleasure to shoot. YMMV.
Romanian wire side folding stock given the para-cord treatment.
US PALM AK battle grip (fully stippled).
Fully stippled palm swell on lower Arsenal/K-VAR handguard.
Krebs Custom enhanced saftey lever.
BFG padded VCAS.
Tapco (yes Tapco) G2 FCG and retaining plate.
I have a Romanian SAR-1, and I’m 5’9". I bought a NATO type stock, and actually thought it was too long and sold it. I like the original stock, because I favor wood, but I did take off the gloss finish.
Well… I already ordered the Vltor tube (to be used with a Magpul stock), the Hogue grip, Valmet recoil buffer, and a detachable rail side mount for my PA micro red-dot.
I just REALLY, and I mean REALLY hate the way the stock feels. And the handle isn’t comfortable at all.
I’ll eventually replace the handguards, but right now… I’m all about making the rifle more comfortable for my taste and not so much as cosmetic looks.
I just purchased the IWC /RDAK-M4 adapter since I have all the M4 components laying around. I also switched to the Tapco SAW grip or any SAW grip, I really like them. It had a side folder wire that was not conducive for a cheek weld. I need comfort to burn through my ever growing 17K of 5.45
Much about stock length depends on not only the height of the shooter (and of course, the correspondingly longer arms) but also about shooting technique.
I’m 5’11" and I run my stocks shorter than many guys several inches shorter than me. With ACE stocks on AK’s, I always prefer the shortest length and on M4’s and AR’s the adjustable stock is invariably totally collapsed (armor or no armor).
Just something to bear in mind when someone tells you to get a NATO length stock because you’re XYZ height.
Same kinda thing for grips. Regular AK grips are just fine for me (there’s an on-going joke about my lady hands). I tried (and subsequently disregarded) the US Palm grip because it was too large (I was hoping it would be of similar size to the TangoDown AR grip but alas…)
Probably the most comfortable AK grip I’ve used was an AR A2 grip with the nubbin’ cut off and modified to fit an AK. The Molot pistol grip is a close second.
Amazingly, after conducting numerous joint combat operations with the Romanian 341st INF in MND-SE, they are still using the old Warsaw Pact stocks. I guess their NATO stocks are on backorder from Midway too?
(It’s just a semantic issue, but bigger than Mag vs. Clip, IMO)
I think these long buttstocks are too long for everyone. Most of the people who sing their praises are standing straight up or benched, and not in a good shooting position anyway.
I only have ONE, 30rd. magazine for my AK. I was looking at pictures and noticed a lot of people have the Tapco mags for the AK. Are they on par with Magpul is to AR’s?
Or should I not even worry about those and look for the metal ones?
Tapco = piece of shit. DO NOT get these for duty/self-defense. In the current climate I would get these only for training/range work. For serious use stick with Eastern bloc steel AK mags and or Bulgarian Circle 10 “waffle mags”.
