I am looking at possibly getting a good quality AK47 next year and wanted to know what companies to look at for my research. I am also considering a FNPS90instead of the AK. This year has been a blessing for me because the wife has let me purchase numerous guns, however she put a limit of one gun for next year so I want to make it count. I am looking at using these for mostly plinking around and maybe some home defense. Any help would be greatly appreciated I love the information on the forums here and it has already lead me to purchase my Smith and Wesson M&P15A as well as my M&P9, both of which I love.
My expertise on AKs doesn’t allow me to comment on AK Manufacturers. However, I have an AKM type (7.62X39) and after firing my buddies AK-74 (5.45X39) I wish I had gone that route.
The recoil is comparable to the .223 (not that the 7.62 is bad at all) and the is ammo as cheap as 7.62 used to be.
One thing about 5.45 is alot of the cheap bulk ammo out there is corrosive to a certain degree.
There are a number of threads about Arsenal AK’s - run a search and see what you find. They are generally considered GTG.
I prefer 7.62 over 5.45 for my own reasons, but if you’re planning on using it as a range toy I wouldn’t sweat those much.
Arsenals are very good weapons. I own two and am quite pleased with their performance and over all quality.
SGL 21 and don’t look back.
I don’t have a lot of AK experience, but what I have leads me to echo this sentiment.
-RD62
I’ve tried a few and sold everything but my Arsenals. They are generally very good quality and much better then the others I have tried, even a few so called customs.
+1, SGL21 is a great rifle and IMO the best production AK for the money that is readily available. The SGL31 is also a great rifle if you want a 5.45 AK instead.
Lancaster makes some good ones for a decent price, the have milled lowers on them not stamped, also I had a Century Arms WASR-10 and It was nice, I upgraded some things to make it perform better but at a price of around $300-350 heck at JG arms if you buy 2 or more you even get a discount.
Who makes the best Russian milled AK-47 (7.62) rifle with traditional red wood side folding rear stock? Is this the famous Type 3?
Can wood stocks and a side folder be added to a SGL21?
?
Side folding wood stock? The only one I am aware of is the uber rare RPK-S.
When shopping for an AK you have to ask yourself a few basic questions:
Caliber
Milled/Stamped
Fixed/Underfolding/Sidefolding
Barrel Length
Intended use.
you really cant go wrong with an arsenal, they make or have made AKM type rifles in just about every configuration imaginable and their quality is top notch.
While some of the information is slightly dated, the core info is still good to go.
http://m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=30850
Take a hard look at the Arsenal Inc. series.
I’d not feel confident in the Lancaster products that I’ve seen.
What are you guys opinion on MAK 90’s
They can be great rifles, there are several variations.
All of them should be reliable, the variations are in how the receiver is put together, whether is stamped with a standard profile, or stamped with a slant cut on the back to prevent you from putting a military stock on it, or milled with a slant cut…
Ironwood Designs makes great US made stocks for them if you want to return the rifle to a more original configuration, whether it has a standard receiver or slant cut.
Can you put a slant muzzle brake on a SGL-21? Besides wood stocks, what else would have to be done to a SGL-21 to make it as much like a classic AKM as possible? Or am I totally confused?
You’re totally confused…:ph34r:
No worries though…
The SGL series is the modern, updated Kalashnikov based on the AK-74/AK-100 series, without the side folding stock of the AK-100 series.
The gas block, position of the gas port, front sight, etc. are all wrong for an AKM.
If you want a traditional looking AKM, find an Egyptian Maadi, a Hungarian SA-85, or a Romanian SAR-1 and you’ll be very close.
Or, get a Romanian kit and have a smith build one for you on a Nodak receiver.
The current crop of WASR 10/63’s as gone over by and certified OK by Henderson Defense are probably the best bang for the buck currently.
Thanks. That helps.
What about an AK-47 Type 3 (milled receiver, right?). Does anyone make a good clone? Or am I confused again?
You might want to take a look through the tacked threads at the top of the forum about AK’s…it will help.
Currently, no one makes a good clone of a Type III. Century Arms and Lancaster make something with a milled receiver (theirs are cast) and various parts thrown together. The ones I’ve seen have been unsat, and based on the history of the companies, I wouldn’t personally buy one.
The two closest clones of the Type III will be a pre-1989 import Polytech Legend, or an Arsenal Inc. SA-M7 Classic. Both will run you upwards of $1.5K.
You can score a Chinese milled MAK 90, and if it doesn’t have a slant cut receiver you’re good. You can also find a Bulgarian Arsenal SA-93 post ban and then unban it.
Tanks again. I’ve read all the stickies, but they don’t answer exactly what I wanted know. Or at least I don’t yet understand how to put all the pieces of info together to get what I need to know.