AK-47 choices?

[cprieto]

I've got an Arsenal and a Lancaster and have had very good luck with both. I had a Norinco (way back many moons ago) and the quality of my new ones is far better. Much of this is personal choice... keep in mind that with an AK it's very hard to go wrong. There are guys out in the world shooting AKs that look like they have been buried, dropped, run over, shot, and they are still effective. One man's trash is another man's holy grail.

[NorCalK9.com]

Buy one and put the obligatory 20 rounds through it and place it into the safe...AKs are safe queens. They are a neat hobby and have history....but the the design is junk...A rasheed is so better made. And the amount of Egyptian sand I cleaned out of mine while it was still functional, makes my mak 90 a safe queen.

Maybe for you but I havnt had an ak I didnt beat and beat and damn thing is still alive. I just cant kill it. And that is why I switched from the ar to the ak. Im soon to buy a saiga or golani in 556 just so I can have a 556 again.

[nicoroshi]

After bouncing around on other AK forums i've noticed this as well. Kind of an odd group think compaired to the rest of the internet's AK community. I can understand this groups anti-Arsenal stand point and to argue that would be pointless. But really after looking into AK variants I would have to conclude if there was a "Holy Grail" of AK's it would be a Milled chrome lined Yugo M70 underfolder. But thats my free state holy grail, in Kalifornistan it would be a featureless RPK nick named "The Pelosi" that shot unicorns with rainbow tracers.

FYI: None of the Yugos original barrels are chrome lined.
I do have your "Holy Grail" though
Milled M-70AB with chrome lined Green Mountain barrel.

Honestly I have to agree that the Yugos are some of the best of the AK family I have ever seen. Built like tanks, flip up night sights standard, heavier barrels, and all of mine have great accuracy.

[hcbr]

stick with wasr's , if you can inspect them carefully (and know what to look for) or have a buddy with you that has some experience with them. Otherwise go with a gun store like henderson that inspects them!

[ZX-10R]

How come this is the only site that feels Saigas are "the best AKs"? Really, they are slapped together as cheeaply and quickly as AKs are at any other AK factory. WASRs are true AKs with military barrels which are produced at an AK factory in Romainia. Yet, most here don't speak highly of WASRs. I have to say that, in my opinion, Saigas aren't the Holy Grail of AKs. They are not even close.

Most of the guys here have only shot neutered AKs. Go to free states and Saigas are an afterthought and not really brought up much. Also it seems much harder to go into a shop and find a Yugo, Maadi, Bulgy, Romy, Chinese, Polish, Finnish, etc...If you go to a WA or OR (Yeah I got to do all of the above) gun show you can find any of those easy. So the guys here are tooting a horn about a modified gun that is an AK variant if all else. Then it is modified to have an AK look. LOL most of you have never even lived outside of the state or even out of your parents' houses. Sorry CGN...I know some here have some of the harder to get AK patterns but in reality most of you probably have never handled many of the AKs from nations listed above let alone shot one. So yeah I take most of the AK info here with a grain of salt.

When I hear Saiga over a WASR it is almost hard to believe I read that considering it is what was/is issued in Romania. No one has yet met me in SLOSA for my open challenge. Hey I am not even going to smack talk I just want to shoot your Saiga or boutique AK pattern. The we shoot for groups and if you beat me, I give you 40 rounds of ammo and buy you lunch at a decent place in San Luis Obispo. I know my WASR will win but I will also use my stock WASR and not my modded one as well. I will lose with the stock one since I can only go steel up to 50yrds with my right eye.

If a new person comes here asking for which AK to get I do not think he is thinking Saiga...He is thinking any of the nations I listed above. So instead of sounding like your are in the know...Answer his question. Out of the box, I would take a Yugo. Everything else is about the same but not to far behind.

If I bought a Saiga I would keep it stock...It is a good rifle but NO. IT IS NOT THE HOLY GRAIL OF AKS. Not by any stretch of imagination at all.

I know some of you will hate after this post...Take it in and look yourself in the mirror. A lot of you have not handled even a nice portion of the various out of the box AKs out there. So saying Saiga on every post actually sounds stupid.

[ZX-10R]

How come this is the only site that feels Saigas are "the best AKs"? Really, they are slapped together as cheeaply and quickly as AKs are at any other AK factory. WASRs are true AKs with military barrels which are produced at an AK factory in Romainia. Yet, most here don't speak highly of WASRs. I have to say that, in my opinion, Saigas aren't the Holy Grail of AKs. They are not even close.

Thank you. Hearing some of the Saiga BS here is almost ridiculous. Some Saiga parts of some AK forums are quiet and not even populated enough to have a community.

[ZX-10R]

I'll bow out of this discussion now but word to wise...If you are asking for AK pattern information, CGN is not the right place. If you are looking for build information it is a great site for someone looking to build.

Enjoy your modified Saigas.

[762.DEFENSE]

Lancaster makes some amazing AK's, along with Vector. Going with either one would be a great choice imo.

[CSACANNONEER]

Lancaster makes some amazing AK's, along with Vector. Going with either one would be a great choice imo.

Lancaster has had major problems with customer service and getting orders correct. I would not hesitate to buy one on the secondary market but, I would NEVER deal with Lancaster dirrectly. BTW, if anyone is looking for one, I have a friend wanting to sell a Lancaster for what he has into it.

If I was going to go with a high priced AK, I'd go with a Krebs. I had the pleasure of meeting both him and his wife at this year's SHOT and from the hour or so I spent with them, I would feel very comfortable doing bussiness with them.

[CSACANNONEER]

Hey I am not even going to smack talk I just want to shoot your Saiga or boutique AK pattern. The we shoot for groups and if you beat me, I give you 40 rounds of ammo and buy you lunch at a decent place in San Luis Obispo. I know my WASR will win but I will also use my stock WASR and not my modded one as well. I will lose with the stock one since I can only go steel up to 50yrds with my right eye.

If I was up that way, I'd take you up on this with my homebuilt AMD65 pistol (off a rest). Or, better yet, my PAR-1 and handloads against your WASR with Russian (surplus or commercial) ammo. Hey, could I use my WASR-3 against your WASR-10? BTW, I'd rather have a pier pounder for lunch. Would you be willing to take me to Pismo instead of SLO?

[chim-chim7]

[QUOTE=JOLLYROGER;6851074] no saiga....looking at wasr-10 or something QUOTE]



Yea I am looking for a polymer pistol, no Glocks or XD's, something like a Hi-Point or Phoenix arms...

A converted Saiga IS the best running platform and barrel you can get without building your own from a flat receiver.

[FiveSeven]

Most of the guys here have only shot neutered AKs. Go to free states and Saigas are an afterthought and not really brought up much. Also it seems much harder to go into a shop and find a Yugo, Maadi, Bulgy, Romy, Chinese, Polish, Finnish, etc...If you go to a WA or OR (Yeah I got to do all of the above) ....................

Pure nonsense. Majority here have been around AK's for a while and even though everyone has their opinion you lack some facts.
Fact. Saiga is made in the same factory by the same people with the same tooling as military AK's, yes from the same metals with the same process. (I hate repeating myself but in this case I think I have to).

All those international AK's you mention, vast majority are assembled from parts kits with U.S made receivers. I for one will never purchase someone else build as I personally witness some of them fall apart. It's similar as purchasing reloaded ammo at the gun show, like saying goes "If you want something done right, you do it yourself"....or in my case trust the professionals who made them for more than half a century.

Second to that, AK was invented in Russia and so was it perfected there. Soviets had R&D in it and just like most things in life, the more you do it the better you get at it.
If it's good enough for Soviet/Russian military it's good enough for me. After all we are talking about hammer forged-chrome lined barrel fused with the best stamped receiver produced. All other things are small potatoes (trigger group, pg, stock etc).
There is no way Egyptian firearm industry would be capable of making better AK than the Russians, so goes for Romania. Nearly all of those have horrible fit and finish and contributed to "loose" and junk feel of AK stereotype. I shot pre ban excellent condition Chinese MAK-90 that was good enough to hit a barn at 50 yards. As far as Yugo AK goes, sorry but no chrome barrel means shorter barrel life and possibly faster erosion after shooting surplus ammo, this would be unacceptable by Soviet standards.

And about Saiga community being nearly non-existent in AK forums and outside here?........ Last time I checked, Arsenal is the most popular AK outside CA and now all of their line up is based on Saiga conversions. Arsenal used to make their own a while back but now it's pretty much based on Saiga's, Why do you think that is? Same goes for Krebs.
Why don't they try to modify and sell some WASR's or Yugos? I mean WASR is so much better, right? Look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself those questions.

If I was going to go with a high priced AK, I'd go with a Krebs. I had the pleasure of meeting both him and his wife at this year's SHOT and from the hour or so I spent with them, I would feel very comfortable doing bussiness with them.

Just like I mention above, Krebs speaks highly of Russian built Saiga and they made a decision to use only Saigas as their conversion platform.

[only10x]

Awesome thread. Ive yet to shoot one but I like the idea of building one
TAG!

[CSACANNONEER]

Pure nonsense.


All those international AK's you mention, vast majority are assembled from parts kits with U.S made receivers. I for one will never purchase someone else build as I personally witness some of them fall apart.

Yep, this is pure nonsense. Even converted Saigas have the barrel and some rivets removed by some guy in this contry and are then rebuilt here. So, if you truely want an AK which has not had any major work done to it since it left the factory of orgin, you are stuck with a pre import ban AK or a WASR. There is a reason that Arsenal is required to put their name on their rifles. It is because they have remanufactured the Saiga in the states. So, you follow your own logic, you will never buy an Arsenal, just an original Saiga or a WASR.

[ZX-10R]

Yep, this is pure nonsense. Even converted Saigas have the barrel and some rivets removed by some guy in this contry and are then rebuilt here. So, if you truely want an AK which has not had any major work done to it since it left the factory of orgin, you are stuck with a pre import ban AK or a WASR. There is a reason that Arsenal is required to put their name on their rifles. It is because they have remanufactured the Saiga in the states. So, you follow your own logic, you will never buy an Arsenal, just an original Saiga or a WASR.

Don't waste your time bro. These people have not left this state yet and have not been into gun shops that stock various AK patterns. They will get granular on you and in the end it points toward their Saigas being flawed in logic as well.

Keep the faith brother and thankfully you are on other AK forums.