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[jesse3533]

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[AKSOG]

It's going to depend on the type of AK.

[evolixsurf]

you would probably want a virgin east german(very hard to find and expensive) or a bulgarian that has been drilled but pulled before being used. Whatacountry.com sometimes has them for around $140. I wouldnt personally go with a us barrel because of the more large diameter of the rifling. Do some reasearch, but its best to go with a non us bbl.

[munkeeboi]

personally, I've used nothing other than european barrels, but if you're not willing to spend $140+ for a barrel plus any re-populating/headspacing work that you may need to get done (if you can't do it yourself), I've heard the green mountain ones and arms of america barrels have done well for a lot of people.

What rifle and why do you need a new barrel?

[AKSOG]

Good luck finding a E German barrel. They are next to impossible to track down. Also you have to buy complete kit from WAC if you want a pulled barrel directly from them.

[evolixsurf]

I can find one for you at the right price of course....

[69Mach1]

Why do you need to replace the barrel? And which AK variant? Curious.

[jesse3533]

I messed up a little threading the muzzle. The brake dosen't fit perfectly strait.

[Richard Erichsen]

Hey ak guys. What would be the best way to go about re-barreling a 5.45 ak? And is there a preferred barrel out there? Please help.

There is an unjustified fear of all US barrels despite the rumors that circulated never pointing to any of the well known makers.

Arms of America and a few others sell the Montana Rifleman barrels in both chrome lined and plain. I prefer the plain myself. These have the best reputation going and I've never heard a peep about problems with any of their products.

AK Builder has set up shop to make barrels and are apparently doing quite a job with very competitive prices. He uses Green Mountain blanks that he turns to finish profile and chambers them. The track record isn't very long, but Curtis takes customer care seriously and any problem you have WILL be dealt with.

Green Mountain have had some minor issues with journal dimensions (usually too large, but sometimes too small) though the February batch has been reported as quite good from the AK74 barrels straight up to the RPK barrels.

ESS makes AK74 barrels, RPK and other barrels but they have also had a few product problems (though none that I am aware of for bore diameter). If you cannot find barrels from the other three, ESS remains an option.

If you cannot clearly identify the source of the barrel or the spec the barrel was built to, look elsewhere. There have been several barrels made in small batches from unknown sources with out of spec bore diameters, incorrect rifling twist rates, incorrect outer barrel profiles on almost every journal, pre drilled for gas ports in the wrong location, non-concentric muzzle threads, rough chambers, you name it. It is a few of these barrels that continue to cast doubts on reputable US barrel producers, which is unfortunate.

While barrels from Bulgaria and East Germany can still be sourced (though almost exclusively in complete kits at this point, not individually) and yes they are a "known good" in terms of barrel specs, they are not the pentultimate either. US barrels made on modern tooling by folks who know what they are doing and perform quality control on their products are as good or better than anything that a communist country pumped out to a quota at that height of the Cold War. A well made plain, or Melonite QPQ treated barrel will be more intrinsically accurate and with the QPQ treatment will be just as corrosion, wear and thermally resistant as the chrome lined barrel without the downside of chrome lining's inconsistent bore diameter. For folks who like to push their skills and their AK74s to the limits of the effective range, this may or may not be a consideration.

R

[Richard Erichsen]

I messed up a little threading the muzzle. The brake dosen't fit perfectly strait.

How long is the barrel? You could cut the end off and start over, paying attention to concentricity. If this results in a barrel under 16", you could blind pin, or high temperature solder (braze) the brake on.

R

[zfields]

How long is the barrel? You could cut the end off and start over, paying attention to concentricity. If this results in a barrel under 16", you could blind pin, or high temperature solder (braze) the brake on.

R

Thats what I would do personally.