Shakey wants to buy an AK !!

[ShakeyDad]

O.K., here's the deal. When the income tax check comes in, I have a bit of money I can spend on a rifle. This is going to be my first rifle, and I would like some advice as to what to look for (specs, and things like that). I don't wanna walk into the store and say "Hi, I have some money, sell me an AK". I would like to know what I should be looking for. It has to be an AK because of the money issue, for now. Is there any specific brand I should look for ? Any specific caliber ? Things like that. I only ask because I don't know anything about them. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[knighthawk06699]

Well first off if it is made in any of the asian countries run!! You are look for the old russian countries. Romania makes a very nice AK. Next you have to decide do you want a collapseable stock? If so what kind metal that folds off to one side or a retractable polymer one, like Tapco makes. Or would you perfer a wood stock, my personal favorite. A true AK comes in one caliber 7.62. They do also come in .223/5.56. It is my belief that makes it an AK-74 but that is my opinion. There is also one more option you could get a Galil, they are a but more exspensive. The Isreali army took the AK upgraded a few thing any move the rear sight from the middle of the gun, to the rear drastically improving the accuracy.

[bige64]

this site should tell you anything you would ever want to know about an AK...

http://www.ak-47.net/ak47/index.html

[nfafan]

Not to be abrupt, but search is your friend.

This exact topic was beaten deader than McCain's chances of election within the past 6 weeks on this site.

[PA Rifleman]

Originally Posted by ShakeyDad

This is going to be my first rifle, and I would like some advice as to what to look for (specs, and things like that). ... It has to be an AK because of the money issue, for now. Is there any specific brand I should look for ? ...

Think about why you're buying it. If you just want a 7.62x39 rifle that goes bang, a WASR or even an SKS will do the trick. There are a lot of posters on this board that are happy with their WASRs.

The big issue with WASRs is cosmetics. WASR rifle apparently start out life in single-stack configuration. After importation, the magazine well is ground out so it will take a high-capacity magazine. It's easy to spot these, as they lack the magazine well "dimple". Like many post-import conversions, there's a lot of variation in quality.

If you want to start drifting closer to the original appearance of a military issue AK, the older Romanian SAR series might be worth a look, there was another poster selling his for $400. The Romanian SARs seem to be the intersection between good price and accurate appearance. The SARs started out life as high capacity and have a good reputation for reliability. The one negative point I frequently hear is slight front sight or gas black misalignment. Not enough to hinder operation, but enough to be aesthetically annoying. I've fixed this on several Romanian AKs, and they -are- nice when this is corrected. SARs came in three flavors:

SAR-1 (7.62x39)
SAR-2 (5.45x39)
SAR-3 (.223 remiington/5.56x45)

Take a look at this Romanian AK page for more information: >Link<

The closest AKs before getting into title II guns were the pre-1989 imports, but they'll be around $800, and you could get a nice AR for that. I assume your budget's under $800, so I'll recommend an SAR, even used.

Originally Posted by knighthawk06699

Well first off if it is made in any of the asian countries run!! You are look for the old russian countries. [sic] Romania makes a very nice AK. ...

Okay, I'm with you with the Romanian AKs. What's wrong with Chinese AKs?

Here's my Chinese AKMS:

Bought in 1983-84, still running.

What's wrong with that?

Here's another Chinese Norinco AK-84 (.223 Remington) in my collection:

Bought this one in the late 80s. Actually shoots accurately.

What should we be concerned about?

Originally Posted by knighthawk06699

...You are look for the old russian countries. [sic] ...

Did you mean to type Eastern European countries? Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria and Romania all made very good AKs

[knighthawk06699]

Well the asian AK's from place like china, korea.. I have heard nothing but horror stories about. Here is my main concern though how much longer will the 7.62 rounds be available?? I heard a rumor that they are getting increasingly hard to find. Is this true?

[crlovel]

I have no trouble finding plenty of 7.62x39 ammo.

Currently, the best AK generally available on the market are the Yugoslavian imports. You can get one for about $500. If you want to spend more, the Arsenal Bulgarian AKs are excellent. Vector also makes an excellent AK. Personally, I'm not a fan of the WASRs, but they do go bang when you pull the trigger.

[PA Rifleman]

Originally Posted by knighthawk06699

Well the asian AK's from place like china, korea.. I have heard nothing but horror stories about. Here is my main concern though how much longer will the 7.62 rounds be available?? I heard a rumor that they are getting increasingly hard to find. Is this true?

Interesting. South Korea doesn't use the AK...and we don't have trade ties with North Korea. China (Norinco & Polytech) made the vast majority of AKs and SKS rifles imported into the US until at least 1989. The Chinese flooded the US market heavily enough that Chinese AKs were still dominant on the secondary market (used, New-Old-Stock) for years afterward. I didn't hear of any systematic problems with the AKs, but I did hear of slam-fire issues with certain SKS rifles. About half of my shooting friends still have their AKs, at least half are Chinese. Between their and my collection combined none have ever required any service other than routine cleaning. I'm not calling BS on your post, but I will say that I haven't heard nor witnessed anything like what you're reporting. Further, I've shot quite a few Asian AKs personally.

For 7.62x39 to be completely unavailable, it would be necessary to completely shut down the domestic ammunition manufacturing market. In that case, it wouldn't matter what your primary ammunition size is, or what country your firearm collection came from.

7.62x39 ammunition went mainstream in the US a long time ago. Even if all 7.62x39 imports were stopped*, the domestic ammunition makes would swiftly rush in to fill the void. Winchester, Remington & Federal already make 7.62x39. For 7.62x39 to be completely unavailable, it would be necessary to completely shut down the domestic ammunition manufacturing market. In that case, it wouldn't matter what your primary ammunition size is, or what country your firearm collection came from.

7.62x39 is not hard to find. What people are complaining about is the lack of cheap surplus 7.62x39 ammunition. Most 7.62x39 users are accustomed to paying around 8 to 12 cents a round, which was $80-$120 per case of a thousand rounds years ago. Right now 7.62x39 is still cheaper than commercial ammunition.

* Not that the current Democratic Presidential candidates would contemplate such an outrage against the gunowners that voted against them. </sarcasm> <---for the clueless.

[Shawn.L]

go here:
http://www.ak-47.net/ak47/faq.php#Buy

the "what should I look for" part is mostly what you are asking for

[fultonCoShooter]

id get a AK74(5.45x39) for the simple fact that 5.45x39 ammo is cheep right now. and id stack it deep