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AK-47 Help....The right one to buy |
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JLud
Optics Journeyman Joined: January/30/2010 Location: Bettendorf, Iow Status: Offline Points: 670 |
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Posted: December/24/2010 at 22:04 |
Ok so had the christmas urge to buy an ak, never had one. Looking, there are a TON to choose from. Read a bit on stamped vs milled, not sure many people agree that milled is worth paying more for.....
Other then that, found these 3 that seem ok....
Lancaster Arms ak in the Russian Red...wood matches, looks nice as much as they can, stamped, about 700 bucks
Century Arms 1960 polish with milled receiver for about 500 bucks.
Century Arms gp 1975 for about 400 bucks, stamped, seems lower end.
Now, not looking to shoot competition, just want to put hits within an 8" circle at 100 yards or better with iron sights. Mostly just a weapon to have since I dont have one, and want best bang for the buck. Probably put 1,000 rounds or less through it each year.
Any advice? Merry Christmas!
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That thing on the left....my old ride, some days I miss her.
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Urimaginaryfrnd
MODERATOR Resident Redneck Joined: June/20/2005 Location: Iowa Status: Offline Points: 14964 |
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"Always do the right thing, just because it is the right thing to do". Bobby Paul Doherty Texas Ranger |
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JLud
Optics Journeyman Joined: January/30/2010 Location: Bettendorf, Iow Status: Offline Points: 670 |
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Know anything about Interarms? Any feedback?
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That thing on the left....my old ride, some days I miss her.
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Urimaginaryfrnd
MODERATOR Resident Redneck Joined: June/20/2005 Location: Iowa Status: Offline Points: 14964 |
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Interarms firearms importer is out of business since the Early 90s, they were the primary importer for quite a few firearms makes, including Star, Mauser, Walther, Rossi, Llama, other small makers, etc. |
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"Always do the right thing, just because it is the right thing to do". Bobby Paul Doherty Texas Ranger |
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JLud
Optics Journeyman Joined: January/30/2010 Location: Bettendorf, Iow Status: Offline Points: 670 |
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Hmmmm...Atlantic Firearms recommended the Interarms one as the best value out of a few I was looking at on their site
Interarms IAC 47 W
Koraynovich Arms
Red Jacket RJ132
Soooo many to chose from. Thanks for the links, I looked through the ones you sent as well, just trying to stay under 500, already stretching to 600. |
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That thing on the left....my old ride, some days I miss her.
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Urimaginaryfrnd
MODERATOR Resident Redneck Joined: June/20/2005 Location: Iowa Status: Offline Points: 14964 |
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Im sure you will find a lot to choose from but research it first to know what you are getting. Lots of gunsmiths wont work on the evil AK.
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"Always do the right thing, just because it is the right thing to do". Bobby Paul Doherty Texas Ranger |
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Dale Clifford
Optics Jedi Knight Joined: July/04/2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 5087 |
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A perspective here :
the best ak47's are Galil , (don't you think it's ironic that the best ak was made in Israel?)
the next are Arsenal milled ak's,
the next are various stamped makers, and some of the better are
Maadi/egypt. -- early Mak--bulgarian
what makes the differences?
most ak parts are very soft, and the hammers, trigger sears, and bolt edges will start to "flow" losing dimension, especially when used on select fire.
the chrome lining in the barrel is not uniform among the various guns by the same maker let alone across the weapon system.
the coatings on the outside range from flakey to pretty good.
gunsmith's tend to choose an area of expertise, why work on a $300 gun that will have a $100 labor charge--- when you can work on a 2k gun that will have a $2-300 charge. anyway most people would not pay the price to have the ak worked on.
The galil run from 2k TO 5K IF YOU CAN FIND ONE.
the arsenal's around a 1k
so we are back to why the ak was invented in the first place, -- an exceptional all around gun for about $500. comparing which brand doesn't work because the production lots even among themselves in this price catagory vary. Just get one and have fun.
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I love little league baseball-- it keeps the kids out of the house
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JLud
Optics Journeyman Joined: January/30/2010 Location: Bettendorf, Iow Status: Offline Points: 670 |
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Well heres an update.....
At first, bought a WASR against someone heres advice.......
Before even fired it, found a great sale on Aresnal SGL 21, so bought one of those.
Took both out today to shoot....now, had very limited range, and crappy set up to shoot off of because it was at friends farm and I didnt want to drive too far.
So used some bulgarian surplus mags, tapco mags, and a romanian 75 round drum. All worked good in either, both went bang every single time using some Yugo Surplus ammo (which seemed great btw, what a steal). Anyways, it wasnt a fair comparison as I had bought a scope rail and Tac 30 for Arsenal, and open sights on the WASR. At 40 yards, a crappy rest, and surplus ammo, had no problem keeping shots in a half dollar with the Arsenal. The WASR worked great, and with open sights wasnt much worse then scope, id say 2 to 2.5 times the impact area.
Anyways, not sure what the hell if anything I proved....but Aresnal is nicer finish, seems to have the potential for more accuracy, and didnt have a crappy slant brake that was loose like the WASR. Having said that, happy with WASR as well, it held its own. If I had to pick one, it would be the Aresnal, but it was 280 more then the wasr. Didnt have time to switch the scope and try it on the wasr.
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That thing on the left....my old ride, some days I miss her.
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willua11
Optics GrassHopper Joined: February/20/2011 Location: Alabama Status: Offline Points: 10 |
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If you have the money....get a milled version. Other than that an AK is basically an AK. They are all the same.
W |
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The saying still stands in Alabama, if you don't know what something is you better kill it.
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SevenSixTwoX39
Optics GrassHopper Joined: March/13/2011 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Status: Offline Points: 4 |
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Yeah you really can't go wrong with a WASR for the price. I wouldn't buy a milled AK as they're really just heavier and have no advantage over stamped. A converted Saiga would have been a good way to go as well.
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338LAPUASLAP
Optics Master Scope Swapper Joined: October/17/2009 Status: Offline Points: 2596 |
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Arsenals are pretty much the top of the list for me while I do have 3 other makes the aresenals are the best fit best quality. All the others go bang and are pretty accurate once setup correct with the front sight adjustment tool and some trigger work and stock kits.
I do own a Galil and a Golani and I do believe them to be very reliable as well while it is not in the 7.62 it might be worth a look... Another nice 7.62 like the AK I enjoy is the Hk91 Series in PTR builds or JLD's the Cetme does not have as nice of trigger... But back to your AK. I think arsenals take a lot of crap because of the price and the mill vs not milled but I would pick either. Edited by 338LAPUASLAP - March/20/2011 at 18:27 |
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No one
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Duce
Optics Master Joined: September/19/2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1231 |
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I have one that has an Ohio Tool Works receiver, it was owned by a local gunsmith that wanted to try one to improve the accuracy. He did work on it but it is still and AK spray gun. If you care about accuracy the AK can be very frustrating. I guess a few have managed to work on them and improve the accuracy to where they were happy with it. His thoughts on the AK were the bolt opens so quickly it is hard to get consistent chamber pressure. You may want to borrow one for a couple of weekends and run a couple hundred rounds through it and see if you still want one or if the new wears off quickly.
Duce
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Duce
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HuntMaster
Optics Master Joined: March/19/2007 Location: St Stephens,Al. Status: Offline Points: 1053 |
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The WASR is great for what you pay for it. I have one in the AK74 model, it has fired many, many rounds without a hiccup, or parts breakage.
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bricat
Optics Master Joined: April/24/2007 Location: Michigan Status: Offline Points: 1881 |
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I am also happy with my WASR 10/63
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JD548
Optics Apprentice Joined: June/29/2013 Status: Offline Points: 147 |
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the best aks are made in finland. IAI's would be the next , too bad their not importable any more.
century is very hit or miss , though the do make a good one every now and again. milled is certainly worth more. i don't think they shoot any better than the stamped ones. if i was buying i would buy milled as they are the more "classic "-- a milled with red russian wood stock sets or blond bulgatian , or maybe a random-polish 88--LOL! |
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