I am so confussed

[tim-adams]

Hello
I am rather new here, been lurking and reading for awhile.. never posted, I joined after I built my AR, I am now looking to diversify and get an AK

I have been reading up on AK's on a few boards and its just confusing me more and more..

It looks like i missed the boat on buying an AK74 and they blocked imports and the prices jumped, I have also been hearing "by an arsenal or its crap" I heard the same crap when I built my AR "buy a Danial Defense or a spikes or a BCM or its shit"... well I call BS on that, I build my AR and it runs like a champ..

so a few points..
I want a mid level working gun, something that I can take to a class and drive it hard, and it just shoots so I can enjoy the class not troubleshooting my gun.
the price of 5.45 vs 7.62x39 ammo has balanced out to 1-2 cents per round difference so its not a factor. (makes me waffle on which one to buy)
I like the gentle impulse of the 5.45, as will my wife, however I recognize the tactical abilities for the 7.62x39.
the price of mags ak47 is much cheaper then ak74.
I am having trouble finding a relatively nice AK74 unless I want to spend 1k, or I am leary to spend $600 on a cheap Bulgarian ak74, that may or may not run worth a damn.
the new c39v2 tactical looks really nice, melonite barrel, small rail on the front, and at $600 its priced to move. it says AKM furniture,

AK's seem to be a bit inflated right now, is there a decent discount AK out there?
or if I buy the cheap will I be tearing it down for a polishing? just to make it run? or can I make it run well?

I am not opposed to buying a kit and building my own from parts, I did that with my AR and I am happy with the results.
however I am not sure I have the tools or knowledge required for an AK, presses and such.
it appears from posts on this board that there are a few people out there who have the knowledge to scratch build AK's (not what I want)

any books suggested?

thanks for reading this, and any reply's..
have a great day.

[Great-Kazoo]

My first suggestion after saying welcome, is to delete anything in your post regarding purchasing mags out of state. After that read the thread regarding new members & COC. It's at the top of the forum, under ANNOUNCEMENTS

With that out of the way. Buy a basic AK from your LGS. OR buy one online, transferring it to a FFL of your choice. OOPS , forgot buy an AK - 47

[68Charger]

My first suggestion after saying welcome, is to delete anything in your post regarding purchasing mags out of state. After that read the thread regarding new members & COC. It's at the top of the forum, under ANNOUNCEMENTS

With that out of the way. Buy a basic AK from your LGS. OR buy one online, transferring it to a FFL of your choice. OOPS , forgot buy an AK - 47
This, but I'll add that true AK-47s are very rare... Technically most of what is available are AKM's

Much of the difference between an expensive AK and a cheap one is either fit'n finish, or "collectability"...
There are the occasional bad examples, but most will run like a top even if they're ugly.

[cstone]

I still like the 74 over the 47. While 7N6 surplus is no longer importable, there are still spam cans for sale and the Wolf stuff is still cheap and is non-corrosive. AIM or one of the other on-line vendors was selling a Bulgy kit built 74 for about $500.

If we win the elections this November, maybe we can get the dumb mag law fixed. Till then, Kazoo is right, please don't confess to criminal acts or pre-meditate them here on our board.

Be safe.

[Great-Kazoo]

This, but I'll add that true AK-47s are very rare... Technically most of what is available are AKM's

.

@ 1 in the a.m. i'm not getting in to technical specifics. That's Rachael's job.

[68Charger]

@ 1 in the a.m. i'm not getting in to technical specifics. That's Rachael's job.

[LOL]I hear ya- no offense intended, just trying to keep it real... Meeso can be a PITA that way...

[Great-Kazoo]

[LOL]I hear ya- no offense intended, just trying to keep it real... Meeso can be a PITA that way...

Anyone can be confussed jest saying ;)

[waffles]

You have an AR for practical small caliber black rifle shenangians, and with the price of ammo equalized why not go all out on the cool factor? 7.62x39 is fun on a bun out of an AK in a way that the 5.45 just isn't (this may just be my insanity here). I got to play with one of these: http://www.jgsales.com/yugo-zastava-npap-df-ak-style-rifle,-7.62x39,-with-underfolder-stock.-p-65089.html the other day, and it is a stupid good AK deal. The same site also has the fixed stock version for a little cheaper, but hey where's the fun in that?

[Wulf202]

Even the century pos aks run. Arsenals are over priced and heavy. Yes ak prices have gone up.

The only ak to completely avoid are the ones with the 5.45 chamber and the wrong diameter barrel

If you dont have acess to the tools building just one is way more expensive than just buying a rifle.

[68Charger]

There are better deals on the Zastava NPAP but yeah, they're fixed stock... gun-deals.com/index.php?dealtype=arms&category=1&subcat=5

but if you wanted to hold it in person, you could go to J&G and buy it there (since it's a long gun, CO residents can buy in other states from an FFL)

J&G also has Yugo M70B1's, (made in the same plant, IIRC,... just older) and they're fine AKs, just not chrome-lined barrel.

[def90]

The Russian Ban stopped Saiga 74s from being imported, Arsenal rifles are made in Bulgaria and are not subject to the ban.

Other than the Russian 74s your only other option is the Arsenal if you want an original rifle (if there is such a thing seeing that they are even somewhat kit builds as you can't import a complete AK style rifle into this country), anything else is a kit build off a used surplus parts kit. Things to be leery of with these cheap 74s are canted gasblocks, sights, bent/twisted receivers and so on. These are not ARs, they do not simply bolt together. If you get a reject rifle with any of these issues you will be travelling down a long hard road to get them fixed. There are a lot of these cheap 74 commercial kit builds on the market available at Classic Arms, Atlantic and some of the other big online retailers. Just remember like everything else you get what you pay for. That said, it is still possible to get an Arsenal with a canted sight though I think the possibility is much less and after purchase support may be better than the cheap rifle producers that seem to come and go every year or two.

Building your own AK will require enough specialized tools that you will end up spending about the same amount of money on a single rifle that you would on 3 already built rifles. If you build more of them that price comes down pretty rapidly. The price of receivers, parts and kits these days doesn't make economical sense if you are only in it for a rifle or two. As for info on building, the only book I know of is sold by Arizona Response Systems. You can get the same info by spending a month or two reading up over at AKFiles.com

I like my 74s, you can still get the spam cans, they are a bit more expensive than they used to be but still cheaper than the commercial ammo. If you have an AR already I don't see much of a benefit to get a 74, I would go with a 47/AKM if you want to diversify a bit and you have quite a few more options for original rifles. Arsenal 47s, NPAPs/OPAPs, WASRs and so on..

If you want a real rifle get a FAL.. :D

My two 74 builds from last year that I still need to refinish..

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iZog95ZxEp4/UhkxPmKv1tI/AAAAAAAAC0Y/dGm6xAzv8NU/s800/IMG_20130824_160408_114sm.jpg

The Right Arm of the Free World..

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-xPh__dwAvZ4/UMTh5oYXELI/AAAAAAAABfA/fcCwCZ3ytpM/s800/PC090009.JPG

[tim-adams]

WOW great replies!!!! thank you so much..

A little history, I love to tinker and build things, I grew up working on cars, was in the USAF as a B52H crew chief, I work on computers/servers/storage now, I am mechanical, that is why I asked about building one.. if I built one I would feel more pride, and more confident to change/mod things on it. I built the lower on my first AR loved it. this will be my second semi-auto rifle, and I was just not really wanting another AR, and AK is the obvious choice. I just got the book Kalashnikov rifles and their variations by Joe Poyer, going to read that for some history on the AK platform.

So what I see here is a general consensus to do the follow:
1. go AK47/AKM (many reasons)
I am not an "AK guy" yet... but I was feeling that the 74's were a bit over the top on prices, many here seem to agree. so the AKM seems to
2. I care not if its a "real Russian AK"
I am a functional type person, more concerned that the gun just works.. I want a gun to shoot and abuse, function over form.
I am hearing go buy an AKM off the rack/order and shoot it and love it.
3. cost of tools and kits likely would make the break even on building from kits un-sustainable 4+ rifles
(I will do more reading here, maybe something for the future, just for fun) Arizona Response Systems and AKfiles.com
4. @def90 I like FAL's but I don't reload so feeding a 308 costs an arm and a leg, also have not shot a FAL in awhile but as I remember they kick like a SOB..
want something my wife does not actively avoid :-)

Ok so if the model is AKM/AK47 type.. what is a good buy?
where is the line between good gun for $$, vs a POS that i will have to polish and file and take to an expert to make it work, vs the overkill 1500 tactical uber bad pimped arsenal?
AK's much like AR's have so many manufactures its difficult to distinguish what is worth what, I am not cheap but I want a good value for what I pay..
does that make sense?
i want a good value shooter.

thank you again for your time and comments.

[def90]

Go to Atlanticfirearms.com (http://www.atlanticfirearms.com/ak-47-74-rifles.html) and look up wasr, opap and npap. These are all original budget aks. Atlantic claims that they individually inspect every rifle before shipping them out to verify gasblock and sight alignment as well as any other issues that may get a rifle sent back to them. They get great reviews for their service when needed.

sent from a soup can and some string..

[beast556]

The best buy on the market right now is the yugo rifles. They dont have crome lind barrels but there built like a tank. Or keep an eye on the for sale section here. Good deals pop up once in a while, most of the stuff put up lately is way over priced. Like def90 said you cant go wrong with Atlantic firearms, if you are a member of arfcom they will give you a discount also. Now for my 2 cents, 762x39mm is the ONLY way to go.

[bryjcom]

. Now for my 2 cents, 762x39mm is the ONLY way to go.

Once you shoot a 74 in 5.45, the decision is a little bit tougher.

For brute knock down power I'd go the 7.62

For badass follow up shots, controllable rapid fire and lighter weapon all together, I'd go the 5.45