I was the only guy on squad 3 shooting a commie gun. Mine might only be a half of a commie gun seeing as how it is a 223 AK. Hard to imagine that a 223 AK could recoil as much as a 5.45 or 7.62 but they do. The slippery buttplate made the awkward positions hard because the rifle recoiled out of my shoulder with every shot.
Put an SKS pad on it. makes it 1" longer and it will grip better. All of the SAR-3's are over gassed. That is why your brass was at your 4 and 25' away.