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Good AK Makes??

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spyder19

Posted: Jan 15th 2010, 10:49 PM

Well i'm off to my first gun show in the morning. I am going to try and get in and out before I have to work at noon. I was going with the intention of buying either ammo for the AR, and if I cant find a good deal on that then maybe a decent AK-47. It would be my first. I have done a bit of research on makes and quality, but I could use any quick knowledge and experience. From what I gather, Romanian, Polish, Bulgarian, and Check's are of good quality, and Hungarian and Chinese are lower end, also stay away from wasr-10 because of the way they press the mag well open to accept the double stacked mags.

Also that the AKM has the diagonal cut muzzle, to prevent muzzle rise. I believe they are also made from a stamped receiver, so they are lighter than the milled.

Other than that I have only shot an AK once. I thought I might check them out though. I wouldn't want to spend more than $400 on it, as a case of ammo would be around $360.

Any advice would be great. The show goes Sat and Sun, but I though I would get a jump on any deals and just go when it opens tomorrow. Thanks guys I appreciate any help.

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Mad_Max

Posted: Jan 16th 2010, 10:56 AM

Well I have to point out that I covered this about 8 topics down in this category and left some good advice there......

And as far as the Chinese PolyTech/Norinco AK's being in the low end is a myth - They are complete factory built rifles as opposed to most of the offerings on the market today built from parts kits with US made Receivers and Barrels - And most of those built by Century Arms or Sub Contractors whose Incompetence and lack of quality control is legendary.

The Chinese AK's in my opinion got a bad wrap because soo many were around in the 1990's and Dirt Cheap....You could pick one up for $200-300 Bucks at most shows back then - Soo people just figured they got what they paid for : A Cheap Rifle.

WRONG !!!.....The Chinese AK's are "Top Shelf" : Thicker Receivers and Top Cover, Chrome Bore and all heavy "Mil-Spec" Parts - You basically have the same Rifle as was issued to the Chinese Military less the Full Auto Fire Control Group - Those marked with a "386"(Poly) or "66"(Nor) were built in the "State Arms Factories" same as the Military's.

Today a nice one can run $900-1200 Bucks easy.....Mine will out shoot any of it's European cousins and runs like a Timex.

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donde

Posted: Jan 16th 2010, 08:48 PM

I would agree with Mad Max on the Chinese AK. I bought a Norinco Mak-90 about a year ago. Paid $400 used from a pawn shop and it shoots great. I would also check out the Yugo's.

Good luck with your search and have fun at the gun show.

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spyder19

Posted: Jan 17th 2010, 01:00 AM

Thanks for the responses, I should have done a search before posting. It was late last night when I put it up. I did end up going to the show this morning, unfortunatley I did'nt see anything worth buying. I was a little disappointed that they didnt have more than 13 ak's in the whole show, most of which were Romanian WASR-10's. Most of them looked a little ruff, and they were going for around $440-$600. I thought that those were priced a little high. There were also a handful of sks's, but I'm not really interested in those.

As for the make's and models. I did talk to a man while I was looking at one, who told me he has owned a lot of different models over the years and some of the best he has had were Chinese Norinco's. So I will just keep on looking and researching, trying to find a good deal. Thanks again.

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Mad_Max

Posted: Jan 17th 2010, 08:00 AM

Mine came out of a Pawn Shop a few years Ago and I paid around $800 for it......Patience is the best way to find one......If you go with one of those Century Rifles like the WASR's you'll be sorry.

Like I posted before...If it were me today wanting one I'd go with an Arsenal Saiga - I believe they're pretty much a Russian built rifle with a few "Compliance Parts" thrown in.

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foxtrot

Posted: Jan 17th 2010, 04:34 PM

They also went on "sale" after the firearm bubble burst. Arsenal dropped all their prices (supposedly after they were able to negotiate lower prices for imports). You can check arsenal AK prices from KVAR.

Arsenal AK's are very good quality. Standard arsenal rifles are considered Bulgarian. Saiga is owned by.... IZmash, which is russian IIRC. They filed for bankruptcy last I heard, so who knows if that will ultimately end up affecting Saiga itself. No real matter anyway.... if you buy a Arsenal Saiga, it is arsenal that services them.

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Tbird

Posted: Feb 24th 2010, 02:04 PM

I have a Norinco Chinese made MAK 90 and it is a very reliable weapon. I also have a Bulgarian made AK. It does shoot straighter than the Norinco. The Bulgarian is milled and the chinese is stamped. I like them both. You can find some milled Chinese AK rifles also.

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2kflhr

Posted: Feb 27th 2010, 02:26 PM

'If you go with one of those Century Rifles like the WASR's you'll be sorry'

I wouldn't necessarily say that. I have one and it has worked flawlessly. I refinished the wood to look like the Russian red in about 2 hours and for less than $20 so, it's still considered a POS, but it's a good looking POS.

The Century will push a bullet out the barrel every time it goes bang just like the upscale models. If your looking for something to caress and keep in the safe then you might consider another make, but, if your plans are to just punch holes in things it will do just as good as any other and you can use the money saved to put towards a nice AR which are really fun.

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