I've been looking at AK-47's on the net and want to know if anyone here can tell me about them.

Some of the websites I have visited have so much info it's hard to digest it all (at least for me).

What caliber do they come in?
What is the cheapest caliber to shoot?
Where can you shoot them?
Where is a good place to purchase them?
Any particular make better than another such as Romaninan, Yugoslavian, Russion or American?

What do you think of these?

www.billsgs.com

Any input or opinions welcome

Thanks

Don't know about the underfolders.

Nearly all of them are in 7.62x39 caliber. Unfortunately, Bill's only allows brass ammo and the really cheap 7.62x39 is steel case. If you can find cheap brass ammo for it, you can shoot them at Bill's.

I bought a Century Arms Romanian AK47 (WASR-10). I like it. It looks evil (once I put a finish on the stock) and it's fun to shoot, though not terribly ergonomically friendly. Goes bang every time.

I have heard that some AK's, especially Century Arms, have bad trigger slap. The one that Bill's rented me sure did. The one I bought does not.

I know there are higher end AK's than the one I got at Bill's. Mine looks like something a high school shop class put together near the end of a long school year. The finish is rough. The sights aren't the best I've ever used.

I like mine. I use it in classes as a prop to show that a permit to carry means that I can legally carry my AK down the street. Dumb, but legal.

Old Dude beat me to the punch. I was going to say nearly the same thing.

I've only shot one, I believe it was a plain WASR-10 that the guy bought off gunbroker.com (I think.)

Not pretty to look at or handle really, but it ate up all the Wolf ammo we could feed it, didn't jam, and it could pick off 20oz bottles at 20 yards, no problem.

Most importantly, it was a very fun gun to shoot.

7.62 x 39
5.45 x 39


7.62 x 39


Wherever it's legal. It's more fun outside than inside, and like Old Dude said, you have to use brass cased ammo at some indoor ranges negating any real cheap shooting


Your best selection will come by ordering over the internet and having it delivered to a local FFL. Most local stores only carry the Century Arms WASR's and very similar guns.


Yes, some are better than others. The best ones can cost as much as a nice AR-15, the cheapest ones are under $300. IMHO You really have to spend over $600 to get a noticeable improvement in quality over the WASR's. The WASR's are probably just fine for your uses I'm guessing.

I like: the VEPR's and the ones from Arsenal Inc. The best are made by Krebs: http://www.krebscustom.com/



Deke from Bill's said:
"The Yugo underfolders have brand new, American-made barrels that are not chrome lined. These M70AB2 models aren't supposed to be chromed. They do have very tough 1.5 mm receivers, reciever cover locks, grenade launcher sights, and a bolt hold-open device on the magazine follower - features not found on most AK variants."

I'm not sure how much fun shooting with that wire stock would be.

I've heard lots of good stuff about the Vector Arms AKs. Might even look into one myself. http://www.vectorarms.com/indexframe.html

I have a Arsenal Inc in 7.62 that I bought from Gunstop. It is a very nice rifle. Almost too nice for an AK, if you know what I mean. The trigger is by far the best I've ever felt on an AK.

I'm Deke

And I probably can't give an unbiased since I have stack of Yugos to sell .. so I'd suggest you look in the forum section at ak47.net

http://www.ak47.net/forums/board.html?b=4

They have great info on just about any AK you may be considering

I would stay away from the SAR1s. I have one and it's ok, but........ I have an AK clone that I really like, it's an SLR-95. It's accurate, it has a MILLED receiver, (not stamped), and a steyr chrome lined barrel. It's quite accurate and fun to shoot. It also accomodates the high capacity magazines. There is a newer version out, the SLR-105(?). It appears that it is the 5.45 x 39 version. Granted, the milled receiver AK clones cost a good bit more, but the quality is awesome in comparison. I've a thousand rounds of cheap Wolf ammo through it and not a single problem.

i have a yugoslavian mitchell arms import i bought in approx 1991 just before the ban. it is an underfolder and came with a sporter stock (which is a piece of crap). it also came with a pistol grip so you could remove the sporter stock and repalce it with the pistol grip.

i really love it. it has had very few issues with ammo and is good and accurate. plus like old dude said "it looks evil". i have not had any issue shooting with the wire stock and any inconvenience is worth it because you can shoot it from the hip and walk the rounds to the target.

it could stand to be a little more customized, but i am not sure what i would want to change. perhaps a fore stock pistol grip and i would like to replace the flash suppressor that was issued with it

Can't speak to the AK, but I have the little brother... My Chinese Paratrooper version of the SKS is kinda neat to shoot...

Those are really neat - does yours take AK mags? I've seen one that does.

One thing to watch on the milled vs. stamped AK receiver issue is that there are some imported milled receivers that have a rare tendency to crack.

Theoretically, a milled receiver is more accurate because the action is stiffer. But, apparently, the flex built into the stamped receivers allows them to be just as durable. Probably a non-issue for the average american since we won't be using it in full-auto mode for extended periods of time.

One of the neat things about buying a cheap AK is that you can customize any way you want. There's almost as many accessories available as for AR's.

Almost forgot to add - get one with a side-rail for scope mounting if you can. You might never mount a scope on it, but it's one of the better systems out there.

I have a Romanian AK47 with the side-rail mount and a Russian 6X sniper scope mounted on it. Some think that is kind of funny, an AK with a sniper scope.

What caliber do they come in?

In addition to the previous mentioned calibers, you can get them in .223 as well.

I have a Century Romanian Cugir SAR-1 7.62X39. I have a Kobra red dot and a 75rd round drum. It makes it a fun plinker. It is a good gun if you don't mind tinkering with some of the issues. It has never failed me

Go to Bills and Talk to Mitch.... You mention AK's and he gets a little excited....

I can get her to take the plastic mags, but have yet to find a metal one that works. I'll admit to not looking too hard for one though, I kinda like loading it up with the 10 round stripper clips.

I think Dean is talking about the Chinese SKS with the modified mag well which was designed to accept standard AK-47 mags .. not the cheesy replacement magazines that you find at gun shows. It's actually a semi-auto version of the Type 68