Vulcan Reciever AK-47

[bouncer50]

Did Vulcan move the serial number to the front of the reciever so you can install the folding stock.

[Antares]

Friends dont let friends buy Hesse

[Ugh]

As sad as this is to say the Hesse 47 receivers are probably the best out there.

Hesse's new receivers (as in the ones shipping this week) supposedly have a moved serial number so folders can be used.

[bsn]

Hesse/Vulcan is the best out there??? According to who? The only thing they have going for them is that they look the most authentic, they are thinner, have poor quality control, need to have the ejector filed & heat treated, need to have the trunion holes elongated and have been know to be a bit brittle. The other two choices out there suffer from none of these problems.

[xtremerange]

On my Vulcan receiver the ejector is file hard, the trunion holes were perfect and it hasn't shattered like an egg yet.

On the other hand, I don't like the looks of 3-4 millimeter gap on the OOW selector on the 47 receiver I have seen. I don't own one and have never built up an OOW so I can't comment on functionality. I will say from second hand feedback I don't like the response that OOW supposedly gave to some people when they have asked about the selector hole being off location. Not very friendly but then they probably have gotten that complaint many times and were probably tired of hearing it.

[bouncer50]

So far we have two who like Vulcan reciever and two who dont. Does anyone else have a opinion on them. What about the OOW reciever are they really better. I never own either one, so i looking for some good advice on which one. : :huh_small

[High Road]

I have built (5) AK kits on the new Vulcan receivers. Mine were all perfect. I just got in on a group buy and will pick up (6) more next week. I have built only one on the OOW receiver and found it very good as well. The OOW receiver does have the gap , but this is not a factor with me, as most of the time I'm using that one , the safety is in the off potiom anyway. :wink_smal

[garybob]

I have built many AK's using the Hesse/Vulcan, OOW, and Krinks receivers. I'm here to say that in my opinion the hesse/vulcan receiver is the best hands down and a much easier piece for the first time builder to use. I've never had an ejector issue with the Vulcan.

Usually both ends of the OOW need squared up, the rear trunion slimmed down slightly to fit in receiver without bowing it out, the grooves in both the front and rear trunion that the receiver slides into need opened up, due to the extra thickness of the OOW, and the last OOW I did for fella had a wavy upper right rail and the lower left rail needed to be lowered to allow the bolt to come out of battery.

I've built over a dozen AK's on the Hesse/Vulcan, better than a half dozen on the OOW, and two on the Krinks receiver. Hell, the Krinks receiver is a better piece than the OOW.

[ZOID ZODIAN]

Friends dont let friends buy Hesse
I LOVE IT
I LOVE IT
I LOVE IT
I LOVE IT
I LOVE IT

[ZOID ZODIAN]

If you're not against milled receivers, I thing Firing Line deserves some attention.

Maybe the jury is still out on their quality, but I understand a non-heat-treated Firing Line receiver survived 68,000 rounds before failing.

That's pretty damn good.

[Packrat]

I never heard onyone question the quality of the Firing Line receiver, but for nearly $300, it ought to be good. For that, it ought to build itself! I'm tired of manufacturers pricing their product so they can make a fortune on it, not thinking that many can't afford it. Maybe they don't care; if you can't afford their product, you don't deserve it. I know it takes some machining skill to build a milled receiver; I've tried it, and can't do it (a problem with getting the dimensions off an existing receiver). But the Russians built them by the millions, before they designed the AKM. The Bulgarians built a beautiful milled receiver (it would almost build itself; I watched a guy press a barrel, do it wrong, then I pressed my first barrel, unpressed his, and re-pressed it; my first 2 builds without someone doing some work for me) and it sold for $150, even got down to $110 for a while. I know that prices are cheaper in Bulgaria, but someone moved those receivers to a shipping company, moved them to the US, sold them to distributers who sold them to dealers, and not one of those people worked free. As far as I know, Firing Line markets their own receivers; there's no string of distributers and dealers who have to make money. If they dropped their prices to maybe $150, they wouldn't be able to make them fast enough. Remember, a milled receiver replaces 2 BATFE parts: the receiver and the trunion. And it saves the cost of both trunions.

So the Firing Line receiver deserves some attention, and when they price them reasonably they'll get not only attention but sales.

[ZOID ZODIAN]

Not to defend Firing Line; I literally don't know much about them, but if they are a small-scale production house this may explain the high price.

As their volume increases they may very well be able to lower the price.

[Valkyrie0002]

I have a Heese AK74 and it looks real sweet, I'll let you know how it shoots when the ammo comes in. I ordered some of the new Vulcan recievers to build my AMD kits.

I ordered Vulcan because I have read there are only a few minor issues to deal with. For the price ($43) I can deal with a few minor issues

I see guys all the time who are quick to warn others away from this brand or that. I have to wonder what the basis for these warnings are. Or are they just jumping on the bashing wagon.

[ZOID ZODIAN]

Personally, as far as the Hesse issue, I've run across them a handful of times. A gunsmith friend of mine just bought a Hesse AK off somebody for under $25.00 because Hesse welded the barrel to the trunnion instead of pinning it, and the weld broke.

Other examples I've encountered or read about on other boards have listed problems like rivets not seated all the way (i.e., you can see the rivet shaft underneath the head), the aforementioned barrel welding, using welds on some of the receiver rivet holes or receiver rivets--things which just make me suspicious that this company is not manufacturing AK's to accepted ComBloc standards. This makes me a little leary; what makes some commercial company think it's going to improve on decades of experience by genuine military manufacturers?

Hesse changed its name to Vulcan, and this may signal an improvement in quality that led to the name change. I have not examined a Vulcan AK, so I can't say for sure.

I'm only suggesting caution...

[sniper69]

I have only used hesse/vulcan receivers so far - and the hesse receiver is one of the early ones (4 digit serial number) and the serial number is in the front on the left side. The vulcan receivers I have aren't the newest ones - but have the serial numbers on the right rear side. Only problem I have encountered was with having to file a little on the rear of the mag well to get the mags to fit up properly. The front trunnion and rear trunnion holes have lined up with hungarian, romanian, and bulgarian parts that I have. No complaints here - maybe hesse/vulcan has a reputation for shitty guns, but there AK receivers are nice. This is just my opinion of course. So are those that don't like hesse/vulcan have bad experiences with the receivers or with completed guns? Or is it what has been heard? (Just curious...)

[xtremerange]

Don't confuse Hesse/Vulcan receivers with their completed guns.

The receivers seem to be pretty good. The completed guns often have problems.

The Hesse/Vulcan Company should be very proud -- they employ blind and retarded chimpanzees to do the assembly work.

[avatarhammer]

Don't know about the older Hesse marked rec's but the two Vulcans I've put together have been A'OK. The '74 didn't require any fitting of the ejector but the '63 did. When all was said and done both rifles came out great. Test fired OK. Time will tell whether or not my home heat treating of the ejectors worked or not. So far I'm well satisfied. I wouldn't hessitate to use another Vulcan.

[Sarge8497]

I plan on picking up another Hesse/Vulcan receiver this weekend at the Pro-Ohio show in Hilliard this weekend if I can find one (for my AMD-65). The last show at Westland Mall all I could find was one OOW receiver in the whole place. :cry_small

Gary

[16r40]

EXCLUSIVE! photo of the "highly skilled" hesse/vulcan workmen......

http://www.hunt101.com/img/030115.jpg

here we see mohamad finishing up another "high quality" hesse/vulcan "firearm", while his apprentice, ahmed operates one of the high tech hesse machinery.




http://www.hunt101.com/img/124059.jpg

here we see ahmed as he carefully hand fits the parts on another 'quality" hesse/vulcan 'firearm".



http://www.hunt101.com/img/070859.jpg

and waiting for his turn to join the hesse/vulcan team of "dedicated" and 'highly educated" and 'skilled" workers, joe bob. "I just can't wait so's I can make them thar AK guns, that people be wanting to buy" states joe bob

[blackstar]

the sad truth is that jim bob and his afgan friends there assemble an ak that pimp slaps a hesse/vulcan build any day. period.

if those asses actually depended on the rifles they built for thier lives maybe it would be a different ball game.

want to know how to turn a 300 dollar bulgarian parts kit into $10 worth of scrap metal? give it to vulcan!

[Packrat]

The question was not about Vulcan builds, it was about Vulcan receivers, and specifically about the location of the serial number on newer ones. No one has bothered to answer that problem, maybe because it only requires a "yes" or "no" answer.

Several people have stated that Vulcan receivers have fewer problems than other, more expensive receivers. No one disagrees that Hesse had some real problems with earlier products, but that doesen't seem to be a problem the receivers they are producing right now. Advising people not to buy them because you have heard that there's a problem with them is doing a disservice. If you look at the posts in this thread, the people who say they are good receivers are people that have built guns on them.

And who would buy a rifle with the barrel welded into the receiver? Either they didn't look at the rifle first, or they didn't know about AKs and what to look for. Buying something without knowing about it first is not a way to find the best deal. And as far as having an AK kit built by someone else, why not just buy an already-built one? You may need some help--not everyone has a riveting tool or a barrel press in their shop, and somemay want a finish that can't be done at home--but what kind of pride can you get from sending a parts kit off and getting a completed firearm back?

If you're going to advise someone on something, please state your level of involvement. If it's hear-say, admit it.Though in the case of Hesse/Vulcan receivers, there doesn't seem to be a problem; the price keeps on going up, something that doesn't usually happen on a bad product.

[Valkyrie0002]

The newer Vulcan receivers I ordered are the ones with the repositioned serial # so a folding stock can be used.

[pm2790]

Had a chance to see some of their work back in the day. It was functional, if not pretty. Westerners tend to think that any people that squat while working or dining are somehow more primitive than they are. These men had a good understanding of the designs and metalurgy involved and made good use of their available tools. The Russians, to their regret and sorrow, found out that a harsh land begets harsh people. Saw more than a few dead 'Ivans' drilled neatly through the head by a crappy Enfield knockoff. To quote my Grandpa- 'Pretty is as pretty does.'

[oldjarheadfart]

Hesse/Vulcan completed guns are a complete waste of time and money. However the Hesse/Vulcan AK47 receiver is a jewel. I'v built 6 ak's on them, and had only a few minor problems, which were easily corrected. I'm not building on them any more, but that's not because of problems. I'm using the lazer cut flats and bending vulcan flats for my receivers. Both work great!
Packrat, Well said!!!
OJF

[SOF]

I just received my first Vulcan receiver from Joeken. All the holes and dimensions seem to be right on. The serial number is on the rear. I have not started the build yet, but it looks like it should go together with no problems.

[bookworm]

My Galil was built by Big50 with a Vulcan receiver and part set from FAC. Nice receiver! and everything fits like a charm. A little bit heavier than the original IMI. Beautiful gun! Vulcan does make good receivers, but has shitty craftsmanship.
:tongue_sm