MY First time... Looking to buy an AK

[CavalryTroop]

HEy there!

this is my first time at AKFiles! I am thinking of getting an AK rifle. but i don't know much about them (i have an M14/M1A, and i'm looking to expand my horizons). So.... what do i need to know? what do i need to look for? I am looking to spend around $400 or so. Is this a realistic ammount? what is a quality manufacturer? I am really in the dark about AK's, so any information you can provide me would be GREATLY appreciated....

thanks alot, guys,

cheers!

[Okie]

He's got the holy grail of battle rifles and has decided to join us peons now. :) Just kidding!

welcome to the AK files.

I think you can find something nice fore 400, not a prob. There always the Romanian guns for in the 300 region, but AK's are like anything. you get what you pay for. your best bet for the 400 area is a Hungarian SA85, if you can find it. Its a 'postban' but oh well, they are darn good AK's. Thats my reccomendation.

[Okie]

BTW: Will you show me the secret M1A club handshake? :wink_smal

[rgswamp]

CT,

Lots of Romanians out there at your price range. I'd recommend a SAR1 if you can find one. Price will be $350 to $400. Wasr10 at anywhere from high two's to low threes. Good luck, good shootin'. :cool: :cool:

[preokc]

for the money your talking about ild try to find a norinco post ban with the thumb hole stock. i like norinco's because there well built and blued instead of painted.

[dglockster]

If you think you may be interested in a Romanian SAR 1, go to the sight below for good information:

http://www.gunsnet.net/Linx310/index.shtml

[CleverM]

For a first time AK buyer, I would highly recommend a Sar-1. I have had mine for about 2 years now and the only mod I have done to it is add a TAPCO FCG. It's got about 3,000 rounds through it and it shoots about 3" groups at 100 yards from a bench-with the ULY 123 grain Hollowpoint ammo. The rifle is DAMN fun to shoot and I've shot 3 75 round romanian drums through it one after the other...it held up beautifully-though the handguards smoked like crazy. I had to wear welders gloves too! :small_gri :AR15firin Bought mine when it was $275 bucks...but you can find one new for less than $400.

[Createdeemcee]

I am nebie to the game as well, I bought Mine at the begining of this summer and am having a blast with it, It was 300$ and was purchased through atlantic fire arms. I have the wasr 10 hi cap version. Which means it can take 30, 40, on up to the drums. When I bought it Its wood was unfinished which i guess was the reason for the price break. After the refinish i did to the gun it truely looks official. Visit the site and see what you think.

[sdcromer]

SAR-1's are great if you can find them. They have not been imported since 2003 and the supply is all but dried up.

I've got a SAR-1, but I've been considering picking up one of these from AIM:

http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/NEW_AK_WASR_RIFLE_w__Bayonet_Lug___Muzzle_Break.ht ml

By the time you pay shipping and a transfer fee, it should be about $350. You'll have enough left over to buy ammo for your first trip to the range!!!

[2dmfllap]

I am also a new-be to AK-47s and am also looking to purchase one soon. I was reading through this and soaking up the info, thanks! I am wondering what makes an AK-47 not legal with hi-capacity mags? Are there any that don't work well with hi-capacity mags such as 30 rnd-ers or drums? Can a folding stock and front grip be added to all of them? My main question was; what is a good quality brand, but I think most of you have agreed on a Romanian SAR 1. Are there any other do's and don'ts? Thanks a lot for the info.

[KernelKrink]

Lots of questions there, and none of the answers are short.

First off, AKs that can accept a double stack wide magazine are not importable under current regs. So most AKs come in with narrow magwells that only accept the single stack low cap mags. The importer then replaces enough parts with US made parts so that the government now considers the rifle "US Made".The importer then cuts the magwell out wider to accept the wide hi-capacity magazines.

A word about "US MADE" versus imported. ATF has a list of 20 specific parts that count towards a rifle's status, not all of which are on every gun. The Ak has 15 parts on the list, 16 if you have a muzzle attachment. If any particular rifle has more than 10 of these listed parts that are foreign made, the rifle is considered to be imported and it is illegal to add things like folding stocks or to modify them to take hi-cap mags since these features would make them illegal to import under current regs. OTOH, if said rifle has 10 or less foreign made parts on it, then ATF considers the gun "US MADE" and now that the Assualt Weapon ban is over you can add flash suppressors, folding stocks, etc. You can also modify the magwell to take the wide mags.

So, assuming you are not in a state like Kali that has a state ban on such things, you can add a folding stock or front grip to the rifles which have enough US parts to be considered "Us Made". Just make sure you are not replacing a US made part with a foreign one when you do so, as that may alter the parts count unfavorably.

The single stack rifles are illegal to modify in such a manner because they have too many foreign parts. If you were to replace 5 or 6 of those parts with US made ones, then you could modify these rifles too.

As for brands, I don't really know much about the current commercial offerings. I mainly build my own from Bulgarian and Hungarian parts kits.

[2dmfllap]

Great information to know, Thanks! So I guess I can assume that the AK listed at the above site
http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/...zzle_Break.html
has had enough parts replaced with US parts to make it legal.

Is it safe to assume that if some dealer will sell it to me through standard methods of trade, and claims it will legally accept hi-cap mags, than it is legal? Or should I check parts? I would hate to buy one and the day I get it have someone after me for owning an illegal version.

Thanks a lot for your help.

[sdcromer]

Great information to know, Thanks! So I guess I can assume that the AK listed at the above site
http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/...zzle_Break.html
has had enough parts replaced with US parts to make it legal.

Is it safe to assume that if some dealer will sell it to me through standard methods of trade, and claims it will legally accept hi-cap mags, than it is legal? Or should I check parts? I would hate to buy one and the day I get it have someone after me for owning an illegal version.

Thanks a lot for your help.

It is all very legal - the parts count has already been done by Century. I do believe that these new WASR-10's with the evil features use US made magazine followers and floor plates the help make the parts count correct. This is different from earlier WASR's and they had to do this when the slant brake was added to the the muzzle.
You will need to find a local dealer to handle the transfer for you. This dealer will have to send a copy of their FFL to AIM and AIM will ship to the dealer. When your rifle arrives, you go to the dealer and they do the paperwork and background check just like you were buying from them. Most dealers charge a fee for this service - mine charges $30.

[krypto]

i need some advice on buying mine too. i am new to ak's too. i was going to get a romanian one from atlanticfirearms for $329 but they have a rf-109 with a threaded barrel, flash hider, and chrome lined barrel. its also all black too for $439. is this a just as good as a romainian or better because of the chrome lined barrel? is there a romainian with a threaded barrel? ive been looking on the internet for a week and cant make up my mind. im looking to spend 450-500 dollars.

[duck65]

Bought a SAR-1 from www.keystonearms.com about 2 months ago for around $280.00 just be patient it took me about a month before I recieved it. Oh yeah, this is my first time posting to this board. :ak47:

[16r40]

the WASR no bans, and the SARs are the bottom of the barrel commercial AKs.....I have seen canted sights, canted gas blocks, shitty workmanship on both.....but they are cheap, I grant you that, but if you buy one, I would strongly advice you to buy one after inspecting it very throughly....I will bet you that you won't be impressed with one after you see them........the other option, is get the VECTOR ARMS AKs......they are built from military parts kit on a OOW receiver.......you will pay a bit more, but the quality will be 1,000 percent better then the commercial AKs, and it will be a firearm you will be proud to own.......VECTOR makes some out-fucking-standing firearms, they are a reputable company......I bought a RPD from them recently and and it is a gem.......a buddy of mine has their V93 and it is also a gem......quality throughtout.

http://www.vectorarms.com/myweb2/guns/AK_rifles.htm

[krypto]

i think i will check into getting one from vector arms. i don't want the very bottom of the line, and their warranty is 5 years vs 1 year for the one at atlantic arms, only ten dollars more. i think they make them with better parts too.

[16r40]

i think they make them with better parts too.


the parts that VECTOR uses to put them together, are off of real military AKs,.....so yes the parts will be 1,000 pecent better in quality then the commercials AKs like the SARs and WASRs.

[uscgjason]

I have to say that I just received my Underfolder from Vector Arms. Very nice fit and finish, excellent bore and cost was 530 shipped with one mag. I think that these are not too bad a deal if your looking to buy one. I'll let you know how it shoots
J