Is it sacriledge to buy a Valmet if you don't intend to treat it like a safe queen?

I was thinking about getting a cheap 71.. I'm in college and just not the type to spend a few grand on the Valmet I really want (a 7.62x39mm one), but I could see getting a comparitively "cheap" 71 model, even if it has the sucky sights. My question is all the guns I have, I use. I take them out to shoot them, I take them to shoots, I don't rough them up for no reason but if I have a gun, IT GETS USED!

So with that in mind, is it a waste for me to get a Valmet, if I'm not going to baby it and coddle it with the loving affection of collector? I've always had a lot of respect for Valmets and still want one, but I just don't know if it'd be worth getting one if I'm going to get down and dirty with it, ifyaknowhatimean.

Thoughts/ideas? I know whatever is mine I can do with what I want, but I would never buy a polytech legend for the same reason. I just see them as collectors' safe queens.

buy it and shoot it......... I have a POLYTECH LEGEND, TIGR, and I shoot them.......what's the sense of buying a firearm if you aren't going to shoot it? so you can look at it while jacking off?

as far as "collector value" even used you can still get top, top dollar for it.....all you have to do is what everybody else in the firearm community does when they sell a used gun, write in the description, "only 200 round fired through it".......just don't say how many thousands of times 200 rounds was fired through it :laugh_sma

The Valmet 71 in 7.62x39 is really rare.(it might even be called a "72" and never sold in the US) The 5.56 71 has a floating firing pin and 1 in 12 rifling. They slamfire fairly easily. The early 5.56 76 has a light firing pin spring that wasn't heavy enough and was later changed to a heavier spring on newer models.

I had a fairly rare stamped receiver 62-76 in 7.62x39.

For what the Valmets go for these days, buy a milled Bulgarian. I don't think you'll find a 7.62 71.

Oh no, I wasn't hoping to find a 7.62x39 71. I'm well aware any 7.62x39mm valmet is well out of my price range (3k or so), so I'd just be going for the 5.56 standard 71. They slamfire easily? That's a new one. Does that make them hazardous to shoot? Don't regular AK's have floating firing pins?

Standard AK's do have floating firing pins. Many 5.56 AK's have spring loaded firing pins. Some of the commercial Chinese and Bulgarian AK's have firing pin springs. When South Africa first used the 5.56 R-4 there were problems with slamfires. South Africa added a friction bushing to the firing pin and made the primers of 5.56 ammunition less sensitive. Some years later South Africa tested the Steyr AUG it was rejected right away because it had too many misfires with South African 5.56 ammunition. The fix the Romanian 5.56 AK's have, is to shorten the bolt and firing pin, making the firing pin lighter weight. The Valmet 71 is not as heavy as the 76. The 76 is beefed up. The Valmet 71 plastic buttstock cracks and breaks easily. The wooden buttstock on them I think were American made or at least were made for the importer not for the Valmet factory. Unlike the 76 the 71 has a standard AK gas piston but it is not chrome plated. 5.56 Valmet magazines are a bit flimsy in the feed lips. Galil steel magazines will "fit" the receiver but can be dangerous as they feed too low and can double feed. They are some East German and Romanian steel 5.56 magazines converted for the Valmet around.

I'm not even sure if I'm going to bother to try to get one, I have a couple pretty money-intensive projects on the burner right now and I'd have to sell one of my rifles to get a Valmet, but I say a Valmet 71 for 950 the other day and it got me wanting a Valmet again.

So you're saying the 71 isn't the same quality as the 76? Do you think if I were to only get one Valmet, I should hold out for the 76? What's the lowest I could expect to find a used Valmet 76 for do you think?

I'm not sure about current prices. The 71 was the first stamped receiver. It's a nicer receiver than most AKM but they found it had a few weak points and improved the design to the 76. There are 76's in both stamped and milled and there are slant cut milled and standard milled receivers. The 62-76 was made for testing by the Finnish military. The stamped receiver was rejected. The 71's are really old and many were abused by the owners due to the slamfires gave a full auto effect. They should keep their value but most are rough. I'm sure there are some that have just been stored away. The barrels are impossible to replace without having a custom barrel made. Make sure you check out the rifle before buying.

Allright, thanks for the advice Allesennogwat. I looked at the completed 76's on gunbroker and noticed they go for 1,200 every so often used. I'll just hold out until I have the cash and go for a 76.

I would use a Valmet if I had one. The 5.56 model is like the Galil since IMI used a Valmet receiver for the first Galil prototype married to a Colt barrel.

The Galil is based on the milled receiver Valmet. The 5.56 Valmets have stamped receivers. It took Valmet at least three tries to get the 5.56 firing pin tight. You never know which you'll get or be able to replace it. The worst thing about the 5.56 Valmets are the magazines. They are nowhere near as good as Galil magazines and the Galil magazines feed too low in the Valmet receiver. They are fairly nice rifles but they were some of the first 5.56 AK's.