Who Manufactured the best AK 47?

ONG

I am thinking of purchasing an AK 47. Could you tell me where the highest quality AK was manufactured? I'm looking for a unit to shoot and would like to buy a reliable gun. Is the large difference in gun prices due to quality or availability. Thanks for any imput. ONG

mattsmilitaria

I would go with eiter an E. German, or Yugo models. Those are the two best. Otherwise you could always just stick to the original Russian types. Just stay away from the Chinese or Romanian junk, and you should be ok!Matt

niklasal

I have a Romanian SAR-1. It was never malfunctioned, and it is one of my favorites. As far as quality between countries, I have picked up my knowledge from other members of this board. This is what I picked up...Russian: By far the best. Very Pricey, but an excellent gun.Norinco (chinese): A close second, also expensive but excellent quality. Romanian: A distant third, but still a great gun, adn best out of the Eastern Blocks. I have learned from others (and discovered for myself) that pieces made for Eastern AK's (excluding double stack mags) don't interchange easily, and light modifications are almost always neccesary for Romanian AK's. Egyptian: Ugly, but reliable and very sturdy.Bulgarian: Same as egyptianYugoslavian: They work fine, but crap compared to the others.The last two I know just a little about, so take it with a grain of salt.

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NIKLASAL@hotmail.com[This message has been edited by niklasal (edited 03-21-2002).]

Kadaver

I agree with Nik

smooth_operator

Which Bulgarian made AK's were you referring to Nik? I have an Arsenal made SA 93 and have owned an SLR95 years ago. Both had milled receivers on them. Unless things changed recently, the only drawback to these rifles were the weight, barrels were chrome lined as far as I know. Cosmetically and functionality concerned, they are much superior to the MAADI (egyptian) rifles out there...in fact those do not even come close. Another good AK variant is the Hungarian, check one out and tell me how they compare quality-wise against the others.Then again, I dont consider myself an expert on anything, I just happened to know some things concerning these rifles.-smooth

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Life is the leading cause of death.Everything else is just a contributing factor.

boeboe

I almost posted a reply a few hours ago, but I knew if I did there would be someone come along and downgrade the Chinese if I did, if for no other reason than they were made by slave labor. Invariably someone will slam the Chinese rifles and someone else will rate them very highly. Many AK purist will say the Chinese are the best. The exterior machine work is terrible by US or European standards, but their spring rebound firing pin is superior to others. They are very sturdy and reliable guns. They command a very respectable price. If they were junk, people wouldn't pay those prices for them.If you were buying one of the newer ones available, I'd look at the "Russian" VEPR. Probably the sturdiest AK ever built. They have stamped receivers, but the stampings are twice as thick as most stamped receivers. You can buy them in .308 as well. The only negative things I could think of to say about the VEPR is the weight, and that they couldn't legally be fitted with the pre-ban goodies. My own rating would be: Russian, Polytech Legend, Norinco, then the others. Unless you want to pay the price for a pre-ban rifle, you should probably know that many of the Eastern block rifles are built up from kits that have enough US made parts thrown in to make them legally "US Made". I think the chances are good that you may have to make some adjustments to any one of these recent guns for proper function, adjustments to things such as trigger slap. Except for the VEPR. I doubt you'd have those problems with the VEPR.Unless you want to pay big money for a pre-ban rifle, I'd say the first choice is the VEPR. If you decide you don't want the VEPR, then take a look at the VEPR. After that, my third choice would be a VEPR. BTW, my AK is the PolyTech Legend with 20" heavy barrel. If you want to up the accuracy some, consider a model with the 20" heavy. It isn't as accurate as an AR but comes close enough. I do want a VEPR, you might have guessed that.[This message has been edited by boeboe (edited 03-22-2002).]

niklasal

smooth operator-I admit, most of my knowledge from different AK's comes from reading posts from other members on this board, as there have been quite a few. For all I know, they could all be completely wrong, but that's what I remember.My experience has only been with the Romanian SAR-1. I got it on the same recomendations I listed before. Thus far, mine has been GREAT. It's true, some parts like gas tubes and stock sets do need SLIGHT modification, but nothing you'd need a gunsmith for. I did all my modifications with a swiss army knife.Oh, by the way.. To FINALLY answer your question if you don't want to spend $900+ for a preban, I would recommend the Romanian. You can still get one for under $300 with a hi-cap.

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NIKLASAL@hotmail.com[This message has been edited by niklasal (edited 03-22-2002).]

gundummy

I held back from buying a Russian AK about 6 months ago when I asked the experts if $375 was a fair price (might have been before 9/11). The majority thought it was too much then, and I felt the same way at the time so I decided to pass. These current Romanian AK's are around $300 just a few months later, but the quality was not like that russian AK I had seen. Seeing all the different eastern block & chinese AK's at the gun shows here made it clear to me that the russians made the best...hands down. Because the russian AK's are now double what it was 6 months ago (at least where I live) and now out of my financial reach, I'll probably settle with a Romanian before they double in price also. I don't want to make the same mistake twice. GD

kimberkid

OK, I've owned a lot of AK's, but because of the lack of accuracy inherrant to the design I dont have one any longer and don't anticipate getting another ... however if I were to go to war it would likely be my weapon of choice.In MY opinion you can't do any better than the Hungarian AK, The prettiest wood and best fit & finish and heaviest standard barrel of the entire AK family ... the Pre-Ban Hungarian underfolder is the cream of the crop!My reccomendations:1. Hungarian - pre or post (if you can find one)2. Bulgarian milled - all are postban I think3. Norinco - stamped or milled, pre or postThe Veper is ok, I've looked at them but never shot one, don't care for the plastic furniture ... looks cheezy to me.The SAR's, from what I've heard commonly need "tweeking" which suggests to me they are thrown together to meet the demand, but seem to be ok after that ... all the same, I'm out on those too.The Egyptians aren't even a choice in my book and are the poorest of all, crappy wood, sloppy finish and pathetic fit ... You young guys, don't take this the wrong way, but I don't think many of you have seen what the AK used to be ... pre-89... ok, flame away!

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Here's a thought: Let's make criminals responsible for their crimes ... ...Not blame society and the tools they use!kimberkid@gunbroker.zzn.com

toolman9mm

i second the hungarian sa-85m have two and have never failed. also have two norinco and one polytech that are also excellent. i don't think you can buy a oridginal russian or i have not seen them. most have the russian reciever but with u.s parts. the yugo's are also nice but pricey. just my opinion gents.