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lOOKING AT GETTING AN AK47, WHAT COUNTRY OF ORIGIN IS BEST? AND IF ANYONE COULD TELL ME WHAT "SAIGA" IS? WILLING TO TRADE WITH SOMEONE IF INTRESTED

You might want to take a look at the WarriorTalk.com forum. There is a section where the AK47 is discussed at length. Personally, I've never seen an AK that didn't work.

If you want to go for quality, a friend bought one from a local company called Armory USA for a little under $500 with 3, steel magazines. It was especially smooth for an AK. The only AK I've ever handled that was nicer was a Mark Krebs built AK that cost over a grand.

The website for Armory USA is http://www.globaltrades.com

I bought one of the SAR-1's sold by Century a few years ago and was very happy with it.

Unitl I bought one of the SSR-85-C2's from Armory USA.

Besides the vast difference in quality, the triggers were so totally different that I couldn't shoot one and then shoot the other. The SAR-1 trigger was awful compared to the excellent trigger pull on the SSR.

I had the guys at Armory upgrade the trigger on my SAR-1 for a small price and now I'm happy with both.

Daltex1 wrote:AND IF ANYONE COULD TELL ME WHAT "SAIGA" IS?

AFAIK, Saiga is another importer. What what I've seen, they call their rifles AK's, but outfit them differently (stocks, etc). I don't recall seeing a Saiga that looked like the traditional AK-47.

AFAIK,
the Siaga's are built in Russia. Everything else is not. The basic design of the AK is that it will run with a handfull of dirt in the action. Bury one in the mud, pick it up, drain the water and it will fire. The tolerances are built in on the very loose side. None of them will be a tack driver.

Fit and finish will vary a lot depending on who built the parts. The majority of the parts less the receiver and trigger parts are built in other countries such as Romania, Bulgaria, China, Russia, Yugoslavia, and Poland. The Romanian parts have a rougher finish and don't seem to look quite as nice. But all of them work as they are intended.

If you get an AK that works, there will only be the difference in the quality of the machining on the parts, and the quality of the finish between it and any other.

Aftermarket parts can improve the feel of the trigger, and to an extent the accuracy. But keep in mind that with the exception of the occasional specimen showing great accuracy, they are all minute of man guns. That is what they are for, that is what they do. Even if you get the best trigger group for that smooth crisp let off, the inherent accuracy of the weapon will limit the great triggers help.

They are great guns. They are great for keeping handy for when you need a rifle to shoot something. They are great for keeping behind the seat of the truck and forgetting about until you need them.

IF you want accuracy, sexy, and modularity, get an AR. If you want to be able to pull the trigger and go bang every time, get an AK.

I have both.

Mr Fixit

Daltex1 wrote:lOOKING AT GETTING AN AK47, WHAT COUNTRY OF ORIGIN IS BEST? AND IF ANYONE COULD TELL ME WHAT "SAIGA" IS? WILLING TO TRADE WITH SOMEONE IF INTRESTED

I am looking into getting an AK as well. A good friend recommended the Armory USA offering as well.

The AK is a brutally simple machine - few parts, loose tolerances, and it works every time. Stamped steel receivers are the most common. Milled receivers are heavier, and, all other things being equal, may boost accuracy. Stocks can be wood or composite. The standard magazines are steel and are very durable. The ammunition is much cheaper than other military types, so it is a good value.

Saigas are from Russia, and instead of a pistol grip, has more of a sporting type stock. There is a federal prohibition on importation of foreign made machines with the pistol grip. Many operations now supply that item as a USA part.

Three of us got an AK with an stamped Armory USA receiver, which is supposed to be from Bulgaria. Ours had composite stocks and upgraded "double hook" triggers to reduce the backslap. It is not target competition machine, but I am pleasantly surprised with it's functioning. So far, I am getting hand-sized groups at 50 yards, a little tighter when I concentrate real hard from a bench. Now I just need more practice with those iron sights.

txinvestigator wrote:

Daltex1 wrote:lOOKING AT GETTING AN AK47, WHAT COUNTRY OF ORIGIN IS BEST? AND IF ANYONE COULD TELL ME WHAT "SAIGA" IS? WILLING TO TRADE WITH SOMEONE IF INTRESTED

yeah, mang, no need to yell!!!

http://www.gunsnet.net/Linx310/index.shtml is an excellent source for information on the AK rifle. Although the site is primarily for Romanian AK rifles, the principles discussed and illustrated apply to all AK rifles.

G.C.Montgomery wrote:You might want to take a look at the WarriorTalk.com forum. There is a section where the AK47 is discussed at length. Personally, I've never seen an AK that didn't work.

If you want to go for quality, a friend bought one from a local company called Armory USA for a little under $500 with 3, steel magazines. It was especially smooth for an AK. The only AK I've ever handled that was nicer was a Mark Krebs built AK that cost over a grand.

The website for Armory USA is http://www.globaltrades.com

I bought one of the Global Trades' AK last summer at the George R. Brown show. They're company is near Hobby Airport here in Houston. I got the one with the plastic plum furniture. It's a decent AK for the money. At that time I paid around $500 with tax (sticker was $465). They've since gone up in price when I saw them at the last show. The owner of the company said that if I ever had problems with it to just bring it by the office...so I liked that. There are plenty of other brands out there like Arsenal Inc in Nevada among others. Arsenal mills their receivers (CNC) so if you want a really solid one, that would be the way to go. I would check out this link for the AK forums before you decide:

http://ar15.com/forums/board.html?b=4
or
http://www.ak-47.us/Arsenal.php

Good luck!

Rug

Another good place to learn about AK's:
http://www.AK-47.net

If you get a cheap one, you have to know what to look for to get a good one. The website above will tell you what to look for. And how to fix problems if you already have one with problems.

SKS or an AK used to be cheap to shoot, when ammo was $80/1000 rds.

Now that 7.62x39 is $180/1000 rds. You might want to look at an AR-15. A cheap AR is about the same price as a medium priced AK.

They are all fun! OE

I've owned several AK's and GC is right never had one that didn't shoot though some do slightly out shoot others but not by much. The century arms are fine you can pick them up for about 300 but there may already be rust on it and the wood furniture resembles pallatte plywood or you can get an Arsenal which is very nice for a little more and have a nicer looking AK. My personal AK is a Hungarian AK-47 in perfect condition with beautiful blonde Hungarian pine furniture. I payed a little more for it because there a few things about it that make it more of a collectors item but thats just my cup of tea. I am fond of the more rare guns out there but that don't mean it shoots better than any other AK out there. Enjoy and have a blast AKs are one of my favorite rifles to shoot.

You might want to check out Vectorarms, they have some good AK's for the money. I have an AK-47 and AK-74 from them, no problems to date.
I paid $525 for my AK with all black furniture and $567 for my AK-74. I have since upgraded both guns with a few parts (trigger kits) and can now shoot respectable groups up to 200 yds.

As a whole, I am a FAL man myself, but the gas piston system of both the AK and FAL are far better than your everyday AR system. The AR market has try to remedy this with the new gas piston AR's, which I like, but I still see a FAL as superior. Don't get me wrong, as a former Marine I toted one around my entire stretch, I now own 3 AR's, they are a tool like anything else--but if you put a .223/5.56 AR up against a .308/7.62 FAL--I will take the .308 FAL everytime, it is just a better combat round. Combine that with an operating system that can function in the worst environment and you have the ultimate combat rifle.

Check at DSArms.com for some great FAL's.

OverEasy

OverEasy wrote:Another good place to learn about AK's:
http://www.AK-47.net

If you get a cheap one, you have to know what to look for to get a good one. The website above will tell you what to look for. And how to fix problems if you already have one with problems.

SKS or an AK used to be cheap to shoot, when ammo was $80/1000 rds.

Now that 7.62x39 is $180/1000 rds. You might want to look at an AR-15. A cheap AR is about the same price as a medium priced AK.

They are all fun! OE

I am glad to see someone make the comparison at least somewhat. Can anyone discuss the differences between these weapons, their ammo and performance and reliability? Or is there a thread/article somewhere that already has done that?