I would like to hear what you all think is the best buy, worst junk and why.? I'm looking to add an AK 47 to my stable again, I have some magazines from when I owned one years ago and sold it in time of need ( hard up for cash ). I don't know a lot about them. Like what makes one better then another. I don't want to spend a lot of money so lets hear what you all think.
KyAR

Check these guys out www.classicarms.us All their stuff is Century, but they have pretty good prices for todays standards, and they are real nice people to deal with.

Here's my two cents: Lancaster builds a good solid AK the finish looks good but can be prone to a little rust if you don't keep it lubed, Arsenal USA (Houston TX) made some outstanding AK's before their demise this is especially true of the Hungarian parts kits they assembled on Hungarian FEG receivers less than 2 moa at 100 yards. Vector made a fine AK if you can find one. I had a Wasr it worked just fine, although it was crude in appearance. The SAR's (predecessor to the Wasr) is a better gun for about the same price. All of the Norincos and Polytechs are great guns no issues, great shooting, good fit and finish. The older (first or second round of imports) Egyptian Maadis are great guns, likewise the Bulgarian guns also seem to be well made. I have purchased numerous guns assembled by the members of AKforum.net this is a group of home builders who in my opinion put together some of the finest parts kits guns ever assembled. Too bad there are no longer as many guns posted there for sale as there once was.

That was a good price on the NOrinco. Which model did you get?

THAT's a excelent price..

I'm just tickled with my Yugo AK! Built like the proverbial brick shat house (plus it can fire rifle grenades! LOL)

I have a Romanian WASR 10 and have never had any problems. They can be found for $500.
http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/Romania...2x39_Rifle.html

I have no experience with it but I heard that the Yugo M-70 is an exceptional AK. You can still get parts sets for $250 and then all you need is a receiver, and No Dak offers them for $60 shipped. You will still have to swap a few parts to make it legal, but you'd still be well under $600

I have had my WASR for a couple years now. I have other guns but, I love this one. I was not a fan of the iron sights, but that was corrected quickly with a holographic sight. I would def. recommend a WASR to anyone who is looking for a fun, reliable and powerful enough gun. I mean for home protection it is great.

I'm looking for a good, cheap AK 47. That is of good quality and that I can add an A.C.E. stocks folding stock to, that is about all I care for, just a basic rifle and I would hope that it wouldn't need a lot of work. I hear about different rifles that have front sight/gas blocks on crooked and the like. Hell if I have to rebuild one, I might as well start out from scratch.

My only problem with the AK 47 is I don't know much about one from the other. I don't know who to watch out for, and who is the best buy. If I had a lot of money I would buy an Arsenal, but never a Krebs. The money that Krebs wants for an AK 47 is crazy, $1500.00 for a 4 MOA rifle is nuts. If I'm going to spend that kind of money I'll stick to an AR15.

No; I'm just looking for a good quality, basic AK 47 that wont break the bank and is fun. That I don't have to spend time working on just to make it good to go. So the way it looks the WASR is the AK 47 that is the best bang for the buck.
KyAR

Mine is from Century. Perhaps I got lucky, I have heard some bad things about them. I haven't had one problem with this gun. It has a collapsable stock and was about $600. I did buy it at a gun show and not directly from the company though.

KyAR -

I am looking to do the same thing, but have no ComBloc experience. It seems that Century has shipped out a bunch of WASR-10s recently as I have found this package at a couple of online retailers going for the same price:

WASR-10 for $499.95

I do not know about changing the stock, so I will leave it up to the experts to opine on that.

Prices are dropping on AK's. $425 on Nocturnal's posted link and I've found some on Gunbroker from Century Arms for about that $429 plus $40 shipping (kind of high there). Add on your FFL dealer fee (and you're right around the $500 range.

I have two Romanian ones because I like cheap and reliable. I'm yet to have any kind of failure whether shooting brass or steel casings. These things are incredible and rugged.

My first one must have been stored somewhere damp because it has some rust spots on the inside of the barrel and other places. It was superficial and I scrubbed it off. I don't think it was Century or the Romanian factory's fault because my second AK had no rust and was from a different dealer.

You definitely have to watch out for canted sights on these, though.

This may be blasphemy but I think the other AK owners will agree that the fun factor on shooting these is a bit higher than on an AR (and I LOVE my AR's!).

I forgot who it was who suggested this but he was right. Don't be afraid to rack the action back and forth. These rifles were made to be handled rough. Once broken in, the action will be MUCH smoother, too, so if you get one that's kind of tight or sticky, don't worry. Use a little lube, too.

Also, if you do go with a Romanian one, it comes with a bit of cosmoline on it as a perservative. Break the rifle down and clean it out before shooting or you'll see cosmoline come out of the bolt and sputter onto the barrel where the round loads. But, it's much easier to break down the bolt assembly once you've fired some rounds through it first. So, there's a trade off. The bolt is trickier to reassemble than the AR's, too and can be a pain. Practice dissassembly and reassembly a few times and it will be much easier.

Let us know what you settle/settled on!

This post has been edited by kargo27: July 25th 2009 2:42 PM

The Mak90 seems to be, for some reason, one of the few that is still holding at below insane prices($600). If I were looking now that`d be my bet. Very solidly built w/ a heavier receiver & not the gamble of a Century(no pun intended). MUCH better than any wasr & a great trigger as ak`s go. A stock Saiga would be another solid option & at under $400 is a bargain. Do some research & convert it if you want & you`ve got a rifle w/ your own taste & stamped "made in Russia" on the receiver>

This post has been edited by R.J.: August 1st 2009 3:50 AM

Best: ANY AK made by Vector Arms or Arsenal Inc. - they are as flawless as an AK can come.
Worst: ANYTHING hammered out by the monkeys at Century.

+1 I picked up a Mak90 a while back in a trade, it appeared to be unfired or fired very little. It has been excellent, very accurate and reliable.

Ive had a couple of them the best one was chinese polytec I sold a few years ago a nice ak though.

Those Polytechs are worth some bucks now. If I see one for sale locally for <$1000 it`s mine.

I know and I sold mine for alot less then that but they werent bringing that back then. I bought it at a gun shop for $275.

TONS of reported problems with Arsenal's. And they make you pay shipping for repairs. Although they do put out a lot of quality products, QC seems to be hit or miss. They're not at the top of my list.

My Century Arms Romy has close to 500 rounds through it, 4 different kinds of ammo, both brass and steel cased with not ONE hiccup. 100% perfect cycling to date. Rifle looks like hell, isn't pretty, has some scratches where the manufacturer missed with the riveting tool, but function has been impressive. Mags fit tightly, no wobble.

I don't load the mags to capacity. I put 20 rounds in the 30 round mag just because the ammo comes in 20 round boxes. I should try 30 and see if my luck changes.

I was listening to Dennis Prager yesterday on the radio. He had some great words of wisdom. He told a story about how he used to be an audiophile and would search out the best amps, tuners, etc. to build the BEST stereo. He found out that the stereo that he LOVED the most was not the BEST one. I find that I'm the same way. I have a beautiful AR-15 with an Addax GPU, high end EOTECH red dot, high end flip up sights, nice magpul stock, KNS trigger creep kit and I love this Romy AK more than I do my AR. Not wanting to sell the AR by any means, because I'm proud of it and like it a lot but it goes to show you that you should just get the gun that you love. Of course, it has to be functional as well.

This post has been edited by kargo27: August 6th 2009 2:11 PM