At SHOT SHOW Zastava announced the M72 - their version of the RPK.  They said it's already approved for import and should come in sometime this year, and they're just working out the 922r bits now.  I'm really excited for this thing.  I know Century/Cugir has the AES-10b, but I really am looking forward to the Zastava offering.  I'll definitely be getting one when they come in.

Anyone else excited for these things?

I regret heavily not getting a romy RPK when they were $800. I have no idea why or how the cost is so high now compared to a regular AK.

I’m hoping that PSA will see the opportunity to put a long barrel on a GF3 and make an RPK for the economy. A man can dream.

Not really interested. I built up a Mod 64 not long ago and haven't even been able to get it zeroed yet which makes me sad.

Super pumped, it is good to see companies bringing in nice aks and variants.

Although the M7 2ND never had a Pork-Chop stock I'd prefer it if they would have made one specific  for this- An RPK just isn't looking perfect without one.

That being said, I built a Yugo M72 many years back on an NDS receiver - It shot great as I added a NOS barrel on it.  The finned barrel really worked well for cooling too.

I mostly regret missing out on the VEPR 1V when they were like $700 and I thought that was too much

A legit factory built RPK-74M in 5.56 and I thought $700 was breaking the bank

Different times for sure

lol

SAME. When the Time Machine comes I’ll rectify that mistake lol.

The M72 RPK is about the only AK I’m excited about.

Kind of cool. I'm not going to say I wouldn't get one, but a squad auto without the fun switch is kind of a let down. It will always be damaged goods.

If nothing else the RPK is typically more accurate than your standard AK and a fun way to let 7.62x39 stretch its legs out a little more

This probably would have been fun back in the days of dirt cheap Wolf and Silver/Brown Bear ammo, along with cheap Romanian drum mags.

Load up a few drums, lay prone with the bipod and just rip through a case of ammo plinking at at some steel gongs setup way out there.

I’m very much looking forward to the M72 hitting our shores.  I’m loving all the Zastava variants.  I think the M70 underfolder will come next for me though.

Practicality at this point for me is a secondary concern; the RPK is just so cool and iconic.

Maybe they’ll do an M77 RPK someday!

I picked up a M72 kit and four M70 kits back in the day before Nodak Spud existed and made receivers for them.    The M70 kits Two folders and two fixed were like $99 each from Centerfire Systems.  The M72 came from some place in Colorado (Can't remember name)  with a new (unissued) Zastava barrel along with the well used barrel.  I think I paid $179 maybe as much as $200 for it.

I loved the M72 EXCEPT THE STOCK.  I really liked the pork chop RPK stock you see on Russian and Romanian guns.

I had actually started the process to make a Pork Chop M92 stock based upon the milled AK/RPK Bulgarian style Arsenal was putting together when a friend offered to buy my M92 while I wanted something else sold it and gave up on the pork chop stock.

I wished someone really made a better buttstock for it.  In any case side by side with a Romanian kit build with heavy barrel the Yugo does indeed cool down quicker - those fins do make a big difference for cooling down.  Within 15 minutes you could touch an M92 after drum dump you couldn't with the Romy.  Romy barrels were Chromed - For some reason Yugo's never did which is peculiar as their ammo was corrosive.

AK ammo was cheap compared to 5.56.  

I regret selling the 3 I bought for $299 each. Once you got all the FSB / GB pins installed since the factory forgot to add them, they were pretty decent guns....then the carry handle would fall off. And that finish was so pristine, I mean just parkerizing. NVM, I remember why I sold them

If yours came with missing pins you can blame Century. They couldn't be legally imported with the bipod installed, so they would be imported with a pile of bipods in a separate crate and Century would remove the FSB to reinstall the bipod.

I actually waited a long time to get one that had the standard RPK full length bipod rather than the adjustable one, and right after I got it they stopped being imported... whew

I remember when there was a discount deal on a bunch of AES-10Bs that were missing the bipod and carry handle, some time around 2011. I should have bought one and made a Romy Tabuk clone

I collect Zastava Rifles so I will be getting an M72 RPK to go with my M59/66 SKS ,ZPAP M70 underfolder  OPAPM70 ,ZPAP M77 and ,ZPAP M90 .

I remember playing with one at a gun shop in Texas. Even with the pins installed the barrel parts you could move by hand.  

I love RPKs, and would like one of these. My problem is that my version of portion control is to only collect Warsaw Pact guns/mags.