I traded into a new VEPR in 5.56 / .223 a short while back. Out of the box it looked great and actually has a nice piece of wood on it. Unfortunately I did not like a few things so I decided to "fix-it".

As received~





1st up and the most annoying was the paper thin front sling swivel and hand-guard retainer. The sling loop is narrow and super light duty. I doubt it would hold up to heavy sling pressure without torquing the barrel and its a crappy bipod attachment point.

The Magpul Zhukov hand-guards looked like the perfect solution but needed some mods to make them fit.

The barrel diameter is too large for the stock Magpul clamp rings to work. The rings needed bored open to accept the VEPR heavy barrel.

As received out of the box~




These need opened up to fit the fat barrel diameter~




Milling machines with a boring head is handy~




Next issue was making some clearance cuts to the aluminum Magpul part.
You cab see the rear sight base where it interferes ~




Aluminum cuts easy~




Just right~




The lower section needed a small clearance cut as well to clear the barrel band for the old hand-guard attachment point~



Hand guard needed a slight clearance cut to clear the receiver~




Rock solid~




I ordered some stainless steel screws that were longer for full thread / clamp engagement. I relieved the center section to slightly clear the barrel when installing them. The factory screws were slightly shorter.





Front end complete. I added the Magpul aluminum rail on the bottom and attached a bipod mount so I can use the bipod or a sling without worry of torquing my barrel.





The above took the most effort and the remaining mods were pretty straight forward with a twist.
(From this point forward 922R applies)

I installed a bullet guide by drilling and tapping a 6-32 hole in the trunnion. The trunnion was / is tough but it went easy. I have some Circle 10 & Weiger 5.56 magazines so the magazine catch needed shortened by .043" of an inch. I removed the catch and fitted it without issue. RE-installing it was the twist. I put it and the spring back in the trigger guard and swagged the pivot pin to retain it. I used my milling machine vise and each time I squeezed it I was not happy with the appearance or the lip to retain it. I decided to "go just one more time" and screwed up the pin. Not being very pleased I decided to use a brand new Polish trigger guard and magazine catch. I removed the rivets and old trigger guard and put the Polish one on my Vepr. Its a more robust unit and milled steel Vs the stamped Russian one. It was the correct size "as is".





Much better now~




I added the ALG ( Geissele) trigger.It needed some clearance added to the trigger to swing free and was a simple mod. The last piece of the puzzle was the buttock. I wanted to use an AK stock but quickly scrapped the idea. Any adapter than slide into the receiver you will have to reduce the stock slightly to fit inside.The other option is the AR style adapter and the Cannis (sp?) adapter was my pick. I added a mil-spec buffer tube and a Magpul PRS stock. The final touch was removing the muzzle nut and installing a flash hider. I made a 3-prong flash hider similar to the old M16 three prong hider from the Nam era. The pistol grip is Magpul as well. The scope mount is MI and the optic is a Leupold 12X target with knobs. I also cut the stock VEPR mags to clear the new bullet guide so they work as well. I have to thin my Weiger mags down when I get some play time.


Now to get it to the range.......


Done~

Looks like I've got a new project to do. If the wife finds out she'll hate you

Outstanding work

Nice workmanship, looks good.



I do like the PRS stocks, but I am not a fan of their weight.  I sold my PRS when I put my AR-10 on a diet.

The only down side of the PRS stock is the weight & cost. I had a couple other Magpul stocks I slipped on ( fixed length carbine &  adjustable) and neither really struck me as just right so I opted for the PRS. It's a nice companion for the front end and it's rock solid. Magpul makes good stuff.

Hey, its only money.......

(Go for it!)

Very nice work!

I bet the weight of the PRS actually works in the rifles favor balancing it.  I probably would have went with one on my 308 VEPR but the cost was a differing factor and I wanted to try out a luth AR stock.

Since I had the matching Zhukov hand guard (top) I wanted to see what the VEPR looked like with it attached. I picked up a spare gas tube but the Magpul hand guard was refusing to slide in. Turns out I needed to remove about .040" material form the front lip.

Turned a slug in the lathe for an arbor and ran the gas tube between center to face off .040" so the Magpul part fit. The lower lip needed some minor fitting to my rifle but it was pretty simple. It looks more "finished" now.

Turn the diameter to fit the gas tube ~




Turning between centers~



Now it fits~




Looks finished now~



Vs

Very nice ! Hell of a rifle , a vepr 223 is next on my to do list!