Maybe AK, and "accuracy" should not be used in the same sentence but I like to know the accuracy potential of every gun I own or use. 

I recently got back into the AK world with a Zastava ZPAP M85 (5.56) and an Arsenal SAM7SF (7.62X39).

I believe the limiting factors to AK accuracy is the following:

1) Sights or optics. The irons are hard to use for any precision and they are basically pistol sights. Both of my AK's have RDS attached (Aimpoint ML2 for the SAM7 and an H1 on the ZPAP). RDS are a big improvement over the irons but with my aging eyes the dots are not as crisp as they used to be. I will need to explore some magnified optics for my AK's eventually.

2) Ammo. Typical FMJ 7.62X39 ammo is not very accurate. Probably because it's made as fast and cheap as possible, usually in Russia, Yugoslavia, etc. The domestic made FMJ loads that I tried from Remington and Winchester did much worse than the Russian and Yugo counterparts. Some domestic made quality ammo does exist like Hornady SST and Federal Fusion, and maybe others but they are expensive and impossible to find nowadays. And I'm not convinced that the typical AK will shoot expensive domestic brands better than Russian steel cased. I do not own any 5.45 AK's and I always hear they are a good bit more accurate than the X39. I can only say that my 5.56 AK's are more accurate than my X39 rifles, most likely since I have some very good match type loads in 5.56 not nothing comparable in X39. (What groups are you guys getting from your 5.45 guns?)

3) Triggers. Some AK's have good triggers but I have little experience with them. Typical AK triggers are modified full-auto designs that consists of a long unpredictable single stage. Some improved triggers like the FIME Enhanced trigger in my SAM7 are much better and have a 2-stage-ish feel but still no where near as good as the triggers available for the AR's. The best AK trigger that I have is my IMI Galil followed by my Romy SAR-3 with the Tapco G2 (but that trigger slap though, ouch).


Accuracy in my SAM7 has been OK at 100 yards, 5 shot groups. Using the irons, I can average around 5MOA with my best groups being 4.5" but typically coming in between 5-6" at 100 yards using Red Army Standard Range-Safe 122gr FMJ. This is with my 50yo eyes, uncorrected no glasses etc.

With the Aimpoint ML2 mounted on the side rail I can do a little better. The SAM7 seems to like Barnaul lacquered case FMJ and averaged around 3MOA with the best ever group for this rifle of 1.65" 5 shots at 100 yards.

The Red Army Standard Range-Safe (brass jacketed bullet loaded in steel case by Tulammo) gave me 5 shot groups of 3.75, 3.80, 4.05 and numerous 6.5" groups due to a single flier opening it up.

S&B soft points gave me consistent groups that averaged 4MOA.  

Serbian made Belom brass case/brass jacketed bullet FMJ gave me 3.40, 3.50, 4.50, 4.60, 4.10, 3.75. and seems to average around 4MOA or a hair less.

Chinese FMJ ammo from 1992 is inconsistent and can give groups around 3MOA then the next one being 6MOA with 1 or 2 fliers Same with some older Wolf HP loads.


My Zastava ZPAP M85 (5.56) with the Aimpoint H1 mounted on the top rail gave me the following 5 shot groups at 100 yards.

Australian Outback with 69gr Sierra bullet: 2.20, 2.65, 2.15, 3.10".
Australian Outback 55gr Blitzking: 3.30, 2.80"
FN 62gr SS109: 3.20"
Wolf Gold 55gr FMJ: 4.6"

I did not attempt to shoot the ZPAP with irons past 50 yards due to the the very primitive sights with short sight radius (it's a pistol after all). At 50 yards with irons I was getting the following 5 shot groups:
Wolf Steel Polyperformance 2.50-5" inconsistent groups with fliers common
Federal Bulk XM193 FMJ 1.6, 1.8"
GECO 223 FMJ 1.30"
FN 62gr SS109 1.25, 1.85, 1.70"
IMI M855 1.80, 1.85"     

At first, I was admittedly disappointed with the accuracy of my AK's, especially the 7.62X39. But, I reminded myself that even though most of my AR's can give me sub MOA groups (with magnified optics and the best ammo) THEY DO NO BETTER than the AK's using cheap FMJ and non-magnified RDS optics. 

So what accuracy are you getting from your AK's?

I have my friend stand 1.6 miles away with a dime in one hand, and a radio in the other. Upon my signal, he throws the dime in the air. I am able to hit the dime twice before it hits the ground.

True story bro!


(Also, great shooting. Reality for me is a lot more like 5-6" at 100 yards, but I have shaky hands, and I'm not that good with them).

Aside from the good groups with ammo the guns like, I think I'm around 5-6MOA also.

Using a Trijicon Accupoint 1-4 (red triangle reticle) I got 2-3 inch groups with both my Draco pistol and WBP Fox at 100 yards at an indoor range shooting a batch of wolf 125gr soft point that was imported early in 2020.  I want to say the WBP printed one group below 2 inches, but that was almost certainly a fluke.  I haven’t really done accuracy testing on other ammo (I happened to be zeroing my Draco and threw the accupoint on my WBP rifle to see how it did), mostly just plinking steel at 300 yards and in.  The infinite aiming point provided by the triangle reticle helps a lot.

With irons I’m probably about a 4-6 MOA shooter with AK sights.

Cheap Russian ammo isn’t as inaccurate as you’d think. Out of my CZ527 I get about 2” groups from most FMJ. So a bit larger groups from an AK are understandable. Their practical accuracy is sufficient. Not the best but they’ll do the job.

Try these 2.
Golden tiger 123gr FMJ Boat tail.
Wolf Range Safe copper FMJ.

They'll close the groups up a bit.

Buddy of mine has a psa rifle with fn barrel fucking thing gets around 1.5 to 2 moa with a few different steel case loads. out shoots my lwrc 6.8 at least with bulk ammo

I know a few others here have had the same experience with them

I believe a big part of it is a huge, roughly finished tuning fork (gas piston/oprod) attached to the bolt carrier vibrating. I saw a high speed video years ago of this and it was hoping around quite a bit.

Long stroke piston guns have never struck me as accuracy guns.
YMMV

PSA AKs in general group well and send the rounds where you want them to go, so I don’t think your buddy’s is a fluke.

PWS long stroke ARs are capable of good precision and accuracy, though they are working with a lot tighter tolerances than a typical AK.

Practically I've never gotten better than 3-4 MOA from an AK, including Russian, Egyptian kit w/ Romanian barrel, straight Romanian, and Chinese.

Could it be possible? Sure... but I have yet to see it.

The Red Army Standard Range-Safe is identical to the Wolf Range-safe copper FMJ, except for the graphics on the box. They all have the "Tulammo" headstamp so I assume they are identical-loaded in the same place with same components. I have both the Wolf and the Red Army versions and I will try to compare side by side but they appear identical in every respect. It's been good ammo except for the occasional flier that ruins my groups, which could be the ammo, my trigger, trigger finger...

I'd like to find some Golden Tiger but pickins are slim lately. I ordered some Maxxtech 124gr FMJ that is made at the same Vympel Factory in Russia that makes Golden Tiger so I'm hoping it's the same quality.

I was thinking exactly of mounting an Accupoint or similar 1X4 but not sure of what mount to use. I've seen a Midwest Industries mount that looked tempting.

At least with my eyes and skill level, I dont think I will ever be able to extract the most accuracy of my AK (or any rifle) without good magnified optics.

My 2 cents on AK accuracy and me . If i spend enough money on a pinto i can turn it into a winning race car specific to a class but why would i want to when there are much better platforms to begin with. My point and why i own an AK is the rifle does some of its legendary work stacking bodies at 50 meters all day until it runs out of ammo. If i want to put 5 rounds into washingtons portrait on a dollar bill at 100 meters i will crank out a 243 win. beyond that, 300 win mag. The 7.62x39 compares to a 30/30 a great game killer/brush gun not a "shoot the eye out of a gnat at 100 meters" . Don't put lipstick on a pig.......but by all means enjoy the bacon ....that's what its really good for ...............

My Arsenal SLR-101S consistently does about 2-2.5 MOA at 100 yards with Golden Tiger.  My Galil ACE was even better and could hold under 2 MOA pretty consistently.

All I pretty much shoot though is Golden Tiger or Hornady SST.

I agree and understand 100%. The selling point of the AK is the rugged simplicity and the low/no maintenance reliability not accuracy. My cheapest, crappy-est AR will shoot better than my best AK. But how much is that due to the ammo, optics, and trigger?  

Even if a had a Pinto, I'd still want to test drive it to see how fast it can go. That's all I'm getting at with this OP. If dudes are getting no-shit 1.5MOA 5 shot groups from their PSA AK's I'd like to know.

There we go! That's what I want to see. SST and Golden Tiger are on top of my list.

What optics did you use?

I've found that almost any AK with the heavier RPK style receiver and heavier barrel profile to be substantially more accurate.

I don't think the AK was designed to be a long range target rifle. It was designed to be built cheap and fast, easy to learn operation and maintenance, dependable, and shoot in various conditions of extreme cold to tropic hot jungles.

My AK's, all stock, will shoot minute of man at 200 yards fairly consistently even though I am a rather poor shot. Some shoot better then others, some shoot better with one brand of ammo over another.

Rob Ski shoots much better then I do, and always will.

If nine hole review can run a stock mak90 out to 500 yard with original sites

You should be able to do it at 300 yards

THIS. Watch their videos.

I had the Vomz Pilad 4x30 optic.  Basically a Russian ACOG.

Thank you. Will look into it.

Once you get past the sights and trigger there are some mechanical issues that can be overcome - some easier than others.

Some AKs are headspaced loosely. Good for reliability, bad for accuracy. No way to know without checking with a gauge set. If you handload you can compensate for this, if you only shoot factory ammo you are out of luck. Over on the files some of the knowledgeable builders would recommend headspacing an AK for accuracy by setting it so that the bolt would partially rotate into battery on a GO gauge, but would only fully rotate into battery on a live round. If you wanted to correct loose headspacing it comes down to either having the barrel adjusted and repinned with an OS pin, or buy a NOS unfitted bolt and have it fitted to a rifle by an experienced AK gunsmith - who would probably just suggest pressing the barrel in a bit more rather than doing the PITA work of grinding the bolt lugs on a virgin bolt.

You also have the mass of the BCG to deal with, which can cause barrel movement before the bullet has exited the barrel if the rifle is on the overgassed side, which most AKs are. There are a few ways to deal with this on a typical AK, either use an adjustable gas piston or a stiffer recoil spring. By reducing the gas impulse strength or increasing the spring resistance against the carrier, you can theoretically delay the BCG movement enough to prevent it from causing premature movement or jarring of the barrel.

On this note... Zastava even designed a modified AK gas system to compensate for this effect and improve accuracy - this gas system was first designed for the M76 DMR and is seen on Zastava rifles with adjustable gas systems, like the M90 and M77.. Instead of the gas pulse pushing directly against the face of the piston, the gas pulse actually goes around the piston head, through several cross holes drilled in the piston, and then jets out through the front of the piston, pushing against the gas block. Zastava claims this delays the gas pulse sufficiently so that the BCG does not cycle until the bullet has left the barrel, preventing the shock from the BCG movement from affecting accuracy.

If you are building an AK from scratch these are easy mechanical factors to adjust for, on a factory gun not so much.

I have tried to follow these accuracy building tips on a 5.56 '74 build and it will shoot just barely under sub-MOA with quality match .223 ammo. The only things I did was to headspace to the above recommended method (partial rotation on GO, close on live), and use the smallest gas port that would function reliably which in my case was .0625" - same as the spec port size for a 16" carbine length AR which ironically has almost the same gas system length as an AK when you factor in the overall length of travel of the BCG between the two designs.

I have also always read that deflection of the barrel can be an issue when the gas tube is too tight, and ironically a loose/rattly gas tube is in theory better to have, even though it annoys some shooters to no end. I have never had a gas tube that needs to be slammed into place, but some people do. At that point I would consider adjusting the fitment of the tube because it is likely going to be a stress point for the barrel and could contribute to POI shift as the barrel heats.

Obviously ammo is a huge factor and it's just plain easier to find quality factory loads for AKs chambered in NATO cartridges like 5.56 or 7.62x51. Otherwise you don't have many choices for 7.62x39, 54r, and almost none for 5.45x39 - the last one is especially a shame since in theory 5.45x39 should be a very accurate cartridge if one could develop a quality load for it.. IIRC East Germany developed a very accurate target rifle in 5.45x39 that also apparently lived a somewhat infamous dark career as a border wall sniper rifle.

Last but not least I would take groupings with your preferred muzzle device and with none installed at all. While you're at it look at the crown. Not all AKs are crowned very well, some look like they were just done with nothing more than a ball hone. The absolute best AK barrel crowning I have seen on foreign manufactured barrels has been on Zastavas - the crown is crisp and very well defined, with no tooling or machining marks.

I consistently get better groups, waaaay better sometimes than what's posted here, but then again i've been through a LOT of AK's in my time and have only kept the nicer ones, so that's mostly why I get better results. But a few things:

GT is consistently more accurate in all my rifles.

AK muzzle crowns are never that good, and this can have a HUGE impact on your accuracy, very worth it to spend ten minutes re-crowning.

AK muzzle threads are frequently at least slightly non-concentric, this WILL have an effect once you put a muzzle device on and will vary from device to device, you can get side-scrapes sometimes in a device with a very small opening but even in one with a large opening, that device being crooked on there throws off the pattern of the ports on the device and will change your POI and widen groups.

AK triggers suck. Do a trigger job if you plan on really gettting the most out of your rifle. This is user-accuracy, not gun-accuracy, but still, just do it.

Handloads are the way to find out just how tight your rifle can get.

If using irons, file that front sight post to a sharp tip and set your sights for lollipopping the target. The un-modded AK front sight post covers up about 8 inches at 100 yards and more the farther you go out. You can get much more precise with a sharp tip. NOTE: Figure out where you want your front sight to be elevation-wise first, then ONLY file the two sides, do NOT file all sides and create a cone tip as this will create glare right at the tip of the sight.

Counterargument:  just because I can do that does not mean that I should.  Adding a 1-4x illuminated LPVO that doesn’t use batteries to my Draco allows me to make faster, more accurate shots at longer distances than with the irons.  It also makes the entire experience more enjoyable.  The flashlight and the sound suppressor also make the firearm more capable.

The draco is my get home gun.  Not relying solely on irons for that

I have AKs in 5.45, 7.62, and 5.56.  I have shot, and seen MANY people shoot, MANY AKs.  I would have to see an AK with an original imported barrel and steel cased ammo shoot less than 2moa 5-shot group to believe it.  With irons, only a champion level shooter.

Maybe an Arsenal 106 with US match ammo or worked up handloads and good glass.

Most premium ARs are hard pressed to break that level of accuracy by good shooters with bulk factory ammo.

Feel free to take a trip out here to lovely 2A-friendly Idaho this summer, and i'll be happy to show you at least two rifles that will do better than 2MOA, i'll even buy the beer and you are welcome to shoot them yourself. SA-85m and a Vepr, both in 7.62. Both have PA microdots on currently but we can remove them and go irons only.

One caveat, if we get a 1MOA group at any point, you have to pay for the beer....best if you just go on and bring a case of Shiner Bock with you just in case.

Some excellent advice here about getting the most out of the AK. I was beginning to think that I am the only AK user that obsesses about accuracy.

It doesn't seem there is anything inherent in the action which would cause a lack of precision.  A good bbl, a good trigger, a milled receiver, a good optic on the sidemount, good ammo.  Most folks in the AK world aren't going to to to those lengths.

they are plenty accurate for what they are.

I shot this 5 round group at 100 a few months ago with a vortex red dot on a RS regulate mount just checking zero. laying prone in the snow. just tula bulk ammo.

ETA: rifle is a century WASR

ETA2: I have a PSA 74 thats just as accurate. was actually blown away by its accuracy.

With a good barrel, trigger and modern optics, AK's can be pretty dern accurate, indeed.

And, of course, knowing HOW to shoot always helps.
An awful lot of folks are always quick to blame the hardware.

Not to nitpick...but cherry picking one MOA group does not make a rifle an MOA rifle.

I've had quite a few AKs and I've seen one "freak of nature accurate" 5.56 rifle.  As for 7.62 and 5.45 models, 2-3 MOA was about the norm with optics and best ammunition.

Never said it was, what I did say, was that it's damn sure worth a beer...anybody here disagree on that point?

Just returned from a quick trip to the range shooting my Zastava ZPAP M85 (5.56X45).

5 shot groups at 100 yards from sandbag rest. Optic was an Aimpoint H1 4moa.

IMI M855 4.4"
ADI (Australian Outback) 55 Blitzking 4.1"
ADI 69gr Sierra (gun's favorite load so far) 2.40", 3.75" (w a flier, 4 shots were a tight 1.5")
FN Herstal SS109 2.90", 3.10", 4.25" (this is my only gun that shoots this load well and my most accurate AR with 22X scope will not shoot this FN better than 3MOA!)
Speer Gold Dot 62gr 3.5"

I love this little gun. By far the biggest obstacle to accuracy/group size is the optic. The Aimpoint H1 has a 4MOA dot and in the crazy bright FL sunshine, I have to turn up the dot to almost max and with the bloom, it's easily 6MOA. Also the "dot" is not a dot with my older eyes and changes shape and typically looks like a short diagonal coma. Looking at my groups today, all the hits were stringing left to right indicating effects of barrel heating (unlikely due to my slow firing) or different POA for each shot. On overcast, cloudy days, I set the dot brightness lower and use the top of the coma to aim and my groups are MUCH better. If I could somehow mount an actual scope on this pistol, I am 100% sure that the groups would be cut in half.

I bought an 11 degree crowing tool years ago. Every rifle I get I use it on them. I have T1 on my 105 build and can ring the hostage plate at 100 easy. Never papered it though. Get a good crown on there.

This^^^^+1000

And when you're squatting on a bench shooting groups (if you must), take a minute and remove your muzzle device and see what your groups look like then, i'm telling y'all, non-concentricity of your muzzle threads can lead to grouping issues with certain devices, removing the MD/FH and firing some groups is an easy way to tell sometimes.

3-5 moa depending on lot of ammo.

ETA: 5.45

A few more groups from the ZPAP M85.

5 shots at 100 yards from a sandbag rest, optic was an Aimpoint H1.

FN Herstal SS109 62gr 1.30" (crazy fluke?), 3.1"
Hornady 75gr T2 (556 loading) 3.40"
Federal Fusion 62gr (non MSR version) 2.35"
Australian Outback 69gr 2.00"

I'm super happy with these groups as they are well beyond my expectations. Apparently, at least for this particular gun, the only real limitation on AK accuracy is the ammo. When I shot plain bulk FMJ in this gun, I was averaging 4-6MOA similar to my 7.62X39 gun (Wolf Polyperformance 55gr FMJ was closer to 8MOA).

They are, suppressed anyway. I have two that will shoot at 1.5 moa, one of which was tested by Rob Ski in his video on the PSA AK103. My friend has one and also shot several groups like this:



My testing and Robs, plus my friends groups were shot with Barnaul. I haven't tested with self defense or similar Western ammo

Some more groups with the ZPAP M85 (5.56X45).

5 shots at 100 yards, seated, sandbag rest, optic is the same Aimpoint H1.

S. African 55gr Ball from 1983   4.20"
Black Hills 50gr TSX                 3.65" (with 4 shots into 1.20" and 1 flier ruined it)
Black Hills 77gr (223 load) apparently the ZPAP's rifling cannot stabilize the 77gr as only 3 scattered shots hit the target
Australian Outback 69gr Sierra  2.6", 2.3", 2.7", 2.1"  (still the best load in this gun)
Australian Outback 55gr Blitzking 3.0", 4.4"
Fed Fusion 62gr SP                  3.70"
Speer Gold Dot 62gr SP            5.1"
FN Herstal 62gr SS109             3.20

I will try to confirm later that the ZPAP doesn't like 77gr loads and shoot some more 50gr TSX (and 62gr TSX) as it looks to have potential.

Be interesting to run a patch down the bore & measure the twist.  The Swiss went w/ 1:10" on their 5.56 rifles, IIRC.

I e-mailed Zastava USA and they replied that the twist is 1:7. After shooting some more BH's 77gr, I think the gun just doesnt like it. The POI is WAY off from the other loads but none of the holes showed the slightest signs of keyholing.

I'll bore everyone with some more results...

Again, my Zastava ZPAP M85 pistol using the Aimpoint H1, 5 shots at 100 yards (no alibi's or called fliers, even shit groups were measured and recorded).

Federal TRU 55gr (Sierra Gameking-my old duty load) 2.70", 2.60" (groups were 4" high POI)
PPU Match 75gr (from around 2007) 2.00", 4.10", 3.45", 3.10"
Hornady Steel Match 75gr 3.70", 1.60", 2.55", 2.25", 3.25", 3.40", 3.70", 1.35", 3.30", 3.20" (the gun seems to like this ammo)
ADI (Australian Outback) 69gr Sierra  2.10". 3.00", 3.00" , 1.55", 3.25"
Black Hills 50gr TSX  2.60", 3.00" (POI was 3" to the left)
Black Hills 62gr TSX  3.25", 3.50"  (POI was crazy 9" high!!)
Hornady 75gr 5.56 T2  1.90", 3.55", 5.00"

Black Hills 77gr 223 (only 3 shots fired) 1.70" but POI 5" to the right off the target.

I'm too lazy to do the math but I believe these groups combine to an average around 3.00" for all loads from a pistol using an unmagnified RDS with a 4MOA dot (used by an old fart who need readers to read). I'm very happy with the accuracy of the ZPAP M85!

Now for some 7.62X39 results.
Groups were fired from my Arsenal SAM7SF with a Nightforce NX8 mounted using an MI Gen1 side-mount. 5 shots at 100 yards, optic set at 8X. This optic/mount holds zero after removing/re-mounting.

Serbian Belom new-production brass cased/jacketed FMJ:   3.30", 2.70", 2.90", 3.90", 5.10", 3.20"
Yugo Ingman (IK-85 headstamp):  4.90", 2.85"
S&B softpoint: 4.1"
Red Army Standard Range-safe (122gr FMJ with the brass jacket/non/steel bullet) 4.35", 3.35, 5.20", 4.15, 4.00", 4.50", 3.80, 8"+ flier off the target
Chinese FMJ from '92:  4.15", 4.4"
Wolf HP (over 15 years old, UK factory) 3.30", 4.10"
MaxxTech Essentials  (made by Vympel in Russia) 124gr FMJ: This stuff shoots so bad I'm convinced it's designed to shoot around corners in Donbas! No 100 yard groups since at best only 3 out of 5shots hit the target. 50 yard groups are 4.25", 6.40" (usually 2-3 shots were dead center but crazy fliers are common destroying the groups. This ammo is garbage.)    

I have been terribly disappointed with the 7.62X39 for accuracy. At least from the ammo that I have been able to find. The best ammo has been old Barnaul FMJ and the Belom from Serbia averaging around 3.5MOA but typical X39 seems to be around 5MOA. Disappointingly, there was not much difference in accuracy between my Aimpoint ML2 (4MOA dot) and the Nightforce NX8 at 8X.

The test rig:
Attached File

Thanks for that.  Coming close to 1 MOA some of the time, wonder what it would do w/ a 3-9X hunting scope from a bench.

ETA:  That was in reference to the 5.56x45mm loads, of course.

Yes, it has potential. I dont think there is a practical way to mount magnified optics on that little top rail. Maybe an ACOG TA33 but even that would not be practical due to the eye relief, but maybe just for some groups...Even if the ZPAP had a siderail mount, the top-cover mounted rear sight would prevent attaching something like my NX8. I've thought about getting the M92 version of that gun in the 7.62X39 but due to the limitations in X39 ammo, I'll stick with the M85.

I dunno man, seems like we're beating on a dead horse kinda...

Bottom line: My AK's hit what I point them at, so it's all good.

Have to admit, it's been so long since I put my AK (WASR) on paper, I honestly don't know!  I'll hit Minute of Man sized plates at 100 yards with it.  Most of the time it is shot within 100 yards on large plates and gongs. And as someone above said "I hit what I am at with it".  But I ain't going for Double Alphas with it either.

I do need to get it to the range and on paper soon, I'm going to KalashinCon in just a few weeks, so I do need to have a general idea of what it's doing downrange!  

My Romak III/PSL, that thing can't hit the broadside of a barn with anything, even handloads!  It's about 5-8" groups at FIFTY yards!?!  It's a cool looking rig, but it rarely goes the range.

for shits and giggles I tried a cantilever mount/LPVO on the Stormwerkz rail on my M92, it fit and would allow the top cover to be opened enough to remove the BCG before the front of the scope hit the gas tube. I just don't know how solid that mounting method would be for a heavier optic, but for a red dot it works fine. I have been thinking of trying a 2x or 3x prism there as well.  I would add something like a Master Mount to the M92/M85 for any variable magnified optic. the TWS rail looks like it would be solid on this model as well since it utilizes the factory front hinge base