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Posted: 9/14/2018 11:29:41 AM EDT
Hey errrbody, PA has finally started up a blog and we've been working hard to put good stuff up there. I was the primary author on an AK article we released this week, although the whole team works on everything we are doing, one person has to write the bulk of the initial content and as the resident AK fanatic, I was tapped for this one.
Top 5 Best Upgrades For Your AK-47 Posting here to A: Peacock a bit about the fact that we actually have a blog and it doesn't suck, because I'm super proud, and B: Looking for feedback on this article and asking what you guys would like to see in the future. Please let me know what you think, crew. We are mostly known for doing AR stuff but the AK guys among us are trying to get the word out that PA actually carries a ton of AK parts and accessories too. |
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Posted: 9/14/2018 12:05:40 PM EDT
[#1]
Well written sales pitch, but likely TL;DR for most. Any one of those 5 sections is long enough for an article.
I have long wondered what groups would a milled AK w/ a good bbl & decent trigger turn in. It's amusing to watch the convergence of the platforms. |
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Posted: 9/14/2018 12:18:31 PM EDT
[#2]
Good write up Mike. I’m new to AKs and have been doing my research. I appreciate your efforts.
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Posted: 9/14/2018 12:56:17 PM EDT
[#3]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Well written sales pitch, but likely TL;DR for most. Any one of those 5 sections is long enough for an article. I have long wondered what groups would a milled AK w/ a good bbl & decent trigger turn in. It's amusing to watch the convergence of the platforms. I also had a Maadi which is a stamped Egyptian AK and it was a lot more accurate but it looked crude at best. As a matter of fact, my son, at about 12 or 13, shot his first two deers with it. First one was at a measured 115 yards with a real nice and effective shoulder hit. While I would prefer a forged over a stamped any day, but I can't say from my sample of two which one is more accurate. As an aside, there are a lot of people who actually prefer the West Germany Sig P-Series pistols with their stamped & welded slides over the forged US slides. I prefer the US forged pistols and I have owned a bunch of both. |
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Posted: 9/14/2018 1:02:47 PM EDT
[#4]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Well written sales pitch, but likely TL;DR for most. Any one of those 5 sections is long enough for an article. |
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Posted: 9/14/2018 1:30:11 PM EDT
[#5]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Well written sales pitch, but likely TL;DR for most. Any one of those 5 sections is long enough for an article. I have long wondered what groups would a milled AK w/ a good bbl & decent trigger turn in. It's amusing to watch the convergence of the platforms. 
I wouldn't say it's anywhere near one of those sections being enough for an actual article though, all in all quite a proper size. |
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Posted: 9/14/2018 6:31:06 PM EDT
[#6]
Good article, as someone else said a little long but you guys are trying to be informative and it would have been for somebody who's knew to AKs and accessories. I did catch a typo:
Proven match trigger companies like CMC and ALG offer triggers that drop into place inside the AK with little to no magnification. |
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Posted: 9/14/2018 6:56:38 PM EDT
[#7]
An Excellent Article that you authored Mike!
I was curious that no one's name was attributed on it, but I thought I recognized your style! 
Pluses: (A) Keeping the list short (5) makes it manageable, (and with all the P.A. stuff offered as upgrade options, folks have a good number of items that can be honestly recommended as great upgrades for reasonable prices with incredible Primary Arms Customer Service! (B) 922r update about being careful on swapping AK items as you may go off count. I haven't seen anyone yet keelhauled in the courts over violating 922r, but if the Feds DID really want to mess with somebody...
(C) Having some quick click links in each section so people don't have leave to try to hunt down those items on the website was also a plus. 
It was long (necessary because of all the information), so "Today's Youth" (with their ultra-short attention spans - "The TL-DNR crowd") may have skipped over some good information. I didn't feel it was too long, but then again I actually speak on my "cell phone" & still wear a wristwatch (that is not internet connected), so I may seem like a Grandad to the Insta-Gram guys... Overall, it was Very Well Done! M & M should both be pleased with your work on it. Keep them coming! Looking forward to the next series BIGGER_HAMMER 
B.T.W. - We should go grab a B.B.Q. sandwich sometime when all this danged rain finally stops! |
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Posted: 9/14/2018 7:38:56 PM EDT
[#8]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Good article, as someone else said a little long but you guys are trying to be informative and it would have been for somebody who's knew to AKs and accessories. I did catch a typo: Proven match trigger companies like CMC and ALG offer triggers that drop into place inside the AK with little to no magnification.
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Posted: 9/14/2018 8:21:12 PM EDT
[#9]
I don't agree at all with the comments on how crappy the sights are on the AK. It perpetuates a couple of incorrect myths, because in reality if you get good time on the trigger with AK sights they work well. In my experience it's 6 of one, half dozen of the other and both style sights work well depending on the shooter and your experience with them. The sight radius isn't shorter than the M4, it's the same. AK irons (in my experience) are easier to use with both eyes open and are quicker, not slower, than a peep - for me
Glad you hit the high points on what AKs do benefit from, particularly triggers and the enhanced selector lever (and the ease of adding optics, which naturally I am a big fan of). I don't agree that the furniture or grip must be changed out - to me sounds sales-y - but many people do like to change it out and it's good you mentioned how easy it is, plus gave some quality options. You did a good job of helping people new to AKs get an idea of how simple it is to customize the AK the way they like which is very helpful It's also super long as others have said but I think it hit the right upgrades that really do work for the AK and I can see how it will be helpful for new comers to the dark side |
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Posted: 9/14/2018 8:39:24 PM EDT
[#10]
Best and only required upgrade is to upgrade it to an AR.
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Posted: 9/14/2018 8:41:30 PM EDT
[#11]
Well done. I like thorough.
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Posted: 9/15/2018 11:50:01 PM EDT
[#12]
I liked it. I thought it had just the right amount of information, though as mentioned it might be a bit too long for the TL:DR crowd.
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Posted: 9/17/2018 10:20:30 AM EDT
[#13]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I'm really looking for a higher magnification trigger. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Good article, as someone else said a little long but you guys are trying to be informative and it would have been for somebody who's knew to AKs and accessories. I did catch a typo: Proven match trigger companies like CMC and ALG offer triggers that drop into place inside the AK with little to no magnification. |
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Posted: 9/17/2018 10:43:18 AM EDT
[#14]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I don't agree at all with the comments on how crappy the sights are on the AK. It perpetuates a couple of incorrect myths, because in reality if you get good time on the trigger with AK sights they work well. In my experience it's 6 of one, half dozen of the other and both style sights work well depending on the shooter and your experience with them. The sight radius isn't shorter than the M4, it's the same. AK irons (in my experience) are easier to use with both eyes open and are quicker, not slower, than a peep - for me Glad you hit the high points on what AKs do benefit from, particularly triggers and the enhanced selector lever (and the ease of adding optics, which naturally I am a big fan of). I don't agree that the furniture or grip must be changed out - to me sounds sales-y - but many people do like to change it out and it's good you mentioned how easy it is, plus gave some quality options. You did a good job of helping people new to AKs get an idea of how simple it is to customize the AK the way they like which is very helpful It's also super long as others have said but I think it hit the right upgrades that really do work for the AK and I can see how it will be helpful for new comers to the dark side 1. The irons on the underfolder SUCK. I don't like the AK sights to begin with, just like I put in the article, but when you combine that with the loosey-goosey chin weld and wobbly stock of the underfolder, they are super slow for me. They are like the sights on my Mauser or my Finnish Mosin, they belong in WW1. Except my Mauser and Mosin have a longer sight radius. With the AK I get slow sights, a thick front post, AND a short sight radius (especially on the little Krink). I don't like the M4 sight radius either. If I HAD to field an iron sighted only com-block 7.62x39, I would be darn tempted to go with the Simonov. The longer sight radius really does help. I can use Kalashnikov irons and I do, I enjoy running my underfolder hard, but I always joke that if I seriously have to take that gun to the fight, something has gone seriously wrong and I've handed out all my better rifles to other combatants. I recently picked up a set of aftermarket front iron sight inserts for AK from KNS precision. I'm thinking about trying a finer front blade and seeing if that helps me with the underfolder at all. 2. As far as furniture and grip, obviously both of mine are pretty darn stock still. I even have the "dog bone" grips on both of my guns. But every time I shoot a friend's AK with a Magpul grip or a Hogue grip, I always think to myself, "dude this is a super cheap $20 upgrade, it feels much better, costs half a tank of gas, and takes 3 minutes to swap out. Why haven't you done this yet?" So yeah, when you write these blogs, there is an element of "sales guy" in there, that's what they are paying me for after all. If I don't help my company sell products I'll find myself working somewhere else, right? But there wasn't anything I put in the article that I don't agree with personally in my own philosophy on the AK. Even if my own builds don't necessarily reflect that. In my personal collection right now, I'm torn between buying a WASR and tricking it out, so I can leave my PKMS underfolder all "classic", or taking roughly the same amount of money and just buying a Galil ACE in 7.62x39 and basically having a really nice, tricked out AK right from the factory without having to tweak it at all. That's a tough internal debate that's been going for awhile. |
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Posted: 9/17/2018 4:31:50 PM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
In my personal collection right now, I'm torn between buying a WASR and tricking it out, so I can leave my PKMS underfolder all "classic", or taking roughly the same amount of money and just buying a Galil ACE in 7.62x39 and basically having a really nice, tricked out AK right from the factory without having to tweak it at all. That's a tough internal debate that's been going for awhile. |
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Posted: 9/17/2018 4:50:11 PM EDT
[#16]
There was a Galil ACE 7.62x39 up for sale in the E.E. this weekend...
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Posted: 9/19/2018 5:55:41 PM EDT
[#17]
Good article...Personally I despise the "enhanced safety" with a passion. I've seen quite a few rifles, where in an effort to Goldilocks the safety tension against the receiver to "just right" that the safety will move while firing the rifle to the point that it engages. Not a fan of the BHO cut out either. I'm kinda old school though having been around since the AK was first imported and finding nothing really wrong with it, this was a time before all the newest whiz-bang gadgets to fix what was never broken.
The AK does benefit from some of the upgrades you listed such as the furniture upgrades offered by Magpul, etc. The furniture upgrades make it a bit more user friendly by shielding the user from barrel heat & making it less likely you'll wind up putting your hand on hot barrel component while shooting. The Magpul PG and forend are better then the stock pieces in that regard. Optics are plus as well with options to fit both the factory installed siderail as well as the Ultimak for the older rifles lacking the siderail. A better trigger never hurts and some of the best of the era of pre-ban AKs were found on the Norinco & Polytech models of the time. Don't really have any experience with the new triggers to form an opinion on the new upgraded ones. In the interests of full disclosure, most of my AKs are chinese and still in original factory trim. I like the AK in it's original form but I'm not opposed to upgrades that work and serve an actual purpose and can appreciate a modded rifle for what it is as well. |
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Posted: 9/20/2018 8:35:29 PM EDT
[#18]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Don't really have any experience with the new triggers to form an opinion on the new upgraded ones |
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Posted: 9/20/2018 8:44:58 PM EDT
[#19]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I like this post, so let me answer for you totally honestly, as an AK guy, not as a PA marketing and sales employee. I have two AKs, both of which I built myself back when that was much easier to do than it is now. The first is a classic style 7.62 Polish PKMS underfolder, which is not modified at all except for a Red Star adjustable two stage trigger, because I have so many rounds through this gun that I literally wore out a TAPCO G2 (took about ten cases of ammo though, LOL). The second is my beloved SBR 5.45 AKS-74U, which I have lightly modded out but can be put back to a "classic" Osama-style rifle at any time. I have an Ultimak on it with our MD-RB-AD red dot, I have a Geissele trigger, a brake from Justin at JMAC, and the Krebs safety. So, those are my actual personal AKs, although I've built many for others and I shoot other coworkers AKs on the regular. 1. The irons on the underfolder SUCK. I don't like the AK sights to begin with, just like I put in the article, but when you combine that with the loosey-goosey chin weld and wobbly stock of the underfolder, they are super slow for me. They are like the sights on my Mauser or my Finnish Mosin, they belong in WW1. Except my Mauser and Mosin have a longer sight radius. With the AK I get slow sights, a thick front post, AND a short sight radius (especially on the little Krink). I don't like the M4 sight radius either. If I HAD to field an iron sighted only com-block 7.62x39, I would be darn tempted to go with the Simonov. The longer sight radius really does help. I can use Kalashnikov irons and I do, I enjoy running my underfolder hard, but I always joke that if I seriously have to take that gun to the fight, something has gone seriously wrong and I've handed out all my better rifles to other combatants. I recently picked up a set of aftermarket front iron sight inserts for AK from KNS precision. I'm thinking about trying a finer front blade and seeing if that helps me with the underfolder at all. 2. As far as furniture and grip, obviously both of mine are pretty darn stock still. I even have the "dog bone" grips on both of my guns. But every time I shoot a friend's AK with a Magpul grip or a Hogue grip, I always think to myself, "dude this is a super cheap $20 upgrade, it feels much better, costs half a tank of gas, and takes 3 minutes to swap out. Why haven't you done this yet?" So yeah, when you write these blogs, there is an element of "sales guy" in there, that's what they are paying me for after all. If I don't help my company sell products I'll find myself working somewhere else, right? But there wasn't anything I put in the article that I don't agree with personally in my own philosophy on the AK. Even if my own builds don't necessarily reflect that. In my personal collection right now, I'm torn between buying a WASR and tricking it out, so I can leave my PKMS underfolder all "classic", or taking roughly the same amount of money and just buying a Galil ACE in 7.62x39 and basically having a really nice, tricked out AK right from the factory without having to tweak it at all. That's a tough internal debate that's been going for awhile. People told me all the time so many things suck about the AK. Ok, sure, I believed them... when I was new to AKs what did I know anyway? But then I said why not try these things out for myself, and over the years I have found that most things people say suck about AKs actually don't Just my two cents...I don't operate, don't have a CIB and am not a high speed dude, I'm just a recreational shooter (who shoots a lot, FWIW) Z |
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Posted: 9/21/2018 9:18:22 PM EDT
[#20]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I don't agree at all with the comments on how crappy the sights are on the AK. It perpetuates a couple of incorrect myths, because in reality if you get good time on the trigger with AK sights they work well. In my experience it's 6 of one, half dozen of the other and both style sights work well depending on the shooter and your experience with them. The sight radius isn't shorter than the M4, it's the same. AK irons (in my experience) are easier to use with both eyes open and are quicker, not slower, than a peep - for me I also like that the sights are completely out of the way of any optics, and dont require being flipped up. Leaf sights are actually great if you take the time to learn them. Just treat them like pistol sights. Also, as far as I understand how peep sights work...they have an eye relief; hence nose to charging handle. Replacing the leaf with a larger peep at the front trunnion is kind of a placebo IMO. Just widen the notch a little and its the same or better. |
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Posted: 9/21/2018 9:32:44 PM EDT
[#21]
I'm a purist so I like my AKs with surplus wooden furniture, Bakelite grips, no optics, and Com-Bloc magazines.
Don't hate me.
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Posted: 10/8/2018 12:27:12 AM EDT
[#22]
I started with a C39v2 Magpul edition. Pretty much the Kimber of factory AKs right outta the box. I added and ultimak as well a a AKOU goat fucker Anhialater optic setup. I added the proper Magpul sling mount stuff to the stock and forearm. I also added a bipod adaptor for when i use a bipod.
Also added a charging handle knob. I am extreemly happy with my rifle. My next AK will be a classic styled rifle. Remember the first time I put my new AK into my safe with all the AR variant rifles. That brawl lasted more than a month! In the end my AK is still there and has even recruited a Norinco SKS as backup! Guess my X39 AR15 brought peace and tranquility back to my gun safe. Now if i could just get all my pistols to stop picking on my CZ75. |
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Posted: 10/8/2018 12:56:08 AM EDT
[#23]
Oh yeah. Great read. Very comprehensive. Maybe next time we can read about light mounting and sling mounting as well as some home made AK mods.
Mag writeups are always welcomed too. Took me nearly 30 years to come to the AK. Glad I didn't totally miss out on all the fun. |
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Posted: 10/8/2018 2:46:54 PM EDT
[#24]
What handguard is on the AK in the picture?
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Posted: 10/8/2018 4:21:42 PM EDT
[#25]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
What handguard is on the AK in the picture? https://slrrifleworks.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=24_178_133 |
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Posted: 10/11/2018 2:08:26 PM EDT
[#26]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Best and only required upgrade is to upgrade it to an AR. |
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Posted: 10/11/2018 11:15:53 PM EDT
[#27]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Best and only required upgrade is to upgrade it to an AR. Or get a warning for trolling if you keep it up. dryflash3 |
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Posted: 10/11/2018 11:17:31 PM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
You obviously don't understand the meaning of the word upgrade. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Best and only required upgrade is to upgrade it to an AR. |
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