I apologise in advance for asking questions i'm sure have been answered before but I have been reading for a few weeks on here and can't make sense of all this. I am an AR guy but am looking to get myself an AK74 clone since here in CT we can't have 7.62x39 AKs and having a 223 AK seems to defeat the purpose of an AK for me.

AIM Surplus has SAR2's I believe for under 400 bucks, yet when I see AK74 clones on the EE they are almost always between 500-1000 dollars. Why the price difference?

I am just looking for a fun gun to plink with and I've always wanted an AK so I intend to keep the original looks, no railed hanguards or any of that crap. All I want is a reliable shooter that can hit what I aim at and a nice wood stock set.

In regards to building, how much work in involved in doing this, or is it not worth it for someone with no experience in AK's? Am I better off just buying a stock rifle? Thanks in advance.

Steve

Quoted: I apologise in advance for asking questions i'm sure have been answered before but I have been reading for a few weeks on here and can't make sense of all this. I am an AR guy but am looking to get myself an AK74 clone since here in CT we can't have 7.62x39 AKs and having a 223 AK seems to defeat the purpose of an AK for me. Nothing wrong with 7.62, buy one you will love it.  The best part is the round was not designed for killing rodents, it was meant to kill people AIM Surplus has SAR2's I believe for under 400 bucks, yet when I see AK74 clones on the EE they are almost always between 500-1000 dollars. Why the price difference? Classic Arms in N.C. $329Classic Arms#704-684-0650 Shipping on mine was $13 I am just looking for a fun gun to plink with and I've always wanted an AK so I intend to keep the original looks, no railed hanguards or any of that crap. All I want is a reliable shooter that can hit what I aim at and a nice wood stock set. Don't get hung up on looks, put a folder on and fit a 74 brake. In regards to building, how much work in involved in doing this, or is it not worth it for someone with no experience in AK's? Am I better off just buying a stock rifle? Thanks in advance.Pick up the Latest Shotgun News and search this site. Steve

the gun on aimsurplus is a wsar, a romanian ak clone. a lot of people dislike the wasars because of the lack of mag demples to keep the magazines from rocking a little. some people have also experienced trigger slap in the past(although i haven't heard the issue with these since from what i understand they come standard with a g2 fcg anyway) and there have been past issues of the wsar hving a canted FSB. all of the issues that can come with the wsar brand variant can be easily resolved, and since your state wont let you have 7.62x39(never heard of that before... man. that sucks... i love being in a gun friendly state), and you just want a plinker. they are a good guns.

oh. the stock sets on the wsar may not look too good, but they clean up very nicely once you strip the wood and refinish it. as another option, you can always find another set of wood somewhere either unfished or something on the EE that someone is getting rid of. the overall finish of the wsar isn't as good as the more expensive guns either..but you dont sound like thats a big concern.

building can be pretty cheap if you go the romy kit way and just do it all the hard way with no tools / or you already have some tools. it is a good bit harder than building an ak and it requires a little know how and ingenuity, but not too much. i wouldn't recommend people building one simply to save a couple bucks, i would reccomend picking up a kit now before the ban happens and you can't get imported barrels. if you are ever going to be interested in building an AK- pick up a kit even if you just are going to hold onto it for a while.

they wont let you have a 7.62 AK in CT, that sux man!

5.45 AKs are really nice as long as getting the ammo isnt a problem.The mags are cheap and easy to find especially online.The stripper clips for 5.45 work great too.When you choose wich model you want make sure it has an optics rail.

Quoted: Nothing wrong with 7.62, buy one you will love it.  The best part is the round was not designed for killing rodents, it was meant to kill people

Obviously you missed the part where I stated that I live in CT and CANNOT have a 7.62x 39 AK. They are banned by TYPE, not name like AR15's, any AK style weapons in 7.62 x39 are illegal. 5.45 and 5.56 are legal though. Hell of a thing really, you can have a 7.62x39 AR and a 5.56 Ak but not some 5.56 AR's and no 7.62 x 39 AKs.

Thanks for the responses so far. I like the idea of getting a gun that has some issues, cosmetically and minor ones that is. I kind of want to do work on it, redoing the wood being a big one. I love redoing M14 stocks, its  alot of fun for me, what can I say, dad was a carpenter. So it sounds like these WASR's are a good deal for me to start out. As for ammo, is Wolf 5.45 hard to find? I run some Wolf in my AR's and have never had any major problems with it, then again I use Black Hills when I want accuracy out of them too. I want a gun I can learn on, the Army taught me the M16 and with the help of AR15.com I taught myself the AR15, now I'm 3 in. I look forward to doing the same with AK's.

As for what I want, I have no use for a folding stock, just doesn't appeal to me, never has, not that I could have one if I wanted one.... I like the fixed wood stock and wood handguards and the 74 brake which is at last I heard CT legal. The WASR's from AIM don't come with one of these though. Can someone enlighten me as to how the 74 brake is attached? I am assuming it is threaded somehow. Is it worth getting the bbl threaded for an 74 brake? I am leary of set screw attachments as i have some nice guages in one of my AR bbls from one of thos POS's. Thanks for you're help so far.

Steve

Look at Atlantic arms to see what is out there as well as Arsenal though if you are looking for a project gun you will sure have that with a WASR.

www.atlanticfirearms.com
www.arsenalinc.com

Also check the Equip Exchange. There are some '74's for sale there.

Personally, I think the WASRs suck but that's me.

Quoted: As for what I want, I have no use for a folding stock, just doesn't appeal to me, never has, not that I could have one if I wanted one.... I like the fixed wood stock and wood handguards and the 74 brake which is at last I heard CT legal. The WASR's from AIM don't come with one of these though. Can someone enlighten me as to how the 74 brake is attached? Steve

A proper '74 style brake screws onto the Front Sight Base. The FSBs that come on WSARs don't have the screw attachment base. What you might do is buy a WASR2 and then buy a 22mm FSB from k-var along with the little retaining pin that keeps it from unscrewing by itself. Then buy a 22mm brake reproduction from AK-103.com. You'll have to call in to order it- it isn't listed on their web site. I need to order one for myself as a matter of fact.

Galland

aimsurplus.com/acatalog/copy_of_5_45x39.html AimSurplus has Silver Bear 5.45mm It's made by Barnaul. It has zinc plated steel cases, instead of the lacquer coating. Wolf 5.45mm seems to be out of stock at alot of the dealers found online. Most of who carry the Wolf ammo do stock 5.45mm. Barnual does offer better accuracy over Wolf though.

ETA: www.k-var.com/product.asp?0=216&1=235&3=240



This is the Romanian AK-74 FSB.  You will need to switch out FSB's to attach the muzzle brake. Also the bayonet lug is on the FSB on the AK-74's, not on the gas blocks like the AKM's.

Quoted: Personally, I think the WASRs suck but that's me.

Well so far that is just you, care to elaborate on why? I am looking to learn here. So far I have heard of canted FSB's and rough magwells and a shotty finish and the banned features which in my case is somewhat of a desirable feature. It appears I'll need to replace the FSB for a 74 brake regardless so that seems to be a non issue really, broken or not it will get fixed. Thanks for the replies so far.

Steve

My WASR rocks just like any AK should.

Quoted: Quoted: Personally, I think the WASRs suck but that's me. Well so far that is just you, care to elaborate on why? I am looking to learn here. So far I have heard of canted FSB's and rough magwells and a shotty finish and the banned features which in my case is somewhat of a desirable feature. It appears I'll need to replace the FSB for a 74 brake regardless so that seems to be a non issue really, broken or not it will get fixed. Thanks for the replies so far. Steve

Sure:

1]canted front and rear sights
2]canted gas tubes
3]poor fit and finish
4]the last one I handled was very difficult to get the slant brake or bayo on and off
5]Fair amount of function problems from what I have read around here. Moreso than other AKs by far is the sense I get

In short they are poorly constructed with lousy attention to detail by the barely competent Gorillas at Century. That does not give confidence in the overall construction.

If I were dirt poor and it was all I could afford I MIGHT take my chances but I would NEVER buy one sight unseen without checking them out.

I would also check headspace before I would shoot one of these and play Romanian Roulette

Now, I don't want to be flamed by you guys who bought one and think thusly that it is the best thing since sliced bread. I DON'T CARE. I gave my honest opinion based on owning and handling plenty of AKs and they are pigs.
For the slight price increase I would go with a Vector or other brand. In fact I did--bought 2 Vector underfolders.

BTW, I also have:

2 MAKs
Hungarian underfolder
polytech underfolder
SAR-1
2 Krinks

Not a huge collection but I have handled plenty to choose the ones I have.

Now the SAR was also built by the Gorillas at Century but I got my hands on it and it was well built, the best SAR I have seen. It was clearly built by someone with some competency.
Ya really have to wonder where Century gets their 'smiths from, and I use the term loosely.

That's the way I see it.

If you are oging to change the FSB to a 24mm, why not find a decent SAR? My overall opinion is that those were better built for some reason and given what you are going to do you would not be losing anything.

If the evil features are not a rel big deal to you consider a MAK-90. Definitely a superior AK with the exception fo being neutered of evil features. For a few bucks you can change out the stockset, FCG and have a really kick ass rifle.

My advice though would be to look at the Vectors. Check www.atlanticfirearms.com for the general AK selection available currently.

Good luck.