AK Sponsor
Posted: 11/15/2009 6:00:21 PM EDT
|
I am on a budget, so I have weighed the expenses of building an AK-74 with the price of buying one. I can buy a rifle through the mail and have it delivered to my FFL. After all the fees and costs, it will cost about $700. I can build it for about $400 (kit=245, receiver=$120 after fees, two magazines=$35 shipped). I have never built an AK-74 and I am in the research stage looking at some sites for building this rifle. My main requirements for this rifle is that I want a kit that gives me something chambered in 5.45X39 and with wood furniture (no "synthetic" and no folding stocks). For the kit, I went to this site and was looking at the following kit for $245:
https://www.apexgunparts.com/product_info.php/products_id/1057?osCsid=29ab47f410a6c8e29bebb4ba6c43e81c I was looking at the following site for receivers with a variety of prices, from $50 to $90: http://www.nodakspud.com/page2.htm Now here are some questions: 1. The potential problem is that the kit above comes with a US made barrel. Is the US made barrel more accurate or should I find a kit with an original barrel? I have heard that the US made barrels don't have the correct twist rates for 5.45X39 because Century or some other importer supposedly f*cked this up. As a result of the wrong twist rate, I have read that it has caused some major accuracy problems with 5.45X39. 3. Another question related to the barrel: Is headspacing going to be an issue or is this dependent on what kit I buy? I have a gunsmith that I can go to to headspace it if it is needed, but I would rather build the gun myself entirely if I can. 2. Is there an online, step by step guide telling me how to build a wood furnitured AK-74 from start to finish, assuming I have a complete receiver that I won't be cutting, bending, or drilling? I have looked in this subforum for guidance and it seems like all the online manuals that are referenced are either dead links or show you how to build different parts of the gun...but not the whole thing. Maybe I missed it, but it seems like there would be an all encompassing manual on how to build this rifle somewhere online. 4. Any special tools required that would increase the cost of building this gun? I only plan on building one for myself and really don't want to load up on special tools like barrel wrenches if I don't have to. 5. Any other ideas on where I can obtain a kit that has the original accuracy, look, and feel of a wood furnitured AK-74? I don't have to buy it from Apex, but I saw their ad in Shotgun News and that is what drove me to them. 6. In the link referenced above for receivers (www.nodakspud.com), which receiver would I want based on the fact that I want the standard wood stock and pistol grip, or is that dependent on the rifle kit's origin (Romanian, Polish, Russian, Bulgarian, etc.)? I am sorry for these very newb questions, but I really want to make this a project gun for myself. I have built an AR-15 rifle using the step by step instructions provided on this site. I appreciate any help any of you can give me in regard to these questions. Thanks, Joel |
| go grab a shotgun news there are better deals than $700 out there personnally i dont believe a guy can save money build an ak when you consider all the tooling needed and the time if you htf actually does build parties then maybe but j&g had ak 74 with folders right around 500 i believe dont qoute me but i know its close too that |
|
I think there are a lot of people in this boat. And I think there might be more builders if the information was in one nice, easy to understand format, from start to finish.
I would welcome any references to already assembled wood furnitured AK-74's at prices lower than $700. I would also welcome any other insight people might have for my questions. Thanks, Joel |
|
How does a bulgarian on a nodak reciever for $469 sound?
Or polish tantal 5.45x39's for $429 ? here is another Bulgarian on a nodak reciever for $499. This is the standard price for these guns currently, however I am sure there are places still gouging for them. |
|
There's no way you're going to be able to build as cheap as you think. You havent included compliance parts, rivets, refinishing, or tooling. There are plenty of AK building tutorials online. Building a 74 is the same as building a 47.
You're going to need the kit $250 (try to find one with an original barrel) Receiver $85 plus $20 transfer Rivets $20 Rivet squishers ($15-$40) US compliance parts (5 of them) (Tapco G2 $30 (3 parts) Pistol gip and piston or mag floorplate $30) refinish $5-$25+ do you have tools for pressing the barrel ??? If not, thats more $$ If you just want a rifle and not the experience of building one, get a TGI from AIM |
|
Sounds like I want to buy instead of build. I didn't know the details about pressing a barrel, whatever that means, but it sounds involved and it sounds like there is a learning curve. So, I would say building is out and I now need to locate a rifle that meets my criteria.
Can you guys shed some light on the accuracy issues that have cropped up with these 5.45X39 rifles? There was a review on one of the websites that said that the rifle worked really well, but was very innacurate out of the box. I have also heard about accuracy issues with this rifle from other sites, due to the twist rate in the barrel (presumably). I really don't want to buy a rifle that is going to give me accuracy problems. Second to accuracy, I also would like to change the synthetic furniture out for wood furniture. Would any of you like to comment on the difficulty of doing this? Thanks, Joel |
|
The accuracy issues were a very early batch of century arms polish tantals using US made barrels that had the wrong twist rate or bore diameter or such. I have heard of no such accuracy issues other than that. Changing furniture from synthetic to wood is very easy, VERY.
Apex has Wood stock sets for $25. |
| i still want to build, i will make my own reciever , have rivet tools and press. i have a fixture i made for folding the recievers, will it work the same for a 74 reciever as it did for the 47? also you dont kneed to spen 20$ on rivits, the hard ware stores have them for pennies |
|
Thanks Greeneye. That makes it clear that I can get the stock kit I want after I buy the rifle. Now I just need one more bit of information before I buy my rifle. How do I minimize my chances of getting a shitty barreled AK-74. Some places have good prices on them, but sometimes it makes me wonder if there is something else wrong with them. For instance, should I avoid US made barrels at all costs or are the current US barrels chambered correctly and have the correct twist rate? Are the US barrels chrome lined?
Basically, I am asking this: Is there a way I can tell which rifles to shun and which ones are more accurate? I don't want a keyholing rifle! Thanks for all the help so far, guys. I'm almost there. Joel |
| As far as I know all the current US barrels are pretty good, however I would NOT get one that is NOT chrome lined. currently there are both chrome lined and non-chrome lined US barrels offered. Probably the best way to find out what kind of barrel a rifle has is to call and ask at the place you are looking to buy from. The one from Aim (third link I gave you above) does come with an original bulgarian chrome lined barrel. The one from J&G (first link for $469) may also but doesn't say, i would call and ask. |
I think if You are new to guns and metalwork I would buy and modify. Thats kinda how I got My feet wet. I've worked around machine and welding some so I might be ahead of a newbie. The problem with a kit as a newbie if You make a mistake it can cost more than just buying one. Or worse KILL you if You do something to wrong. It sounds like You are doing the right things though. There are alot of people here to help. I wouldn't have been able to do My builds without them.
|
|
Ak-74 built from bulgarian parts kit using original chrome lined barrel with a nodak spud receiver for $399 with FREE SHIPPING, can't beat that. Forget about the crap saiga's .
Link |
AK Sponsor