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Posted: 4/21/2009 4:27:43 PM EDT
Ok, went to the farm this weekend and my buddy brought a Norinco Ak with him. I got to shoot one for the first time and I couldn't believe how much fun that was. So, I need you all to teach me a little something about the differences between say a Norinco, Hun AMD65, Chinese, and maybe a Romanian ak47 and a new one made right here in the USA from the likes of Inter Ord. I don't have a clue so need your input because I just might need to get one sometime just for fun. Thanks in advance.
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People will tell you certain others are better than the rest, while that might be true to a collector, generally speaking they all go bang every time.
I bargain basement Romanian one eats hollowpoints and softpoints like candy and even puts them where I want them. Just be sure that no matter what you get, you are either able to check it out personally before you buy it (look up what red flags to look for), or you are allowed to return it should you be dissatisfied. Like the other poster said though, it's up to you, the buyer, to do your homework before you purchase anything. |
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It depends on what YOUR wants, desires, and price range is.
The cheapest AK's out there right now are the Romanian WASR's from Century. Next up from them would likely be the Yugo AKs - which IMO are a far better gun. For most US made AK's which in fact use US parts along with foreign ones - prices often get up as much or more than a legitimate pre-ban AK. ORF, Lancaster, Arsenal - they are all good guns but they usually aren't cheap. Personally, I like to have guns that also have some collector value or certainly good resale potential so that combined with the fact that prices are close to that for pre-bans (combined with the fact I've allways liked the pre-bans) took me down that path. I like the trigger of a good Chinese AK compared to any other. I also like their look and finish. Finally, they are one of the few AK's you can legally buy that were 100% made in the same military arsenals as the real deal. Pictured are two of mine. A fixed stock Norinco 56S and a double underfolder early GLNIC 1986 Import. It was made before Norinco and Polytech were producting rifles for our export market under those names. The GLNIC guns have features of what were later the Polytechs and due to the fact that GLNIC was owned by the Peoples Liberation Army are basically just the early Polytech AK47S. Both were purchased here from fellow arfcomers for under what many pay for what are essentially US put together parts guns. Earl 
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Guess I will do a little more homework. . . . geez, I thought you guys were gonna help me cheat    . I would just use it for playing around at the range, but I do like quality things and have some retained value. My budget would be considered to be lower mid range right now so I might have to put it on the back burner for a bit till I can get a better one.
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| With just a little time spent breezing through some information in each section here, you'll know a lot more than when you came into it. And may prevent yourself from any painful mistakes if/when you see one at a local gunshop. You'll be able to have some knowledge to confirm/deny whatever the dealer may tell you. |
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Quoted:
So, I need you all to teach me a little something about the differences between say a Norinco, Hun AMD65, Chinese, and maybe a Romanian ak47 and a new one made right here in the USA from the likes of Inter Ord. Norinco is a brand name for a rifle made in China. There are other brand names, and some Chinese rifles did not have a brand name. Those rifles are no longer imported. Most AMDs are built from kits on US made receivers, although some were built on Hungarian receivers. |
The AMD is an interesting variant, but for general fun shooting, consider that you can't get a cheek weld on the wire stock - it sits too low. Norincos and other Chinese AKs are expensive collectors' items simply because they have been banned from importation for years. The AMDs were originally made by FEG of Hungary - there are some of their commercial AKs around. Some of these, the FEG SA2000Ms, are special receivers made for single-stack magazines. They can legally be modified for double-stack (typical military) magazines. The SA85Ms are excellent AKs. There are two kinds - pre-ban (imported before the 1994 gun ban) with separate pistol grip and buttstock, about $1500, and post-ban, with a one-piece (thumbhole) buttstock/pistol grip, about $500. Both kinds are somewhat scarce in original configuration. You will also find converted examples of bothe SA85M and SA200M that have USA parts to comply with USC 18, 922r. Here are my SA85M and SA2000M (both post-ban) converted to AMD-63 and AMD-65 respectively, with USA parts for compliance.
Generally, you don't have to be concerned about 922r when buying a new rifle from a dealer - they have to be compliant before sale. For a used rifle, generally you will want to confirm six USA parts, although under certain circumstances there may be five. Probably more important than the brand of rifle you get is where it came from and who made it. All new AK rifles available today (except for some very expensive new-in-box pre-bans and some early post-bans with thumbhole stocks) have been remanufactured with USA parts. Sometimes these jobs are hastily done and the quality suffers. Plus, prices are at all-time highs right now because of incessant mouthing from DC about gun bans. So, search and read on here about the better makers - there are many manufacturers. You will probably end up with some form of Romanian AK because that's what you mostly find for sale now . |
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