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Posted: 12/23/2002 8:39:01 PM EDT
| So does anyone know about these two and which one is better? Just wanted some opinions? |
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the molot built/robinson altered (i'm told cavarms builds that ugly buttstock-pistol grip thingy) vepr II and vepr IIk is basically an rpk...not an ak-100 series. it has a stiffer, thicker walled receiver with the rpk trunnion and trunnion bulges. unfortunately, the rear of the receiver is chopped off at an angle for some damned reason. the bbl. is a heavier contour. the handguard is some funky streamlined thing and the gas tube has a weird, welded on cover. the vepr is a high quality, good shooting rifle with quality parts and a very nice finish. restoring it to military furniture configuration is a pain in the ass. izmash builds a nice ak-100 series clone. we get an abortion marketed under the model name of "saiga". as imported, they are nothing more than a nuetered, 10-shot "hunting rifle". then, everybody and their brother-in-law attempts to convert them into a "real" ak-100. i've seen them all, and only s.a.i. does an accurate conversion. the rest are mainly half-hearted attempts to undo the damage that was done at izhmash. the saiga is, nonetheless, a nice enough rifle. so...you ask which is 'better'. imo, it is a tie. they both suck. why??? [rant]because the damn things are BOTH chopped up, cut down, sporterized pieces of fugly shit that no self respecting commie soldier would be caught dead shouldering. i'll stick with a sleazy sar. at least it LOOKS like a kalashnikov and not some space age remchester or plasma rifle in the 40 gigajoule range. why don't the russians grow a set of balls and sell us the same thing they sell to the rest of the world? i don't mind buying "compliant" rifles....but those russian things are beyond ugly.[/rant] |
| I give the nod to VEPR. No worries about Dremel Dude and how he widened the mag well and what passes for feed lips in the conversion from single stack to hi-cap like most Saigas. Since you are not marching wiht it for days, the VEPR's heavier receiver and bbl should make for smoother shooting. And the fit of the VEPR is perfect for me. And it is harder to burn your left hand on these than with the 'real stock'; move my hand more than 2" on the SAR and I find hot metal. |
| Damn Campy. Never knew you were so anal about the Vepr. I know its not an Authentic AK. It is an awesome gun. It looks and performs extremely well.If you want authenticity forget a vepr or Saiga. If you want a good looking functional gun go with the Vepr. I have seen some Veprs converted into "normal" looking AKs. I think this is a waste. CB |
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i really want to like the vepr...really i do. i may yet build an rpk-74 clone out of a 5.45 robarms 20" vepr II. but, the stock and handguards just plain piss me off...and what they did to the back of the receiver is nothing short of criminal! do you know how many hours it will take me to fix that aborted attempt to nueter the receiver? probaby between 10 and 15 hours! grrrr! and...i'll have to pull off all the bbl. crap in order to fit it with proper rpk handguards...and toss that perfectly good, but re-skinned gas tube in the trash. sad...so sad. not only that, but wth did they chop a perfectly good 23" rpk bbl. down to 20"? i know...most folks don't care and can live with the vepr 'as is'. i can only look at them and think, 'what might have been'. i like both the saiga and the vepr for what they are. but i know how my brain works. neither of them would be out of the box for 10 minutes before i started tearing them apart and was chasing down parts! heheh! |
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How about the AK-103 at AK-USA? I have looked at their site and their AK's. I'm just looking for a good quality AK that will mostly be used for plinking. I did look at well probably 10 SAR's, but I'll be damned if they all had canted sights and looked just poor in quality. I guess I could just spruce them up with some good Ironwood stocks, but I worry about the quality? |
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Ed, several people on this site and AK-47.net have been very happy with AK-USA's work. If it wasn't for the damned LEGP AK that's supposed to be coming out for us forum members, I'd have ordered an AK-103 from him (Chris at AK-USA) awhile ago. I still may do it if things don't materialize. I don't know about the VEPR, because I've never shot nor handled one. I have handled a DGS (now defunct....AK-USA bought their machining equipment) and Krebs Custom Saiga conversion into an AK-103. Unless you're CampyBob, you won't notice such things as an angled receiver (nor would I doubt most Russian conscripts or Taliban ragheads would know the difference either). Campy, you sound angry today? Did you wife prevent you from buying another gun? Or did RS39 beat you in a FAL match again? I fear that you might form the Campyban, and set up a rogue group of AK-47 variant fundamentalists in the middle of Ohio.  Merry Christmas everyone. themao 
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lol! i'm not mad. i'm disgusted. the russians build kalashnikov's that are only rivaled by the polish, bulgarian and yugoslavian clones. the saiga and vepr are both very nice rifles. yet...they send us these...these dimpleless, trigger in the wrong position, low capacity, angle-cut receivered, nylon handguarded, tin covered gas tubed excuses for a kalashnikov. the romanians at least have brass enough to sell us a kalashnikov! |
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