I bought a Maddi a few years ago without knowing much about AK's, I have always been an AR or M1A man. But I have this thing so I figure I should bring it out the safe and try to make something of it . My first question is how do the Maddis compare to other brands. Second is where to start on a few issues I have with the rifle, the stock is too short for me, would like to replace it with something more functional, synthetic? The sights suck, there is no muzzle break or bayonet mount. What kind of accuracy should I expect from the rifle. Any help you can provide would be appreciated.

Quoted: I bought a Maddi a few years ago without knowing much about AK's, I have always been an AR or M1A man. But I have this thing so I figure I should bring it out the safe and try to make something of it . My first question is how do the Maddis compare to other brands. Second is where to start on a few issues I have with the rifle, the stock is too short for me, would like to replace it with something more functional, synthetic? The sights suck, there is no muzzle break or bayonet mount. What kind of accuracy should I expect from the rifle. Any help you can provide would be appreciated.

Farmer,
Like a lot of other AK's, Maadi's can be very good or very bad, it just depends on the gun.  Generally speaking, the earlier the gun was imported the better it is, but there are exceptions.  As long as your sights are straight then you have a pretty good gun.  When you say your sights suck, are they bent or do you just not think much of AK sights in general?  The only way to know how accurate it is is to shoot your individual gun.  Sorry, I can't help you with the stock and have no idea waht the laws are in Cali about changeing the configuration of your rifle.

The front sight must be tweaked a little, the rifle shoots 6-7 inches to the left, elevation adjustments are no problem, is there anything that can be done about the windage? I have had the rifle now for at least 6 years, hopefully that is old enough to fall into the better quality group.

I believe the Maadi windage can be adjusted with a regular AK/SKS sight tool.

The stock on my Maadi was too short for me also, so I added a Tapco (gasp, horror) adjustable telescoping stock and it works great - much more comfortable to shoot, and you can still collapse it down for storage.

Quoted: The front sight must be tweaked a little, the rifle shoots 6-7 inches to the left, elevation adjustments are no problem, is there anything that can be done about the windage? I have had the rifle now for at least 6 years, hopefully that is old enough to fall into the better quality group.

There is a front sight adjustment tool for doing exaqctly what you want.  The front sight post screws into a drum that can be moved side to side with the tool.  I suppose you could also do this by smacking it with a hammer and punch, but adjustments might not be too precise!

I'm afraid six years isn't quite long enough.  Maadi's were imported by four differenty companies (ok, five, but one doesn't really count as they only imported 25 guns).  Steyr (spelling?) imported the best of the bunch, prebans in the early eighties.  These are absolutely the best cosmetically and I've never heard of any functioanl problems with them, ever.  They command a healthy premium and sell even now for a grand or better.  Post ban Maadi's (the '89 ban) were imported by Intrac, PARS and CAI, in that order, from the early 90's to the late 90's.  That is generally considered to be the order of quality as well.  

However, there are no garuntee's and any post ban Maadi should be inspected prior to purchase, with bent front sights being the most common problem.   The early Intrac guns are usually the most desirable because they came in with an easily removed nut over a factory threaded barrel.  Most later guns came in with the threads removed.  However, CAI did bring in some with threaded muzzles just like the Intracs, so you never know without looking at the actual gun.  

Many people prefer the Maadi because it was built on Russian machinery, so if you're looking to make an accurate copy of a Soviet AKM, you can do no better then an early Maadi.  Functionally, they're about as good as any number of other AK's on the market.

Thanks for your replys, I'll start looking for a front sight tool right away, nothing more usless than a rifle that cant shoot straight. Would also like to replace the stock with something more traditional, I have a hard time shooting M4's so a collapsable stock is not an option for me. Want to replace all the wood really, none of it is matching and it looks like hell. I checked the owners manual it says the rifle was made by  Maddi Co. for Engineering Industries, dose that help with my quality question? The muzzle is not threaded, Thanks

Quoted: Thanks for your replys, I'll start looking for a front sight tool right away, nothing more usless than a rifle that cant shoot straight. Would also like to replace the stock with something more traditional, I have a hard time shooting M4's so a collapsable stock is not an option for me. Want to replace all the wood really, none of it is matching and it looks like hell. I checked the owners manual it says the rifle was made by  Maddi Co. for Engineering Industries, dose that help with my quality question? The muzzle is not threaded, Thanks

Look on the gun itself for the importer, usually on the right hand side towards the front of the reciever.