I know this might have been asked a million time, but please bear with me. I am considering buying an AK-47 or 74.  Have not decided yet.  And I've seen differing opinions on what type is better and where to buy.  I wanted your opinion especially on kits that I have seen advertised on different websites.  Some of the kits seem missing receivers, and for the life of me I have no idea why?  Do the kits route make sense.  Are they all finished and all I have to do is put it all together?  Or do I still need to drill holes etc..   I an older brother who is experienced with AK 47's he actually just returned form Iraq part of the reconstruction team (The iraqi Police force).  He probably would be able to put the kit together for provided no major machine work is needed.  I thank you in advance.

gshubbar, first of all, welcome to the board.

I will help you where I can, but others can help fill in the gaps.

For your firt gun,I would recomend an SAR-2. This woulod be the 74 clone. It is cheap, and after buying, all you do is oil it, load it and shoot it. It is very easy to upgrade to what you want later on.

The 5.45 round replaced the 7.62 round 29 years ago for a reason.  For almost no recoil, and far better accuracy, I would recomend this rifle.

Kits are a really good way to go, but most are built as a custom rifle.  It will cost you far more for a rifle that does not work much if any better than the SAR.  

I have a few kits I am waiting to have built right now, and I would definatly have them built by a specialized gunsmith.  There are two very fine "AK smiths" that hang out here. You can also check out the "build it yourself" forum to get a better idea.  An AK is far more simple than an AR-15/M-16, but building one is  much harder job for the amature.

After a day or two I will move this thread to the Ak general discusion forum so it will get more traffic.  There are some of the greatest guys you will ever meet there that would be more than happy to answer any question.

Thx for the reply.  Sar-2 it is then :o)