I would like to purchase an AK47, but am not familar with the different sytles.  Please advise which is the best or most favored style and brand.  Thank you.

If you can afford it, get a .223 Galil.  Very reliable, fairly accurate and you can get a mag adapter so you can use your AR mags though original hi-cap mags are [i]not[/i] that expensive.  My second choice would be a Valmet, bit cheaper than the Galil but mags are expensive and hard to find.

If you are in the market for an AK, I can recommend the SLR-95 and SLR-100 from Bulgaria. Has a milled recevier and only costs anywhere from $450-600. Very high quality post-ban AK.
If you have a little more cash for around $800 and up you can get a pre-ban Norinco.      

Good Luck!

Thanks for the advice.
What is a milled recevier though, as you can tell I know nothing.  Thanks.

what recon said. in the $750-850 range, a good used norinco or polytech ak (may be stamped 56s, aks or ak-47, etc.) is one of the best bets.

valmets and galil's run some pretty big bucks, even in today's depressed market. but the quality is undeniable.

the bulgarian slr-93 and 95 are high quality, if just a bit overweight. the steyr yechnology bbl. and milled receiever coupled with conscientous assembly generally yield better than normal accuracy.

global is selling a line of parts kits rifles that are nicely done up and well worth checking out.

tenns guns has some optioned out romanian sar's that are also worth the time to check into.

of course, i would be remiss if i didn't tell you to look into the 5.45 calibre sar-2. for $239 (aim surplus) they well be the deal of the day.

Milled receivers are machined from a forging, casting or billet(block) of steel. With the AK's I belive they are from billets. Stamped are just what the word implies, they are stamped from sheet steel and are the most common. The stamped receivers have worked fine since the guns inception.

Thanks!

BTW, welcome to AR15.com CAMPY!

Is there a site out there dedicated to the AK47 like this one to the AR15?  I would like to find a site to learn as much about the AK47 as possible.  Thanks.

We have an AK47 forum here on this site.
just click on the forum link at the top  the page. Ask Campy over there he can give you all you need to know.

or you can goto [url]http://kalashnikov.guns.ru/wwwboard/board5[/url]

This is  Tantal and Martin's Board. They can answer any questions you have about AKs.

You may want to check out the VEPR too:

[url]http://www.robarm.com/[/url]

I just went through this myself. I've owned a MAK90 since '93 but have never been "into" AKs like some folks. Recently, I've gotten to a saturation point with ARs & related items so I decided to dig into AKs a bit more.

In looking for a new rifle I came to the conclusion that one of, if not the best option available considering quality/price/features is found at:

http://www.tennesseeguns.com/firearms.html

(look under the "Arsenal USA" section)


The description reads:


SSR-85B (AKM)

These 7.62 x 39 AKM pattern rifles from Arsenal USA are manufactured using a Polish PMKMS (AKM) parts kit, FEG receiver, and hardwood stock from Hungary. Each features ultra-smooth parkerizing and complies with 922(r). High capacity magazines can be used without modification. Each comes complete with a sling, cleaning kit, five round magazine, trigger lock and owner's manual.
$469.95 each



According to my "research" on this and other gun boards, these are well built with quality parts. For $469 they are a good value. You could spend $325 on a Romanian SAR, but these are of much higher quality. The Polish parts are held in very high regard by those who know far more about AKs than I. The Hungarian hardwood stocks are supposedly among the most attractive ever put on an AK. The FEG recievers are said to be high quality as well.

I was set to buy one of these when I found a killer deal on an SLR95. Unless I come up with the scratch for an underfolder, one of these SSRs will be my next AK.

Which do i want a 5.45x39 or 7.62 x39 AK47?  What is the difference?  Thanks.

I second the SAR-2 suggestion. Great little gun. No recoil, reliable, resonably accurate and ammo that's cheap as hell.

For more info on the AK, go here: [url]http://ak-47.gunsnet.net[/url]

george20, if you care to post  a dollar range you're willing to pay this knowledgeable bunch will zero-in on a recommendation quickly.

Let me add my $.02 since I'm here - The Galil is the King of the AK's although the Valmets are also very fine.  Finally the Yugo AK's are also tops.

Define dollars and whether 7.62X39 or .223 and you'll get more precise help.

(xsquid, the .223 Valmet mags are available from Tony Rumore and actually feed better than the factory originals - about $60.00 for 30-rounders.)

I'd have to recommend either the Romanian SAR-1 or the SAR-2. If you ask me it's not worth the extra money to buy a Bulgarian or such postban AK with a butthole stock when you can get the pistol grip rifle for much less.

To me, the Romanian rifles are the best bang for the buck. And IMO I haven't seen a noticable enough differance in differant AK's to justify spending the extra money unless your going preban for collector reasons, or for the underfolder.

I've had great luck with mine, looks and shoots great.

i'll freely admit my bias! heheh! i'm firmly convinced that the 5.45 calibre adopted by the soviets in 1974 (hence the ak-74 designation) is the superior round of the two.

it adds about 100m more range to the rifle, is faster/flatter which promotes a higher hit percentage.

the felt recoil in joules of energy is about 2/3rds that of a 20" m-16a2! truely, as tame as a .22 magnum! this feature makes putting a scope on the short eye relief ak a very viable option.

and the romanian sar series have the com-bloc optic rail as standard equipment!

the sar-2/5.45 is currently a measly $239 from aim surplus. ammo is $89/1000 and 3 brands of russian plus rws (dynamit nobel) are available. in addition to that, chief thunder has 5 million plus rounds of military ammo on the docks!!!

and even the atf has approved the 22x1.5mm romanian sighbase thread/ak-74 brake for LOOSE installation! no weld or solder or pinning required!

the ak-74 may be the best deal on the planet. but hurry, if you want one. century is discontinuing manufacture due to low sales volume (the sar-3/.223 is also biting the dust!).

I paid $450 for my "milled" MAK-90, and $329 for my "stamped" Romanian WUM-1...
Both these guns shoot the 7.62X39 round, and both appear to have VERY good quality parts in them...

I've put all sorts of crappy ammo through them, and niether have EVER jammed, OR failed, in ANY way...

I would trust my life with both these guns...

I have no experience with the 5.45X39 caliber....YET.
I'm looking into one for my next toy.

As far as the SAR-3 goes...
I've heard more bad than good...
I owned one from Century, and couldn't get it to run...No matter what mag was in it, it wouldn't feed.PERIOD.
Returned it to my dealer, and replaced it with the WUM-1. Best move I ever made.

Just my $.02

carry on fellas.....

WOW! CAMPYBOB lives!
I couldn't make up my mind on the caliber either so I got a SAR 1,2,3 and I love them all!
I didn't have enough $$$ to buy a $900 AK so I bought 3 $300 AK's and glad I did! I also second the info on Chief Thunder bought mags in all calibers and am saving up for some of that wild ammo (if it's not too late). AK's are addictive much like AR's so watch out!
TF

I have a SAR-1 that I paid $250 for new earlier this year, I have put over 2000 rounds through it in only the last 6 months and have NEVER had any operational failures. It will shoot a tighter group than my 16" Bushie that cost three times as much.  Wolf ammo is dirt cheap at guns shows here ($79 per 1K), mags are cheap, and it is a blast to shoot.  The only complaint I have is the stock is held on by a wood screw that was made in someones basement forge in Romania and will come loose after about 300 rounds or so.  One other complaint, wish it was full auto.

Check out www.gunsnammo.com, they have SAR-1,2,and 3's for $279, $248, and $258.    

I have a 2000 SAR-3 (.223) and I have had exactly one FTE in thousands of rounds, and that was with some old Spanish ammo. Never had a problem with Wolf. Century may have made some goofs at first but the later guns are OK. I love mine.

You do have to buy the right mags for them. They are the steel Weiger mags from Interordnance.


TOR

Thank you guys for all the responses.
I really like the price on the SAR-1.
Would I be making a mistake to purchase one of these?  Thanks.

tenderfoot! i'm too stupid to get off the web and get a life! good to hear from you, too!

george, the sar lineup is a real bargain. the sar-1 is $259 at local shows in my area. if you can, handpick one with a straight (vertical) front sight and go blast it. as the other guys said, these romanian "low end" kalashnikov's run like a timex.

If anyone knows of a great deal online for one of the SAR series AK47, please post it for me.  Thanks again.

George

[url]http://aimsurplus.com/acatalog/AIM_Rifles_1.html[/url]
Great deal $289.95 in ak47 version(sar-1) and $239.95ea in ak74(sar-2)

For info on the SAR-1
[url]http://www.indy.net/~shooter2/sar1.html[/url]
Enjoy!
[img]http://www.midwestordnance.com/sar1.jpg[/img]

I have one of the Arsenal USA AK's and I have to say that it is a great gun. It is beautiful, it shoots 1-1.5 moa (and I have yet to shoot it from a bench), and it can legally use import mags without US parts. If you have to have the pistol grip, and have the extra money, then I would definately go for the Arsenal USA guns.

Kyle

The AK is very popular around the world and several countries have an AK variant to offer.
Your choice is only limited to what's important to you in a rifle.

The Kalashnikov design is very forgiving and enjoys international recognition as a reliable and simple weapon. When you pull the trigger on an AK it always goes BANG.

If it's a money issue:
The cheapest AKs are the Romanian SAR-1 (7.62 x 39) the SAR-2, the SAR-3.

Typical price range is $200-$300 in most states.

These rifles typically come with wood Romanian furniture, a mounted side rail, a green military sling, a cleaning kit stored in buttstock trap door, mounted standard cleaning rod, and can accept 75R and 100R drums, 10 thru 40 round mags of 7.62, for example. Russian Kobra scope or PSO scope will mount to your pre-installed AK military style side rail.

Reliable little AKs for the price. Great bang for your buck.  

If money is no option, a rare Valmet or Galil might be a good match for you. Prices for some of those models can land between $3K-$4K.

Good luck.
mike1