..........well, Sort of. At least as close a one that exists I think.
A little background first:
My first AK type was a MAK 90 I purchased around 1991 or 2 for $199. I shot the shit out of it for about 5 years until it was stolen. I replaced it with a SLR-95 and have really enjoyed it. Since the SAR's have hit the market, I have wanted to add another stamped AK to my collection but I just could not bring myself to buy one. My apologies to all you SAR owners out there, but they just look too crude and rude for me. I was at the local show today and actually saw a couple of SAR's that looked pretty "good" and at ok prices ($325-350). I looked at 2 closely and might have gotten one of them but BOTH had badly canted sights! UGH! Sorry but I am just not going to buy one of these heaps.
Back to the MAK90, A couple of weeks ago, I started shooting with a guy that has a beautiful MAK. It is in original condition with the nicest wood (thumbhole) I have ever seen on one (I am sure it was refinished). When I started looking closely, I noticed it had a cleaning rod and a sleeve welded over the barrel threads and the lug carefully ground off. I assumed that this was one of the "early" imports originally built with the nonsporting features but modified to comply with the 89 ban. How cool was this!, I thought, since one of the things that I didn't like about the MAK was the lack of the cleaning rod. An AK just does not "look" right without one. Oh well I thought, I have never seen one of these early ones before so I did'nt even think it would be worthwhile to look for one. But I REALLY want another stamped AK!
Fast forward to today at the show.........I was walking by the tables of probably my least favorite dealer in town. I mean I have SWORN never to buy another thing from this guy but something caught my eye. It was a NIB MAK (ok, I stopped to look) I picked it up and noticed that it had the rod! So far so good. Lug ground off........sleeve welded on the threads AND it still had the plunger pin for the slant compensator! Then I noticed something that my friend's MAK did not have. On the side of the receiver, there were 3 lines of markings that were obscured by some kind of grinder. New markings were above it including "MAK90" done very crudely. It is marked "CSI Los Angeles, CA" and on the bottom of the receiver in front of the magwell is stamped "IAC BILLERICA, .MA.". Also the Serial number on the cover is the last 3 numbers of the one on the trunion with a 000 before it. My assumption is that this rifle was probably caught in customs at the time of the ban and modified perhaps here in the US. BTW, it is also a square cut receiver as my old one had a slant cut rear. Anyway, needless to say I had to have it. The MAK's in ANY condition are 10 times the rifle as a SAR IMHO and the price was right. A NIB MAK for $380!
I intend to convert it to original config with a RSA group I already own and some nice wood etc ASAP and shoot the piss out of it! I am very excited. My question for you guys is this....are my assumptions about the orgins of this rifle correct? I would like to hear your thoughts.
Here are some pics:
Muzzle sleeve with the pin held in
Markings ground off and replaced. I cant really make out the old markings but I am pretty sure the top line is "Norinco Inc". Any ideas on what the rest say?