Help me buy my first AK

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Help me buy my first AK

Posted: 10/7/2005 6:52:05 AM EDT

I've bought my first AR about 3 months ago. Now I'm in the running for an AK. I'm a college student on a college budget. What's a decent (read: good budget) gun? I'm looking to spend at most $400. There's a gun shop in town I was going to go look at for some ideas. Dunham's has a Romanian but I've heard they're the bottom of the list, and they won't sell to out of staters anyways. I know the store has a few but what should I look for in them? I want one with the pistol grip not the buttstock with the thumb hole. Other than that, anything that slings some lead down range.

Thanks guys.

Posted: 10/7/2005 7:05:29 AM EDT

[#1]

with only 400 to spend you may only be able to find a Romanian. they're not all that bad.

Posted: 10/7/2005 7:17:51 AM EDT

[#2]

start looking in pawn shops, I find tons of them there. to bad they are not to my liking, or else I would buy a few. I have seen them in there as little as $190.

Posted: 10/7/2005 7:31:08 AM EDT

[#3]

Your best bet may be to buy a chinese gun with the ugly thumbhole stock for now. Then, when you have some extra cash, convert it to standard stock configuration. Or else for under $400 you may end up with a Romanian. I would take a Chinese with the thumbhole over a Romanian with pistol grip any day. Good luck.

Posted: 10/7/2005 7:50:07 AM EDT

[#4]

IMO your best option is to wait for the Russian Saigas to be imported again, they should be pretty soon. They will run between $250 - $300, and require about $75 worth of parts and some easy modifications make them pistol gripped and able to use standard AK mags. IMO best quality AK you can get.

Posted: 10/7/2005 9:14:01 AM EDT

[#5]

to wait for the Russian Saigas to be imported

How hard is the work to make them take AK mags? I have looked at one in the shop here before and it seemed like all you needed to do was grind down a notch a little on AK mags and weld a piece on. Could do it in the machine shop here at school.

What do people encounter with Romanians that they don't like them much? Too many failures or what?

Posted: 10/7/2005 9:20:08 AM EDT

[#6]

No ban WASR10.

Posted: 10/7/2005 9:33:37 AM EDT

[#7]

Quoted:
to wait for the Russian Saigas to be imported

How hard is the work to make them take AK mags? I have looked at one in the shop here before and it seemed like all you needed to do was grind down a notch a little on AK mags and weld a piece on. Could do it in the machine shop here at school.

What do people encounter with Romanians that they don't like them much? Too many failures or what?

For Saiga conversion check this thread:
www.jobrelatedstuff.com/forums/topic.html?b=4&f=80&t=53631
And this GREAT website:
www.cross-conn.com/Saiga_Conversion/index.htm

People don't generally like Romanians because generally Romanians are built by the trained, blind and abused monkeys at Century International Arms, who generally do a crappy job at generally whatever they attempt. Just bad workmanship. Generally.

Posted: 10/7/2005 10:41:25 AM EDT

[#8]

$150 for a Romanian WASR10 is decent price in my book whatever it is. Just found one in the local pawn shop. Only thing it is doesn't have the pistol grip and seperate buttstock. It is the kind of grip/stock that has the pistol grip but the bottom of it extends to the buttstock. There is a new WASR10 for $350 at the local gun shop. What would I spend adding the pistol grip and buttstock?

Posted: 10/7/2005 10:44:23 AM EDT

[#9]

Now that I look, why do people say their AK had to be modified to accept HI-cap mags? The rifle at the pawn had a ten rounder. How do I know it'll take a 30?

Posted: 10/7/2005 10:54:18 AM EDT

[#10]

Quoted:
Now that I look, why do people say their AK had to be modified to accept HI-cap mags? The rifle at the pawn had a ten rounder. How do I know it'll take a 30?

2 kinds of 10s. Are the rounds coming up in one tidy column from a narrow mag, or staggered left/right in a wider mag?

Posted: 10/7/2005 11:13:02 AM EDT

[#11]

Quoted:
$150 for a Romanian WASR10 is decent price in my book whatever it is. Just found one in the local pawn shop. Only thing it is doesn't have the pistol grip and seperate buttstock. It is the kind of grip/stock that has the pistol grip but the bottom of it extends to the buttstock. There is a new WASR10 for $350 at the local gun shop. What would I spend adding the pistol grip and buttstock?

nothing other than removing that stock and replacing with the standard AK stock and pistol grip.

Posted: 10/7/2005 12:31:16 PM EDT

[#12]

No ban WASR10.

+10 on that..

Perfect starter AK and easy on the wallet..

Posted: 10/7/2005 2:03:00 PM EDT

[#13]

Go Saiga

Posted: 10/7/2005 2:23:01 PM EDT

[#14]

No ban WASR

Posted: 10/7/2005 3:45:40 PM EDT

[#15]

Ammunition Store now has Wasr 10 starting at $309.95 all the accessories and 1 mag
AIM surplus has them as well for $319.95 with all the accessories and 2 mags

Just letting you know

Posted: 10/7/2005 7:36:15 PM EDT

[#16]

How much should I expect to spend to buy a new buttstock and pistol grip to configure the $150 WASR10 to my liking? As well, where can I find the parts?

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Help me buy my first AK

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