Well, new to me...decided to venture into the AK world, so with a lot of help from the forum ended up with my first AK. A Bulgarian '74 made on an Arsensal receiver here in Houston a few years ago. Seems to be in very good shape in spite of being filthy when I got it. Bore is in great shape, overall condition of the rifle is very good. Appears to be a couple of different colors of finish evident. The receiver is more of a parkerized finish while the balance of the rifle appears to be a hardened paint of some sort. I can't wait to take her to the range as soon as this ammo shortage clears up. She came with several mags and a cleaning kit. I'll post a range report as soon as I find some ammo...

Dan

It looks like a partial screw build. Where is the lower screw next to the mag well and the lower rivet on the rear trunion?

Congratulations!  Man, that is one of the smoothest stamped receivers I've ever seen!

Very nice!!!!

Quoted: It looks like a partial screw build. Where is the lower screw next to the mag well and the lower rivet on the rear trunion?

Yeah it may not be a problem but I would atleast want two more rivits in the rear. I doubt your gonna blow the rear out but it may put less stress on the receiver

Holy shit my friend, that is some seriously shade tree gunsmithing. I don't say that to be rude I say it out of concern for your safety. I WOULD NOT SHOOT THAT!

Sorry to bring bad news, but that isn't safe. There's no telling what kind of problems exist that we can't see. Take that back to the seller & get a refund!

Quoted: Holy shit my friend, that is some seriously shade tree gunsmithing. I don't say that to be rude I say it out of concern for your safety. I WOULD NOT SHOOT THAT! Sorry to bring bad news, but that isn't safe. There's no telling what kind of problems exist that we can't see. Take that back to the seller & get a refund!

I agree if you bought this from someone take it back unless you got it real cheap. If you did the build yourself add some more screws/rivits and assuming everything is tight you should be fine. YOu may also want to check your parts count if you bought it from someone else.

when in doubt- go with what already works-

...the rifle was relatively cheap ($400) and the seller was a reputable guy. If there is something unsafe about it, can it be fixed? Can rivets be added at this point to strengthen the internals?...whats the solution if I keep it or is it beyond that?...the seller reported a couple of thousand rounds through it without any problems...thanks for the heads up.

Dan

$400 isnt to bad I guess. I sold my last 74 screw build for $300 but it included the compliance parts & had the correct amount of screws. If the rifle where mine I would make sure the screws are threaded corrected & loc tited and I would want the 4 missing screws/rivits installed correctly. You are missing 2 screws in the front & two in the rear. The ones in the rear would be my biggest concern since the bolt will hammer at the rear trunnion. Also check your US made parts count. You have the receiver which is one US part but will need 5 more. If you dont have the required parts you looking at around $75 to make it legal.

Talk to a builder about it. Chris Butler of AK-USA is great,  but there are others. AK-USA, InRange, Krebs, etc....