Just thought an update on my Romy SAR-2 would be in order since you guys here are in part responsible for this latest addiction of mine....

Got it about two months ago and it sat aroung most of the time.  I did replace the stock set (4 pieces) with K-VAR plum furniture, which made it fit me better and I like the looks too.

My son and I took it camping a week ago and we gave  the SAR-2 a good workout!  We would shoot it until it got uncomfortably hot to hold, let it cool down and then repeat this over two days.

This has become a favorite, it is 100% reliable so far.  We fired some 700 rounds through it with the brown/orange bakelite 30 round magazines all flawlessly.  It is a flat shooting round and with minimal recoil.  I used both Barnaul and Wolf ammo.   After we got home I cleaned it, jeez the bore and gas system was dirty!   I wonder if it is the inexpensive ammo just burns dirty.

The Russian ammo does tend to burn a little dirty.  It shouldn't hurt anything though.

Besides the ammo being a bit dirty, the gun has plenty-o-gas diverted to make sure it cycles in any kind of battle conditions. So a bigger percentage of stuff is blown back than if you ran the same brand of ammo in an AR.
But it is nothing like the effort of cleaning a roller lock gun like a CETME/G3...

Bill, is your SAR-2 internals stock or have you done the RSR trigger upgrade or__________________???

5subslr5, I bought a Red Star trigger set, but to be honest the trigger is pretty decent as delivered.  I do have some of the obnoxious trigger slap but it seems to be dependent on the way I hold the trigger as sometimes the trigger slap not noticeable.   I may just keep the Red Star for another AK or a project down the road.

I was out in the high desert shooting my SAR-2  with a friend and his custom M1A, he has at least $2K into that heavy beast.  When we were standing shooting offhand at about 400 yards my SAR-2 seemed to be hitting nearly as well as he was with his M1A.  Now I'm sure this is due to both of our inability to hold steady and little else.  When he fired from prone he was doing exceptionally well.

But when it came time to hump over the field of bowling ball sized rocks between us and the targets he declined carrying his heavy barrel M1a, where as my slinged SAR2 was easy to tote. with a full 30 round mag it is quite a nifty package.

For the record I own and admire M1, M1A, and several AR15's.  The Kalisnikov is another nice tool with its own strong points.  If it weren't for CampyBob, RS39, and several others here at the arfcom 'dark side' I would not have gotten back into the AK's.

Quoted: If it weren't for CampyBob, RS39, and several others here at the arfcom 'dark side' I would not have gotten back into the AK's.

And except for the above and many other folks I wouldn't have gotten in at all.

I hung around, read many posts, and asked dumb questions until I felt ready to buy.  In the last week I've acquired an SAR-2 and a SAM-7 - both with plenty of adds/accessories - and for good prices.  Prior to coming to the AK Forum I wouldn't have had a clue as to which AK to buy nor would I have recognized a good price.  (I do exclude Galil's and Valmets as I was a collector and had previously bought those rifles but as an investment and not to shoot.)

This board has simply incredible, trustworthy resources for those willing to read, ask, learn and apply.