Tweeking an AK for performance?

[Jackal]

I've got a Russian AKM and I was wondering what else I could do (if anything) to get some better performance.

I know in cars you can lighten a flywheel so it revs faster. Would there be any benefit to lightening an AK bolt carrier? I'm thinking with less mass, the bolt wouldn't offset the next shot as much.

I already have a break, that admittedly could be better but still works nicely.

As for the trigger group, why should I or shouldn't I polish the contact points...how much is too much to take off? I have noticed that the bolt can rest on the hammer if I get it caught on there. Now during normal firing the bolt would never get caught there, but it still hits it. I know this is normal, but it has to affect the recoil characteristics during firing.

Is there anything else to do or research for performance gains.

[nijwnfi]

Best thing to do on your own would be to either:
A. Polish, not grind the contact surfaces of the trigger group.

B. Replace trigger group with Tapco G2, or Red Star Arms trigger. If it already has Tapco trigger, disregard. If you pull the trigger group out, replace the Shepherds Crook with Tapcos retention plate.

The bolt riding on the hammer is pretty common, no biggie. The AK is rugged, and durable. It is not designed to be a perfect polished machine. Keep that in mind, and enjoy it for what it is. Also, I don't recommend lightening the bolt carrier. Removing metal could possibly weaken it. Anyone have any experience with the rubber buffers?

[Asmodeus6]

I have the same hang up issue. Its almost like bolt hold back. But a slight touch and it slams home. I don't see what you could do here that wouldn't be taking serious material off of the bolt. Not worth it.

You can switch to a bolt that has the lightening cuts in it. If yours doesn't already. Mine does. Still hangs up though.

As far as the break, what break do you have? All are not created equal.
IMO if it is not one of these two. You are missing out. I cannot explain with words what a difference it made for me.

No more getting pounded. No more muzzle rise. In fact, the faster you shoot, the better it seems to stabilize the gun. And it doesn't kill you with noise or blow back either. If you want follow up shots to be thoughtless. This is the way to go. Huge improvement. Worth double the money.

The buffers work. I have a polymer stock on mine, and I don't know if wood transmits those ringing receiver hits into your face like the hard polymer does. But I would guess it does. If you are in and tight, especially prone. And you would like to stop being the buffer that soaks up the beating. Buy the buffer. Controlability is improved if its not slamming back into the rear trunion. That heavy hit has the side effect of throwing its momentum back, tipping the muzzle up. Its cheap. Buy it.

www.blackjackbuffers.com

I don't know if they are all equal. But they should not be rubber. They should be polyurethane. Like aftermarket suspension bushings. Somewhere around the look and feel of energy suspension's with the same durometer.

In all, those were the best 2 things I did for the gun that weren't just me going out and shooting it.

[AK-Krazy]

Yes i agree the recoil buffer is great for what about 10 buck cheap insu.
and another thing is don't buy them cheap ploy mags there junk, stick with steel. You know what they say , if it ain't steel it ain't real.

[brian]

Originally Posted by Jackal

I've got a Russian AKM and I was wondering what else I could do (if anything) to get some better performance.

I know in cars you can lighten a flywheel so it revs faster. Is there anything else to do or research for performance gains.

what kind of performance are you looking for?
there really is'nt much of a market for hopping up garden tractors.
there's crap to enable you to hang all sorts of stuff on them. but that's not really performance.
sighting it in is about as close to glass beding an ak as you're going to get.
cutting weight off a bolt? not normally the best idea.

[djturnz]

The Performance of the gun, just stick in a full 30 rounder and have at it.


To enhance how it works for you, there are collapsible AR stocks, left side charging handle mods, sight rails, forward grips. Almost as much stuff as for ARs.

[RONNIE77]

1. Bury it in some mud, and leave it for a day or two. Pull it out, and let off 30rds as fast as you could.
2. Fill it with sand, be sure not to miss any holes. And again, empty the 30rd mag.

That seem to work for me....

[wjkuleck]

The three major problems in AK accuracy, IMHO, in descending order of importance, are:

1. Ammo—nobody makes "Match"-quality ammo in 7.62x39mm

2. Barrel—the AK barrel whips more than you would believe; I didn't until I saw the barrel turning into a sine wave in some extreme slo-mo

3. Trigger—fortunately, the AK trigger is based on the same Browning patent from 1900 as the Garand. Consequently, unlike the original AR trigger (it really has to be replaced with a Browning/Garand/AK pattern to get a good, long-lasting pull), the AK trigger doesn't have to be redesigned to be refined. The Red Star Arms is a good choice; I have it in several AKs.

4. Sights—unlike USGI gas operated rifles, the open sight of the AK does not lend itself to accurate shooting.

Oops, that was four!

BTW, trigger and sight quality do not change the inherent accuracy of the rifle; they simply allow the shooter to more closely approach the inherent accuracy of the rifle.

Regards,

Walt

[wjkuleck]

Oh, and it's muzzle brake. Muzzle brakes were originally designed for artillery tubes, to slow the recoil of the tube (barrel), taking some of the load off the recuperator.

So it's muzzle brake, unless of course you want a "broken" muzzle. Then a good heavy hammer will do .

Regards,

Walt

[senorlinc]

increase performance how?

what AKM are you shooting?

ak's are notoriously reliable. i have over 10k thru ak's and can only recall 2 malfunctions -1 was due to ME knocking the trigger retention spring off during reassembly (fix w RSA shepards crook) and the other was due to 1 crappy round of cheaqp ammo

ditch the buffer, it may soften felt recoil but takes up space that the bolt carrier should be travelling and slows it down. they can cause the weapon not to cycle properly

for accuracy, get better ammo and replace the muzzle brake with a muzzle nut.