Milled vs. Stamped

[PhilaShooter]

This is a Lancaster Arms "Russian Red" I picked up just before Hussein's coronation. Lancaster builds a nice weapon, just don't try to deal direct with them. A lot of people have had trouble. If you or anyone you know wants one, get it from a local dealer who stocks them, or else Atlantic Firearms. They always have them in stock.

As far as I know J&G Sales always has a good supply of Yugo's on hand, as does Classic Arms. Both are reputable and good to deal with. Bill T.

That is an EXCELLENT rifle you have there ! If you don't mind me asking do you remember what you paid roughly ? Was the $600 for the Yugo a good price ? I'm starting an AK fund lol to grab 1 last one....for now at least lol. I am undecided as far as either the Yugo or the Lancaster you have a pic of. I will say I know Lancaster is over priced from what I have seen. If the only plus is that they have the "Russian Red" furniture I may be more inclined to go with the Yugo.

You have both correct, which one in your opinion is better as far as accuracy, reliability, parts ect.. ??

[kunsunoke]

Milled receiver AKs cost more. They are more difficult to manufacture, and weigh more than stamped receiver AKs.

Milled AKs have greater torsional rigidity than most stamped AKs, which is reputed to yield better accuracy.

Those stamped AKs with 1.5 or 1.6 mm. gauge RPK-style receivers are not crappy by comparison, however. VEPRs are made that way, as are Norinco MAK-90s, some PolyTech Legends and the Yugo M70 series AKMs purchasable up to about a year ago.

[nfafan]

Milled receiver AKs cost more. They are more difficult to manufacture, and weigh more than stamped receiver AKs.

Milled AKs have greater torsional rigidity than most stamped AKs, which is reputed to yield better accuracy.

Those stamped AKs with 1.5 or 1.6 mm. gauge RPK-style receivers are not crappy by comparison, however. VEPRs are made that way, as are Norinco MAK-90s, some PolyTech Legends and the Yugo M70 series AKMs purchasable up to about a year ago.

Yep.

Which is why the USSR went to the stamped AKM; why bother with the machine work.

With a doctrine of massed automatic firepower at more lethality than the PPSh, why worry over MOA.

And refurbed Yugo parts-sets are still being assembled for Century on the thicker RPK recvrs, although they did dissappear for awhile. I think its the fixed-stock Yugos that have left the island.

[Reload41jwc]

On the topic of milled aks and lancaster arms.... here's a synopsis of my situation:
I bought a stamped ak-74 back in september from them, shot it in october after recieving it and it jammed up. Sent it back with a check to get their milled ak-74. Got the milled 74 in late January.... jammed so I sent it back. Got a new milled 74 again in early march... jammed again. On every 74 I recieved from them I tried two different brands of ammo (bear and wolf military) and 5 different magazines (2 of which were k-var circle tens).

After months of aggravation with their poor customer service I demanded a refund and got hung up on by their president Chet. Called back and was told by another employee I would get my refund. A week later the same milled 74 arrived at our doorstep via fedex. We shot it, and it actually functioned. I decided to keep it because I had a functioning milled ak-74 and I can't imagine too many of them floating around that actually work. Plus i'm sick of trying to deal with those people.

Also, the Russian red finish looks beautiful, but the first model I recieved had the finish chip off the buttstock when I put the reciever cover back on. The recent model i'm keeping's finish hasn't chipped off yet, but the finish is slightly darker and appears to be more consistent.

I'm only giving my personal experience and am not trying to knock anyone's Aks from them. You guys deserve to know what kind of people are building these AKs..

[mojo]

For semi-auto AKs, there really isn't a huge benefit of one over the other. Your really not going to notice the difference. Most of the differences have been mentioned already.

I did a little write up of the differences in the sticky at the top of this forum.

Why are Yugos heavy? They use a thicker receiver that is about 50% thicker than standard. They also use a RPK front trunnion and a heavier barrel than standard stamped AKs.

AK-47 (milled) had thicker barrels than the AKM-47 (stamped). Yugos use the AK barrels instead of the AKM barrels.

[nfafan]

<snip>

Also, the Russian red finish looks beautiful, but the first model I recieved had the finish chip off the buttstock when I put the reciever cover back on. The recent model i'm keeping's finish hasn't chipped off yet, but the finish is slightly darker and appears to be more consistent.

<snip>

It could have been the shellac chipping - which if nothing else, is at least authentic behavior. Russians used the shallac in whatever color the batch turned out to be; from a nice honey-beer color to a brown, and certainly the red we all expect.

[billt]

That is an EXCELLENT rifle you have there ! If you don't mind me asking do you remember what you paid roughly ? Was the $600 for the Yugo a good price ? I'm starting an AK fund lol to grab 1 last one....for now at least lol. I am undecided as far as either the Yugo or the Lancaster you have a pic of. I will say I know Lancaster is over priced from what I have seen. If the only plus is that they have the "Russian Red" furniture I may be more inclined to go with the Yugo.

You have both correct, which one in your opinion is better as far as accuracy, reliability, parts ect.. ??

Sorry about the late reply. I work weekends. I paid a bit over $600.00 for the Lancaster when I bought it, but that was before everyone got "AK-47 Fever" after the election. they are running around the $800.00 mark now depending where you buy. The buying has died down quite a bit, and prices have come down some, but on some of the higher grade rifles they have not descended to "pre Hussein" levels, and I doubt they will because everyone still fears this clown, as he leans more and more left with his governing.

Yes, I have both the Lancaster, as well as a couple of Yugo's and several GP-1975 Romanian's, and 2 of the 1960 Polish Milled receiver models. All run beautifully. The poster is correct who mentioned the extra added thickness of the Yugo receivers. They are much thicker and heavier. I paid $480.00 each for both of my Yugo underfolders. I also got a deal for 1,000 rounds of ammo for $200.00 with them.

My Polish Milled receiver models were $699.00 each I believe. Not that it is a concern of us, but the stamped receiver models are said to hold up better under heavy full automatic fire. The milled models were prone to cracking in this regard. A lot of that came from inferior steel, along with improper heat treating methods at the time. It isn't a concern today, and few own legal full auto AK's.

As far as accuracy, reliability, and cost, the Yugo's probably represent the best value going right now from a "bang for the buck" standpoint. Don't overlook the Romanian GP-1975's in that regard. I have 4 of them and all are extremely reliable weapons. You almost have to try to buy an unreliable AK-47. Assuming it was put together right to begin with.

One thing I would say is to personally examine the rifle before you buy it. If that means paying a bit more to buy locally from a shop in your area, it's worth it. I'm lucky in that J&G Sales is only about an hour and a half from my house, and they always attend the bigger local gun shows here. That allows me the luxury of hand picking the AK's I've bought. The biggest thing to look for is straight sights on any model you buy. I've even seen Arsenal AK-47 models with canted front sights. It's not just limited to the Century Arms builds.

For magazines I feel it's best to stick with all steel, Com-Block magazines. They are readily avaliable in new condition for a fair price if you look. Classic Arms usually always has good deals on new condition Com-Block steel mags in 30 and 40 round capacity. Their prices are good, and the ship promptly. One thing you should expect is that you most likely won't be satisfied with just one AK-47. They tend to get very addictive! I put far more downrange with my AK's than I do with my AR-15's. For some reason they just seem more fun. Bill T.

[billt]

If you really want a milled receiver AK-47, J&G Sales have this Century Arms Centurion 39 model in stock as we speak.

http://www.jgsales.com/product_info....oducts_id/4272

Albeit the price is a bit steep, ($849.00), it looks to be a very nice rifle. I know many guys are down on the Century builds, but I'm not one of them. You just need to buy carefully, and examine the weapon before you lay down your hard earned cash. The exception to the rule would be the milled Century model shown in the link. I haven't seen one up close and personal, but I'm told these guns, because of the higher price they command, are more painstakingly put together to compete with the Arsenal weapons at the same price point. The advantage with the Centurion 39 model is you are getting a new, milled receiver AK-47 rifle. They are quickly becoming rare, and more expensive when in fact you do find them.

I'm most likely going to pick up a couple in the fall when the bigger gun shows kick into high gear in Phoenix. I really like the looks of this milled AK-47 rifle. These weapons take a lot more time to construct than the stamped models, and as I said, they are becoming harder and harder to find at a realistic price. When you consider Smith & Wesson is charging over $500.00 for their plastic receiver AR-15, .22 knock off, suddenly $849.00 for a genuine steel, milled receiver AK-47 rifle doesn't seem so bad at all. Bill T.