Which AK should I buy

[mojo]

Before buying or asking which AK you should buy please review the following info. This will help the membership here give you a better answer.

What purpose is this purchase going to fill?
- Defensive
- Just shooting/plinking
- Collecting

Do you have other carbines in your collection?

I see no guidance whatsoever in this thread for choosing an AK based on these considerations. And I think that choosing an AK based on these considerations is probably what most people are looking for.

This thread was never meant to be a "be all, end all" on what to buy. The reason .. things change in the market place with regulations, and availability. I wanted to educate people on what some of the options are, so they can ask better questions. With better phrase questions and better educated OPers, the membership here can help them a lot better. There are just too many combos/variables to answer them all.

Also, I don't understand all the pre-ban/post-ban stuff. Are you talking about GCA 1968? You mention pre-ban being available in AWB ban states, and nothing imported after the "ban." AWB is over, I would think imports would be restored now with the exception of GCA1968. Can you please clarify which "ban" you are talking about?

Pre-ban/post-ban:
There were really to dates that people have to think about. The important one was the date that foreign semi-auto "military style" rifles were banned from importation. I forget the date right now. A lot of people think it had to do with the Federal AWB, which has expired.

I hope that I don't rehash a lot of stuff, but I didn't re-read my OP.

Pre-ban (importation ban): 100% foreign made rifle. It can have all the "evil" features such as pistol grip, bayonet lug, high cap mags, etc. You don't have to worry about 922(r) (restricted number of foreign parts).

Post-ban (importation ban): These are 100% foreign made, but have a "sporter" configuration. No pistol grip, bayonet lug, etc. You can convert them to the original configuration but you must comply with 922(r).

The important part for people who live in states that have AWBs, are that Pre-ban (AWB) rifles are grandfathered in. This is why a lot of people in NY want to buy pre-ban (AWB) AR lowers.

Prior to the Importation ban, Norinco imported a bunch of AKs (56-s). When the ban hit, all the 56-s that where in warehouses waiting to be cleared, had their bayonet lugs removed, Buttstocks + PG removed and replaced with a thumbhole stock, and remarked as MAK90s. When it first happened they even included the original stock in the box so you could swap them out. That is why from time to time you will see MAK90s with thumbhole stocks but have an underfolder receiver. They were caught in the ban.

Hope this helps.