Bad AKs and Good AKs?

[TB215]

I'm lookingto get a AK-47 for my collection.

I heard the Romanian AKs are the worse and not to buy.

Are the Russian and Chinese the best AKs?

[bripro]

I have two AKs, A Romanian Wasr-10 and a Ugoslovian underfolder. They function equally well. The Ugo has a better fit and finish but imo thay is not a factor for an AK,

[ruggerio]

i know a guy with a maadi that he has owned for 15 yrs and put no less then 5k rounds through it who has never more then wiped it down . maybe five ftf and a smattering of bad rounds.. i think he told me he paid 225 for it.

[harold63]

I cannot find the link, but will try to get you there. Go to "M4carbine.net." After the site comes up, click on "Other Assault Rifles". After that, click on "what would one look for if they decided to buy an AK". It is on page two. It is the best run down of an AK I have seen (see poster Templar). This guy has forgotten more about AK's than most people will ever know about one.

[kunsunoke]

I'm lookingto get a AK-47 for my collection.

I heard the Romanian AKs are the worse and not to buy.

Depends, really, on who built the AK, or reassembled it from the cut-down parts kit.

One issue is finish quality. WASR-10s are AK clones, and have rough finish quality on stocks and handguards, especially if those are laminated. Some Romy G kit builds are also pretty rough from a quality standpoint.

Another is overall build quality. Romanian AKs tend to be somewhat less accurate than, say, a VEPR or Norinco (especially the National Match) or an Arsenal Bulgarian with a milled receiver. WASR10s are somewhat prone to having canted front sight buses.

The solution to these problems is to buy locally and inspect the merchandise prior to purchase.

Nice thing about an AK is they tend to work more often than not. Shows the value of Kalashnikov's original design.

Are the Russian and Chinese the best AKs?

Izzy Saiga conversion rifles tend to have high build quality from the factory, but middling finish. The overall finish varies, depending on who does the conversion. Arsenal and AK-USA have very good finish properties. The important stuff (chrome lined hammer-forged barrel, close tolerances, non-canted sights) tends to be done properly, though, and Saigas are some of the more accurate AKs out there.

As for the Chinese AKs, they were and are excellent for build quality and some of the most accurate ones ever built. Stamped models had RPK-style receivers, hammer-forged chrome lined barrels, and wonderful double-hook triggers. Milled receiver models are some of the most sought-after AKs on the planet, and for good reason, as they are quite accurate.

The problem with most of the Norinco/Polytech AKs has to do with thumbhole stocks, lack of cleaning rod assemblies, lack of bayonet lugs and non-threaded, muzzle brake free barrels - basically everything the importers had to do to get them past whatever assault weapons ban happened to be in place prior to 1994. Pre-ban models are more rare and are priced accordingly.

Arsenals made in Bulgaria are also quite good, as are VEPRs and Valmets. The latter two are extremely rare - also priced accordingly.

[bmel17]

I like the yugo AK variants, I feel they are more accurate from the the thicker RPK receiver they use.

[IronButt]

I have a Century Bulgy AK74 & a WASR 10-63. Both are considered low end AK's, but I haven't had a problem with either of them. The WASR is pretty new to me, with onlt a few hundred rounds thru it, but the 74 has a couple thousand.

I bought both of them for beater/truck guns, and for cheap shooting. They serve those purposes well.

[kg32a]

I have a Maadi that was built in 1999 and I just purchased it new about 2 years ago. It's been fine with no issues at all. It's not that pretty but runs without any issues.

[Mity2]

What exactly is a "bad" ak?
In turm of quality? Accuracy? or reliability?

Because as far as I'm concerend, all AK's are sub par on built quality/accuracy next to the American built AR's.

Almost all AK i have dealt with in the past - regardless of piss poor weld or canted front sight base or loose internal - were very dependable.

I have yet to see any of them failed to go bang.

I have Yugo Underfolder. Only because I was originaly planning to sell them right away. I didn't want to buy bottom of the barrel Romy AK, as I'd had harder time to sell.

But I decided to keep the yugo, as reliability with simple cleaning is unmatched by any AR's in AK's price range.
And it was pretty accurate. I can hit a man sized target at 100yds!!

[Nate7667]

Im with Ironbutt.
Both of my "bad" AK's function perfectly. I have 2 WASRs and have not problems with them at all. They would probably eat rocks if i asked them too.
Accuracy is as good as the cheap ammo that is shot out of them.

cheap - yep
look like crap - yep
functions all the time - yep
hits where i point - yep