Looking for AK Advice

[Kchan]

Hey I'm brand new here, and know nothing about guns... that's what I get for growing up in Mass... But I really want to learn, and I'm hoping you guys can help!​

Christmas is right around the corner, and last year I bought my boyfriend a replica AMD65, and he was ecstatic, so this year I want to step it up, because he finally got his class A! So I was wondering, what would be the best AK to buy him? I would like to stay under $500, but my max that I absolutely will not spend over is $1,000... So basically my question is this:​

What is the best AK I can buy, within the price range of $500 - $1,000?​

Thanks a bunch,
-Kimberly

 

[Len-2A Training]

Kimberly,

Welcome to the forum and we hope you enjoy it here.

I suggest that you change your User CP to show "All Threads", then go into "Advanced Search" on this particular forum for "AK47" and "AK-47". I think that we've discussed the better and best AKs here in the recent past and that should be a good starting point. [NOTE: The search tool here will NOT work with less than 4 characters.]

From your post, no doubt you're in MA, but we don't know what part of the state. Once you figure out what to look for, keep an eye peeled at Four Seasons www.fsguns.com and Collectors www.collectorsguns.com for a good specimen. If you are down in the Fall River/New Bedford area, Richie's is a good take. http://richiessportingsupply.com/

There are reviews and more info on each shop in the Gun Shops and Reviews forum.

HTH

P.S. I certainly hope your boyfriend appreciates you and treats you accordingly!

 

[Chuck]

Kim,

I hope your boyfriend has a present in a nice small box for you, you're a keeper!

I'm sure you'll get lots of useful help here, but as someone who just bought his first AK, I would recommend a couple of other forums as well.

www.akfiles.com
www.akforum.net
www.ak-47.net

Also, try out the search feature, there have been some recent threads on AK's. The hardest think to get over, is the nomneclature. The AK has been made by so many countries for so long they are revered to by all sorts of names: AK, AKM, WASR, SAR (1, 2, or 3), NHM, and Norinco. There are also issues with various government bans, one federal that has expired and one state that has not. For that reason you'll see terms like "pre-ban". You'll need to read up on that a little.

The easiest to get, is a WASR from Four Season (www.fsguns.com) -- a HIGHLY recommended gun shop. They have them in stock. These are well below your price range. However, WASR are not considered the best in quality. Russian made AK's are sought after because of quality and uniqueness. I just bought a Chinese AK, also called a Norinco for the manufacture. I think these are better made then the the Romanian models (SAR and WASR). Models from Yugoslavia are also of a high quality.

That's as much as I can recall off hand. One option, take him to the Big E next weekend and let him pick it out himself!

Let us know how the gifting goes!

happy holidays,
Chuck

 

[vellnueve]

For my money the best are the old milled receiver Polytechs from China. Very good quality, and even they don't run that much these days. But they may be out of your range in this state, so perhaps an Egyptian one would be best.

 

[outofbattery]

The Bulgarian Arsenal AK's are the top of the heap;they're exceptionally well made for an AK but are frequently twice as much $,if not more.I bought an Arsenal AK almost a decade ago and it was well worth the price,now I'd be more inclined to buy an AR-15 for the same $.Still,if you want the best you can get in AK's,go with Arsenal.

I recently bought a brand new 5.45X39 Romanian SAR-2 AK from M&M in Plymouth for $350 ( they also had several Arsenal rifles,I'm not sure who else in MA carries them ) and it's a surprisingly nice rifle.For whatever reason,it is much,much better made any 7.62X39 Romanian AK that I've ever handled and you'd never guess that the very nice wood on mine came from the same place that makes the rough hewn 2X4 handguards that show up on most WASR's.It's a great shooting gun,much easier to shoot than a 7.62X39 version due to very minimal recoil;not that the 7.62 is bad,just that the 5.45 is exceptionally soft shooting.~$90/500 rounds isn't too expensive to shoot either.

 

[Kchan]

You guys were really fast in responding and gave me very useful information, thank you so much!​

Well, it's taken me awhile to comb through all of the fantastic information you have supplied me with, and I think I'm leaning towards the Egyptian model Maadi ARM.​

I forget where I found it, but during my quest for knowledge I read that the WASR rifle was modified to take double stack regular AK's… and that worries me a bit. Is there any cause for concern?​

Also, does anyone know what the prince range for a new model of the Maadi ARM would be?​

And on a side note are their any tell tale signs that can help me identify a well kept or flawless AK-47, because I was in Plymouth browsing M&Ms not too long ago and I held a new WASR-10, and I'm pretty sure I saw rusting around the fire selector, but my eyes could have been playing tricks on me right?​

Thanks a bunch!

-Kimberly​

 

[drgrant]

The WASR-10s are generally fine for what they are... but if I had more than
the $379 to spend, I'd buy something else.

If you can snag an early Maadi ARM (one of the Steyr imports, may say Seacaucus NJ on it) that's a
nice gun. There are no "new" ones around and are typically preban. Typical going rate for them is
anywhere from $800+. Some of them get a bit pricey.

Barring that, I agree with the other comments on the Bulgarian Arsenal
guns. Any of the newer ones, or even an older Bulgarian SLR is a nice
rifle. They're well put together and very high quality. The newer Arsenal INC guns can
probably be had for under $700 if you look around enough.

-Mike

 

[Pilgrim]

One of the best made is the Arsenal brand SAM-7. This will be a weapon that he will pick up and shoot without having to 'touch up'. Many imported AK's have little things that need to be done to make them function to their potential. Many people replace the trigger assemblies to remove 'slap' which is very irritating and painful. Some change the stocks because of quality issues. The front sights are sometimes twisted out of perfect alignment on the barrel.

AK's are a utilitarian unit as made, fast and cheap with cheap overseas labor and sometimes quality suffers.

The Arsenal brand will come perfect out of the box. I believe it is mostly US made as well. It will be at the top of your $ range.

Whatever you decide on, look it over really well before you buy.

My wife never buys me gun stuff. Can I adopt you?

 

[LoginName]

Is your boyfriend a member here?

Better hope he doesn't read your post and ruin the "surprise".

 

[SKS Ray]

Richie's Sporting Supply in Westport I think still has a Maadi, and I think Ron's Sport Shop in New Bedford might have one as well. Price range was around $500.

 

[madmarc0]

Zero Hour in Easton has a Romanian AK for 350.00 and a Norinco NHM for 495.00 with the bipod.
You can call for directions 508-584-0291 ask for jim

 

[CrabPirate]

Well, I just found out Kchan, however stupid of me not to notice, was my Fiancee Kimberly, and well today she had me go out to fourseasons and told me about how she's been planning this all, and about all the information you guys gave her, I really appreciate it. I ended up getting a WASR, I could have gotten a Norico for the same price, but it was used, and I wanted a new one so I finnaly got it, I'll have it out to the range this weekend, and I'll share pics.

-James

 

[matt]

you're a lucky man James! Take good care of that girl!

 

[Len-2A Training]

+1 on Matt's comments.

Ladies like her are too rare, take good care of her!

And enjoy the gun!