Seeking advice on that first handgun or next weapon purchase? Ask AW!

[Rocketman]

Ok guys. I'm starting to get the itch for a new rifle and I'm seriously considering getting an AK-47 to compliment my M4gery and Lee Enfield SMLE. I found this little primer on M4carbine.net that goes into what to look for in an AK, but I thought I'd check here to see if any of you have anything to add before I go out and buy one. Any input is appreciated. =)

If you have time you should also check out http://www.gunsnet.net/forumdisplay.php?39-AK-47.NET-™-Forums . There is a wealth of info about buying them there. For sale forum too.

I'm far from an AK expert but the very best info I can give you is DO NOT buy a Romy WASR-10.

They come in to the country with receivers that are designed to take single stack mags and the monkeys at CAI convert them to take double stack mags. The big problem with that is that the WASR-10 receivers do not have the dimples that are necessary to provide a guide for the double stack mags. BIG FTFeed problem potential down the road without the dimples.

Romy SAR-1 imports and weapons built from Romy kits are OK in general . I bought 2 SAR-1 's some years ago when they were $250 each. You won't find them at that price now. They look a bit rough but they still may be the best bang for the buck now a days. Milled receivers make some of the nicest looking weapons but when I think about AK's I think about stamped. Like anything else it depends on what you plan to do with them. Mine are intended strictly to be a tool I don't mind mistreating. One of my SAR-1's has been leaning in a corner of my garage for years now. I forget it's out there most of the time but I know if I ever need it in a rush it will go bang when I pull the trigger. My other one has very few rounds thru it and is probably going to get prettied up by a friend of mine soon.

 

[gaijin6423]

I found an Arsenal (not the US company) AK at a gun show for a decent price several months ago. I've whored it out a bit with a few aftermarket accessories, including a replacement for the unholy abortion of a thumbhole stock that Arsenal imported it with. Finding shit for milled receivers is more difficult (and more expensive), but by no means impossible. The biggest problem that I had was trying to find a decent milled receiver furniture set for a decent (cheap) price. Most of the AK aftermarket furniture is made for stamped receivers, making it easier to accessorize them, but I really like the feel of the milled ones.

The m4carbine.net AK primer is spot on, and helped me go forewarned/forearmed into price negotiating with the guy selling the one I wound up buying.

 

[Rocketman]

I've been updating my AR's for the last year or so and pretty much have'em in the cofigurations I want for now (Noveske, BCM, Colt, T1's, CompM4, Troy BUIS etc etc) so I guess it may be time to shift my attention to my SAR-1's. My Remmy 700 seems to have taken up simi-permanent residence in Meridian so guess I'd better start thinking about a bolt gun too. Maybe a Rem 7 in 7mm-08 or 308.......it's always something I guess

 

[gaijin6423]

How many guns is enough? The same as the number of Marines you can fit in a 7-ton: One more.

IMO, one of the absolute necessities for an AK is the Krebs Custom selector/safety lever. One handed engagement and disengagement of the safety mechanism, while keeping your business hand on the pistol grip.

You could go a whole hell of a lot of different directions with a 700 as a base platform. I'm still debating what to do to my VTR I bought last year. Never got around to properly glassing it or re-stocking it.

 

[Rocketman]

Krebs lets you use your trigger finger while holding the pistol grip right?.....yea that would make a big difference. The 700 my kid swiped was just a plain jane low end .270 with budget glass. What I think I want is something light and fairly short. A bolt action brush gun I guess. I like the idea of fewer calibers so I'm thinking maybe .308 with a low powered variable maybe.

I lust after this thing.
http://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=87616
It's a custom Rem Model 7 in 7mm-08. I'd love to have something like this in .308

 

[gaijin6423]

My VTR falls into the shorter barrel category that you're considering. There's a picture of it over in the latest purchase thread I think. I can't speak to the actual value added from the odd, six sided barrel profile, but I think Remington was advertising something about harmonics. Regardless, it shoots just fine, but I wasn't looking for a 1/4 MOA rifle, either.

The beauty of the 700 as a platform though, is that there are any number of options available to fine tune it to precisely what you want. Maybe not as many as say, the AR or even the AK, but still quite a few.

 

[Tex_Hill]

After some research I think I'm going to go with this rifle from Arsenal: http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/2AISGL2171-1.html There's a Cheaper Than Dirt that's 45 minutes from my work and they have it in stock. =)

 

[Rocketman]

AIM has some great steel AK mags for sale. I have a bunch of these and they are great quality. You can bludgon bad guys to death with them as well. You might also want to pick up two or three Bulgarian polymer circle 10 mags too. Never know when you might need sunday go to meetin mags. (you almost can't beat the steel mags at any price though)

 

[gaijin6423]

Not just good for beatin', he steel mags usually have an edge on the front of them that could split a skull if swung hard enough. I like the circle-10 Bulgarians though. My AK rig is loaded with a whole mess of them that I picked up cheaply at a gun show a while back. Stay away from TAPCO if you're looking for something that's going to last awhile, and I e heard of some people hating on US Palm magazines for feedlip issues but I haven't messed with them.

 

[Rocketman]

Yup all anyone needs is Hungarian or Bulgarian steel mags which really are hell for stout compared to AR mags. I like the circle 10's too (if you don't mind paying a little extra)

 

[gaijin6423]

I have a couple circle-10 40 rounders that look kind of cartoonish too. I haven't messed with any drums, though.

 

[Gatordev]

Okay, so looking to get another gun soon, probably around Christmas when I can get it sent to FL and not have to deal with CA's stupid hoops to jump through. I was thinking about going Glock because a) I don't have one and b) they're (mostly, Bunk's example not withstanding) pretty damn reliable. I'm thinking of staying with 9mm and I went and shot a G19 the other day and it was just too cramped for me to comfortably shoot. Wicked accurate at 10 yards, although I was finding that I was shooting left of my POA. Yesterday I rented a G17 and the size was much better and still plenty accurate (which makes sense with the longer barrel). Still, not the most comfortable to shoot over time, both due to the grip stippling (mostly the front part) and the shape. I always think back to Bevo's comments about holding a brick. It wasn't that bad, but I'd probably want to look at getting a slip on grip...and here's the first question: are those worth it?

Or am I just buying into the hype all together and should look elsewhere? This would primarily be a range gun and occasionally an action pistol competition gun, to compete for my affection with my P229.

FYI, I already have a 1911 (sporting some new, sexy night sights) and I can borrow my girlfriend's XD9 whenever I want (which continues to impress me the more I shoot it). The M&P9 doesn't really excite me, though I have no real reason for that.

What say you...?

 

[Rocketman]

Were you shooting a Gen 3 or Gen 4? Try a Gen 3 if you haven't. Different grip angle (I think?) and no stippling

Then again I shoot a Gen 2 G19

 

[Gatordev]

I'm pretty sure it was not a Gen 4, but I say that only because I specifically looked on the slide and there wasn't anything there (ie, it didn't say "GEN 4"). I also didn't notice a removable back strap, but I might have missed that. And it's not that the stippling itself that was uncomfortable, just gripping the front face of the grip wasn't as comfortable as, say, a Sig or XD.

I'll have to poke around for slide on grips when I get some time just to see what's out there.

 

[Junkball]

The slip on grips are nice, like this one, just be aware its going to act as a palm swell, so if you're already reaching for the trigger, it may end up too large. I'd say most of the time they're beneficial because they'll actually help force your finger into a better position with regards to how you index the trigger. Plus Hogue grips just feel amazing. You'd know if it were a Gen4 as it's got that marketing tool plastered on the slide, and just looks a little different. Chances are you'd be better off with a Gen 3 anyway, seeing how slow Glock has been to acknowledge and then fix the fourth generations very apparent issues.