Polish Tantal AK-74

[Urse]

Congratulations, it looks like a whole lot of fun!

[tnroadrunner]

Eddie, We were hoping you would of brought it to the meeting last night. Looks great.

[BimmerFreak]

Damn, im out of the shop for one day, and look what happens?

[molonlabetn]

Damn, im out of the shop for one day, and look what happens?

No worries, I'll be bringing it back by before too long to investigate getting a scout rail for the forend to mount an EoTech on... (UltiMak?). And I'll have to order another case of Wolf or something for the shoot at the NG range, so everybody can try out a few mags-worth...

Any suggestions on how best to sling this sucker? (You and I both know who I won't be going to for that...)

Cheers man! I'll catch you next time... Thanks for all the assistance with this one!

[Smith]

Looks good. I'm still waiting on my Saiga to get converted by Red Stick! From what I hear, my now 14 + week wait is due to Atlantic firearms putting in big orders for AK's. Waiting and anticipation are killers. I'm glad you got yours.

PS - any one interested in converting a Saiga to full AK yourself......http://www.cross-conn.com/Saiga_Conversion/index.htm

[molonlabetn]

Ordered an aluminum 4-rail handguard today...

...I'll be installing a VFG and a weaponlight, for sure, and hopefully an EoTech in the not-too-distant future.

[Urse]

Repeat after me.....It is not an AR, It is not an AR.....

[molonlabetn]

What's wrong with this look?

It's functional.

[dcloudy777]

I think what he meant, Molon, is that the sight is just a waste of time, unless of course you get the special Com-Bloc calibrated MOTF* reticle, then you can really extend the effective range of most AK variants to their limits. I've heard of man-sized targets being hit with ranges as long as 30, even 35 meters with that setup.

DanO

*Minute-of-Tractor-Factory... a popular unit of measurement used to state the circular error of probability, I mean accuracy, of AK variants.

[Guest crytes]

I have a question I was looking up the dragunov sniper rifle and I got many hits that called it an ak47 dragunov, is this a misnomer or is the dragunov just a modified AK?

Crytes

[Urse]

35 meters really? And its Minute Of Man. Nothing wrong with that look just ribbing you a little. You might want to look into a Aimpoint Red Dot with low mount rings it allows co-witnessing of the iron sights. Contrary to popular belief Kalashnikov iron sights have probably been used to kill more people than any other.

Crytes a true Dragunov is not a Kalashnikov. Different design(er). There are many places selling the Romanian PSL and incorrectly calling then Dragunov Sniper rifles. Here is a link with some info:

http://www.dragunov.net/

Remember troops, Any Kalashnikov is better than none!

[dcloudy777]

The SVD, or Dragunov, pattern rifle, is based loosely on the Kalashnikov pattern, but the similarities are largely superficial. Both rifles are gas operated short stroke piston weapons, and the safety levers are very close in appearance and, but the similarities pretty much end there. SVDs were built exclusivley on machined receivers, and their removable fire-control modules are vastly different from the AK. SVDs also have no provision for automatic fire, and the SVD has a 2-postion adjustable gas system.

Many clones of the Dragunov, such as the Romanian and Yugo guns, however, aren't much more than AK pattern rifles stretched and strengthened to handle the 7.62X54 round. These guns, and the outward similarity between the SVD and the AK, seem to confuse lots of folks, as the "AK47 Dragunov" reference is pretty common. Hope that helped.

DanO

C'mon Urse... Kalshnikov rifles might have been used to kill a whole mess of folks, but has anybody actually used the sights on one yet? I mean other than to pry open stolen UN food crates?

[Guest crytes]

Thanks I've been considering takeing up hunting and I figured A sniper rifle aught to do a prety good job. Aside from that the apearence of those rifles just have so much style. By the way would that mean that the True dragunovs are more acurate? Or is it about the same?

Crytes

[Urse]

C'mon Urse... Kalshnikov rifles might have been used to kill a whole mess of folks, but has anybody actually used the sights on one yet? I mean other than to pry open stolen UN food crates?

:DOK, That was a good one.

[TGO David]

I have handled the gun, and know that the controls will work for me... I want to hear any opinions from those who might have some experience with this platform. I will be abandoning my AR15s for whatever I choose, even though the spare parts commonality is a plus (the only one though, really).

So... back to the subject at hand are you happy with the one you purchased and would you recommend it to others?

[molonlabetn]

So... back to the subject at hand are you happy with the one you purchased and would you recommend it to others?

After 500 trouble-free rounds of Wolf 70gr 5.45x39 (including significant rapid and bump-firing)... I couldn't be happier with the rifle's performance. I have not yet shot it to determine it's accuracy at longer ranges, but it seems to group very tightly based on my experience sighting it in. With a proper sight on it, I expect it to be a very usable 300yd gun.

The rifle is very easy to clean, even easier than most AKs, because the gas tube is free-floated and the rifle can be stripped just as quickly as any AR.

The trigger is excellent, smooth and light, with a longer travel than an AR, but breaks nicely.

The action is smooth, and since I have installed a buffer behind the carrier it cycles without jarring the shooter at all. Recoil is very light and controllable, also due to the effective muzzle-brake.

Mag changes are slower than an AR, but with practice, one can very quickly drop the empty with the heel of the fresh mag and then snap it in place. I'll try to take a video of a few mag-dumps next time I shoot it.

Overall, a very rugged and reliable rifle, easy to operate, and much higher quality than any other stamped-receiver AK I've handled. I'd certainly take it over any AR under $1000.

[TGO David]

I'd love to shoot it sometime, provided you'd let me.

[molonlabetn]

I'd love to shoot it sometime, provided you'd let me.

But, of course! I don't have to report in until 3pm on Saturday... we could go to the range in Manchester on your way back from Hero-Gear. I was planning on going out there for a couple hours anyways.

[TGO David]

Hey, that's an idea. Let me clear it through the boss at home this evening.

[molonlabetn]

Just got back from the range (Terry Walden's in Manchester)... First of all, the Range Report:

- Performed rapid controlled-pairs thru 2 mags off-hand/standing @ 50yd, 100% reliability, 6" (approx) group.

- Slow-fired at 12"x12" steel-plate @ 300yd thru 2 mags standing & 1 mag rested, 100% reliability, sights were dead-on using the 300yd setting made hits 50% of the time standing, and all but a few rested shots missed.

- Rapid-fired 1 mag + a partial mag at 25yd, easily kept all shots on a 8.5x11 sheet... reliability issue, however, 1 round experienced a failure-to-feed. It was hung up between the bolt and face of the breech. I dumped the mag, racked the carrier (which dropped the misfed round through the magwell), and reloaded with the second mag. No other issues.

- Bump-fired 1 full mag at 25yd, shouldered, 100% reliable and controllable... but, I'd estimate the grouping at around 3ft dia...

So, after a total of 730rd through this gun so far it has malfunctioned once.

Now, the eye-candy:

[TGO David]

That's a very cool rifle. I really enjoyed getting the chance to handle it today! Too bad I'm a complete noob when it comes to AK controls.

[fury2neon]

That is a very nice AK!

[molonlabetn]

As long as it doesn't 'choke' again before I'm through with its first case of ammo, I'll be happy.

Looking forward to shooting it again... and I hate going to the range by myself.

[towerclimber37]

Eddie, so does Julie.