What to look for when buying a used AK-47

[whitewolf001]

Let's be honest - these are guns that by design allow for a lot of slop in their operating tolerances. About the only things that can go wrong from a builder and the
Reasons are listed below:

Canted sights due to poor attention paid during the build. Easy to spot.

Bad headspacing - again a build issue

Poor finish work (paint, guncote etc). Easy to spot

Wobbly mag (using low quality receiver). Easy to spot

Rough racking (poor quality receiver, poor rail installation, no lubrication). Easy to spot

Other than these things I can't think of anything that could actually go wrong with an ak after buying it that would necessitate a warranty of any kind. Their internals are built solidly and replacement parts are easily and cheaply obtainable should some bizarre accident befall your gun.

 

It's like you knew exactly what my WASR-10 does, you are some kind of psychic. ;)

[austin7.62]

I have a Century WASR 10-63, a Century M70AB2, and had a Century Tantal. All 3 have been great guns. The Tantal didn't keyhole, the WASR is straight, and the Yugo is just awesome. I have also had a MAK-90, and my favorite AK hands down is my milled Arsenal SAM7R-61/SLR101. The WASR is just as accurate as the 1K+ Arsenal. Century makes some decent guns, just look it over first. See if the seller/vendor whatever will let you insert a mag into the magwell and see if it wobbles too much. Also, check for a misaligned gas block and crooked sights!

My AKs in order of how I liked them:

1) Arsenal-hard to beat quality, smooth(yeah I know right? In an AK??), accurate.

2) Yugo M70-solid folding stock, thicker receiver, takes any mag without hassle.

3) MAK-90-Chinese make great AKs. Trust Turkeydad on this: he knows his Polys.

4) WASR-cheap, but reliable and accurate. Never had one problem.

5) Polish Tantal-Didn't shoot it much, but it grouped well and it didn't keyhole.

 

I love AKs.

[Hershmeister]

Clearly you still need an Egyptian maadi Sidefolder to add to your collection :)

[austin7.62]

Clearly you still need an Egyptian maadi Sidefolder to add to your collection :)

You know it. Very nice marketing job there, Hersh!

[Rambo]

Saying a Century Arms trigger is superior to a AR trigger is ludicrous since they are most likely using mil surplus or tapco triggers...which is not boasting for Century since its not their product lol. You folks get so upset when someone dogs your brand. If 9 of 10 say its shit, then it might be shit.

Lets face fact. None of these manufacturers actually manufacture anything...or at least not most of them. They're just slapping together parts made decades ago. If its built off a Russian, Bulgarian, Hungarian or Polish donor and it goes bang it's prolly a damn good gun.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

[austin7.62]

Tapco G2s are excellent triggers. IMO better than mil-spec AR trigger.

[whitewolf001]

Saying a Century Arms trigger is superior to a AR trigger is ludicrous since they are most likely using mil surplus or tapco triggers...which is not boasting for Century since its not their product lol. You folks get so upset when someone dogs your brand. If 9 of 10 say its ####, then it might be ####.

Lets face fact. None of these manufacturers actually manufacture anything...or at least not most of them. They're just slapping together parts made decades ago. If its built off a Russian, Bulgarian, Hungarian or Polish donor and it goes bang it's prolly a damn good gun.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

Technically the same can be said about most AR manufacturers considering that they all contract out for their parts... yeah, I even trust Romanian kits as well, but I just don't trust anything with a Century stamp, they're like old school Taurus(and some new school) for AK's.

[RichardR]

Century M70 build's seem to have a very good reputation in both the fixed & underfolding (AB2) versions, I have owned one of the AB2's for years and it has proven itself to be both very accurate & very reliable.

When compared to my beloved Chinese Norinco/Polytech AK's it stacks up better than many other European AK variants that I've owned with only Bulgarian & Russian AK's being "better" than the Yugos, at least cosmetically not functionally which they all seem to work as intended.

I've never cared much for the Romanian AK's, whether they are Century rebuilt or not, so I've always steered clear of them just because of their awful fit & finish, I'm not dogging them or anything but for a little more money you can get a decent AK so why buy bottom of the barrel?

As far as canted sights? they really are a non-issue & can be fixed in a matter of just a few minutes with basic tools, magazine wobble is another non-issue so long as it is side-to-side & not front to back, experimenting with different magazines you can find a good match to your particular rifle that will help minimize any wobble.

Most AK (like most firearms in general) malfunctions are typically magazine related, my favorite magazines are the ribless steel Chinese type 56, followed closely by the Bulgarian poly mags, then just about any Euro steel rib backed mags (except Romanian).

I also like Pmags for range use, but I am not a fan of Thermomold or ProMag mags for even range duty.

Surplus 7.62x39mm has dried up but you can still occasionally come across it at reasonable prices, I prefer it when I can find it as well as "Golden Tiger" which is a Chinese import that is very similar in performance to the old Soviet surplus stuff.

Wolf isn't too bad, would put it at 3rd, easier to find but not as accurate as the boat-tailed Soviet surplus & Golden Tiger stuff.

I have no experience with Tula ammo so can't comment on that, see a lot of it around the last couple of years, I am assuming its probably similar to Wolf in performance (anyone familiar with Tula?).

[Magiccarpetrides]

I've been quite happy with my Norinco so far...course if you want the Cadillac (or would that be Lexus since they don't break) get one of the new square backed VEPR's...fit and finish on them is pretty much tops and with the new square backs you can put different stocks and what not if that's your thing.

[whitewolf001]

I've been quite happy with my Norinco so far...course if you want the Cadillac (or would that be Lexus since they don't break) get one of the new square backed VEPR's...fit and finish on them is pretty much tops and with the new square backs you can put different stocks and what not if that's your thing.

THAT, is bull honkery as I work for a Toyota dealer and when they break, it will break your bank BUT comparatively, yes, they're much more reliable than most GM products. But I digress... VEPR's are indeed bad@$$.

Edited May 9, 2013 by whitewolf001