AK47 vs AK74

[Jolly Green Chopper]

I agree that tiny little bullets of a 74 are not such a good idea when regular tiny little 22 long rifle ammo with the right rifle and ammo. combo. can be just as accurate and a lot cheaper.I have fired the AK74 and felt it was OK but the AK 7.62X39 was cheaper and packed a more destructive bullet .Same goes for the many rounds I fired out of my M16. which was accurate but lacked the knock down punch against hard targets. The AK 47 had no trouble knocking down my chopper.JGC

[polymerase2]

Part of the decision was the price, part was I like Czech guns, and part is the SKS's have kind of spoiled me. Except for the 30 round mags, a wood stock SKS is a great gun and a "real" battle carbine. I just couldn't get really juiced for an AK.
Yes Jolly Green, I like the 7.62 x 39. IT has some mass.

Palmetto is running 2 weeks behind, so I'll post when it comes. Total cost with transfer was $447. Wo hoo! And it includes 5 mags. Thanks again guys for the source for parts and all the info.

[polymerase2]

Arrives Friday!

[Pip6214]

Dont buy an I.O. Inc. Ak...pure junk and Ill stand by that. I prefer an AK74 over my 47 but I like them both way more than any AR15 I've shot.

[polymerase2]

Went and picked up my VZ2008 sporter yesterday. I'll post some pics tonight. I knew I was taking some risk by buying a clearance rifle with an all sales final clause. Rifle is in nice shape; wood parts look nice and the metal has a nice mat black finish. Only bad news so far is the front sight is canted. I'd say it is off by 3-5 degrees.I think I can get it adjusted to shoot straight. I'm not that concerned because I plan to use a red dot. (old eyes). The folding stock was a nice suprise, sturdy and I actually can get a good cheek weld in relation to the sights. A little foam padding and I am in business. Checked basic operation with snap caps with no problem. I really like the balance.

Subjective: it is a cool looking rifle, it reminds me of what the SKS could have become with another cycle of engineering.

[WeldonHunter]

Went and picked up my VZ2008 sporter yesterday. I'll post some pics tonight. I knew I was taking some risk by buying a clearance rifle with an all sales final clause. Rifle is in nice shape; wood parts look nice and the metal has a nice mat black finish. Only bad news so far is the front sight is canted. I'd say it is off by 3-5 degrees.I think I can get it adjusted to shoot straight. I'm not that concerned because I plan to use a red dot. (old eyes). The folding stock was a nice suprise, sturdy and I actually can get a good cheek weld in relation to the sights. A little foam padding and I am in business. Checked basic operation with snap caps with no problem. I really like the balance.

Subjective: it is a cool looking rifle, it reminds me of what the SKS could have become with another cycle of engineering.

Don't put any stock in the part of the ad about "clearance" with Palmetto State Armory. I've seen many things listed from them with the same claim that are mysteriously back up for sale over and over again. It also doesn't mean anything in regards to the quality of the rifle. You bought the exact same rifle that's been for sale from other vendors. It was only recently that a few of them offered this rifle for $400 with the accessory package you got. Some only sold the rifle for that price. Some were over $500 and J&G was offering this rifle with fixed stocks for $900 and $1300 at one time. I'll give them this, it was right around Feb 2013 but the same rifle in 2010 was $359 from them.

I know I've heard that Century AK's tend to have canted sights so it doesn't surprise me these do too because all of these as far as I've seen are coming from Century.

Here's the same rifle or variants that have been offered over the years with the Palmetto State listing first. Remember if you look down the page of the deal there's a pricing history with dates.

http://gun-deals.com/deals/23586-centur ... 9-ri1554-x

http://gun-deals.com/deals/23036-cia-vz ... czech-made

http://gun-deals.com/deals/20274-cia-ri ... -automatic

http://gun-deals.com/deals/7707-century ... 2x39-rifle

http://gun-deals.com/deals/2680-vz2008-sporter

http://gun-deals.com/deals/2680-vz2008-sporter

http://gun-deals.com/deals/10903-vz2008 ... ver-by-cai

http://gun-deals.com/deals/7061-vz2008- ... ver-by-cai

[polymerase2]

Yea. When I was doing my research on the CZ2008 I realized it was the same rifle no matter what they said. Atlantic said they checked for a canted sight. Only cost $100 and some change. I'm very pleased with the rifle. Like I said, I was willing to take a chance on a canted sight which I got. It is not off by much, I should be able to still get it to shoot. The magazines look unissued, they are shrink wrapped in what appears to be a new leather carrier.
it is easy to forgive a minor flaw for a really nice $399 rifle with all the accessories

[WeldonHunter]

Well I'm glad you're happy with it. I think you'd have gotten about the same from Atlantic because they say they check for canted sights "within reason". "Our staff will perform a quick Visual inspection of the firearm's sights ( no cants within reason )" Not sure what their criteria of "within reason" is but who knows. Like I said, I think canted sights are a problem with a lot of Century AK rifles and it appears it's variants also. It's probably the one complaint I see more than anything else about them.

[Greasemonkey]

Nice, Please shoot it and post a range report soon , lord knows, I'm trying to get to shoot mine, OK, both of them.

Like I said, I think canted sights are a problem with a lot of Century AK rifles and it appears it's variants also. It's probably the one complaint I see more than anything else about them.

Shockingly, everyone beats down CAI (not saying they don't deserve it ) , but for giggles sometime back, I looked at other current manufactures . It seems even, Saiga and Molot Veprs have both suffered from the same canting issues and some were fairly recently. Some rifles have even had canted gas tubes and others canted rear sights.

[polymerase2]

I did a good detail cleaning and am fascinated by the firing mechanism. I take back my comment about it being the next gen SKS. IT is much simpler. The action is like a bolt action that is cocked by a single short stroke gas operated piston. The striker catches on a lip (sear) controlled by the trigger, you pull the trigger to pull down the sear releasing the striker, it hits the firing pin, fire, recoil, eject,strip a new one and you are ready to fire again. I keep looking for the missing parts.
Anyone know how it "knows" it is in battery?

[Jolly Green Chopper]

My thoughts about AK 47 vs AK74: I did not buy an AR for the same reason I bought an AK74 instead. I think little fast bullets like the AK 74 and all AR variants just can't hit hard enough against hard targets. They are hell on the human body though, but so is the 7.62 X39, which had no trouble knocking down my helicopter. I've never been shot at by a AK74 but I have used an M-16 in combat and found it to be very effective, until my target got behind a hard obstacle. The smaller bullet did not penetrate and was often deflected by armor,rock walls,doors,trees, etc., when the heavier 7.62X39 bullet was not.I was first issued an M-16 in 1966 and always wanted my M-14 back. Of course since I did not have to hump the M-14 ammo around it was easy to say that. The weight advantage, if I had to carry a standard load,might make me change my mind and go with the lighter bullets though .Good Luck JGC

[Brake Weight]

Read through here and I would like an AK47 now. This is the most frequented AK thread and I thought I'd post here.

Thoughts on building one? Can a period correct barrel and receiver be sourced to keep it as authentic as possible?

Something like this:
http://www.classicfirearms.com/ak-47-pa ... -bulgarian

[entropy]

NO. the reciever would not be legal. The only way to get an AK with an original period reciever legally is to buy an NFA registered full auto. Unless the period is now, then of course a Saiga would have the original reciever. Nodak Spud builds excellent recievers true to the models they are made for, this is a good option. Ohio Ord. recievers are good, too.

[polymerase2]

Took the VZ to a friends ranch and shot rocks. Shot like a charm with many dead rocks. I was able to get the sight centered when I moved it all the way to the right. I was thinking about a red dot, now I might just use a Mojo for the rear sight, because my eyes don't do rear ramps anymore, pad the folding stock and be happy.

[Brake Weight]

Fondled a few at a semi LGS last night. A couple refurbs, a Saiga, and some new CIAs. One of the new ones is what I'll probably end up with. Both wood pieces had matching grain, which is a plus for me. Slightly heavier, but still stamped, and had the extra reenforcing toward the front of the receiver and a lockable slide. One had the grenade launcher setup, but not my style. About the $600 mark with taxes and three 30 rounders. The refurbs were a little over $500 but had black furniture. The Saiga is more than I want to pay. Let this month's salary clear and I'll hopefully have some rounds down range in a few weeks.

Basically this: http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/mobi ... _rifle_lam

[Brake Weight]

Thoughts on these: https://www.classicfirearms.com/zastava ... orifle10rd
May get one ordered for my birthday mid January if it's worth it. I was wanting an AR10 style, but this could fill that void.