My next project is going to be either a .308 bolt gun to be taken out to 500-700+ meters, or an AKM.
The explicit goal of the AKM project is Foreign Weapons Familiarization. I am trying to become beyond conversant in the use, maintenance, and limited repair / armorer's skills with the AKM platform. The rifle itself should be capable of engaging man sized targets out to 300m, and ideally will run a red dot. Additionally, I am feeling a strong inclination towards a side-folder, and in particular the Magpul Zhukov furniture set. Magpul's extra stocks and fore ends have always been rock solid, and a substantial upgrade on whatever I've handled them on. While a classic wood AKM has some je ne sais quois to it, the durability and longevity of synthetic furniture is where I am headed. Tool-like functionality above all else.
Currently, I see three paths ahead of me:
1) WASR-10. For the $600-700, it seems like this is hard to beat. Properly assembled, carefully inspected, then thoroughly abused and shot to hell and back, these seem like a hard position to argue against. One of my main hesitations is the above stated interest in polymer furniture and folding stocks, and adding these becomes an added expense that creeps upwards towards the other options.
2) PSA AK47 Gen 2. Now, I am really well aware of the reputation that PSA has on these boards. From what little I've been able to glean from the few reliable sources out there (AKOU, a few large threads on AK-centric sites), these are defying expectations when deployed with the forged / milled trunions. Obviously, I won't be buying anything with a cast trunion; that's absurd, from an engineering standpoint alone. The barrels are 4150 CMV and nitrided, which I don't realistically see myself shooting out. I don't rip full auto mags on my ARs, and find such to be an asinine waste of time. If the barrel lasts 60,000 rounds, that will likely be a ceiling above the amount of ammunition that I can afford to feed it. All told, these look decent on paper, and can be had built out with the furniture that I am looking for at a decent price. $650-900.
3) SLR-107 / SAM-7. Obviously the best overall in terms of build quality. These are some nice looking rifles. They are, however, $1000+. For my uses, I am thinking that the several hundred saved by going with a different rifle can be invested in magazines and ammunition. Durability between this and a WASR seems like a toss up: both are military issue grade rifles. One may clearly be 'nicer', and have much better fit and finish, but they both go bang with boring predictability.
I am shying away from the Yugoslavian designs, as well as the Czech Vz-58 for the simple fact that they represent departures from the most common platform in the world, excepting the AR-15. I am looking for interoperability, ease of maintenance, and access to as many parts / accessories as possible.
The initial advice, I can already hear: buy once, cry once, get the Arsenal. What I am looking for is a quantification of why, given my goals, the extra expense is worth it. Given my goals, why would a PSA AK fail to accomplish what I am trying to do? What exactly is lacking in an WASR-10 that makes an Arsenal truly worth almost twice as much? Am I on a fool's errand? What else should I be looking at?
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