What would one look for if they decided to buy an AK?

[nova3930]

MAC-90 disappeared so I ended up with a WASR-10 from Atlantic. If anyone is looking for a "my first AK" that's probably a good choice. No issues that I can see and even though it was advertised as coming with "2 mags, type varies" mine came with 2 Magpuls.

[Ernst]

What would one look for?

A good price on an Arsenal AK.

[dlagrua]

I owned a few different AK's years ago but sold them all. They are reliable but not crazy about the design and that loud click when you throw the safety lever. If I were to buy an AK type rifle today I would go with the Arsenal with forged receiver. The Arsenal thumbhole rifle that I owned years back was really very accurate holding 2" groups at 100 yds. The Century WASR gave pie plate size groups and some shots were off the paper . I would be cautious about Century AK's as there was a guy on You Tube that did a rapid fire test, set the wood fore end on fire and and melted the barrel after 250 rds. Century must use very soft steel on these rifles. Century tends to offer lower end product but the good AK's will last.

[Moose-Knuckle]

I would be cautious about Century AK's as there was a guy on You Tube that did a rapid fire test, set the wood fore end on fire and and melted the barrel after 250 rds. Century must use very soft steel on these rifles. Century tends to offer lower end product but the good AK's will last.

Depends on which "Century" AKs we're talking about.

Century imported SAR-1s, SAR-2s, and SAR-3s (imported prior to "barrel ban") are good to go. In fact, the SAR-1 (7.62x39) are one of the closest to E-bloc "mil-spec" one could hope for.

[CobraBG]

I have a new (bought it this year) Century C39v2 with the Magpul Zhukov folding stock and handguard. It has been very reliable so far. From a bench rest with cheap Tulammo from Walmart and iron sights I have gotten 3" to 4" groups groups at 100 yds. My last outing I ran 300 rounds with no issue. Overall I have about 700 rounds through it. I just added a Ultimak rail and have an Aimpoint T2 to try.

[Ryno12]

I have a new (bought it this year) Century C39v2 with the Magpul Zhukov folding stock and handguard. It has been very reliable so far. From a bench rest with cheap Tulammo from Walmart and iron sights I have gotten 3' to 4" groups groups at 100 yds. My last outing I ran 300 rounds with no issue. Overall I have about 700 rounds through it. I just added a Ultimak rail and have an Aimpoint T2 to try.

Wow! That's quite a spread!

[CobraBG]

Ha Ha... Yeah I know, it's not the best. Considering my eyes aren't that sharp and I was using irons I was pleased. Some were inside 2" but not consistently. I am hoping that with higher quality ammo and practice they will be tighter. This is my first AK. I've got the Ultimak and T2 mounted and am looking forward to trying it.

[Ryno12]

Ha Ha... Yeah I know, it's not the best. Considering my eyes aren't that sharp and I was using irons I was pleased. Some were inside 2" but not consistently. I am hoping that with higher quality ammo and practice they will be tighter. This is my first AK. I've got the Ultimak and T2 mounted and am looking forward to trying it.

I was just messing with you. You had a typo & wrote 3 feet to 4 inches.

[CobraBG]

Damn, I missed that completely.

Thanks!

[dlagrua]

I've shot with friends at the range who owned various AK's. Most of them could barely manage very large ( 4"-10") groups at 100 yds. One guy that I regularly shoot with couldn't even stay on paper with his Century AK but another friend with the very expensive Arsenal rifle shoots 2" groups @ 100 yds, which is what I was getting with mine.
It all depends on the rifle that you purchase. I am very impressed with AK rifle reliability, the 7.62 x 39 round can work well but being an accuracy shooter I stay away from AK's rifles. Just too many brands to choose from, a wide range of quality and very inconsistent accuracy in some of them. The rifle was really designed for front line troops just to throw lead down range quickly.