Henderson AK47

[rushca01]

I'm not an AK guy by any means but I have enough AR's that I'm happy with and with what I have and see no nead for anymore. I'. going to start expanding my collection some to other platforms. I have read all the rave reviews regarding Arsenal AK's, and for what I want I think it may be too much money.

I saw that Henderson Defense sells "certified" WASR's that they have checked over. Will these be as good functionally as the Arsenal's minus the over all finish or will I be unhappy with the WASR?

I plan to put the US Palm grip on it, their safety, and maybe the US palm MI rail.

ETA: Finish is not a requirement, I shoot my guns and it's an AK....who cares? My main concern is regarding reliability etc..

ETA: Looks like they are out of stock, wonder how often they get them in?

[lloydkristmas]

Fit and finish wont really compare to an Arsenal but the inherent reliability should.

What Henderson does is check to make sure the mags fit properly and the gas block / front sight isnt canted. Assuming proper magazine lockup, the gun will likely work 100%

In other words, function should be on par with an Arsenal (very reliable) but finish will be rougher (who cares, its an AK)

Arsenal isnt 100% on making sure their stuff isnt canted either, actually.

I had a WASR way back when and I never had an issue with it. Ugly, yes. Reliable, yes. Accurate? I could hit a basketball at 100m, which was good enough for my needs at the time.

[Romanov]

I was at the same point you are about a year ago (enough ARs, time for some AK love).

After having bought a few other manufacturer's/importer's AK variants, IMO, the Arsenal is worth it. Accuracy wise I've found Arsenals, in general, to be 2-3 MOA guns (closer to 2), while the WASR and others were 3-4 MOA (closer to 4). Not something ridiculously huge as far as an AK goes, but something to consider. Fit and finish is consistently better on the Arsenals I now own.

Just my $.02, but like with ARs, I've found that going too cheap is unsatisfactory for me. I'd rather save a little longer and get something with that little extra.

[Hizzie]

HDI makes sure the gun runs, mags fit properly and sights are straight. While the finish won't be as nice as an Arsenal it won't melt off if you use Hoppe's either. As for accuracy most of the accuracy complaints come from people using cheap ass ammo. Of course it doesn't shoot great. While the AK isn't the correct tool for pucnhing tight groups in paper they do benefit from using quality ammo.

[rushca01]

In my op, I kind of come off as one of those whinos that is trying to justify bushmaster, RRA, etc... While all of my AR's are of the tier 1 qualty and I wouldn't have it any other way and wondering if I'm taking the wrong approach to the AK.

So is a "certified" henderson AK going to do me right or is it like buying a "RRA/bushmaster" that has been checked for proper staking throughout etc..but in the end it's still just hobby grade AK?

[krichbaum]

Wasr's are ok, but I'd spend the extra on an SGL21. I bought a 'certified' Tantal a few years ago from Henderson, and it keyholed (barrel was trash). They took it back but still, I'm not sold on the 'certified' aspect of what they're selling. I also got a 74 build from them and while it's ok, again there are a couple small issues that bother me (attention to detail is lacking it seems). I really think you should just get the Arsensal. I have an SGL21 and love it...shot great and no issues right out of the box.