Quality factory AK's now cost more than brand name AR's and are a better investment.

I've been collecting AK's and AR's for a couple of decades, though I've always been good about maintaining a manageable level to keep numbers in check. I noticed however that prices on AK's keep climbing while prices on AR's are going down. Seems that an Arsenal AK is a better overall investment than say a Colt or BCM. Especially on the second hand market. I know we have a large amount of AR manufacturers that attribute to the overall competitive market but even base model AK's like say an Arsenal SLR 107FR or WPB Fox47 costs more than say a basic Colt LE6920. Seems that you would think with larger numbers of AR's available especially at lower prices, that more people would be buying AR's- driving down the prices of competitive rifle systems like AK's but that doesn't seem to be the case at all. Another odd thing I noticed is the price of 74 variants going way up even though the supply of 7n6 ammo has been cut off- to me that doesn't make sense but it's happening. Just a strange market it seems. Guys bidding up AK's for thousands while factory Colt's are sitting for hundreds. What do you guys make of this market?

RR77

Simple supply & demand. There's tons of ARs, but good AKs are not so plentiful. As people (no me) get into AKs, inevitably a certain segment of that market will want the highest quality.

Didnt the thing trump just got rid of allow for us to get saigas again? If thats the case id think the cost would go back down as theres more options again.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 04rwon

Didnt the thing trump just got rid of allow for us to get saigas again? If thats the case id think the cost would go back down as theres more options again.

---

No. The thing Trump got rid of was something Congress already said, "lol, nope," to.

So far, Trump has tightened regulations on importing AKs (albeit only from Russia), not loosened them.

Lol @ AKs


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Investment potential only applies to financial value. There are some absolute shit guns that have gone up a ton in value. My SWD M11/9 full auto for example. Or a crappy pre ban AR in a ban state selling for a premium.

AR prices are super low. High volume, efficiency per unit, huge supply with waning demand.

AK prices climb. A choke point on cheap import part kits and especially barrels. Price of parts up, labor intensive assembly in comparison, etc.

It’s like saying a 1998 Defender 90 is way better than a 2018 4Runner because the defenders price has gone up.

Edit- I have used AKs since foreign fam training in the 80s. With my first personal one a Chinese model purchased in the early 1990s. I have two SBR AKs, in 7.62 by 39. I have four more 7.62x39 AK rifles, A 5.45 one. A 5.56 one. A PSL which is essentially a 7.62x54 rimmed AK. I am not anti AK. But comparing an AK to an AR used to be like comparing a 1970 454 Chevelle to a 1985 5.0TPI IROC. Now it’s like comparing a 1970 Chevelle maybe with better seats and tires to a new 6.2L Camaro SS 1LE. Subjectively I can love both, but objectively I can’t champion the 70 for a daily drive or track day car over it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ramairthree

Investment potential only applies to financial value. There are some absolute shit guns that have gone up a ton in value. My SWD M11/9 full auto for example. Or a crappy pre ban AR in a ban state selling for a premium.

AR prices are super low. High volume, efficiency per unit, huge supply with waning demand.

AK prices climb. A choke point on cheap import part kits and especially barrels. Price of parts up, labor intensive assembly in comparison, etc.

It’s like saying a 1998 Defender 90 is way better than a 2018 4Runner because the defenders price has gone up.

---

You're talking about stuff that is out of production collectibles. I'm talking about actual current production or recent production items. Take the WPB Fox 47 rifles, they sell for about $980 each but they are almost constantly sold out- even at that price which is more than what an LE6920 costs. I just find it interesting is all.

I'm an AK whore. I got in to them back in the early '90's when they were inexpensive because they were a better value relative to AR15's and other options. I really enjoy the platform. Every AK that I purchased over the years is now worth much more than what I paid. The primary reason for this is that most of these AK variations are no longer made. As a collector, I'm glad that I got them back in the day because I logically wouldn't be able to justify purchasing most of them now given the other options available for the same money or less. Now, AR15's are very inexpensive relative to other semiauto rifles that are available. Personally, I'd say that AK's were a good investment when they were inexpensive. Though I believe most will continue to rise in value some, most of the upside potential is gone. Since quality AR15's can be had for way less than most factory built AK's, most people buy AR15's. In theory, AR15's should have more upside potential because they're inexpensive relative to their competition, but I don't see much changing that to provide upside potential. So long as there's lots of competition in the US, prices will stay down and that's a great thing.

BTW, today I sent off a '83 Russian AK74 parts kit to a highly talented AK building along with a new US made receiver, a Bulgarian barrel and a US trigger group. When all's said and done, I'll have about $1,400 in to this rifle. I'm sure that most here will think that I'm crazy for spending that kind of money on what's not even a factory AK, but the collector in me wants to get as close to a real military configuration Russian AK74 as I can get. That's what it takes.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RetroRevolver77

You're talking about stuff that is out of production collectibles. I'm talking about actual current production or recent production items. Take the WPB Fox 47 rifles, they sell for about $980 each but they are almost constantly sold out- even at that price which is more than what an LE6920 costs. I just find it interesting is all.

---

It's still about supply and demand. If they saturated the market like Colt has, then they wouldn't sell for half that much. They're smart to keep their operation small.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bret

BTW, today I sent off a '83 Russian AK74 parts kit to a highly talented AK building along with a new US made receiver, a Bulgarian barrel and a US trigger group. When all's said and done, I'll have about $1,400 in to this rifle. I'm sure that most here will think that I'm crazy for spending that kind of money on what's not even a factory AK, but the collector in me wants to get as close to a real military configuration Russian AK74 as I can get. That's what it takes.


It's still about supply and demand. If they saturated the market like Colt has, then they wouldn't sell for half that much. They're smart to keep their operation small.

---

I have an 86' Izhevsk 74 build and an 83' Tula 74U build- both were expensive to put together even back over ten years ago due to the rarity of parts. For what it costs these days to pick up Colt AR's I'm honestly surprised people aren't stacking them deep. It's like they forget the $2500 pre-bans during the 90's. There may never be another time in history like this to acquire these items.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RetroRevolver77

You're talking about stuff that is out of production collectibles. I'm talking about actual current production or recent production items. Take the WPB Fox 47 rifles, they sell for about $980 each but they are almost constantly sold out- even at that price which is more than what an LE6920 costs. I just find it interesting is all.

---

Yes, I am using examples of poor guns but great financial value.

Then I not the loss of very inexpensive imported surplus build kits, exacerbated significantly by barrels no longer coming with those kits, and how much more labor intensive an AK is compared to an AR. With hints at scale of production cost efficiencies.

The cost comparison of an AK vs an AR in the US is not one of quality.
It is one of Production expense, scale of operations, and labor costs.