Mebbe time to say farewell to AK rifles..?

[Bill Murray]

I would keep at least one AK as a point of reference. If you really need the money so be it, but preban Chinese AKs are never coming back to the US market unless I become dictator.

So I am curious about my Chinese AK. It is one from back in the late-1980s or early 1990s. It is stamped as a MAK-90, but when it was imported, they took an electronic engraving tool and marked it as a "Sporter" after the MAK-90 designation. It came equipped with a thumb-hole type stock, but I was able to purchase a standard AK furniture set for it. Is this a model from the "pre-ban"period.

[sig1473]

Get Lasik

[Five_Point_Five_Six]

Under folders are the least desirable AK variant for actual usage. If you're looking to run one as a primary I'd ditch the under folder for either a standard AKM or a side folder if you think you need the folding stock option.

A red dot isn't a magic fix, but it's the one add on that pays the most dividends when running an AK.

[sundance435]

An underfolder wouldn't be the last AK I hung onto, but I get that yours is a desirable model. AK front sights are fat and the rear is narrow, which isn't a combo that's going to get easier with age. Why not try any of the several peep or "enhanced" sights out there? Plenty of good reviews for peep sights out there from guys in your situation. Obviously keep the original rear in case you decide to sell later on. I haven't gone to peep sights yet, but I've got a Rifle Dynamics "enhanced" on my Bulgarian and a Krebs on my Romanian. I prefer the U notch of Krebs over the Rifle Dynamics, but they both made a big difference. Only reason they don't both have the Krebs sight is that the Bulgarian has an 800m rear and the Krebs sights is 1000m - I wanted to keep the gradations accurate.

[Doc Safari]

OP: I left AK's behind in 2010 and I'm all AR all the time now.

AK's are heavy. The magazines are heavy. The ammo is heavy. That was the main reason I moved on to M4's and other AR variants. My current go-to AR is the Colt 6720 with the pencil barrel--a champion of light weight. With 20-round magazines it's a joy to shoot and carry.

[RetroRevolver77]

OP: I left AK's behind in 2010 and I'm all AR all the time now.

AK's are heavy. The magazines are heavy. The ammo is heavy. That was the main reason I moved on to M4's and other AR variants. My current go-to AR is the Colt 6720 with the pencil barrel--a champion of light weight. With 20-round magazines it's a joy to shoot and carry.

If I was going to modernize it would be something along the lines of a short stroke piston style.

[Firefly]

AKs are the bleeding edge of 1940s technology.

Get a 6.8.

The only gun I get nostalgic for is a FAL.

[RetroRevolver77]

AKs are the bleeding edge of 1940s technology.

Reliability never goes out of style.

That being said, at least get an AK with a scope rail so you can add an optic.


M

[SethB]

Reliability never goes out of style.

That being said, at least get an AK with a scope rail so you can add an optic.


M

I've only actually owned one AK.

It had a bent receiver and didn't work.

A friend had an AK that would kick brass back behind the dust cover.

I'll pass.

[SteyrAUG]

I've only actually owned one AK.

It had a bent receiver and didn't work.

A friend had an AK that would kick brass back behind the dust cover.

I'll pass.

At one time I had about 36 AK rifles, none of them were ever a problem. The real problem was they stopped being $500 rifles and once they went up to $2k during the Great Obama Gun Sale I had some decisions to make since I had many duplicate configurations but one of from this country and the other was from that country and I thinned down to about a dozen very desirable AK variants.

I only have one set up as a "fighting carbine" in case I actually have to "go in them hills and live off the land" which probably won't ever happen.