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

[Five_Point_Five_Six]

An Arsenal SLR-107 is still THE SHIZZ of the AK world. OTHER than getting my old Polytech Legend back , it's the only AK I'd ever want to own.

THAT said, a thousand bucks is STUPID money for anything OTHER than a pre-ban AK.

I wouldn't call a SLR 107 "THE SHIZZ of the AK world", I have one and a new production WASR 10. I consider both of them to be the 6920s of the AK world, basic no frills go to war rifles. I hate the painted finish Arsenal uses, I wish it was just a thick parkerized finish like on the WASR.

[Bret]

My take on Arsenal:
Configurations offered: A
Bulgarian factory quality: B
Quality of Nevada rework for 922(r) compliance: F
Paint Quality: D
Customer Service: FU

[RetroRevolver77]

Yea...I think I paid about $450 for a new AES-10B. (7.62 semi Romanian RPK) .

Sold it for about $700 several years ago. Oops.

It ran fine. Now people want $1200 or more for them. No way.

Which is exactly my point. They are importing them now for $1400 retail I believe. AK's seem to be the only rifles that I see this happening with and I own quite varied collection. Even stuff that was brought in during the ban is going for three times as much as it originally sold for. The same can't be said for a lot of other types of rifles unless it's to a ban state only type thing.

My take on Arsenal:
Configurations offered: A
Bulgarian factory quality: B
Quality of Nevada rework for 922(r) compliance: F
Paint Quality: D
Customer Service: FU

I've owned probably three dozen Arsenal AK's and only had issues with one.

[Doc Safari]

I've owned probably three dozen Arsenal AK's and only had issues with one.

I owned several over a period of 20 years. Multiple issues. Some problems required minor adjustments (like rattly receiver covers), others required a return to Arsenal for repair. When I switched back to AR's in 2010 I didn't have ANY issues for about eight years. I sold all my AK's and haven't looked back.

[RetroRevolver77]

I owned several over a period of 20 years. Multiple issues. Some problems required minor adjustments (like rattly receiver covers), others required a return to Arsenal for repair. When I switched back to AR's in 2010 I didn't have ANY issues for about eight years. I sold all my AK's and haven't looked back.

How much are your AR's worth now? How much are those AK's worth now? Most of the AK's I bought or let go are worth two to three times what I paid.

[Doc Safari]

How much are your AR's worth now? How much are those AK's worth now? Most of the AK's I bought or let go are worth two to three times what I paid.

I generally don't buy firearms expecting their value to appreciate.

I buy them for use and SHTF (which I had to give up a lot of due to a huge tax bill).

In the case of AR's I concentrated on Colts because I thought they would hold their value better long-term than some other brand that might not be around in a few years.

I literally have one AR left that might appreciate in value because it's a discontinued Colt model with the restricted rollmark.

[RetroRevolver77]

I generally don't buy firearms expecting their value to appreciate.

I buy them for use and SHTF (which I had to give up a lot of due to a huge tax bill).

In the case of AR's I concentrated on Colts because I thought they would hold their value better long-term than some other brand that might not be around in a few years.

I literally have one AR left that might appreciate in value because it's a discontinued Colt model with the restricted rollmark.

I think all the Colt AR's will appreciate in value at some point- probably the only AR's that actually will long term.

[Bret]

I've owned probably three dozen Arsenal AK's and only had issues with one.

Here are all that I've owned and what happened to them:
SLR-95MB: No problems.
106CR: Multiple feeding & ejection issues, three trips back to Arsenal NV and they replaced it.
106CR (replacement): Same thing as above. Turns out this was a used rifle with a lower s/n than my first one. They refunded my money.
106UR: Multiple feeding & ejection issues, three trips back to Arsenal NV and they refunded my money.
107UR: FS/GB canted. Turns out that the monkey in NV that installed it misdrilled the FS/GB pin which cracked the FS/GB. He drilled again anyway and sent it out. They replaced the FS/GB. I chopped the barrel and it runs fine now.
104FR: No problems.
104UR: Received at my dealer with twisted receiver cover. Turns out the rear sight on the receiver cover was rubbing on the edge of the box and it got smashed during shipment. A proper shipping box would have avoided this problem. They replaced the receiver cover with another, but didn't engrave the serial number. I had to pay to get that done myself. I chopped the barrel and it runs fine now.
106CR: After a decade passed since the previous 106CR's, I figured they had ironed out the problems. I was wrong. Rifle was massively overgassed, so much so that it broke the tail off of the disconnector in short order. Sent it back and they replaced the disconnector but did nothing to fix the overgassing problem. I called them and they claimed that I should send it back because the feed ramp area was defective. I decided that I'd fix this rifle myself, so I chopped the barrel which resolved the overgassing problem. It was still having some feed issues, so I tried Polish Beryl magazines. The rifle now runs fine so long as I use the Beryl magazines.

So, Arsenal is 2 of 8 for me. Keep in mind that the first one was not modified by Arsenal NV at all. Arsenal NV is 1 of 7 for me. Arsenal quality is a myth. Like I said, I'm an AK whore, so I subject myself to this against all common sense because the configurations they offer are great. After fixing 3, the 5 that I have now run fine.

[RetroRevolver77]

So, Arsenal is 2 of 8 for me. Keep in mind that the first one was not modified by Arsenal NV at all. Arsenal NV is 1 of 7 for me. Arsenal quality is a myth. Like I said, I'm an AK whore, so I subject myself to this against all common sense because the configurations they offer are great. After fixing 3, the 5 that I have now run fine.

I've owned a lot more than that and I don't have these problems. I have about a dozen Arsenal AK's now- no issues. FYI- they only made 106's for one year, 2006 date code 46.

[Bret]

I've owned a lot more than that and I don't have these problems. I have about a dozen Arsenal AK's now- no issues. FYI- they only made 106's for one year, 2006 date code 46.

You have a lot better luck than me. Or, did you stay clear of the 5.56x45 models? The issues with the 107UR and 104UR were just bad random luck due to poor assembly and packaging. The 7.62x39 and 5.45x39 models have all functioned fine from the start. FYI, I just checked my current 106CR. As you said, it has a 46 (2006) date code. My guess is that's the year they made the trunnions, but who knows? If they did actually assemble them all in 2006, that would certainly explain why the latest one that I received was no better than the first two when it comes to reliability. 13 years is a long time to keep something in inventory. Given the issues with the 5.56x45 models, they certainly would have had plenty of time to rework them.