I desire to build an AK47, please help a noob

[Shift Zombie]

My love of firearms, shooting, and 3 gun matches grows every day. Today I fired several AR15s and an AK. Though, I was extremely accurate with an AR, the AK felt good in the hands, gives me a reason to buy tons of Brown Bear or Tula ammo , and was still very accurate. But, from very basic searches, it appears that you can build your own AK for much less than an a good AR. Please, help me, the noob, learn what's it necessary to pay homage to a classic like the AK. What's your advice, do's and dont's, reccomendations, tips and tricks with the AK. Thank you all so much for any guidance you can offer.

The Zombie-

 

[jd4320t]

What is your budget? You can buy a WASR AK47 or Century AK74 for around $450.

 

[Shift Zombie]

I'm more than willing to pay around 650, but can flex if better parts are available. Basically, I'm going for most bang for the buck.

 

[Mosinguy]

The best you can get = Romanian kit + new chrome barrel + custom dimpled receiver + US parts.

In my opinion, it can't get any better than that. Thing is kits are drying up faster than ever. When you buy the barrel, DO NOT get the cheap US unchromelined barrels. Those are usually made for CAI who in turn make barrels as cheaply as safely possible to use in their rifles. Call me out AK gurus, but I've seen some CAI built barrels wear out after a few cases of Yugo surplus.

Plus, original AKs were chrome lined except the Yugos, but those original barrels were better quality than CAI American barrels.

Now, here comes personal preference: DO NOT USE AFTERMARKET ACCESORIES. They detract from the wood n' steel beauty that is the AKM as we know it. But that's just me

 

[jd4320t]

I'm more than willing to pay around 650, but can flex if better parts are available. Basically, I'm going for most bang for the buck.

What caliber do you want? 762x39 or 545x39?

 

[Shift Zombie]

762x39 is what I would prefer.

For tactical 3 gun, not having accessories is a bad thing. I'm looking for functionality, durability, and accuracy. And eventual holographic is the idea, but I love my irons, so I need a decent set of sights. Even the ultra basic ones seem to like me.

 

[jd4320t]

Well, unless you really desire to build I would just buy one but that's me. You have many options with a $650 budget.

 

[jd4320t]

http://www.atlanticfirearms.com/brand.aspx?mid=47

 

[Shift Zombie]

The tactical variant is exactly what I'm looking for! Thanks, so much.

 

[Mr.JAG]

I'd skip the whole "building your own AK" idea.

Go straight for the Saiga conversion. With a Saiga, you get a brand new production rifle built in Russia in the same factory that current Russian issue military arms are built. That means you get a true to god authentic Russian receiver, barrel, carrier, and bolt. If you go with an old Romanian kit, you are going to be slapping together used and abused parts and investing in tools you probably don't already own right now (further throwing off your budget).

Considering your budget of $650... the Saiga conversion is going to fit in perfectly. Just remember to use QUALITY parts in your conversion process (i.e. skip everything made by tapco, EXCEPT for the G2 trigger group as that is a properly made piece).

I've done a few conversion myself... and they run like a Kalashnikov should. If you need more persuasion, check out my 74 Saiga build.

https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/long_guns/138354-5_45_saiga_goodness_56k_death.html

 

[Clay]

are you wanting to "build" an AK from a parts kit? or are you talking about accessorizing an AK to your liking?

 

[Boiled Owl]

Are you handy with metal working? I built two and they are tougher to do than they look. Especially using cheesy bending jigs which I did. Also, spot welding the rails on is the proper way to go. I TIG welded mine because I didn't have access to a spot welder. Tough job to do inside a bent receiver!
I also made the mistake of welding the rail in alignment with the punched holes in the side. Oops, it was .025" low. More scrap. But the end result, I have two nice AK's built from kits, but it wasn't the cakewalk I thought it would be.

I guess what I'm saying is despite that you hear "they build them in caves" there is more there than meets the eye. You need some ability and access to machinery.

 

[Blackduck21]

I agree with everyone else. Buy one and skip the build plan. My Romanian has trigger slap which can be fixed but watch for this it's a hassle.

 

[Clay]

I guess what I'm saying is despite that you hear "they build them in caves" there is more there than meets the eye. You need some ability and access to machinery.

yeah and if you do some research on the kyber (ie built in caves) AKs, you will find the build quality and reliability suck.

 

[Bill of Rights]

While you're looking at stuff for your build... SSAK 47 Bump Fire Stock

INGO Advertiser Military Arms Channel just reviewed this, and it looks really cool!

Blessings,
Bill

 

[Zero_ek]

Ive owned 3 different romanian wasr sporting rifles so far and all have been very reliable. So far only one has been accurate out of the box. My favorite wasr 10 underfolder actually had canted sights which i straightened up myself. I threw on a 74 style brake on my underfolder ak and now i like it better than anything else. For $650 you can make a wasr preform good.