Current state of the AK

[entropy]

OK - basically the SAR was so wonky I never was able to get decent groups so I got rid of it to a guy who had a thing for Romanian dimples. Most of my PAPs have optics so other than a few months with the 1mm PAP and groups to zero the irons, my shooting has been primarily with optics and I haven’t seen much of a difference between the 3 PAPs.

As far as my flare - hell I’m still trying to figure out how to land a plane after 15000 hours. If only my plane would tell me when to flare by calling me a “Retard”

I was just poking at you for saying my “eye” got old.

Sorry. Didn’t mean to sidetrack that much...

BTW, I’ve gone to The Dark Side about a year ago now.😁

[Suvorov]

I was just poking at you for saying my “eye” got old.

Sorry. Didn’t mean to sidetrack that much...

BTW, I’ve gone to The Dark Side about a year ago now.😁

Oh I known you were just kidding. I took no offense. I just realized I didn’t properly explain myself and this being P-F, I didn’t want to get slammed.

I’m still figuring out how to land though.

[RONK]

Curious about your opinions please,7.62X39 vs. 5.56X45?Thank you!

[JRB]

Curious about your opinions please,7.62X39 vs. 5.56X45?Thank you!

Having shot a lot of both, I believe 5.56 is firmly superior with modern load options that are barrier neutral/barrier blind/more effective against unarmored personnel. With those load options it's every bit if not more lethal than 7.62x39 while shooting flatter to much longer distances more accurately and with less recoil.

Cheap ammo vs Cheap ammo, IMHO the 7.62x39 does better by virtue of throwing a .30 cal with around twice the bullet weight. With modern projectiles 7.62x39 is absolutely excellent for all the reasons we're seeing with modern .300BO supers and IMHO edges out 5.56 at close range stuff, but that comes at the expense of reduced effective range and generally more weight; magazines, guns, etc all tend to be heavier in x39.

[JRB]

I'm going through my accumulation of long guns and I'm considering parting ways with a couple AK's.

Anyone got a 'real world' accurate-ish value for an unfired almost LNIB SLR-104UR w/Russian wood/Bake/Triangle furniture included, and a Bulgarian AK74 professional kit build with an OG Bulgarian barrel and the kit's almost 100% numbers matching including the bayonet?

I'm seeing an insane gap between jaw-dropping GB asking prices and starting prices with zero bids, and folks thinking AK's are all worth $500 each. For the right price I'd part with with both of these and the misc dozen or so mags and ~1500 rounds of ammo for them in one package deal, if someone really wants a huge jumpstart on 5.45 guns, especially a P-Fer. I just want to be in the right ballpark value wise before I decide to photograph and list them for sale.

[rcbusmc24]

SLR 104UR 2500 to 3000...
Kit built AK74 1800 to 2000...

Thats realistic sales pricing around here at least.

[RONK]

Thank you.7.62 quality mags seem to be much more available than 5.56 AK ones?

[Suvorov]

Thank you.7.62 quality mags seem to be much more available than 5.56 AK ones?

Yes they are and the big advantage of 762x39 mags is that they are all to the same standard. 556 mags have no standard so a mag that will fit a Beryl may not fit a M90 that won't fit an SAM5 that definitely WONT fit a Valmet. You can usually fit them by strategic filing but its all hit and miss and the mags tend to be more expensive from the get go.

As for 762x39 vs 556, I have shot both and I like both. If times were different 545x39 might be the perfect answer and a lot of the AK fans like it best. Without considering the newer 556 rounds that @JRB mentioned I basically think of it this way. 762x39 is the better round inside 300 yards and gives the advantage of being a practical 30 caliber hunting round akin to the 30-30. Beyond 300 yards the round really struggles to maintain its accuracy due to ballistic trajectory as well as its being affected by wind. Recoil while certainly acceptable is there and must be managed to some degree. With 5.56 the trajectory is flatter and the streamlined little bullet will reach further more accurately than the 762x39 will. Recoil is much less an issue, especially when shot from a heavy rifle like the M90. Watch some Klayco47 videos to see how fast he can run a 556 rifle.

Price of ammo used to be a big plus for 762x39 but with sanctions and the war in Ukraine I think its pretty much a wash, maybe slightly favoring the 762x39 for now.

In the end, I like both calibers. I think the 762x39 is a great round for its purpose while the 556 is pretty much the world standard round. There is something pure in essence to get an AK in the caliber which it was designed for and if I could only have one AK it would be in 762x39, but I can also understand the desire for a 556 gun.

[Bergeron]

There was a SAM5 hanging on the gunshop wall today. A very nice looking rifle, and I am so very out to sea on AK calibers.

I figured that gun would be awesome, but I am fairly certain that I would like the 7.62x39 boltface best, and in something like a 14.5-16" gun.

[JRB]

SLR 104UR 2500 to 3000...
Kit built AK74 1800 to 2000...

Thats realistic sales pricing around here at least.

Yep, I'd sell for those sorts of numbers!

Thank you.7.62 quality mags seem to be much more available than 5.56 AK ones?

7.62x39's are basically all one exact matching pattern. With 5.56 AK mags there's six significant patterns I know of:

Norinco 5.56
Polytech 5.56 (uses exact same magwell as 7.62x39)
E. German 'Wieger' 5.56 (Romanians copied this, all Romy 5.56 AK's like the SAR-3 used Weiger mags)
Yugoslavian/Serbian M85/M90 5.56
Russian/Bulgarian 5.56
Polish Beryl 5.56

The good news is that the latter three are all really close, and AC-Unity is importing a 5.56 AK magazine for cheap now that overwhelmingly runs well in Arsenal, Zastava, and Polish pattern 5.56 guns.

But yes, if you buy a Chinese 5.56 AK or an older Romy 5.56 you're going to have a hard time with good magazines. Century arms actually took AK74 mags and put new followers in them to make them 'work' with 5.56 Romy AK's... it *mostly* worked.

If you wanted a 'one and done' solution then a SAM-5 plus a handful of the $$$ Bulgarian mags and a pile of the AC-Unity mags would definitely scratch the AK itch without having to fuss with AK calibers.