Originally Posted by Sean M
I built mine around an SLG21, with the US Palm rail and AimP T-1. I am currently having Rifle Dynamics do their front sight location swap, and open the rear sight a bit to make it a little easier to pick up the irons for rapid target engagement. It also allow me to use a standard screw driver for sight adjustments instead of trying to figure out which AK sight pusher I need to use. There are so many variations of front sights on AK's I think I am up to 5 different sight pushers. The best being Russian, but only works on the Soviet made AKM. I have been pretty underwhelmed with most of the domestic offerings of sight tools. I use the SLG OEM grip, but hit it with a soldering iron for stippling and good anti-slip texture.
I also like the Rifle Dynamics rear iron sight. There is a company out there that makes a pretty heavy-duty AK sight tool (Magna-Matic) but I need to find an alternate method/tool to adjust the front on my 102 & 105 clones (I use the B-West tool for those).
I added the Krebs selector, and used a side folding stock, as that is similar to my work AK. A stubby VFG, scout light on a offset mount, and a VTAC sling round out the set up. My FH is really just a thread protector as I tend to run suppressed when possible, feasible,and practical. But the only .30 cal suppressor I have is a direct thread on. A quick dab of loc-tite will keep the FH in place for most shooting except high volume. I don't use a buffer, but instead use an epoxy treatment on the recoil spring guide to take care of the gases trying escape through the top cover rear slot.
A stubby VFG is the way to go, especially with 7.62x39 as longer VFGs may interfere with a mag change.
While I certainly would not describe the AK in the same manner as some who believe it to be a divine gift from the Gods, it is definitely a "good enough" rifle and will handle a wide variety of requirements and situations. Quality counts when it comes to the AK. Again, there is an almost cult admiration of the AK and it's mythical reliability as compared to other military type rifles. Certainly it is the most copied assault rifle in the world, but the good majority of the copies are 3rd world crap, and the reliability is garbage. I'd go so far as to say that "most" AK's are terribly unreliable. Poor quality control, low rent magazines, awful parts quality, terrible metallurgy all lead to weak sauce rifles. Fortunately most of those never make it to the US market, which helps perpetuate the legend of the unbreakable, infallible AK47. But if you clean it once in awhile, use quality mags, decent ammo, and put a drop of lube or two on it every so often, most domestic examples will run great for a good long time.
I agree that the AK will get the job done quite well with a trained shooter - I also agree that unless your AK was built in a former Com-Bloc country or here in the USA by one of a *handful* of qualified builders, there's a good chance that it is substandard. Without a doubt I've seen more AKs malfunction in various coursework than ARs. Stick with Com-Bloc magazines (jury's still out on the US Palm mags) and lube the rails and bolt and things should go well.
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