Anyone else build AK-47s?
 

As you can tell by my avitar, one of my hobbies is building AKs. This one is my latest.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...6rightside.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...16leftside.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...frontangle.jpg

That one looks mean Steve!

I'm currently down memory road.. yours kinda reminds me on the 'slightly' modified AK74's in nato service to confuse the enemy. Just without the front grip and with Aimpoint instead..
The first time I tried an AK was kinda scary! being used to the H&K G3, I pressed the safety one notch down, where thought the single fire mode was. Was up for a big surprise when I took a loooong and steady trigger pull :)

btw.. I have wondered about your avartar for some time.. Looks like an AKSU47, but without the stock?

Thanks for the compliment, Steinar. This AK pictured above is my twelfth AK build and one of my meanest looking. I was going for the tactical look... :D

The one pictured in my avitar is a custom creation. It started life as a Romanian "G". I cut down the barrel, upper handguard, gas tube and gas piston. Then welded the front sight and gas tube together and moved them back. After threading the barrel and redrilling the gas port it was just a matter of putting it all back together again.

It's built on a Global Trades receiver that was registered as a pistol so that I wouldn't have to put a butt stock on it. So now it's a 7.62x39 pistol... :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...l3508right.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...ol3508left.jpg
Before paint...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...rightside2.jpg

No one else into the old Kalashnikovs, huh? No surprise considering the slightly high brow nature of Lugers... :)

What can I say? I like to slum it sometimes... :D

Here's another one I did in Desert Tan camo...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...625tanopen.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...5tanfolded.jpg

Hi Steve.
Nice AK's you're showing here....

I'm not really into building Kalashnikovs myself, as we are not allowed to in my country.

But I do own one; a Bulgaria Arsenal AK47 in 7.62x39. Originaly full-auto but due to the regulations overhere, modified to semi-auto only.

I use it for DSR; DynamicServiceRifle matches. Kind of IPSC-rifle but with 4 to 5 minute runs, running, klimbing, crawling and shooting (out of shootingboxes).

AK47 with Kobra holo-sight.

http://www.afterchoc.nl/images/akzw%20klein.jpg

The same gun but with wood 'furniture'.

http://www.afterchoc.nl/images/akhout%20klein.jpg

Greetings Peet.

Very nice, Peet! I've been looking at those Kobra sights for some time now. How do you like yours? The AK I'm building now might have one if I hear some more good about them.

I have one buddy who loves them and another who says you can get better stuff for less money. This is the one I was looking at...

http://www.kalinkaoptics.com/detail.aspx?ID=117

I've been using my Kobra for 3 years now and it is still my favorite.
Last year I used a PK-AV for some time and although it is easier to find it's red dot fast while 'in action' I switched back to my Kobra for the remaining part of the DSR competition. ;)

Have even tried a Posp 2.5-5x24 scope on some occasions when the targets were very small but finding your target fast with it is un-do-able.

So; you can't go wrong with a Kobra. The only thing I don't like is the fact that I had to order it in the U.S. and could not, like with the PK-AV and Posp, get it directly from the factory in Russia. :cool:

Greetings from Peet.

Hey Peet. What happened to your pictures?? :)

(EDIT: They're back.. :) )

I know what you mean about having to go through a dealer. Hassle...

I love the AK's....but no longer Ca. legal....once my wife retires we're moving back to America

LOL! :)

I'd get in a lot of trouble having that in my collection if I lived in California, for sure. It's a good thing you collect "safe" guns like Lugers.

FWIW,

Here are the rest of my homebuilt Romanian AKs (except for the second from the left).

The last two on the right I just riveted together this past week and have not yet been parkerized or properly stocked. I'll get it to the guy who does the parking on Friday... :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...SevenAK47s.jpg

Steve,
Nothing slumming about AKs. They are great shooters and completely reliable under the worst circumstances. I've got a Bulgarian and a Romanian WASR 10 with an expanded well and they are both great rifles. It's kind of disheartnening though how the price of 7.62X39 ammo has gone through the roof in the last few months. Some folks attribute that to hoarding because of the anti-gun stance of some of the current Senate and House Majority leadership, but it I believe that it started to climb before that and it's purely decreased supply and increased demand because of other material shortages worldwide.
Too bad, because AKs eat up ammo pretty quickly and they are really fun to play with.
Lyn

Lyn, I believe it's a little of all three of those reasons plus one more. More than half of the worlds militarys (and terrorists) use the AK-47 and the 7.62x39mm round it shoots.

And old Hugo Chavez has ordered bunchs if it too... :D

Just over a year ago I could have gotten it (and did) for $89 per K. Now it's more like double that.

Ahhh... I do love some full auto... :D

Never meant to infer anything about "snobs", per se, just that since there were so few responses to this post (at that time) I just figured AKs were a bit below most LugerForum members radar, that's all... :)

What I actually said was:

"No one else into the old Kalashnikovs, huh? No surprise considering the slightly high brow nature of Lugers... "

No mention of snobbery at all...