Things To Look For When Buying A New AK
Getting your fist AK is a great feeling. It's always fun to get a new platform and play around with new rifle designs. Unfortunately, the world of AKs is nothing like the world of ARs, and you can not assume that because one AK is good that they are mostly all good. Even the cheapest ARs are going to go bang, and you don't have to worry about them potentially exploding because of their build quality. When buying a new AK there are some very important things you need to look at and in this article we are going to cover these things.
I would suggest that the number one thing to start your search off with is reading a buyers guide. Whether it be the one here at ThinLine Weapons or if you find another one online, looking over a good buyers guide and even an Issues Tracker can really help point you in the right direction, or at the very least, keeping you from going in the WRONG direction.
Rivets
The rivets are what hold the rifle together if you have a stamped rifle. They mechanically bond the front and rear trunnions to the sheet metal receiver; if you have receiver issues you could potentially have great issues down the road. You want to make sure the head of the rivet is domed over and there is not a gap between the head and the receiver body. A good way to check this is to hold the rifle up to a light source and see if you can detect light between the rivet heads and receiver body.
| This is an extreme example, but this shows off what can happen over time when rivets are not installed correctly. |
Here is what a correctly installed rivet should look like |
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Canted Front Sight Assembly
I think people put too much weight on the front sight post assembly about how much cant is should or should not have. Most, if not all, AKs will have some form of cant. A slight cant does not mean the rifle can not be zeroed or that something is wrong with it. When factories build rifles they place the rifles in a jig that aligns the rear sight block with the front sight post assembly. There can be times where the tooling might be slightly worn or other equipment degradation has come into play. In fact many times the rifles are built, the front sight post assembly is put on, and then adjusted to make sure the rifle can be zeroed then it is pined in place. What you need to watch out for is if the front sight post has been drifted all the way to one side or the other. This can be caused by one of two things: the post is loose inside the front sight post assembly and can easily be pushed from one side to the other, or the rear sight itself is physically crooked. If either of these is the case, then no matter how much you drift the front side post the rifle most likely will not zero, or it will not hold a zero (in the case of a loose front post).
Checking the front sight post to make sure it doesn't easily move side to side. Ideally you want the post to be as centered as possible to give you the most wiggle room to sight in the rifle for your shooting style.
The Quality of the Bore and Headspace
The quality of the bore really only applies to a rifle built from a surplus kit. Some of those barrels have been really run through the ringer. Militaries often use corrosive ammo, which if not cleaned extremely well between shooting sessions it will quickly eat the bore. Of course when buying any rifle it never hurts to look down the barrel to check it out to make sure it was manufactured correctly. With as many barrels as some companies make, the odds that one or two bad ones might slip out the door is a possibility, no matter how good a quality control job they might do. Just the rules of mass production.
One simple test can also be done when inspecting a surplus barrel, and that is the bullet test. Grab a cartridge of the caliber the bore is, and stick it into the crown of the barrel; if the bullet can pass freely to the case head of the cartridge, that indicates a bore that is heavily shot out. If the bullet catches on the bore, or is stopped before the case head can touch the crown, there is likely enough rifling present to spin the bullet and be accurate. (This is not an end-all-be-all test, just a preliminary check).
Headspace
Headspace is one of the most important things to check, and not just on rifles made from surplus kits; new rifles can suffer from headspace issues, too. PSA had some quality control issues with sending out rifles with bad headspace causing (sometimes dangerous) problems with their rifles. I would recommend getting a good set of headspace gauges and taking them with you when you inspect your rifle. There are a few specs of headspace gauges when it comes to 7.62x39 or 5.45x39, but I recommend CIP gauges instead of SAAMI, as CIP is closer to the standard that Russia and European countries used when building their AKs. Don't feel silly or stupid for inspecting your rifle before you take it home. Its your hard earned money and you should get what you pay for.
Barrel Concentricity
As suppressors get more and more popular it's becoming equally important to make sure the suppressor on your rifle is aligned correctly with the bore of your rifle. Combloc rifles are not known for the perfectly concentric barrels and can have issues with alignment. That's not to say that all rifles will have this problem, but its important to check nonetheless. If you have your suppressor on hand that you would like to use, one very easy way to check is to simply look down the barrel. If you look down the barrel with your suppressor mounted and you can not see the baffles or the hole doesn't look egg shaped then its safe to assume that you are good to go. There are also steel rods that can be purchased to be used as makeshift alignment rods.
If you do not feel comfortable with doing any of this yourself (and that's completely understandable) then take it to a qualified gunsmith and have them check it out. They will have the tools to mount your quick (or slow) detach muzzle device and make sure your bore is aligned correctly to the suppressor. Nobody likes baffle strikes.
Magwell Tolerances
One thing that people may not be aware of is that, since 1990, all imported rifles have to follow 922(r) compliance. The law says:
(r)It shall be unlawful for any person to assemble from imported parts any semi automatic rifle or any shotgun which is identical to any rifle or shotgun prohibited from importation under section 925(d) (3) of this chapter as not being particularly suitable for or readily adaptable to sporting purposes except that this subsection shall not apply to— (1)the assembly of any such rifle or shotgun for sale or distribution by a licensed manufacturer to the United States or any department or agency thereof or to any State or any department, agency, or political subdivision thereof; or (2)the assembly of any such rifle or shotgun for the purposes of testing or experimentation authorized by the Attorney General.
This means that rifles can not have certain features such as bayonet lugs, threaded muzzles, and the capability to accept 30+ round magazines. So many rifles are imported in a configuration that prevents them from inserting any magazine or only allows them to use a 10 round or single stack magazines. Importers and manufacturers fix this by opening the magwell up. This can lead to some variations since the receiver was never stamped with the correct magwell, it was only added later once it was imported and brought to 922(r) standards which then allows for standard mags to be used.
The important thing to look for is magazine movement after a magazine has been seated fully in the rifle. You'll want as litte front to back movement as possible and some side to side movement. There will always be some side to side and that is normal/good on the platform, but excessive side to side is still not good.
Who Made the Rifle
I know this might sound silly, but depending on who made the rifle, this can be an immediate indicator if its even worth buying. As mentioned earlier the Buyers Guide, and Issues Tracker are two great resources to start your journey for purchasing a rifle and avoiding shady or inconsistent AK manufacturers.
A manufacturer to avoid right off the bat is Century Arms. Any one of their "made in the USA" rifles should be avoided. The RAS/VSKA rifles use cast trunnions, bolts, and bolt carriers. The trunnion lugs can shear off, as well as the locking lugs on the bolt itself. This can cause catastrophic failure of the rifles and in some cases have caused injury to the shooter. They have a new line of rifles called the BFT that uses a bulged style front trunnion that has the semblance seen on the RPK and Zastava manufactured rifles, but it's a false reinforced trunnion. The RPK and Zastava trunnion have material touching the receiver on both sides, in addition to the "bulged" section, while the BFT only has the "bulged" section in contact with the receiver. Much of the area is an empty air space. The BFT also still uses inferior metals in the trunnion and therefore is not something that is encouraged to purchase.
Century Arms is also one of, if not the largest, importer of AKs in the country. The rifles they import are largely good to go and are a far safer bet then their US made rifles.
I.O. is another brand to avoid, full stop. Their rifle are even more fragile than Century Arms' rifles. They can be easily identified by their cast markings on the side of the bolt carrier that read "I.O. Inc".
There is a long list of excellent companies that build rifles from kits. That information can be found in the buyers guide linked above.
Accessories
What you want to bolt to your rifle is important in choosing a rifle from the start. Do you want a modern setup? Do you want the classic wood and irons only? Do you want somewhere in between? If you want to run a modern optic the easiest way to do so is to make sure you have a side rail to mount a red dot to. If you buy an AK pistol but still want a side rail, that is something you are going to have to add as most AK pistols do not come with those. There are other options for mounting optics, but they are more complicated or potentially finicky. It also matters if you have a stamped or milled rifle if you want to change the furniture out. The vast majority of the rifles you see on the market are stamped, but milled rifles are a very popular option. There is a compatibility issue between the two when it comes to furniture options, especially with the stock. Handguards can oftentimes be made to fit one of the other but it is not perfect. Its best to get the correct item for the rifle you have.
Zastava Rifles
On the note of incompatibility with different furniture types it's important to note that Zastava manufactured rifles follow their own set of rules. Their handguards and stocks really only work with their rifles. So if you are going to be purchasing one you will want to make sure that your favorite accessory manufacturer makes what you want for it. Those rifles have risen in popularity in the last 10 years, so many companies have stepped up to the plate and have added items that fit them to their catalog of parts.
Stocks
There are 3 major types of rear trunnions that can be used on AK. You have standard rear tang, the side folding 4.5 or 5.5mm folding stocks, and you have milled. As a rule of thumb, if you have a AKM/AK-74 stamped style rifle with the rear tang trunnion, then it would be safe to assume you can use any AKM/AK-74 style stock set from any country you want. There are some caveats to that rule, but they are few and far between.
Folding stocks can be a little tricky but to make it as simple as I can. Russian 4.5mm stocks can be used with Bulgarian 4.5mm stocks. Russian switched to the 5.5mm with the AK-74M. Bulgarian stocks are 4.5mm. The only 5.5mm Russian stocks you will come across in the US are rifles that have been built from kits, and Kalashnikov USA AK-100 patterned rifles. If you have a Zastava see above.
Milled stocks should work with milled receivers across the board. If you have a Zastava see above.
Barrel threads
- AK-47/AKM - 14x1 LH
- AK-74 - 24x1.5 RH
- Arsenal - 24x1.5 RH
- Vepr/Saiga 12 - 22x.75 RH
- Saiga .308 - 17x1RH
- M85/92 - 26x1.5 LH
- AIMS 74 - 22x1.5RH
- Galil - 13x1 RH
- Arsenal - 24x1.5 RH
Magazines
We talked a little about the magwell tolerances, but what's also important are the magazines types. I would encourage you to start by looking at the AK Mag Buyers Guide. This will really help you understand what magazines are good and worth buying and which ones are not so great or not intended for hard use.
7.62x39/5.45x39 Rifles
One general rule of thumb for AK mags: if its surplus it will work in another surplus rifle and surplus mags are generally always good to go assuming they are not beat to death. A 7.62x39 magazine from China will work perfectly in a rifle made in Finland, or Russia, or Romania. The other way around applies too. 7.62x39 mags universally work with one another. Its safe to say the same for 5.45x39 magazines. They should work across the board with other AK-74 style rifles. Where things stop making sense is when you look at the 5.56x45 rifles (or another odd chambering). For a full compatibility guide I would suggest looking at the '5.56 AK Mag Compatibility Guide. It goes into details on what works with what platform and what mags can be modified to work with other rifles.
5.56x45 Rifles
With 5.56x45 magazines the major compatible countries are: Russia/Poland/Bulgaria, Romania/East Germany, and Zastava. The Russian/Poland/Bulgaria are the most common style you see on the market and the most compatible magwells you will come across. Romanian and East German mags are all but identical, and once again, Zastava is off doing its own thing with a 5.56x45 mag that uses a 7.62x39 magwell. I don't know why, I just follow the rules. This is just a quick reference but for a full compatibility please see the compatibility guide posted above.
All that being said, I have to point out the caveat with the above mentioned rule that all 7.62x39 mags are the same. Zastava.... They developed an AK in the early 60s with a bolt hold open feature. A last-round-bolt-hold-open something that is completely lacking in the AK platform. These rifles and magazines were quickly phased out for logistic reasons, because these rifles could only use a special magazine with a notch cut in the side of it and no standard magazine would fit. Zastava changed over to a magazine that uses a bolt hold open follower, instead. These keep the bolt locked back until you drop the magazine, and the bolt then goes home. I'm not going to argue the pros and cons of this, but that is a type of magazine that can be found on the market. Both the early modified magazines and the later bolt hold open mags should work without issue in your 7.62x39 AK, but I wanted to point out that they are out there so that you're not surprised when the new magazine you bought causes your carrier to hang back on the last round.
