AK Upgrades

[Explosior]

As previously stated, I bought an Arsenal Saiga SGL 21 and decided that I wanted to upgrade it. I decided that I wanted replace the plum colored furniture. The trigger feels like sh*t and although I'm no gunsmith, I do have 25 yrs in the tool & die trade so I'll probably just attempt to make it smoother myself. (gotta luv youtube) If I fail, I'll just buy a tapco g2 and replace it. Most deffinately will put in a pin retaining plate, reguardless.
So anyway, here's what I've bought:
Rifle Dynamics AK to M4 Stock Adapter
ATI Mil-Spec Buffer Tube, Locking Ring and Castle Nut
Magpul MOE Mil-Spec collapsible Buttstock and AFG2 Angled Foregrip
TWS Gen2 Dog Leg Scope Rail
MI AK 47/74 Universal Handguard
Hogue Rubber Pistol Grip

 

[AD Marc]

My personal recommendation for an AK are as follows and will vary depending on your mission requirements:

A Houge or US Palm grip.
XS Big Dot sights.
A method for mounting a flashlight.
A standard, warsaw-length buttstock

That's it for a basic setup.

If running an optic, I only recommend an aimpoint on an ultimak rail.

I mounted an AFG on a standard handguard and like the extra real estate if gives me, but it's by no means necessary.

I don't like AR buttstocks on AK's as I find they don't allow me to get the cheek weld I want. shift the balance of the rifle forward and are in general just less robust than a solid piece of wood or plastic.

I've had railed handguards and find that they just tend to get hot. I've gone back to mounting rail sections on standard wood or plastic handguards.

All the standard trigger needs is rounds through it and some dry practice. I have a stock arsenal trigger and people ask me who did my trigger job/what custom trigger I use all the time. I just shot it a lot and its better than a lot of AR triggers. There's no need for a pin retaining plate unless your trigger pins walk. My shepherd's crook has been just fine for tens of thousands of rounds.

 

[Explosior]

Thank you for you comments, but you seem awefully close minded, maybe it's just the way I read it.
The cheek weld situation is exactly why I went with the Rifle Dynamics adapter, you should look into it, it's actually very nice.
As far as optics are concerned I'll be going with a Leatherwood Hi-Lux 1-4x24 CMR-AK762.
I am concerned about the the heat factor of the handguard, as I do believe it will be hot during firing, afterall it is made of aluminum, but then again I wont actually be holding it, I'll be holding the angled grip.

 

[AD Marc]

Not closed minded at all. I've just been training with an AK for a decade and that's what I found seems to work best. If you have any questions I'll gladly explain why I came to those conclusions.

The RD adaptor is probably the best AR stock adapter out there and having an adjustable LOP is reasonable if your are going to be running an optic that doesn't have unlimited eye relief. Other than that, its hard to justify the expense.

 

[maverick18]

Tapco trigger is the best $30 you can spend on an AK. When I first got mine I modded the hell out of it. Everytime I take it out to shoot it though I remove something I thought was tacticool. If I were to do it over again I would probably just do the trigger, adjustable buttstock (for my T-rex arms) and maybe the tech sights irons. Oh an I have an amazing pistol grip I cant remember the brand but it was made in Israel.

 

[AD Marc]

The Tapco triggers have spotty quality control. Stick with Arsenal/kvar or Texas

 

[The Bubba Effect]

I agree with AD Marc about the railed hanguards getting too hot on AK's. I put a TWS railed handguard on my saiga and it is irrationally hot. It's a bear to take apart and reassemble too, so much that I don't do it and therefore do not clean the gas piston guide tube/valve. I wish I had gone with an ultimak.


As to the trigger, I put a Red Star Arms trigger on the saiga and really like it.

 

[AD Marc]

The red star is a good target trigger but I don't like the added complexity in a fighting rifle

The two stage arsenal trigger is designed for the same thing the narrow pistol grip is: wearing heavy winter gloves. Decent trigger after about 10-15000 cycles.

The g2, arsenal single stage and Texas triggers are roughly the same in feel, though as I mentioned before the tapco can have spotty QC. These triggers can be on the light side, especially once broken in. I can rip off 8-9 shots a second on a good day. Inexperienced shooters may accidentally double.

 

[N_K_1984]

An overlooked upgrade would also be a good sling. Be it two point, single point, whatever your flavor of choice; a nice, quality sling is always a must-have on a fighting rifle.

If you go with the RD AR-to-AK stock adapter, you can use any myriad of sling plates, Magpul ASAP, Noveske QD plate, SLAP, CQD, etc. This will give you more options for what sling you might use.

A Vltor tube will give you QD capability with your sling as well. The CAA adapter will utilize HK style hooks.

Either way, a good sling is a MUST.

 

[Explosior]

My ex-g/f bought me a Specter 3 pt sling last year, she didnt care to learn the difference between an ak and an ar... anyway, with minimual modification I was able to attach it. although I will confess, I'm not completely happy with it... but it works, so I'll use it until I get something better.

 

[Explosior]

Believe me, at 50 yrs old, I couldnt care less about tacticool, mall-ninja-ness. All I care about is effectiveness. I got the collapsible stock for comfort, the warsaw is a tad bit long and the nato is to short and the railed handguard for the angled grip and a light.

 

[Joq867]

Dress it up your way, to make you happy. Others opinions only tell you what works for them. It may not work for you or what you want your rifle to do. I don't feel a trigger change is needed on a battle rifle, smoothness is not a factor, to me. All I can say is do it your way.

 

[N_K_1984]

My ex-g/f bought me a Specter 3 pt sling last year, she didnt care to learn the difference between an ak and an ar... anyway, with minimual modification I was able to attach it. although I will confess, I'm not completely happy with it... but it works, so I'll use it until I get something better.

I have the Magpul MS2 on one of my AR's. Combined with the Magpul ASAP, I really like it. It works great as either a single or a two point. I have just plain GI style 2 points on my other AK's and love them. Throw an HK hook on the end of the sling that interfaces with the sling loop on the lower handguard retainer and call it good. USGI slings are rugged, simple, battle proven, and they WORK. They aren't gonna win any tacticool awards, but who cares?!

My money is on the Blue Force Gear Vickers sling. I have one on my go-to AR and on my go-to AK. It's a great two point, it's no nonsense, rugged, has held up to abuse for a couple years now. Like the USGI slings, it just works. As far as 3 points, my MK12 clone has an Eagle 3 point. It's ok. 3 point slings are not my cup of tea.

Other than a US Palm grip, a good sling is my main priority on an AK. The UltimAK gas tube, a light, and trigger can come later.

 

[Explosior]

Of course time will tell, but as of right now I'm happy with it over all. Feel very good and solid while I'm using it and the LOP feel almost perfect. But... as stated earlier the trigger feels horribad, like dragging a pencil over asphalt. lol
I have several stones in my tool box, I'll pull the trigger out and play with it. Smooth it out with as little stock reduction as possible, that should help the feel.

 

[AD Marc]

Believe me, at 50 yrs old, I couldnt care less about tacticool, mall-ninja-ness. All I care about is effectiveness. I got the collapsible stock for comfort, the warsaw is a tad bit long and the nato is to short and the railed handguard for the angled grip and a light.

I agree. Make the gun your own. There's no rule saying you have to look like you're guarding the Berlin wall with your AK. Actually I think your setup is probably just right for what you are trying to do with running a variable magnification optic.

Mine is set up in a way that works for me, and I take plenty of crap from people for my doobered out AK...until they see me shoot it.

I still recommend degreasing and doing 15,000 dry fires with the trigger instead of stoning it. It gets better, and so will you with all that dry practice.

 

[tradertator]

My

Optics- Mount them in an eccentric mount like the rifle was designed to do. Anything you mount on a gas tube mount (Ultimak) will get hotter than hell. The eccentric mounts are strong, return to zero, stay cool, and allow you to remove the gas tube with ease (very important if you like running commie corrosive ammo). If your going with a western look, you can't beat RS Regulate. If you want to keep it commie, check out the Belarus BP-02 from Kalinka Optics. It sits low, centered, and doubles as a hammer if need be.

Mags- Surplus steel ones work great. Western polymer- US Palm hands down. Commie Polymer- ((10)) or ((21)).

Grip- US Palm, hands down again. The rubbery ones from Hogue and Ergo are also nice.

Trigger- Keep your Arsenal, and shoot the hell out of it. It will polish itself out. If you don't want to wait, take a stone to it. Aftermarket, Red Star is the best and Tapco G2 is decent for the money

Stock- I prefer the poly KVAR fixed one, but the RD adapter is probably the best option if your wanting to go collapsible. Whatever you do, don't chop off the tail of the rear trunnion and install an ACE adapter. Pain in the ass if you ever want to go back.

 

[AD Marc]

I have never had a heat issue with my optics on the ultimak and I get that thing blazing hot. Then again, I run quality optics.

 

[tradertator]

I have never had a heat issue with my optics on the ultimak and I get that thing blazing hot. Then again, I run quality optics.

I haven't had a quality optic die from the heat yet, but it makes me nervous. Regardless of quality, electronics + heat = bad news. I'm not necessarily bashing the Ultimak, I've ran them on a ton of rifles. They sit low, look great, and work well. But I simply see no reason not utilize the optic mount that is already integrated into the gun when it works as well as it does. The eccentric rail is just as reliable & tough as the rifle it's mounted to, and often overlooked.

What pulled me away from the gas tube mounts was the purchase of my AK74. I shoot a lot, and began the hunt for a cheaper caliber. When 1080 round spam cans were running >$120, I loaded up. I quickly learned that having the gas tube clamped to the barrel makes the rifle a real ***** to clean. Especially inside the gas block. Purchased a Belarus PK-01V, problem solved. Optic sits low, centered, stays cool, returns to zero when pulled, and is tough as nails.

I'll agree some of the eccentric mounts get weird. Many sit high or don't center the optic with the bore. But there are a lot of great options out there nowadays that work flawlessly.

 

[Explosior]

Actually, optics is exactly why I chose the Texas Weapon System gen 2 railed dust cover. I wanted the railed handguard for the angled grip and a light. I'm currently using the mc star 3-90x42 rubber coated scope.. which, admittedly is sorely lacking, but it does an adquate job and will do untill I get the CMR I want. I've only put a few hundred rounds through it and so far, so good.
Also, thank for the trigger advise. I think I'll take a stone to it, but I'll refrain from completely smoothing it out. I'll allow the trigger action to wear in naturally.

 

[indyk]

Thank you for you comments, but you seem awefully close minded, maybe it's just the way I read it.

Oh ya wanna hear closed minded on AK'S
THE only *** bells and whistles you need on an SGL are a akm extension pad and a psop, yup that optic that supposed to attach to that chunk of metal on the side of your receiver. All that other crap isnt needed for an ak perhaps an AR maybe but not an SGL, and the trigger slap wears quickly your finger will b ok...