Best AK Variants?

[BigRed3588]

My buddy has been trying to get me to sell him my SKS for some time now, and i've finally cracked. I'm thinking about putting the money toward an AK, but I don't know a lot about the different variants out there. What would you guys suggest, and why?

 

[edporch]

I bought a Polytech Legend milled receiver AK new in the late 1980's and it's function has been flawless.
It was made in Plant 386.

I had a stamped one before this one, and the "Legend's" better quality was apparent the first time I pulled and released the bolt.

If you can find one get it.

 

[indykid]

How much do you want to spend?

The Poly Tech Legend was advertised as the closest thing you could get to a true Soviet AK Type 3 except in semi auto only. Figure $2000 or so for the best of the best.

More reasonable would be the post-Bush1-ban MAK-90s which were and still are very high quality Chinese AKM variants. Those are selling in the range of $500 to $700. The Chinese AK variants had arguably the best trigger feel of any factory made commercial rifle sold in the land of shall not be infringed.

 

[snorko]

Right now, the zastava factory built npaps and opaps are under $600 and very nice. Picked up an npap underfolder recently and it Is solid.

 

[winchester]

^^^^^^^^^^^ sad to say but those china men know how to make a fine ak^^^^^^^^^^

 

[PKendall317]

Right now, the zastava factory built npaps and opaps are under $600 and very nice. Picked up an npap underfolder recently and it Is solid.

This! I've only put a magazine or two through a friends WASR and have never owned an AK but after bashing them I've decided that the N-Pap is my next long gun purchase! I'd also look at the Yugo M70 if you don't mind having a useless grenade launcher sight. Arsenal Inc seems to be the gold standard if you don't mind spending $1,000. Also, are you looking for an AK-47 or an AK-74?

 

[tradertator]

If your wanting more of a shooter than collector piece, I would look into Arsenal. I've had a lot of AK's over the years and my Bulgarian SLR104FR (74) and SLR107FR (47) are my favorites. Best fit / finish probably goes to my old Polytech, but I hated shooting it being how collectible they are anymore.

 

[YoungMilsurpGuy]

Get a Russian Arsenal, though the Polish AKMS's have very well made polish and US made nodak spud sparts. I'm 1500 rounds in, zero problems, has a parkerized finish that wears better then the arsenal painted finish, and also, the bolt is smoother then an arsenal or any AK me or my buddies every handled

 

[Latewatch]

+1 for Arsenal.

 

[223 Gunner]

Get a Russian Arsenal, though the Polish AKMS's have very well made polish and US made nodak spud sparts. I'm 1500 rounds in, zero problems, has a parkerized finish that wears better then the arsenal painted finish, and also, the bolt is smoother then an arsenal or any AK me or my buddies every handled

I have to agree, the Polish variants are very well made. But the only AK I currently own is an Arsenal, chambered in 5.56. I know, I know, not a true AK caliber, but after all my name is 223 Gunner...

 

[spencer rifle]

Used to have a WASR, but it felt cheap and had some problems. Sold it. Now I have an M70AB2. Rock solid, reliable, compact, accurate (for an AK). Not the same as currently available M70AB2T, which has a thinner receiver. The T I had was unreliable and had rivet retention problems. Sold it. M70AB2 is cheaper than an Arsenal, more expensive than a WASR. Wood furniture is better than plastic - cooler, looks better. Great night sights with recently refreshed tritium vials. Main disadvantage - no chrome lining. But you'll be cleaning any AK after shooting corrosive ammo anyway, right?

 

[sig1473]

+1 Arsenal. My SGL21 is still NIB as I haven't even fired it yet. IF you can find a Poytech Spiker/Legend then I would jump on it if the price is right. I truly miss my Spiker and it was the smoothest AK I ever shot(SAR, WASR, Saiga, Lancaster, Vector).

 

[indyk]

You are really cheating yourself, waiting for responses.
Op, you can find more info by typing which AK in the search option, your missing out on the 25,000 other" which ak do i need to buy threads. This subject is asked daily here and I think there is enough info about this to keep you reading for a loooooong time. Thats why forums are usefull they are like a golden archive of information, some folks cant or dont realize that there is far more information that exist on forums than the first few pages of a thread.




Perhaps we should have a "which Ak thread" or " step by step on how to go about choosing a rifle"

Lol Oh purple.

 

[nrgrams]

Hey SIG1473! Wanna sell that SGL21????

 

[sig1473]

Hey SIG1473! Wanna sell that SGL21????

Nope, sorry I'm going to shoot it.....eventually.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

VZ 2008 would be on at the top of my list for variants. Milled receiver but lighter than a "real" AK, they are cheap, and the safety is a bit more ergonomic than real AK's.

 

[tradertator]

I would go VZ58 (Czech built), not 2008 (Century built) if I went that route. Afterall, the thread title is "Best AK Variant", and it will be a cold day in hell before they are considered a top tier company. Honestly, I wouldn't trust CAI to cut the crust off a piece of bread, let alone properly assemble a quality firearm from surplus parts Plus the CZ / Czechpoint ones come with a much nicer chrome lined barrel.

 

[sig1473]

I wouldn't really call the VZ-58 an "AK" variant. They don't share any parts. VZ is short-stroke and the AK is long-stroke. They only thing they share in common is that they are piston driven.

 

[BigRed3588]

Apologies if this is something that's posted frequently. I'm still fairly new to this forum and haven't mastered navigating the site. I'll try running a search next time.

Thanks to the people that provided input. It seems like Arsenal is getting the most love, so that's probably where I'll start looking. I should've specified in the OP, but I'm looking in the $800 range for something that I'm most definitely going to shoot. I don't have the money or space for $2000 safe queens lol. I'm not too surprised to hear that the Chinese versions are solid. My SKS is a Norinco, and I've been really happy with it.

 

[snorko]

The $800 range is kind of a no mans land for "new" AK's. Arsenals go for around $995 and up while Yugo O & N PAPs and Romanian WASRs are under $600.


ETA: I take it back somewhat. I just looked on Atlantic and they have several models in that range incl a converted Saiga.