The "finer" Ak47s

[Tomfoolery]

FireBirdDS, you obviously have never held a Poly Tech Legend.

As a Poly Tech owner I can comfortably say it didn't function, fire or group any better then any other AKM I have or had with any kind of regularity.

AKs is all I do. I don't own a FAL or a AR or an HK or anything like that. If I did get into another weapon platform it would probably be a Galil or a a Valmet... which isn't a stretch from where I am at already.

Arsenals are nice enough if you never ever shoot them. Whatever spary paint they put on the rifle is about as tough as my kids watercolor paints... and I own Arsenals.

I keep saying this. AKs are not like other rifles. All you need is a straight sight block, straight sight post, a good FCG and a bore that isn't shot out.

Everything else is cosmetic and personal preference. My WASR nearly groups as tight as my Bulgy and costs 1/3 as much (or at least it did).

If you're really looking for an AK that has every possible advantage you can put on a Kalashnikov platform rifle get a VEPR and start converting it into something a bit more manageable.

 

[sig1473]

Curious, what is the going rate on a Polytech AKS762 Spiker? I bought one for a really good deal last summer, and have acumulated a pile of Poly mags, and an extra set of virgin furniture. I'm more of a shooter than collector, and if I could get an AKS74U with the funds from it, I might be so inclined to part ways.

I sold my Polytech Type 56S Spiker with the box and all the accessories(scraper,bottle,etc.) for $1500 to Clay this past year. It is amazing all the lowball offers I received People who are misinformed always love to tell you how much something is "really" worth. I turned around and bought a NIB Arsenal SGL-21 along with a CZ P-01 and CZ PCR with the proceeds. Needless to say I don't miss the Polytech. I enjoyed it while I had it, but I enjoy what I got in return more. If I really want another Polytech, I will just wait and will stumble upon another in a couple years.

 

[Clay]

As a Poly Tech owner I can comfortably say it didn't function, fire or group any better then any other AKM I have or had with any kind of regularity.

function is irrelevant. Its an AK, of course it functions.

but you can't deny that a PolyTech, when compared to other AK variants, is a very well built rifle, and as AKs go, a very beautiful rifle.

 

[Tomfoolery]

function is irrelevant. Its an AK, of course it functions.

but you can't deny that a PolyTech, when compared to other AK variants, is a very well built rifle, and as AKs go, a very beautiful rifle.

It was no better built then any of my other AKs actually. The finish was unique in that those old Polys and MACs were blued but that's about it. I actually hate the form of Chinese buttstocks. Chrome plated hammer was cool and all pins were nice and flush. Gas tube was tight, was vented though so did look cool. Double hook trigger is nice bonus too.

Chinese furniture is boring imo. Chu wood is about as inspiring as clear pine lol. Give me Russian laminate or even Romy laminate anyday over that "orangy" Chu wood.

I've been telling potential buyers lately to go with either the new generation PAPs or to convert a Saiga. Hell with enough time, some sandpaper, a few fine tooth files and gloss Gunkote I'll make a WASR look better than any Arsenal.

All AKs are beautiful to me. I think AMDs are good looking. Relative I suppose. The rifle itself (all of them) are pretty ugly but then beauty is only skin deep.

 

[sig1473]

It was no better built then any of my other AKs actually. The finish was unique in that those old Polys and MACs were blued but that's about it. I actually hate the form of Chinese buttstocks. Chrome plated hammer was cool and all pins were nice and flush. Gas tube was tight, was vented though so did look cool. Double hook trigger is nice bonus too.

Chinese furniture is boring imo. Chu wood is about as inspiring as clear pine lol. Give me Russian laminate or even Romy laminate anyday over that "orangy" Chu wood.

I've been telling potential buyers lately to go with either the new generation PAPs or to convert a Saiga. Hell with enough time, some sandpaper, a few fine tooth files and gloss Gunkote I'll make a WASR look better than any Arsenal.

All AKs are beautiful to me. I think AMDs are good looking. Relative I suppose. The rifle itself (all of them) are pretty ugly but then beauty is only skin deep.

Chi-Coms are built better. It is a known fact by everyone who studies firearms. They were/are the closest you are going to get to a Mil grade AK. The receivers are thicker(1.5) and it has a spring-loaded firing pin. You may make a WASR look good which might fool an uninformed person. In the end it is still a WASR.

 

[Tomfoolery]

Chi-Coms are built better. It is a known fact by everyone who studies firearms. They were/are the closest you are going to get to a Mil grade AK. The receivers are thicker(1.5) and it has a spring-loaded firing pin. You may make a WASR look good which might fool an uninformed person. In the end it is still a WASR.

No. That is a myth personified by people who "believe" these things. "People who study firearms". LOL, you mean the internet? I am an actual owner of all these guns and I am flat out telling you that the Chinese AK is no better then the others. I can show you broken bolt after broken bolt from Chinese made AKs because the steel is well..... Chinese grade.

Receiver thickness only goes so far as well. There are a dozen makes of AKs that use a 1.5mm receiver so that isn't anything special. My PSL has a thicker receiver. Yugos have thick receivers..... let's not even delve into milled receivers which are far and away thicker then 1.5mm. The standard .9mm from any given AK is more then enough for the weapon platform.

Chicoms have a reputation in this country for being something they aren't. They're just banned from importation is all they are. They're fine guns, I wont argue it. I own them and operate them, I like them. Repeating what someone else says doesn't make it fact though.

Here is the first AK produced by Kalashnikov that was tested by the Soviet military in late 1946. Notice the lack of dimples in the receiver. By definition this gun is closer to a WASR then those Chicoms are.

Here is a Bulgarian made milled which is a dead on clone of Type II Soviet AK47s (not AKMs) manufactured in the 50s.

As for the uninformed my WASRs are flat out shooters. I keep one in the house and the other is my trunk gun. I wouldn't put a weapon in the trunk where I might possibly have need for it if I didn't trust it with my life. It'll rape targets at 100 on irons and with its 4x I bust blocks at 250. It is what I require from a 7.62x39mm chambered AK in every way.

We used to look down on Chinese made AKs and called them junk in the 90s... no one wanted them. Now people call them gold. We used to look down on SAR1s and now they are the best thing to ever come out of Romaina. In 10 years every single WASRs snubber is going to kick themselves for not buying 5 of them. I got mines....

 

[Tomfoolery]

Also as a side note Mikhail Kalashnikov himself has stated multiple times that the best made AKs in the world right now are coming out of Bulgaria. I'll take his word for it.

 

[Horse]

All this talk about fine AK's and no one mentions Krebs?!

 

[55spartan]

I have an unfired Polytech Legend/NIB which I consider the top of the line-- PERIOD.

 

[tradertator]

Arsenals are nice enough if you never ever shoot them. Whatever spary paint they put on the rifle is about as tough as my kids watercolor paints... and I own Arsenals.

We'll have to agree to disagree on the Chi-Com AK's, but have you owned a newer Arsenal? I agree the older ones they put out had a real ****ty finish, but the new ones are WAY better. I've probably put 6000 rounds through mine, and cleaned it with every solvent known to man. The finish on the metal looks the same as it did the day I bought it.

 

[sig1473]

So from what I'm gathering from this internet discussion is:

WASR=Polytech=Arsenal........

Now that is funny. I needed a good chuckle today.

 

[Clay]

WASR=Polytech=Arsenal........

Yes.

Functionally.

 

[sig1473]

Yes.

Functionally.

Well in that case, can I buy back my Polytech Spiker for the panic-price of a WASR. I will even throw in a case of Mt. Dew and some Jalapeno-flavored cheetos

 

[Clay]

hmmmmmmm Code Red Mt Dew?

 

[snapping turtle]

When I bought my Polytech in the mid 1980 my local gun dealer had 50 of them in stock. 2 30 round mags, and a 75 round drum, underfolder or regular stock stupid pig sticker bayonet or without pig sticker and 660 rounds of ammo in a package. I remember the package well and wish I had a time machine.

Nobody was buying them at all. Cheap Chinesse junk they were called. AR and AK's were not really in demand. The AK's gained in popularity only when the rumor of them not being allowed to be imported any longer. That along with an story on them in soldier of fortune magazine seemed to move them.

I bought mine because of the cheap ammo avaiable. I keep it because of the versitility of the round and the rifle.

The flap over the full auto polytech imported into san fran and stopped at the docks and the quick exit of the country of the Polytech officials (And I hear of their Deaths at the hands of the chi-coms gov) did nothing to help with getting the ban removed.

He (My loacl gun pusher) let me have one in which he made a total profit of 25 dollars on it. I ended up buying 2 and still have the evil underfolder "ruff anf ready". The full stock one now belongs to my cousin. He only moved 35 guns before the ban of the 50 he purchased.

I know they were government produced, for the military on contract in semi auto. Why in semi auto I have no idea. If i had to get one today I most likely would not do it. To expensive today but it was a good deal back in the day.

 

[Thumper]

The old Maadi is as close to a real AK as your going to get.A real AK was never built to be a fine rifle just a rugged rifle.The old Maadis were built on russian machinery.I will never understand the my guns better than your gun cause mine costs more mentality.

 

[Clay]

When polytechs were new they were still high priced compared to other AKs of the day.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Mike at The Firing Line is building some of the best AKs out there. I recommend his work without hesitation.

Oklahoma AK 47 Rifles for Sale | 74 Milled Receiver | NFA Dealers

 

[Tomfoolery]

We'll have to agree to disagree on the Chi-Com AK's, but have you owned a newer Arsenal? I agree the older ones they put out had a real ****ty finish, but the new ones are WAY better. I've probably put 6000 rounds through mine, and cleaned it with every solvent known to man. The finish on the metal looks the same as it did the day I bought it.

Nah I haven't purchased an Arsenal for maybe 3 years or more. I am shopping for a SGL 31-84 so maybe that'll change my opinion of their finishes. It seems everyone with a triangle folder isn't dumping it though so I am probably going to have to put on my big boy pants and build it.

I hate building AKs. Finding what I need it in todays market is like some twisted scavenger hunt I can't escape.

 

[vitamink]

My first saiga looked like it had been painted with a wet fart. The newer one's do seem to have a much better finish...anything's better than liquid feces.