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My AK Odyssey

By Robert Block

Hardly a half hour goes by without some news show
flashing images of AK-47s from one of the world’s hotspots. From
Afghanistan to Zaire, the rifle’s silhouette is unmistakable. In fact, some US troops in
Iraq who were pressed into service as trigger pullers from their normal
non-infantry roles have taken to carrying AKs both because of the
shortage of longarms and because of the AK’s superior reliability and
durability in adverse conditions compared to the US M-16.

Author’s AK, the silhouette of which is unmistakable.

After owning guns for nearly 30 years it is no surprise that
I would develop an interest in owning a civilian semi-automatic version of the
most prolific select-fire combat rifle in the world. Buying an AK is no easy
task, however, as there is such a variety to choose from. Models
avaliable hail from many countries and boast divergent features. They
also span a wide spectrum of prices.

I knew that I wanted an AK with a fixed stock rather than a folding one.
I also wanted a standard pistol grip rather than the later-made thumbhole
stock. In short, I wanted an AK like most of the ones I saw on TV. I
also decided I wanted an AK in the original caliber: 7.62 x 39mm, as opposed
to some of the other calibers available, like the US 5.56mm or Russian 5.45mm.

Thumbhole stock, common on
post-import-ban AKs.

It is important to realize that AK-47 is a
generic term for many similar rifles that are manufactured in a number of
countries under a variety of configurations. The original AK-47 entered
service in the Soviet Union in 1949. Its receiver was milled and the gun
weighed about 9.5 lbs. At a gun show I held a Chinese reproduction of this
early version that had a milled receiver and found I did not like the feel or
balance. I preferred the balance and feel of the 7 lb. AKM version.

The AKM is
an updated version of the AK-47 introduced in 1959. It utilized a
lighter stamped receiver. While the AKM version is somewhat lighter, it is nevertheless solidly constructed. When you pick one up you get the feeling that you would have no trouble bashing someone's head in with it if need be, without damaging the rifle's functionality. This is something that cannot be said for some of today's newer military weapons.

Despite the differences in AK variants, “AK-47” has become a
generic term referring to all AK-type weapons. The quickest way to tell the
difference by looking is to focus on the spot above the magazine well. The
older AK-47 and guns designed in this pattern have a large rectangular
indentation, while AKM types have a small oval dimple.

Older-pattern receiver showing square indentation
above magazine well..

Newer-pattern AKM receiver with oval dimple above
magazine well.

Civilian AK’s can be divided into several
categories. Two of these are pre-ban and post-ban.

Pre-ban guns are those imported before the Import Ban of 1989, which banned
the importation of semiauto rifles and shotguns that had any more than two of
the following characteristics: a folding or collapsible stock; a pistol grip;
the ability to accept detachable magazines with a capacity in excess of ten
rounds; a flash suppresser; a bayonet lug.

Guns manufactured before this import ban that have these features now sell at
a premium anywhere from $800 – $1500 USD and more, depending on the make and
model, features, and the number imported.

To sidestep these restrictions, some AKs were manufactured without a bayonet
lug and with a ridiculous looking thumbhole stock instead of a pistol grip.
I desired an AK that looked like an AK and had no desire to spend the sum of
money that pre-ban AKs commanded. Also, when I finally got to
handle a MAK-90, I discovered the pistol grip portion of the thumbhole stock
was way too big to afford a good grip. It was easily three to four times
as wide as the pistol grips on other AKs on the market. I spoke with
The Martialist‘s publisher, Phil Elmore, and he confirmed that his own
MAK-90 had this very thick pistol grip area.

Publisher Phil Elmore (around 1997)
with his own AK clone, a Chinese-made MAK-90
equipped with what author Block considers the “ridiculous looking” thumbhole
stock.

I learned that there was a way around the
import ban. According to a clause in that law, any gun that had at least 5
specific parts of its fire control (read trigger group) manufactured in the US
could be considered US-made and could have two so-called “assault rifle”
features. As luck would have it, a fair number of AKM variants were imported
from Romania. Known as the SAR-1, the rifles had these parts changed out to
make them legal in the US with pistol grips but without bayonet lugs. At the
time I started looking for one, they sold for affordable prices typically in
the $300-$400 USD range. As of this writing, prices are about $50 USD
higher.

Researching further, learned that there were
companies like Global
Trades and Arsenal
whose employees manufacture AKs in the US. These companies use a
variety of Chinese or Eastern European parts along with parts of their own
manufacture to craft rifles in a variety of configurations. After
investigating both companies, I eliminated Arsenal because they manufactured
their guns from the heavier milled receivers. I later eliminated Global Trades
when I learned that they switched from using Hungarian made receivers to
US-manufactured ones. I wanted an AK that was as authentic and close to
Eastern European in origin as possible. I therefore elected to go for a
Romanian AK, which would eventually run a few hundred USD cheaper than the
US-made variants.

Buying my SAR-1 was not a matter of simply going to a nearby gun store. They
had recently stopped being imported and even distributors did not have them.
I had to search the various online sites that sell guns sort of the
classified ads and eBays of the gun world. These sites included:

http://www.auctionarms.com,
http://www.gunbroker.com,
and
http://www.gunsamerica.com. I was careful to buy only from someone with at
least a few dozen positive ratings and few to no negatives. Once I bought the
gun through one of these sites, I was responsible for contacting the seller
and arranging to have him ship the gun to a Federal Firearms License holder
near me, where I would go through the same legal process to pick it up as I
would if I were normally buying a gun at a shop.

I was now ready to buy my SAR-1.

Wait not so fast. I found that many of these rifles advertised as
Romanian AKs were not true AKs at all but WASRs AKs manufactured to accept
single-column 10-round magazines and then modified to accept regular AK dual
column high capacity magazines after they were imported to the US. These guns
were known to have problems sometimes accepting standard AK magazines.
They were themselves not authentic AKs, so I chose to avoid buying a WASR. The
guns can be distinguished by looking at the receivers. The SARs have a typical
AKM style dimple above the magazine well, while the WASRs have no dimple.

WASR receiver, which lacks the dimple above the
magazine well.

My search was becoming more difficult. As the
only way to find a Romanian SAR-1 was through various Internet auction sites,
I had to be sure of what I was getting. Many pictures were not precise
enough to distinguish the guns, and some sellers were not sure of the
difference. Another problem that plagues some SARs is canted sights and/or gas
tubes. I had to be very careful and ask the right questions. This proved a
tiresome task because many sellers did not list a contact phone number.

A canted gas tube on an AK variant.

At the time I was searching there seemed to be
a drought of SARs. I finally found someone who had one for a reasonable
price ($339 USD), but the only one he had had a canted front sight. I
initially agreed to buy it for that price if he fixed the front sight, as he
stated that he knew a gunsmith who had done it a few times. Later, he
claimed that the gunsmithing would cost extra. I should have taken his
changing the conditions of sale as a warning of what was to come, but I agreed to pay extra to have
the work done. He
told me to call him back in a few days to give him a chance to contact the
gunsmith, since the man had a different daytime job. The few days stretched
into several weeks and the seller ultimately stopped returning my phone calls.
Since I did agree to purchase a gun from that individual, I was reluctant to
buy one from someone else until the status of the deal was more definitive.
After all, the guy could just be out of town and he had always answered my
calls before.

I decided to look for other SAR-1s and found an advertisement with the same
seller but a different phone number. When I tried the number a familiar voice
answered without stating a name. But when I identified myself he said, “Just a
minute” and handed the phone to the same assistant with whom I had been
leaving messages.

“Was that Jerry?” I asked her. She insisted
that it wasn’t and was just someone in the store. When I pushed the issue and
pointed out that the voice sounded like Jerry’s, she amended her story to say
that it was the man’s father. This had turned into something out of junior
high school. I decided that I was done dealing with him and ultimately found
another SAR-1 for about $365 USD. This price included one 10 round magazine
and two 30 rounders, a sling, and a cleaning kit. It also included
shipping by UPS, which would normally add another $25 USD to the total cost.

I contacted a local gun
store to send the shipper a copy of the FFL, a legal necessity before the
seller could send the gun to the store. Within a week the gun arrived at
the store and I went to pick it up. The store charged an additional $25 USD to
handle the paperwork.

I was quite impressed with my AK when I finally got to pick it up. It felt
solid and the wood from the stock and fore-end was surprisingly nice, with a
rich cherry-like shade. Racking the action reminded me of opening an
old-fashioned manual elevator door. It felt loose in the sense that you could
drop a handful of sand and grit in the action and it would still function a
reassuring looseness, not a “bucketful of bolts” sensation.

Author’s SAR-1 with high-capacity magazines.

Before the gun arrived I spent some time
carefully studying up on it, consulting with a friend who is an AK expert and
buying some supplies that I would need. One item I bought was an AK sight
adjustment tool, which resembles a thumbscrew. Although a lot of fun, AKs are
anything but user-friendly. Adjusting the sight for windage can be
accomplished with a special tool or by pounding the sight drum with a padded
hammer. Neither method is precise like those used with modern military rifles,
which feature sights that can be adjusted specific distances by definite
clicks. Adjusting the AK sight for elevation (moving the point of impact up or
down) is as easy as using the tool to twist the sight the way one would turn a
screw. Adjusting it for windage (right and left) can be very frustrating,
however, because you are cranking the drum with the tool without knowing
exactly what’s happening.

AK sight adjustment tool.

When I got the AK to the range I found that the
accuracy was about what I expected. Depending on the specific brand of ammo
used, firing from the bench at 100 yards, the gun would put five shots into a
group varying from three to eight inches, with most groups in the six inch
range. By comparison, a standard grade AR-15 (the civilian semi-auto version
of the M-16) will usually group five shots into two to three inches under
similar circumstances. The AR-15 has much better sights, is tighter-fitting,
and its cartridge and ammo are more inherently accurate. My SAR-1 was
not bought with the expectation of shooting tight groups, however. It was
bought to be a fun gun to shoot and an interesting collector’s piece,
purchased at a
reasonable price. It fulfills those requirements in spades.

Instrumental in helping me learn about the
different variants of AKs and in helping me decide which one to buy was my
good friend Paul Gomez, head instructor with
Options
for Personal Security. Paul is completing a book on the AK that will
be published by Paladin
Press. Look for it in the future.

Despite the minor issues I’ve listed here, I got what I wanted and
am pleased with my purchase. I now own an AK that is as authentic as
possible and which will put rounds downrange despite all manner of abuse.

My AK odyssey wasn’t all fun and games,
but ultimately it was worth it.

AK-47 Information

http://www.ak-47.net/ak47/index.html

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/jfreeman246/index.htm

Romanian SAR AK Information

http://www.gunsnet.net/Linx310/model.htm

http://savvysurvivor.com/gearreviewromanian_ak_rifles.htm

AK Forums

http://www.gunsnet.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=77

http://www.akfiles.com/forums/