This is not an article debating the superiority of either of these rifles. I’ve written this to provide a quick buyer’s guide for anyone looking to buy their first AK. With several of these rifles available on the US market, I am going to focus on just a few “every man’s rifles”. The criteria being a rifle must be affordable, reliable, well built, and reasonably accurate.
SKIP AHEAD
The Avtomat Kalashnikova (AK)
Mikhail Kalashnikov designed his world changing rifle during the closing days of World War II and it was adopted by the Soviet Military in 1947. Since then, the number of AK-47s, AKMs, and AK-74 rifles and their many variants are estimated to be between 150-200 million throughout the world as of 2016.
Related: AK 47 Rifles: Models, Calibers, and Choices
Current Import Rifles
These are the rifles that I recommend for purchase. The reason being they are made the way a Kalashnikov pattern rifle should be. The trunnions are forged from solid hunks of steel as are the bolt carriers. The barrels are cold hammer forged, and most of them are chrome lined. CHF chrome lined barrels are known to last well over 50,000 rounds, with cases of over 100,000 rounds reported. With the current geopolitical system, the AK import market in America is limited. That said, there are still some very solid options available.
The WASR-10: for years the WASR-10 was derided as just a cheap rifle. Early versions were known for canted sights and even canted barrels. But WASRs worked, didn’t jam and were affordable. For the price of less than $400, you could have a solid semi-auto rifle, 2 magazines, and a bayonet. American shooter bought them by the truckload.
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Even with the better quality, when buying a WASR it is prudent to inspect the rifle and make sure the sights, barrel, and trunnions are straight, and the rivets look good. Additionally, some rifles imported in 2015 had extractor issues, it is a very easy fix taking less than 10 minutes to replace the old extractor with a new one. At the time of this writing expect to pay between $650 and $800 for a new WASR. Cost: Expect to pay between $600-720 on a new WASR, prices are coming down after the election cycle.
Romanian M10/RH10: Think of it as a WASR (which it is), with better fit and finish, and a front sight with integrated front sight. Offered by M+M as the M10, and imported by Century as the RH10 both offerings are the same firearm. Folding stocks, AR style flash hider, and polymer stock all are geared towards the tactical shooter or AR-15 owner. Cost: Average price is hovering around $700-750.
The only complaints that have gained any traction with Arsenal firearms are that the price tag is steep, and when compared to a new WASR, the reliability is about the same. The fit and finish of the Arsenal are undoubtedly better, though there are reports of bubbling paint (does not affect rifles’ performance). Cost: SLR Series will cost between $1000-1200, SAM will be north of $1200.
Zastava: Another extremely popular current import rifle is the N-Pap rifles made by Zastava in Serbia. Zastava has been producing and exporting M70 series AK rifles to the US since the 1980s when American Arms and Mitchell Arms first started importing them in the late 1980s. Zastava rifles are now, like WASRs, imported by Century Arms International. Zastava rifles come with a cold hammer forged barrel and is built with forged trunnions. The barrel, however, is not chrome lined.
New Zastava N-Paps have a mixed reputation. Their predecessor, the O-Pap rifles had solid reputations. However, N-Pap rifles are known to have poor receivers that stress crack after several thousand rounds. Battlefield Las Vegas has pulled N-Paps off their rental lines after many of their rifles experienced stress cracks in their receivers. Cost: $650-700.
Veprs are a little different than other AKMs, in that they are RPK style rifles. Meaning they have a thicker receiver and trunnions and are very close to the Russian RPK family of light machine guns.
A Vepr can be purchased in both the uncovered sporting configuration or converted into an AKM style rifle. If purchased in the imported sporting configuration, some work will need to be done to convert the rifle to handle double stack standard AK magazines. Cost: An unconverted Vepr will run between $680-800, fully converted expect to pay $1100-1300.
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