Gilgondorin
Active Member
If you're looking for a side/under-folder, I would highly suggest getting a standard, fixed-stock receiver rifle of __mm thickness (your preference) and then buying an adapter that fits a folding stock to it (this may have already been suggested by others/considered by you). Stamped steel AK-47 receivers have to have an entire extra set of holes cut in them to accommodate a special rear trunnion that is designed to allow the stock to fold/swivel, and in doing so weakens the structural rigidity of the receiver, which must then be rectified by welding additional metal plates into it at different key locations to restore some stoutness (otherwise the receiver would eventually bend out of shape over the life of the rifle). Once an AK-47 has been machined to accept a folding stock it can't be converted back, whereas a normal receiver-type AK can be converted to use folding stocks either with an adapter specially made to fit with the existing stock mounting trunnion, or machined down to have it fit a permanent folding stock -- this gives you greater flexibility in case your tastes or needs change in time. As far as I know, the level of modifications needing to be done to take a milled receiver rifle and converting it to fixed-stock status is not only prohibitively labor and cost intensive, it just isn't structurally feasible without a LOT of work done to it.
If you're looking for a good quality AK-pattern rifle, buy an American assembled gun from a quality Russian/Bulgarian parts kit, your choice of caliber. As some have already told you, there are good and bad quality AK builders out there -- your best bet is to conduct research on builders' previous track records of service. AK-47's usually aren't finicky rifles, but if you buy from a non-reputable builder, you could end up with a gun chambered for 5.45x39mm that has a 5.56x45mm NATO barrel mistakenly put on it, one whose rivet job was done poorly enough that the rifle hammers out its own rivets and falls apart in your hands from simple recoil forces alone, or one whose gas port was drilled improperly and now the gun receives too much gas (excess receiver and BCG wear/premature receiver failure) or too little (the gun cycles like crap and jams every other shot), or any other number of problems with the internals/misalignment of the gas block/front sight block. The best guns for the money I hear are Russian Saiga's whose parts are produced in Russia, and reassembled on American receivers and given American-made barrels here in the US. Failing that, VEPR conversions achieve most of the same effect, but with the added step of having to pay somebody to convert the VEPR from its import sporting configuration to standard AK rifle configuration.
I'm not too versed on AK-74's, but I don't think there is such a beast as an AK-74 intended for grenade launcher use because of the cartridge size.
On receiver thickness, one thing you should note is that receiver thickness doesn't cause a whole lot of difference in shooting accuracy unless you're trying to take targets out at long range -- most AK-47's are sighted in and intended to be used primarily at 50-75 yards to begin with, but the stiffer receiver can be handy if you're intending to target shoot out past 100-150 yards (the theoretical example difference of being 3.50" groups at 100 yards rather than 3.75"+ groups, assuming you're doing your part). Milled steel rifles are also considerably heavier and retain heat more than stamped-steel rifles; finally, once a milled steel rifle develops a crack in the receiver either due to stress/end of service life or improper metallurgy, the whole receiver becomes a complete write-off necessitating a receiver replacement or transplant of existing parts to a new receiver. That said, I love my milled steel AK -- it shoots great and looks even better. Conversely, improperly heat treated stamped-steel rifles will eventually egg out the holes in the receiver in which the internals sit, ruining the gun as well.
(Note: There is enough information on receiver types, pros and cons, ammo type, utility, parts differences, configuration/layout differences, and a whole bunch of other stuff to cover 3+ books on the subject -- I did the best I could to briefly cover it all here. If you're looking for more reading material, I suggest you check the AK section of GunBoards or something similar and put on a pot of coffee.)
If you're looking for a good quality AK-pattern rifle, buy an American assembled gun from a quality Russian/Bulgarian parts kit, your choice of caliber. As some have already told you, there are good and bad quality AK builders out there -- your best bet is to conduct research on builders' previous track records of service. AK-47's usually aren't finicky rifles, but if you buy from a non-reputable builder, you could end up with a gun chambered for 5.45x39mm that has a 5.56x45mm NATO barrel mistakenly put on it, one whose rivet job was done poorly enough that the rifle hammers out its own rivets and falls apart in your hands from simple recoil forces alone, or one whose gas port was drilled improperly and now the gun receives too much gas (excess receiver and BCG wear/premature receiver failure) or too little (the gun cycles like crap and jams every other shot), or any other number of problems with the internals/misalignment of the gas block/front sight block. The best guns for the money I hear are Russian Saiga's whose parts are produced in Russia, and reassembled on American receivers and given American-made barrels here in the US. Failing that, VEPR conversions achieve most of the same effect, but with the added step of having to pay somebody to convert the VEPR from its import sporting configuration to standard AK rifle configuration.
I'm not too versed on AK-74's, but I don't think there is such a beast as an AK-74 intended for grenade launcher use because of the cartridge size.
On receiver thickness, one thing you should note is that receiver thickness doesn't cause a whole lot of difference in shooting accuracy unless you're trying to take targets out at long range -- most AK-47's are sighted in and intended to be used primarily at 50-75 yards to begin with, but the stiffer receiver can be handy if you're intending to target shoot out past 100-150 yards (the theoretical example difference of being 3.50" groups at 100 yards rather than 3.75"+ groups, assuming you're doing your part). Milled steel rifles are also considerably heavier and retain heat more than stamped-steel rifles; finally, once a milled steel rifle develops a crack in the receiver either due to stress/end of service life or improper metallurgy, the whole receiver becomes a complete write-off necessitating a receiver replacement or transplant of existing parts to a new receiver. That said, I love my milled steel AK -- it shoots great and looks even better. Conversely, improperly heat treated stamped-steel rifles will eventually egg out the holes in the receiver in which the internals sit, ruining the gun as well.
(Note: There is enough information on receiver types, pros and cons, ammo type, utility, parts differences, configuration/layout differences, and a whole bunch of other stuff to cover 3+ books on the subject -- I did the best I could to briefly cover it all here. If you're looking for more reading material, I suggest you check the AK section of GunBoards or something similar and put on a pot of coffee.)
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