Even though I was like 14 in 2007, I remember seeing the wasr in shotgun news for $300 and an AR cost about $1k at the minimum. Then again a 91/30 was $75 too.
For me it ended up working out great back in the 90's I could only afford ak's and always wanted an ar but I was able to collect up a nice ak collection of preban stuff and kept most of it then of course ar's became much more affordable later
I had a Lancaster built Bulgy AK74 that was worse than me. 5 moa on a good day with a cold barrel. Do a couple of magazine dumps and the group opened up to 8 moa and POI shifted by 10 moa.
Great posting Rob, Do you have a list of all the AK’s that have passed your 5000 rd test? And maybe of those which had the least failures? Thanks man we love your videos!
KayakKevin If I was a betting man.... it would come down to end user proficiency and not features of either rifle as they can both be made to accommodate the shooter.
John Permabull Smith exactly. It doesn’t matter which is better, they are both good at what they do and it’s why AK and AR platforms are still used by military’s around the world. They are both good, there’s no need for a debate. Buy both.
I thought I heard that the, Navy Seals uses the AK's, when they have to swim to a target. They need a more rugged rifle when coming out of the water onto land. The M16 platform was too delicate, to tight tolerances. There's aways a give and take in any rifle or pistol you choose. Get them both, the AK and the AR. Carry a 9mm of choice, and 44 magnum as a backup, and perhaps a 9mm revolver in your boot. Ya never know.
My wasr 10/63 has over 10,000 rounds through it. It shoots fine. A bit over gassed to begin with. The bolt carrier has a bit of mushrooming. Other than that it’s still truckin 🤙.
Would recommend replacing the tapco G2 FCG if you get the chance. That hammer is know to mushroom the carrier tail. Or, i’ve heard if you polish the hump on the G2 hammer it can stop it from mushrooming, i’d look into that.
@@zachs652 the g2 hammer does in fact mushroom the tail of the bolt carrier i can attest to that it happened on my sar1 i put the alg fcg in and it stopped
Rob I just wanted to say you’re awesome and thank you for doing what you do, you help a lot of people out myself included (bought my GF3 based off your review,) and it’s very appreciated. Keep doing what you’re doing! :)
It sounds more like Rob is describing a "desirable AK" rather than a "proven AK". I would agree with people who say a proven weapon is one that's successfully handled combat and met Robski's desirable qualities over a large sample of rifles. That said, in a practical WROL or SHTF gun, you really only need a gun that can outlast the ammo you are able to carry, maybe 300 rounds. At that point, magazine and ammo quality and reliability are more important. In a WORL situation, the only time you're going to shoot is when a threat has surprised you. If you see a threat coming, moving off and avoiding it is a more powerful defensive weapon than anything you can carry. Every time you shoot, you are advertising your location and saying there's something there worth killing or dying over. Even suppressed, a lot of noise comes off an AK, especially the front,downrange side and the bullet. Without normal city noises, any extra sound is more easily perceived. So, unless you want an unknown number of people with unknown armament coming to investigate your location, you don't want to shoot,unless you absolutely have to (as in a situation of surprise or ambush). So, if a rifle can survive 300 rounds, it's a serviceable STHF weapon and your mags, ammo, and optic/light are probably more important than the rifle. Of course, a proven and desirable rifle would be preferable for peace of mind, but if you're having to regularly use the rifle in STHF WROL situation, eventually a bigger group will show up that overwhelms you, as you continually advertise your location and the fact that you have stuff worth dying or killing over.
I got my WASR 10 (a 2016 production) in 2018 on your recommendation. She may not be the prettiest girl at the party, but she can sure dance. Never let me down, has eaten everything I’ve fed it and has been 100% for me so far.
My SKS has never let me down, had it for eons now. I'd like to have a chart or listing of some kind, to maybe pick out a reliable AK. As always great video guys keep it up. 👍🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
I reccomend you take a look at the 2020 buyer's guide that was created by some kind internet folks. It should be posted at the thinlineweapons.com/wiki/index.php/Soviet_Firearms/Kalashnikov
in my line of work (outdoor power equipment), the word "proven and/or reliable" means a product or item has been thoroughly tested in the field usually for many years and has been able to operate according to the needs and requirements of the customer or end user.
I have a norinco iv owned for over 20 years, no idea of the round count, still prints about an inch and a half to 2 inches at 100 with wolf ammo depending on my shooting that day, has a bit of mushrooming on carrier but nothing to really talk about, i run a buffer in it now with flawless function. I would say my groups with it will tighten up if i can get the 762x39 3X Annihilator set up on it, (my eyes are not as good as they were when I was a 20 year old grunt).
Military Track Record! And manufacturer track record of CONSISTENTLY producing acceptable results. Military acceptance TRIALS and acceptance process. Also it is just hard to substitute YEARS of service under HARD USE conditions. Sometimes in can take years, or certain environmental conditions for problems to emerge. See EoTech’s well documented problems w “thermal drift.” Great job as always Rob and ULA who is always behind camera kicking ass!! Ula kicks ASS! 😆
I would say that's a fine standard, but keep in mind that the military has a bigger budget than you do and if something does break, they can go to the armory to get it fixed and get one that works.
So how many currently available in USA AK-variants have a military track record? None, since none of the militaries in the world use semi-automatic only,civilian market AK rifles. Had an interesting conversation couple of years back with a local gunsmith, he has owned, shot, repaired AK-variants since 80s. First of all he, of course, laughed about the prices of ChiCom AKs. They were crappy back then and cheap, now they are still crappy but stupid expensive. But what he told about his experiences with a certain European AK manufacturer, about their lack of QC, non concentric barrels etc was just crazy. They were at the factory literally looking for trash cans of rejected parts from military contract rifles and putting them to civilian market rifles. So if you think a "military track record" means something, think again. Military firearms and civilian firearms are two different things.
@@jten1116 when I bought my chicom Ak Polytech in 1988, I knew it was a POS, there is a reason they had 1.2mm receivers, they are not superior weapons, my brother still owns his, it has 20,000 rounds through it now, the Polytech is expensive because of its scarcity and no importation, you are 100% correct. I'll take my Cugir SAR-1 all day long over a Chinese AK.
Robski just a thought. With all the new firearms owners . Maybe you should direct them back to some of you older videos . In the past you covered alot of great info . For how to shoulder and shoot to zeroing the Akm iron sights . Plus much more.
@@AkOperatorsUnion i am an Army vet. And except for a short class on the AKM I really didn't know how different the AKM is from the M16/M4 until i owned one myself. Your channel help me to become a better operator . But i watched alot of the videos as they were coming out. So Thank You
Thank you sir for your content. Always enjoy watching. Since we have more time inside lately, my son and I have had time to watch a lot of your videos. Sincerely enjoy what you do. Thank you.
Rob 3 MOA @ 100 yards can be improved upon, if the owner takes the time to find out which brand of 7.62x39 ammunition his/her’s AK likes the best. Keep up the great work !
I bought both my AK's in 2002, A SAR1 and SAR2. Both Century arms imports. In those days the Romanian rifles were considered bottom of the barrel AK's. Only the Egyptian Maadi was lower on the totem pole. I got lucky on the SAR1 it's front sight was straight as an arrow. The two not so much. Some tweeking and learning fixed the canted sight on the 2. skip to Sept. of '04. No more AWB! I went to town! I replaced all the crap Century did to them . Now their both fantastic rifles. They both have have "worn finishes" mismatched furniture, utimak gas tubes with holosun red dots. They both can shoot 2.5" groups all day long if I can do my part. If not they're more like 4" groups,lol. These rifles are not for sale,ever. I love my AR's, I love my AK's. I would grab any of them in a shit hit the fan scenario without hesitation. Oh and I both of them cost $215 each.
Most factory built imports will meet Rob'd criteria. I have an SGL-31, a Vepr FM 74, and a Sam7SF, all are around 2-2.5 MOA in accuracy, and have shown minimal ware through about 2k rounds. I've had a WASR, but the accuracy was closer to 5-6MOA, and I think the optics rail was out of spec, as I couldn't mount several of my side mounts. I also have an Atlantic Arms Polish under folder with a Radom barrel, and a Russian 1969 Izhevsk AKM (also with a Radom barrel), but these are just clone correct collectibles, so I have no idea about accuracy and durability, as I've only got a couple of hundred rounds through each, and no side rail for optics.
Great video and thank you so much for this content while stuck in my house! For me what makes a proven rifle is first and for most the accuracy, then consistency, and finally the quality of the rifles components.inside and out.
One of my pet requirements for any rifle or handgun is reliable operation!!!! Thank you for your video's on the AK platforms. That is the system I've been least acquainted with and your videos help greatly.
Hey rob thanks for the information great job. Also thank you for the quick delivery on my m4 adaptor gun looks better now and feels better looking through the scope
My MAK 90 has never malfunctioned in 27 years... I have no idea how many thousands of rounds it has fired. It consistently nails pop cans at around a hundred yards, with just the iron sights. That is the epitome of a proven AK to me. I have other guns, but if shtf, that's the one I'm grabbing.
All good points rob. Its a figting rifle. It should meet a set standard for accuracy, reliability and quality of manufacturing. Its 2020. We shouldn't be running junk anymore. Also like the point you made about a SHTF scenario. Dont go looking for trouble because even though you have a quality rifle that can shoot 15K rounds, you might get smoked by a better shooter with only 300 rounds in training on your gun!
@Robski........I've never owned an AK, but hope to buy one from Palmetto as soon as I sell my AR and a pistol. I would prefer to have a 20" barrel in 6.5 Grendel for the real world 800 yard ballistics for both four legged and two legged critters when necessary. However, except for reports that the Serbian military may move to that caliber, haven't seen anyone else offering it. However, for 7.62x39, I am wanting that MoeKov model from Palmetto with the Pic Rails up front, ALG trigger, Zhukov (kudos to the General) foldable stock. I intend to get the Midwest Industries Rail Mount, with as long a Pic Rail as possible, so I can mount a 3x magnifier on whatever scope I will get. I intend on shooting 150 grain PSP's and HP's, and so far I haven't found any BDC's that work for that weight. Primary makes some good scopes, but they are an arrogant bunch who think that everyone only needs a Red illuminated reticle, but my eyes require Green, which Primary thinks is a waste of time. I want a 4x or 5x scope, $300 range, so I can still afford to buy the magnifier, and the Tru-Glo Front Post Sight (Green of course). I already have a vertical grip mount for the hand grip area, and I plan on using a Hogue Overmolded Handgrip for the rear, with finger contours. One of the biggest difficulties is finding a COVERT backpack to haul the rifle around, as most companies are run by IDIOTS who think that 'covert' means making them out of material in all black, or in one of the 18 million CAMO designs WITH WEBBING and VELCRO on the outside of the packs, or in Desert this or that hue, or in Olive Drab! IDIOTS! UTG is about the only company I've found so far that has anything remotely useful, in non-tactical colors and designs. They still could use some heavier padding inside with Velcro sewn on the separator (the model I'm looking at is a 2 rifle version) both sides, so it would be possible to mount Mag Holders. Anyway, that's what I'm looking for, in my first AK, oh, nearly forgot to mention that I'm considering buying and using the Gamma Epsilon muzzlebrake or one I just saw Honest Outlaw review on his AR (don't know if they make it for the AK), which had ZERO muzzle rise, the recoil just drove straight back! Cheers from the Oil Patch in Central WY
For me a proven platform is 1. Reliability (out of x many rounds will i have a minor malfunction for me 1 out of 1000 is acceptable) 2. Rounds fired through the life of the firearm 3. How well does the firearm put up with abuse (lean the rifle up against a tree and dirt gives way and the gun hits the ground or you trip and the rifle its a rock accidents happen) and bad weather (can it handle being in the rain for a month) A heart is about 5 inches so for hunting and fighting purposes it needs to be about 5moa or less.
I wield the mighty Vepr. 1000+ rounds and it looks brand new on the inside. I got a 1.75 MOA group at 100 meters WITH irons. Just mounted my PA 1-6x with RS Regulate mount. We'll just how right I can get those groups now👍 and thank you Rob for making my mind up for me when I chose the Vepr!
All of mine are worthy and proven I’m not as good of shot that you are but I set out years ago to get one from every country. Then I started to learn especially from you several others on here that there is so many different types so I gave up now I just want cool dependable rifles. Thanks I’ll be ordering off your site tonight
What is a good quality barrel? On The AK Forum a few people insist on the Romanian CHF barrels and express skepticism about the new FN CHF barrels from PSA.
Hey love the videos!!! Can you list the top 5 “proven ak” from best to worst so if we can’t get one of them we can look out for the others that are available to buy thanks so much!
