I'm considering the purchase of an AK and tried to resurrect an old thread but too old I guess.

I know almost nothing about AK's but thought I would pick one up...I plan on firing it very little and will be another firearm to pass on to my sons some day.

I would like to stay in the $700.00 range tops and like the old school wood look and prefer it over the all black...not really looking for a AK pistol or SKS...any opinions out there?

Unfortunately, AK rifle prices have soared over the years,especially now with the school shooting in Fl. For $700.00, you won't have much of a selection unless you really do your home work. Century guns are now around $600-700.00. I remember not long ago it seems, in the Shotgun News, you could get one for $100.00 and the better Hungarian ones were only $350.00. After looking on Gunbroker, prices are insane and looks like people are ok with paying. Reminds me of the '94 assault weapons ban pricing.

quote:

Originally posted by patw:
Unfortunately, AK rifle prices have soared over the years,especially now with the school shooting in Fl. For $700.00, you won't have much of a selection unless you really do your home work. Century guns are now around $600-700.00. I remember not long ago it seems, in the Shotgun News, you could get one for $100.00 and the better Hungarian ones were only $350.00. After looking on Gunbroker, prices are insane and looks like people are ok with paying. Reminds me of the '94 assault weapons ban pricing.

I'm patient in trying to find the right deal....don't buy much on GB because of the high prices but do sell on there at times.

I remember back in the pre-internet days browsing Shotgun News and some really, really cheap prices, In 1999 quite a few of us went together on a group buy of Turkish Mausers and I got 5 of them for $25.00 each and still have 3 of them...some of the guys bought 20 and wish I would have purchased more

Anyone have info on a VZ2008?

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/...z2008-vs-700-rounds/

In that price range, the big options these days are still the Romanian WASR and the Yugo NPAP. Between the two, the WASR is a bit more of a classic.

patw's right about the market, but I think there's more variability since (I think) the prices on WASRs and Yugos have come down a bit from where they were a few months ago. If you've got the time and the inclination, waiting to see what happens to pricing might not be the worst thing to do.

quote:

Originally posted by Il Cattivo:
In that price range, the big options these days are still the Romanian WASR and the Yugo NPAP. Between the two, the WASR is a bit more of a classic.

patw's right about the market, but I think there's more variability since (I think) the prices on WASRs and Yugos have come down a bit from where they were a few months ago. If you've got the time and the inclination, waiting to see what happens to pricing might not be the worst thing to do.

The WASR does look interesting and Atlantic Firearms has a pretty decent inventory of those and other AK's...bought a AR Pistol from Atlantic a couple of years ago.
http://www.atlanticfirearms.co...detail.html?Itemid=0

My Dad has a Century Arms AK he bought in 2016 for around $700, he really likes it but I’m not sure what they are going for now. Wood furniture with folding metal stock.

never mind ... I thought you were moving to Alaska.



I just looked on GunBroker ... there are several under $700 including an original MAC-90, a few PAP's in both under-folder and wood stock etc... some even have Buy-It-Now prices within your range.

sort by price (lowest first) ... pretty much skip the first page

A Wasr-10 made in the last several years is exactly what you need. They are solid rifles.

I really do appreciate everyones feedback and for me anyway the hunt for a good deal is one of the most enjoyable parts of a new firearm purchase...definitely considering the WASR

If possible I would inspect the rifle in person to make sure it's straight and operates smoothly.

I don't know if this would fit your bill since it's American made (assembled?) but Classic Firearms currently has a Century Arms model on sale for $499.99.

https://www.classicfirearms.co...auto-by-century-arms

quote:

Originally posted by Voshterkoff:
If possible I would inspect the rifle in person to make sure it's straight and operates smoothly.

If not buying new then a face to face transaction is preferred. I've bought/sold quite a few times on Armslist face to face and worked out well but I am very, very, very, careful buying there if not face to face.

quote:

Originally posted by StarTraveler:
I don't know if this would fit your bill since it's American made (assembled?) but Classic Firearms currently has a Century Arms model on sale for $499.99.

https://www.classicfirearms.co...auto-by-century-arms

I ran across that website yesterday and I'm trying to research that model also.

I would inspect any ak you are buying. One of my Arsenals had to be sent back for work.

It's not unusual for even "properly" made AKs to come with canted sights. Enough build jobs are done or farmed out that it also makes sense to check for function and that the rivets are seated properly. It's a PITA, but being able to inspect the rifle you buy before you buy it will wind up being a good deal for you.

As for the Century RAS and it's inbred sister the C39, check out the AK Operators' Union 47-74 videos. I would humbly suggest that you don't really want either one.

quote:

Originally posted by Il Cattivo:
It's not unusual for even "properly" made AKs to come with canted sights. Enough build jobs are done or farmed out that it also makes sense to check for function and that the rivets are seated properly. It's a PITA, but being able to inspect the rifle you buy before you buy it will wind up being a good deal for you.

As for the Century RAS and it's inbred sister the C39, check out the AK Operators' Union 47-74 videos. I would humbly suggest that you don't really want either one.

I agree with all of this, 100%!

Hands on/eyes on any potential AK purchase is the best route to take, but if you have to buy on line, Atlantic would be the way to go.

I bought a WASR 10 from Atlantic last year. They looked it over per their quality control check and it came pretty much perfect to me. Shot it the other day finally and it was a great experience. No issues at all and actually more accurate than I thought it would be. Seems like the WASR 10’s of the last few years are good to go per my research.

I wouldn’t buy a RAS or an IO rifle based on reviews. WASR was my first choice for the price then maybe a NPAP. Even the Century C39V2 has some bad press so I’d be leery of that too.

If money was less of an issue I’d have gone VEPR or maybe Arsenal, though I like the old school wood look on the WASR and not the polymer.

quote:

Originally posted by SummersAtTheLake:
I really do appreciate everyones feedback and for me anyway the hunt for a good deal is one of the most enjoyable parts of a new firearm purchase...definitely considering the WASR

If you feel like a drive this weekend, I have a heavily modified WASR 10/63 that I'd be happy to let you test drive. No crop in right now, so the rifle ranch is wide open!



ETA: That's a serious offer - just in case you were wondering - email is in my profile. Looks like you're roughly two hours +/- from my location.

quote:

Originally posted by bionic218:

quote:

Originally posted by SummersAtTheLake:
I really do appreciate everyones feedback and for me anyway the hunt for a good deal is one of the most enjoyable parts of a new firearm purchase...definitely considering the WASR

If you feel like a drive this weekend, I have a heavily modified WASR 10/63 that I'd be happy to let you test drive. No crop in right now, so the rifle ranch is wide open!



ETA: That's a serious offer - just in case you were wondering - email is in my profile. Looks like you're roughly two hours +/- from my location.

I really do appreciate the offer but I found a RAS-47 late yesterday that is fairly close and I am going to meet the owner hopefully today. Looks like new is right at $500.00 and by the time I add shipping and FFL transfer I'm looking at around $550.00. The pre-owned RAS includes ammo, AK red dot, and extra magazines and I kind of like the package deal.

Again, Thank you very much for the offer and if I pick up the RAS I'll post pictures.