Hello again friends, thought I'd dig into the SF knowledge base here again in an area I'm not really familiar with. Any help would be appreciated.

I'm pretty well versed in the battle rifle/carbine world, and have good representatives in 5.56 and 7.62 NATO. However, helping a friend of mine de-cosmoline his Chinese SKS has brought up a project I've been meaning to do for awhile: I want to build a semi-auto AK from a genuine Soviet parts kit of some kind. I'm sure I can figure it out in terms of the build, but the amount of kits out there are bewildering.

So I've narrowed it down to two choices (since I'm not spending stupid money on a Tula or Bulgy Krinkov kit): either a 7.62mm Russian AK kit, or a 5.45 Bulgarian kit. I'd like to find one with an original (not demilled) chrome-lined barrel, as I've heard of issues with some of the US reproductions, plus originality is cool. I don't mind paying a premium for a good kit and matching parts, but I do want to keep it somewhat reasonable, whatever that means.

What should I get, where should I look, what should I pay? And what brand receivers do you guys recommend?

Cost of ammo/mags is of secondary importance, but still a consideration. My limited research suggests similar price ranges for the two rounds, overall. Wish I'd stocked up on 7N6 before import was banned.

quote:

And what brand receivers do you guys recommend?

The easy way to solve this part of the equation is to simply pick up a NoDak Spud receiver. Others are good (Childers seems to have a great reputation), but there doesn't seem to be any way to go wrong with a NoDak.

http://www.nodakspud.com/AK Receivers.htm

I don't know from barrels, but the 7.62x39 Polish barrels at Arms of America seem to be getting a lot of attention lately. If you'd like a Bulgarian 5.45 barrel, K-Var seems to have them in stock.

http://www.k-var.com/barrel-54...-forged-chrome-lined

The days of 7N6 may be bleeding out into the sand, but there are still some reasonably good deals out there on non-penetrator-core ammo. See, for example, http://www.sgammo.com/product/...rrosive-lacquered-an Be aware that nowadays good 5.45 bulk ammo deals show up, hang around for a while, disappear until who knows when, and then show up again. IOW, if something you like is available, then getting a few thousand rounds isn't necessarily OTT.

Thanks, Il Cattivo. I was already thinking NoDak or Childers, so I'll go with something when I decide on a kit.

Barrel and ammo link useful too. Also, 5.45 mags are cheap now that Magpul makes the MOE PMAGs for the 74, so no need to spend $45/each on the bakelites... leaning towards a 74 now.