7.62x39 question

[ShooterRick]

Living in the deep south now I decided to look for a good hog rifle and realized the 7.62x39 being similar to a 30-30 ballistically would fit the bill and maybe I could kill two hogs with one stone and do a AK type at the same time.

I have been looking at CIAs Polish M60 rifle with milled reciever and US barrel but after seeing much negative comments on the web am rethinking this importer.

Any Suggestions or Comments welcome.

[B2Tall]

Living in the deep south now I decided to look for a good hog rifle and realized the 7.62x39 being similar to a 30-30 ballistically would fit the bill and maybe I could kill two hogs with one stone and do a AK type at the same time.

I have been looking at CIAs Polish M60 rifle with milled reciever and US barrel but after seeing much negative comments on the web am rethinking this importer.

Any Suggestions or Comments welcome.

CIA has a dubious reputation but then again so does just about every other U.S. company that sells 922(r) compliant AKs. (922 means you can't have more than 10 foreign parts in the rifle). It's a real crapshoot buying a post-ban AK (pre-bans are 100% foreign and very expensive). I recently bought a CIA AK. Knowing their rep I made sure I went over it with a fine-toothed comb (I have some experience with AKs), including running Snap-Caps through it repeatedly. While not perfect, the gun was good enough for me to buy. I worked out some minor kinks and now have an outstanding weapon.

Look for a "sporter" rifle like a Chinese MAK90 or a Saiga. Below is a MAK90.



They're considered hunting rifles or sport rifles and not assault rifles. Because of this they can be 100% foreign. The stocks on these rifles are different and they come with 5-rnd mags but the guts are entirely AK. You can convert them to a traditional AK platform using individual American parts (stock, grips, mags) and still be legal as long as you have a max of 10 foreign parts. Caution - using a high-cap mag on a foreign sporter rifle instantly turns it into an assault rifle in the eyes of the law. Unless you've replaced some of the foreign parts, you'll be illegal even if it's a US made mag.

Or you can just buy an SKS

[billt]

These are my 2 Polish 1960 Milled Receiver Models, and I couldn't be happier with them. CAI gets a lot of undeserving bad press on a lot of forums. I have many CAI guns, including 4, GP-1975 Romanian Models, and I've never had an issue with any of them. The Polish 1960 Milled Models are excellent weapons. Magazines fit nice and tight compared to many of the stamped models, with almost zero wobble. The guns function well with any and all ammunition I've run through them. As you can see both of my guns have solid wood furniture instead of laminated. I just thought the solid wood looked a bit better. Since this photo was taken I've added cleaning rods to both of them.

Milled receiver AK-47 models are becoming more and more scarce as time passes. While they don't necessarily offer any real advantage over a well made stamped receiver gun, they possess a solidness that can only be appreciated by handling and shooting one. The added weight isn't much. In fact both of my Yugo Underfolders are actually heavier than either of the milled receiver guns. Bill T.

[Unfettered Might]

Another thing to note is that the MAK90 has a 1.5 mil receiver vs the 1 mil receiver of many other AKs with stamped receivers. It makes for a more rigid firing platform, but you will pay for a MAK90, they are not cheap. They also have a double hook trigger whereas some other AKs only use a single hook trigger. To me it produces a crisper trigger break.

I love mine, especially with the dragonov style stock, quad rail with red dot sight and tactical light.

Something I've noticed about mine, it only reads "MAK90" and does not have the "sporter" stamped on the receiver, so I'm assuming I have a pre-ban?

[B2Tall]

Another thing to note is that the MAK90 has a 1.5 mil receiver vs the 1 mil receiver of many other AKs with stamped receivers. It makes for a more rigid firing platform, but you will pay for a MAK90, they are not cheap.

I love mine, especially with the dragonov style stock, quad rail with red dot sight and tactical light.

Something I've noticed about mine, it only reads "MAK90" and does not have the "sporter" stamped on the receiver, so I'm assuming I have a pre-ban?

Chinese MAKs have a great reputation. I'm currently in the market for another one. Your question is a good one. The "M" in MAK stands for "modified" and the MAKs were built specifically in response to the assault rifle import ban of 1989 (different from the ban of 1994). All MAKs were originally sporters (the word "sporter" was usually added by the importing company afterwards) although some have been converted back to a pre-ban configuration. These aren't considered true "pre-ban" AKs becasue they didn't originally come with all the military features that the ATF used to describe assault weapons (pistol grip, bayonet lug, etc.). Still, they're tremendous weapons and fine examples of AKs even though they might not enjoy the same prestige as European AKs.

[Unfettered Might]

Chinese MAKs have a great reputation. I'm currently in the market for another one. Your question is a good one. The "M" in MAK stands for "modified" and the MAKs were built specifically in response to the assault rifle import ban of 1989 (different from the ban of 1994). All MAKs were originally sporters (the word "sporter" was usually added by the importing company afterwards) although some have been converted back to a pre-ban configuration. These aren't considered true "pre-ban" AKs becasue they didn't originally come with all the military features that the ATF used to describe assault weapons (pistol grip, bayonet lug, etc.). Still, they're tremendous weapons and fine examples of AKs even though they might not enjoy the same prestige as European AKs.

Oh that's right, it was 89. So the AKs that were already on US shores sitting in warehouses were converted to the thumb hole stocks, having "Sporter" engraved on them and had the bayonet lugs ground off to be able to sell them? If what I've read elsewhere is true, that is.

Guess mine just got lucky and didn't have the receiver defaced with "Sporter". The lug is ground off(for now) and it was converted to a buttstock with rubber pistol grip when I got it, no thumb hole stock came with it. Not that I would want it anyway, a friend has a couple of them with the original stocks and I just don't like the way they feel.

[B2Tall]

Oh that's right, it was 89. So the AKs that were already on US shores sitting in warehouses were converted to the thumb hole stocks, having "Sporter" engraved on them and had the bayonet lugs ground off to be able to sell them? If what I've read elsewhere is true, that is.

Guess mine just got lucky and didn't have the receiver defaced with "Sporter". The lug is ground off(for now) and it was converted to a buttstock with rubber pistol grip when I got it, no thumb hole stock came with it. Not that I would want it anyway, a friend has a couple of them with the original stocks and I just don't like the way they feel.

Be careful about buying a MAK90 w/o the original thumbhole stock. As soon as that stock is replaced it loses its sporter designation and is subject to the utterly ridiculous 922(r) law, although your Dragunov stock keeps the designation intact because it's still considered a thumbhole stock. Changing to a traditional stock/pistol grip (or a folder, etc.) turns it into an imported assault rifle in the eyes of the law and additional U.S. made parts would be required to bring it in compliance. I get the feeling there are a lot of illegal MAK90s out there with owners who aren't even aware of their status.

I put a folder on mine and had to replace some of the original parts to make it legal but the guts of the rifle are still pure Chinese AK.

[Unfettered Might]

Be careful about buying a MAK90 w/o the original thumbhole stock. As soon as that stock is replaced it loses its sporter designation and is subject to the utterly ridiculous 922(r) law, although your Dragunov stock keeps the designation intact because it's still considered a thumbhole stock. Changing to a traditional stock/pistol grip (or a folder, etc.) turns it into an imported assault rifle in the eyes of the law and additional U.S. made parts would be required to bring it in compliance. I get the feeling there are a lot of illegal MAK90s out there with owners who aren't even aware of their status.

I put a folder on mine and had to replace some of the original parts to make it legal but the guts of the rifle are still pure Chinese AK.

It gets worse than that. I didn't realize it when I first bought it(I was an AK rookie at the time), but the front sight had been driven back up against the gas tube and the barrel had been shortened to less than 16 inches and rethreaded. With the krinkov style brake on it, it measures over 16. However, it has to be permanently affixed to be considered in the barrel length and it wasn't when I first got it. I noticed it on the way home and made an immediate detour to a friends house and welded it in place.

I just did a quick count, just to be sure and with the other parts I have on it(no, im not counting the red dot or tac light lol), it would still be legal even with the pistol grip.

[Unfettered Might]

Living in the deep south now I decided to look for a good hog rifle and realized the 7.62x39 being similar to a 30-30 ballistically would fit the bill and maybe I could kill two hogs with one stone and do a AK type at the same time.

I have been looking at CIAs Polish M60 rifle with milled reciever and US barrel but after seeing much negative comments on the web am rethinking this importer.

Any Suggestions or Comments welcome.

Back to the OP. Stay away from the WASRs and here's a good one.

HI-CAP Bulgarian AK-47 7.62x39 #AKAGUN-SSR85C-HC