Frank's post is pretty spot on. Atlantic has in house gunsmiths that check over everything before they send it out and an Arsenal is always a great choice if you're looking to save a bit more and well worth it. I will agree about the side rail too. It's the best optic mounting option for an AK...
The N-PAP or a Romanian WASR-10 would be a great place to start. The Yugo AK's have heavier barrels and longer hand guards that make the after market quite a bit smaller for them, so if that's a concern, then the WASR would be better. They are both good options and have hammer forged barrels, so...
I took mine out for the first time last week and bought a crap load of different shells to test and it ran everything just fine. The target shells didn't eject very far, but they still cycled just fine. I also have the GK-01 brake on mine and what a difference that thing makes. I was shooting 1...
There is no advantage with today's metallurgy. The first AK-47 model was stamped, but they steel quality back then was not durable enough and they Type II AK-47 was built on a milled receiver as was the Type III for this reason. The AKM came along and they were changed back to a stamped receiver...
CZ Scorpion EVO and Bren on the realistic list
AK-12, civi AEK-971, and Saiga 9 on the never going to happen list.
Zastava M91 on the really hoping it happens list.
I started pretty similarly. Except I had a cheapo drill press. I just picked up the mill around 6 months ago and it makes so much of this work a breeze.
I don't know how you feel about polymer, but Manticore also makes handguards for the M92 called the Renegade and they look nice and offer a stable mounting point for optics with the option to add rails where you need them. They specially designed the upper hand guard with a metal plate to create...
I'm just about done with building my Tantal and thought I'd share a few photos of the process.
Here is the kit I received. Polish manufacturing is hard to beat. The machining was beautiful.
The demilling process is so much easier with a vertical mill.
This was the barrel being headspaced...
The 4-piece "brake" you are referring to is a clone of the Bulgarian version of the booster. It does not really giving any advantages as a muzzle brake. If you want recoil reduction, check out the Manticore Arms Nightbrake or get the 74 style brake. Personally, I never see the point in adding...
I tumble in traditional media to clean mine up, deprime and size, then into the ultrasonic with simple green. I dry in my oven as well. I just use the lowest temp.
I use the DPMS AR tool and the promag blocks. Neither break the bank and they work well. Steer clear from the really cheap armorer's tools because they are not very hard and the barrel nut wrench will start to deform. I have also used woods blocks in a pinch and it worked fine.
Since I'm new here I figured I'd share a little of my work.
This is my Saiga that I converted to an AK-74m. I have spent around 4 years gathering parts and working on this thing on and off to get it where I wanted. I just picked up the Kobra that's on it. It still needs some minor...
I think this boils down to what you want to spend. You can get very nice AK's like any Arsenal, but they are spendy. The Yugo PAP's that are in the country are a great deal and built like tanks. You can even order a WASR get a dependable AK for pretty cheap. If you just want something that...
The AK is lighter with removeable mags and available in a ridiculous number of configurations with a massive aftermarket. If you're stuck on staying away from sheet metal receivers, there are plenty of milled variants as well.
Hey guys. New here, but I've been around on quite a few forums for a while. I'm located in Lake Charles. I'm come across this place a few times, but never joined for some reason. My name is Brandon and I'm a big Kalashnikov guy. I've built somewhere around 15-20 to date and have built a couple...