386 Norinco

[Stokespump]

Hey Guys,
I'm still kind of new to the AK game, but am trying to get a useful collection. I did get rid of the 56S gun, and had thought of rebarreling the NM Poly that I have. You guys pretty much well taked me out of that. Here is a new plan, but I don't know if it is a good one.
A local FFL has a Norinco marked milled reciever long barrel gun. I can't remember what it is marked, but it does have the circle with 386 stamp on it. It has a 20" barrel and a butthole stock. Is this a Polytech made gun? Quality pretty good? What I'd like to do is get a US parts kit from Wes, then get a short barrel for it (16"). The 20" barrel on the gun is missing the front sight assembly, so I think I can get into cheap enough to put the money into a parts kit. Does this sound like a reasonable plan? Thanks for your imput.

[gopher29]

The 386 in oval indicates the reciever was made by Polytech. Why did you get rid of your 56S if you want to build an AK collection (those are nice guns)? As far as buying the Mak-90 and replacing the barrell and then installing a USA parts kit...well it sounds like a lot of work and possibly too costly when you consider what else is available this year. If I was going to invest in another milled AK I would wait to check out those new SSR-99s or just wait and bid at an on-line auction until I got a good deal on a pre-ban milled AK...Just my 2 cents

-gopher
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sometimes we must come full-circle to find the truth

[JA]

The rifle in question is a MAK-91 Poly Tech National Match. The receiver is stamped National Match. It along with the pre ban version are the best and most accurate of all chinese rifles.
Why would anyone in their right mind want to remove a barrel hand picked for accuracy and replace it with a 16" standard AK barrel?
Why not replace the front sight and have the most accurate AK ever made?
You are going to have a hard time fitting a stock to the receiver as it is slanted on the rear, not square like the stocks are made for.

[JA]

P.S.- There are 1000's of MAK-90's out there, with milled receivers and 16" barrels to satisfly the short barreled milled receiver AK fetish you appearently have.
Replacing the barrel on a National Match rifle is akin to putting a 4 cylinder in a corvette

[Stokespump]

I almost take offense to your tone.
It is strictly economics that make me want to take on this project. Because of the front sight problem, I am encouraged to this this for two reasons. 1st, the gun is just as cheap, if not cheaper than all the standard MAK90 milled guns I've seen. The second is, that since it is already missing parts, rebarreling doesn't seem like that far off of a step.
I do find it funny that you, and apparently some others, would put Chinese postban guns in the same catagory as a Corvette. The analogy of putting ARCO gas in your Stihl chainsaw would have been more appropriate to me.
As to the Most Accurate AK ever made, I'd be very surprised if either of these guns outshot my Galil 332 or Hadar.
The information about the practicallity of fitting a US stock to the MAK-91 is useful, and I thank you for that.

[gopher29]

Unless this local ffl that you are planning to purchase the rifle from is going to sell it to you for a ridiculously low price then I don't see how this could be considered "economically" better for you? Lets say you get a great deal on all the parts and want to do all the assembly yourself:

milled national match: $400
USA Parts Kit: $150
new 16" barrel: $50

Total: $600

and that doesn't take into consideration all the other little charges that seem to add up over time (ie shipping, sales tax, background check, and the common unexpected little extras that come up like touching up the finish and replacing a trigger part or two)...

If you do decide to undertake this project, let us know what the total cost is and whether or not you think it was worth going that route. Thanks.

gopher
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sometimes we must come full-circle to find the truth

[Stokespump]

Thanks Gopher,
The gun will be about $275. The US kit about $150, and the barrel is $50. There will be no more charges for background checks or sales tax, so I am hoping that between these costs and a buddy that has a lot of little parts that I could have if needed, I'd be into it OK. The barrel being offered is a Steyr, so I imagine that I will still have decent accuracy out of it. My intent is to have a very servicable, stout AK with "combat accuracy". No sub-MOA is needed. Thanks for your imput.
BTW, what is the expected cost of a SSR-99?

[This message has been edited by Stokespump (edited 10-31-1999).]

[JA]

No offence meant. The corvette analogy was used because it is something that anyone could relate to. Not meant to offend anyone. What's ARCO gas? I assume it is bad for Stilh chian saws?
Besides stock fitting problems aren't the chinese and european pattern barrels of differnt diameter where they are pressed into the receiver?

[Stokespump]

Thank you for the update.
These are the questions that I really am the most interested in. Are the Steyr barrels different than the Chinese? If they wouldn't swap, would finding a barrel that would be a difficult task? I think that Wes would be able to help me out on the US parts kit, but don't know.
BTW, ARCO is a gas station, that must be localized to the Western United States. They are cheap. The reason for being so cheap is they get their crude oil from China, which happens to have a high sulfer content. Most cars don't digest it as well as others, and it is known to kill small engines.
Thanks again for the insight into the potential problems.

[JA]

Before attempting the barrel change I would go to www.kalashnikov.guns.ru (http://www.kalashnikov.guns.ru) the "ask Tantal and Martin" board. Ask about the barrels interchangability.
That arco gas sounds nasty.

[dragunov]

You had better change your estimate on that US parts kits. The $150 is for a standard kit and you can't buy that for a MAK-91. The rear of the milled receiver is cut at an angle and you will have to have the stock kit custom fit. That means shipping the rifle to Soupbowl Enterprises ($), a custom fitted stock ($), shipping back to you($). I totally agree with JA on this. You'be be better off having someone cut that long barrel down and put on a front sight then paying someone to rebarrel it for you. Heck, you could change the sights to a GALIL configuration with the front sight on the gas tub and the rear on the receiver cover. Now THAT would be interesting.