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trotsky
09-13-2000, 10:05 PM
All...

Got my Ak-103 from D&G today. It is reasonable.

Primary note: This is NOT a rifle for the general public. Rather, like the SAR3, it is a rifle that you should expect to do some work on. That does not make it bad - just not for the general public.

Why? An example... the grip hole on mine was badly done, putting the grip a wee bit too close to the trigger group. the effect? Worst possible for a layman: the safety does not engage. I can fix this very easily - a layman could hurt himself... or someone else.

OK - with that out of the way:
-receiver is very good. Not that rough.
-barrel work fair - clean parts, bad paint.
-trigger guard mod fair - no really rough welds.
-stocks GREAT - KVAR
-Trigger group: God knows. I do NOT think they are FSE though. I'm replacing mine immediately.
-Muzzle Break: '74 style, VERY good job, straight & well done.
-cleaning rod: decent (not great) ring welded to gas block base... it's OK, but I may chop it off and do my own... it holds the rod well.

Negatives: any and all problems come from poor craftsmanship - EASILY fixed by giving the workers a few cheap jigs.

- Grip hole: BADLY done, not square, resulted in safety not working = big ass lawsuit from John Novice, and trouble for US. I can deal with this, but D&G should worry about those that have no brain.

-"filling" rivits (4, aft end) put on by someone that was exposed to too much Jack Daniels... badly installed - I will remove mine & replace with better hardware (Silver Soldered from inside).

Pluses:

-Out of the box, feeds & cycles with Dummies - range this weekend.

-RUSSIAN: not from Albania (thank god)

-FINISH: WITH the crap paint, beats a SAR any day

-BOLT GROUP: Not screwed with, looks REALLY good.

CONCLUSION: It's worth the price - just. Plan on doing some shop work, and painting. KNOW what you are doing - but you won't need a barrel press or major welding facilities. Perfect Kit gun for those that know what they are doing, but are less than a Smith with a Mill.

9-14 UPDATE: Those ugly "filling" rivits in the aft end turned out to be really cheap Aluminum. I got ONE out with finger pressure http://www.ak-47.net/akcgi/smile.gif REAL AK steel Rivits will be going in here, silver soldered from inside.


[This message has been edited by trotsky (edited 09-14-2000).]

Flyn_Bryan
09-13-2000, 11:42 PM
Thanks Trotsky for the observations. Your write-up is right on target.

Not being skilled in the art of reworking AKs, I recently contacted an AK gunsmith to do an inspection, finish, and as per your suggestion, a trigger group replacement on my AK103. I agree with your conclusion, it is sort of a bittersweet deal.

I will post some pics of my rifle when it returns from its facelift in 3-4 weeks. Can't wait http://www.ak-47.net/akcgi/smile.gif

Regards,

Bryan

SouthernShark
09-14-2000, 12:52 AM
My problems weren't quite that severe. All of my mechanical parts work flawlessly, including the safety.

It looks good enough to me. I am not doing anything to mine.


-SouthernShark


[This message has been edited by SouthernShark (edited 09-15-2000).]

Fargo
09-15-2000, 07:13 PM
What are you guys paying for these? Are they a beter gun than the MISR-10 selling for $179.00?

Pro2Am
09-15-2000, 08:39 PM
Got my AK-103 through L.A. Austin of Surprise, AZ. Dave is a great guy to do business with, if occasionally a litlle hard to get ahold of. My 103 is just fine as far as fit and finish. A couple of very minor imperfections (how many AKs are perfect?) that are unnoticeable unless you look for them. And it is a Kalashnikov. A great buy for around $500!
Haven't fired it yet, but as soon as I do I'll post an evaluation of my own.


------------------

Mike R.

recon
10-02-2000, 01:08 AM
Anyone get a Krebs Ak-103 yet?

backblast
10-02-2000, 04:57 AM
I have handled one and it has the same quality as the 104! Outstanding!

cya