Opinions Please...

[troyt37]

Hello out there! Looking for some experienced advice on buying my first AK. I've done a lot of internet searching and reading, and am looking for a good, milled receiver AK. Have been looking at the Arsenal SLR-95 for a while. Any opinions on that rifle would be appreciated.

Furniture is not as important to me, as I intend on buying a kit from ironwood designs as soon as I can after buying the rifle.

I have found an SLR-95 for around $850, and also a Polish milled for around $700. What to do? Is the Polish 1960 as good a shooter as the Bulgarian Arsenal? Is it worth it to spend the extra for the SLR-95? Should I be looking at something entirely different?

Any and all opinions appreciated.

[Goodman]

I can't speak to the Polish, but the Bulgarian has been very good to me. 4-5" goups @100M with Russian optics. Never a problem feeding, though the cover is just a bit sticky- I can live with that. I haven't priced 'em for quite awhile but IIRC $850 is pretty reasonable, assuming very good condition. Welcome to the board!

[imanaknut]

Welcome to the group !!! :welcome:

The SLR-95 is a great factory built rifle, you couldn't go wrong with one, and if you save any parts removed so that you can maintain it as original in the event you ever want to sell it, even if fired, it should retain it's value.


The Polish has to be a "kit" rifle, which if built by someone who knew what they were doing should be ok, but ...

Personally I have a thing about "kits" because ATF demanded that a perfectly good rifle which met the intent of the constitution of this country, be destroyed and then resold to those of us who have rights that shall not be infringed so that we could rebuild them into politically acceptable rifles. Sorry for the rant!

If you can swing the extra for the SLR-95, I'd go for it. If you can talk the seller down a bit, good for you, but they are fairly rare rifles so it is a seller's market for them.

[troyt37]

Appreciate the info! Would putting a nice wood kit on an SLR-95 hurt the value? I seriously doubt I will ever sell the gun, but that is interesting info.

The Polish is the one advertised on Atlantic, and it appears to have both an upper and lower tang at the back of the reciever. The SLR-95 (thumbhole) would only have the upper tang. Ironwood designs has a kit for the single tang reciever, but I wondered how sturdy it would be. It's what got me to looking at the Polish on Atlantic.

This is just a hard decision without being able to lay hands on the guns before purchase. Just looking for all the info I can get. Are there any other recommended milled receiver models I should research? Thanks for the help.

[imanaknut]

Just replacing the stock set will not hurt a thing as long as you don't modify any part of the rifle or remover stock set.

Ironwood Designs is a great place to get a standard set from. They make their parts a little oversized to allow you to custom fit the parts to your rifle. Figure it is better to have to remove wood than add. They make great stuff.

Atlantic Firearms is a great place to do business with. If you buy from them, you can be assured you will be happy with your purchase as the owner tries to keep his customers as happy as possible.

Either way, I don't think you can go wrong. About the only thing I prefer about the SLR-95 is what I said earlier, it is a factory built rifle made for sale here in the land of George Bush the First and his fear of evil features, which is why the SLR-95 has none. Unfortunately william jefferson clinton saw to their being completely banned, so number in this country are limited, which is one reason I prefer them! :D

[Goodman]

I'd say get the Bulgarian and enjoy it for awhile. You can always modify if you want, but as you become familiar with the AK family you may find you prefer to pick up other models.
I had big plans to change mine around (as with you, the SLR-95 was my first) but ended up only adding the Russian accessory mounting rail from Tantal, and I'm kind of glad I didn't monkey around with it beyond that. I think you'll find the fit is very comfortable with the goofy thumbhole stock- but that call is up to you.
This site has fantastic resources and you may find you want to build your own from a kit or maybe look to AKM type rifles as well.

[squid0812]

Not sure whay the big deal is with milled vs. stamped receivers. Milled receivers retain much of their heat and are slow to disapate that heat. They are also substantialy heavier. This might not be a problem for you however, when you add optics, light and maybe a grip, the weight adds up fast. Just my .02 cents

[l921428x]

I just like the idea of something milled, rather than stamped.

[Schuetzenman]

Not sure whay the big deal is with milled vs. stamped receivers. Milled receivers retain much of their heat and are slow to disapate that heat. They are also substantialy heavier. This might not be a problem for you however, when you add optics, light and maybe a grip, the weight adds up fast. Just my .02 cents

Receivers don't get a lot of heat, barrels do. The weight thing is true, but it's something like 6 oz., not a big deal IMO. I've owned both, I've built sheet metal AKM types. It's all good IMO.

[squid0812]

I appreciate both, my point was you have look at what you want this rifle to do. Weight is a factor for me and it's one of the reasons i enjoy AKs in the first place. They are fairly light and easy to manipulate. Undue weight increases your reaction time,fatigue and retards manuverabilty.
Again milled is great, i just think people place some sort of increased durability on milled when stamped has proven to be just as durable. It's.the same thing with screwed vs pinned barrels

[imanaknut]

squid0812, if you want light, look into an AMD-65, probably as light as you can get in an ATF legal AKM without having to pay a blackmail tax on that which shall not be infringed.

The AMD-65 has no upper hand guard to save weight, minimal side folding stock, light weight pistol grip, and a lower front handguard out of light weight steel. It also has one of the better muzzle brakes for taming felt recoil.

[squid0812]

squid0812, if you want light, look into an AMD-65, probably as light as you can get in an ATF legal AKM without having to pay a blackmail tax on that which shall not be infringed.

The AMD-65 has no upper hand guard to save weight, minimal side folding stock, light weight pistol grip, and a lower front handguard out of light weight steel. It also has one of the better muzzle brakes for taming felt recoil.

I appreciate that, im always looking for ways to reduce weight

[SouthernArmament]

yeah don't get hung up on milled. You will enjoy it, but you may find a stamped that is a better shooter that you picked up for 400 bucks! nowadays, they all have brand new barrels, so..... most are going to be pretty good. As long as the receiver is of good quality you'll be fine. An AK is not a precision shooter unless you make it one so there is no guarantee just because it is a milled receiver.

I did have a really crappy one at one time, the only gun of mine, that I have ever sold. The receiver was pathetic, you could squeeze it and it would flap like a i don't know... but it was silly. It was great for shooting around corners but that was it!