printerman
08-14-2012, 06:11 PM
I've been accused , slandered and thrown under the bus (and rightly so ) for endless postings of my "Worlds Raddest AK" !!! Of course it's all tongue in cheek and I did put time and patience into modifying my SAR-1 Romanian stamped semi-auto Kalashnikov style rifle !
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/DSC_9984.jpg
Naturally tac-n-black doesn't go over with AK "purists" and that makes sense because the actual premise and design were and are about reliability and confidence that your rifle will almost always go bang ! (something that other designs lack)
So when I decided to upgrade it was all about quality products carefully thought out and carefully employed !!!
I didn't choose UTG
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/UTGlogoblue.jpg
...what I considered a airsoft accessory company like Leapers
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/leapers_logo.jpg
Companies like Mako , CAA , and Tapco were and are mostly plastic parts companies and I only used one Tapco product (the Saw style M249 hand-grip)
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/TheMakoGroupLogo.jpg
Mako , airsoft for sure ....
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/CAA_CBST.gif
CAA , which was TAA (Brittish made) and Airsoft for sure ....
Then the ultra-popular Tapco or more familiarly called "Crapco"
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/tapco-logo.gif
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/AK47SawPistolGrip-1.jpg
....Seems good to this day , sturdy , tight and never wobbly , so this particular Tapco choice was acceptable ! (This choice was made 10 years ago when few handgrips were available)
Next are the Ace brand products , upper hand-guard (black pebble finish) solid build , fits good and looks good ....
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/AK14HGGTCjpgupperhandguard.jpg
I only used the bottom portion as my lower hand-guard is a Krebs Custom tri-rail lower guard with drilled section for cleaning rod (never saw an aluminum lower with cleaning rod ) I chose this because I wanted my cleaning rod intact !!!
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/DSC_8935.jpg
....similar tri-rails are available but weren't back then ! An example of other designs ....
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/ak4waymount-v.jpg
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/623_pi5_A153P_B3.jpg
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/hg_fusion_blk.jpg
....these other lowers I didn't see quality or good look !!! Looks "and" quality are important to me !
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/chris004.jpg
Some don't care for the Ace brand skeleton stock , however I like the look and solid design ! (it does NOT fold , which was important at the time with the ban on at that time) I could have chose some really goofy rear stocks , various plastic brands K-Var , Advanced Designs , Tapco and others ....
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/akstock9.jpg
Chose the shortest of the three ! It does have a drawback by having to put in a receiver block (Krebs installed it , so I didn't mind so much)
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/RA18AKRBU_medjpgreceiverblock.jpg
Other Krebs installations , rear peep sight ...
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/imagesjpgkrebsapeturepeepsights.jpg
....the rear apeture and front KNS duplex sights make for great accuracy !
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/DSC_8917.jpg
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/1-2.jpg
Also went with the Ace brand front sight converter block allowing AR sights (for greater choice in sights)
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/AK4105WS_medjpgfrontsightstud.jpg
Didn't go with many internals , just the G2 trigger group and sheppards crook pin replacement ....(Krebs adjusted my G2 , forever pleased as his adjustment made for a very smooth AK trigger)
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/134071_tsJPGtriggergroupg2.jpg
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/SCRleverjpgsheppardscrook.jpg
Krebs insisted I go with his AK-74 style muzzle-brake , so I did , it does seem to add in light recoil (several people have noted how little recoil my AK has ...)
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/imagesjpgkrebsmuzzlebrake.jpg
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/gun004.jpg
...of course the Buffer-tech helps with recoil ...
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/recoilbuffer.jpg
Now comes the "add-ons" like illumination tools , light , laser , red-dot scope ....
First a quality mount ....
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/railmount.jpg
....not a puny little single ring that so many clowns use to add a "flashlight" with or a Airsoft laser ....
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/imagesjpgsurefirem2millenium.jpg
Only a Sure-Fire would do , a Millenium 2 - 120 lumens , enough for retina searing blindness or quick illumination ...
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/DSC_8899-1.jpg
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/DSC_9683.jpg
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/DSC_8865.jpg
...an unusual angle created with the Krebs "canted" vertical grip and scooped section for light tool ...(great concept , made of delrin) puts light switch right at your thumb along with lower laser ....
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/011_9_hr.jpg
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/DSC_9957.jpg
This "canted" vertical hand-grip allows room for quick magazine changes without interference !! Great idea
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/guns-08-1.jpg
...love how light , red-dot laser and grip are all together for easy grip and access
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/DSC_9859.jpg
Winchester exclusive Beamshot red laser in 10Mw (exchanged the coil press pad for rear click button) The coils seem to get in the way ....
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/DSC_9925.jpg
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/DSC_9741.jpg
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/DSC_9718.jpg
Next is the overkill of all overkills ....my I.O.R. Valdada Romanian 3 x 25 quick acquisition scope with German Schott glass !!!! For a quick scope this puppy rules ....
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/DSC_9859.jpg
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/40e726c702b4f341d086dc20e807f889.jpg
....it cost more than the price of the rifle , $700 for the scope , $450 for the Romy
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/DSC_9898.jpg
some say it's too high off the body of the rifle (ever see Russian scopes ? / they sit "way" up there) It doesn't seem to affect accuracy , but I would like to try different mounts to lower its position !
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/DSC_9736.jpg
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/DSC_9679.jpg
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/DSC_9661.jpg
the precision is awesome and time after time my accuracy has improved ! I'm right around 4" at 100 yards when I concentrate ...sometimes larger
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/DSC_9656.jpg
the mount is K-Vars best and is solid as a rock and seems to relocate each attachment ....
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/DSC_9658.jpg
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/3x25-reticle-tn.jpg
the reticle can be used to field estimate size of objects and help in ranging ....(a feature I have not used , need longer range)
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/geared_out_AR15.jpg
Could have gone with some really cheap crap , however any time you upgrade go with solid thought out customized gear ! High Speed , Low Drag as they say
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/DSC_9984.jpg
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/DSC_9984.jpg
Naturally tac-n-black doesn't go over with AK "purists" and that makes sense because the actual premise and design were and are about reliability and confidence that your rifle will almost always go bang ! (something that other designs lack)
So when I decided to upgrade it was all about quality products carefully thought out and carefully employed !!!
I didn't choose UTG
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/UTGlogoblue.jpg
...what I considered a airsoft accessory company like Leapers
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/leapers_logo.jpg
Companies like Mako , CAA , and Tapco were and are mostly plastic parts companies and I only used one Tapco product (the Saw style M249 hand-grip)
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/TheMakoGroupLogo.jpg
Mako , airsoft for sure ....
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/CAA_CBST.gif
CAA , which was TAA (Brittish made) and Airsoft for sure ....
Then the ultra-popular Tapco or more familiarly called "Crapco"
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/tapco-logo.gif
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/AK47SawPistolGrip-1.jpg
....Seems good to this day , sturdy , tight and never wobbly , so this particular Tapco choice was acceptable ! (This choice was made 10 years ago when few handgrips were available)
Next are the Ace brand products , upper hand-guard (black pebble finish) solid build , fits good and looks good ....
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/AK14HGGTCjpgupperhandguard.jpg
I only used the bottom portion as my lower hand-guard is a Krebs Custom tri-rail lower guard with drilled section for cleaning rod (never saw an aluminum lower with cleaning rod ) I chose this because I wanted my cleaning rod intact !!!
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/DSC_8935.jpg
....similar tri-rails are available but weren't back then ! An example of other designs ....
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/ak4waymount-v.jpg
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/623_pi5_A153P_B3.jpg
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/hg_fusion_blk.jpg
....these other lowers I didn't see quality or good look !!! Looks "and" quality are important to me !
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/chris004.jpg
Some don't care for the Ace brand skeleton stock , however I like the look and solid design ! (it does NOT fold , which was important at the time with the ban on at that time) I could have chose some really goofy rear stocks , various plastic brands K-Var , Advanced Designs , Tapco and others ....
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/akstock9.jpg
Chose the shortest of the three ! It does have a drawback by having to put in a receiver block (Krebs installed it , so I didn't mind so much)
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/RA18AKRBU_medjpgreceiverblock.jpg
Other Krebs installations , rear peep sight ...
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/imagesjpgkrebsapeturepeepsights.jpg
....the rear apeture and front KNS duplex sights make for great accuracy !
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/DSC_8917.jpg
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/1-2.jpg
Also went with the Ace brand front sight converter block allowing AR sights (for greater choice in sights)
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/AK4105WS_medjpgfrontsightstud.jpg
Didn't go with many internals , just the G2 trigger group and sheppards crook pin replacement ....(Krebs adjusted my G2 , forever pleased as his adjustment made for a very smooth AK trigger)
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/134071_tsJPGtriggergroupg2.jpg
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/SCRleverjpgsheppardscrook.jpg
Krebs insisted I go with his AK-74 style muzzle-brake , so I did , it does seem to add in light recoil (several people have noted how little recoil my AK has ...)
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/imagesjpgkrebsmuzzlebrake.jpg
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/gun004.jpg
...of course the Buffer-tech helps with recoil ...
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/recoilbuffer.jpg
Now comes the "add-ons" like illumination tools , light , laser , red-dot scope ....
First a quality mount ....
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/railmount.jpg
....not a puny little single ring that so many clowns use to add a "flashlight" with or a Airsoft laser ....
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/imagesjpgsurefirem2millenium.jpg
Only a Sure-Fire would do , a Millenium 2 - 120 lumens , enough for retina searing blindness or quick illumination ...
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/DSC_8899-1.jpg
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/DSC_9683.jpg
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/DSC_8865.jpg
...an unusual angle created with the Krebs "canted" vertical grip and scooped section for light tool ...(great concept , made of delrin) puts light switch right at your thumb along with lower laser ....
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/011_9_hr.jpg
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/DSC_9957.jpg
This "canted" vertical hand-grip allows room for quick magazine changes without interference !! Great idea
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/guns-08-1.jpg
...love how light , red-dot laser and grip are all together for easy grip and access
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/DSC_9859.jpg
Winchester exclusive Beamshot red laser in 10Mw (exchanged the coil press pad for rear click button) The coils seem to get in the way ....
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/DSC_9925.jpg
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/DSC_9741.jpg
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/DSC_9718.jpg
Next is the overkill of all overkills ....my I.O.R. Valdada Romanian 3 x 25 quick acquisition scope with German Schott glass !!!! For a quick scope this puppy rules ....
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/DSC_9859.jpg
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/40e726c702b4f341d086dc20e807f889.jpg
....it cost more than the price of the rifle , $700 for the scope , $450 for the Romy
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/DSC_9898.jpg
some say it's too high off the body of the rifle (ever see Russian scopes ? / they sit "way" up there) It doesn't seem to affect accuracy , but I would like to try different mounts to lower its position !
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/DSC_9736.jpg
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/DSC_9679.jpg
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/DSC_9661.jpg
the precision is awesome and time after time my accuracy has improved ! I'm right around 4" at 100 yards when I concentrate ...sometimes larger
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/DSC_9656.jpg
the mount is K-Vars best and is solid as a rock and seems to relocate each attachment ....
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/DSC_9658.jpg
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/3x25-reticle-tn.jpg
the reticle can be used to field estimate size of objects and help in ranging ....(a feature I have not used , need longer range)
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/gunsnet/geared_out_AR15.jpg
Could have gone with some really cheap crap , however any time you upgrade go with solid thought out customized gear ! High Speed , Low Drag as they say
http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp241/printerman-photo/archery/DSC_9984.jpg