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Thread: AR or AK

  1. #1
    Junior Member mercer59's Avatar

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    AR or AK

    I have a 1958 Chinese Type 56 SKS that I like to shoot,in its original furniture that I just refinished and now want to get An AR15 or a AK47. I would like to cut my research down or find a better starting point with ya'lls help. On the AK side of it I was wondering if there are any particular ones that should be avoided and not to be considered at all. I figure that some of this community own or have owned both of these platforms(AK and AR) and want to see if I can be persuaded towards either weapon. I will not be hunting with this weapon,mainly better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. I own handguns and shotguns but the nearest thing I have is the SKS to either of these platforms,Thanks....

  2. #2
    Team Gunsnet Platinum 06/2016 ltorlo64's Avatar

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    Welcome to the board.

    I do not own an AK but I do own an AR. It is very accurate and a pleasure to shoot and ammo was easy to get and cheap. In a survival scenario ammo should be plentiful as it is what our military and police use. You will hear from the AK guys that the AK is reliable, probably the most reliable weapon out there but it is not as accurate. Really depends on what you are after. I wanted something that I could shoot in matches with and the AR fit that bill. Good luck with your decision.
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    Senior Member Dr. Gonzo GED's Avatar

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    Avoid Hesse and Vulcan builds. They are notorious sheisters (THe same notorious shiester actually...)

    IF you're going with a CAI build, make sure you get to see it and hold it before you put money on it. You're looking for canted sights or gas blocks. They aren't a deal breaker most of the time, but why pay top dollar for a funky build, amiright?

    Romys are the cheapest and ugliest but they still go bang. Some are single stack and that may not be to your liking, so check them out before you comit.

    Other than that, most decent builds are incredible machines. Tough as nails.

    Some very respected types are:

    Yugoslavian
    Chinese
    Polish
    Russian (Saiga, VEPR)
    Israeli
    Bulgarian


    There are probably others that I'm missing, but those are a good start. One of our AK gurus will surely be by soon to set you straight, amigo!

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    Contributor 02/2014 FunkyPertwee's Avatar

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    How much are you trying to spend?

    It sounds to me like you'd be happy with an AK. A traditional looking variant with wood is way cooler to fondle IMO, they require less maintenance, and they share ammo with your SKS. It will be awesome to open up your gun safe and see an AK next to a SKS.

    On the other hand an AR is more modern, accurate, and customizable. Also, it sounds like it might stick out in your gun collection a little bit though unless your unnamed handguns and shotguns are of the tactical variety.
    "I'm fucking furious, I'm violently angry, and I like it. If you don't know what that feels like then I feel bad for you"

  5. #5
    Junior Member mercer59's Avatar

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    I'm not sure exactly about shooting in competitions,I am more of an enthusiast and like shooting all types of firearms. I don't know if the door is going to slam in my face with our current political atmosphere and it seems that some of the "panic" is subsiding making prices come back to be a little more reasonable which might give me a window. I'm not an extremist waiting for the STHF,but if it ever did.......

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    Junior Member mercer59's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by FunkyPertwee View Post
    How much are you trying to spend?

    It sounds to me like you'd be happy with an AK. A traditional looking variant with wood is way cooler to fondle IMO, they require less maintenance, and they share ammo with your SKS. It will be awesome to open up your gun safe and see an AK next to a SKS.

    On the other hand an AR is more modern, accurate, and customizable. Also, it sounds like it might stick out in your gun collection a little bit though unless your unnamed handguns and shotguns are of the tactical variety.
    We are thinking along the same line...I have a couple of GLOCKs, Mossberg 500 with 8 round capacity,some S&W wheel guns,1954 Ithaca featherlite 12 gauge and my SKS so you can see I'm not into technicool....

  7. #7
    Contributor 02/2014 FunkyPertwee's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by mercer59 View Post
    We are thinking along the same line...I have a couple of GLOCKs, Mossberg 500 with 8 round capacity,some S&W wheel guns,1954 Ithaca featherlite 12 gauge and my SKS so you can see I'm not into technicool....
    Actually a KISS AR could fit in nicely with your Glocks and Mossberg.

    My prediction is you will have both within 2 years, hopefully less.
    "I'm fucking furious, I'm violently angry, and I like it. If you don't know what that feels like then I feel bad for you"

  8. #8
    Junior Member mercer59's Avatar

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    The sooner I cut through all the research the sooner I will make a purchase. I want to have a good experience and make a good purchase.....Get the most bang for the buck....

  9. #9
    Contributor 02/2014 FunkyPertwee's Avatar

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    Well unfortunately AKs are jacked up in price right now to what an AR costs. If I had to buy one or the other right now, it would be an AR if I had the money. You can however get a decent AR right now without too much effort.

    Right now it would cost the same to have a high quality AR as it would to have a cheap AK. So either wait for AK prices to come down or buy an AR now. Or buy an AR now and wait for AK prices to come back down.

    Here is a smoking deal on an AR with optics: http://palmettostatearmory.com/index...rol-rifle.html
    "I'm fucking furious, I'm violently angry, and I like it. If you don't know what that feels like then I feel bad for you"

  10. #10
    Forum Administrator Schuetzenman's Avatar

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    Welcome to the web site. Most have hit the hite points on AK vs. AR-15 already. If you get an AK variant, you have commonality in the ammo with your SKS. If you go AR-15 now you're introducing another caliber into your collection. They are two vastly different weapon types. I will say this the typical 7.62x39 AK variant has less things going wrong with respect to ammo feeding. The AR rifles need quality magazines and can be picky about what brand of magazine they like. The tight tolerances of the AR make it vulnerable to dirt, the upper receiver and blot group get really dirty with carbon from shooting them. So do the AK rifles but their tolerances are huge so they don't care when they get dirty.

    If you go AK, try and get one that has the scope mount base on the left side. Putting an optic on the weapons vastly improves the accuracy in my experience. I've experienced up to a 2/3rds reduction in group size with 7.62x39 rifles when switching from the iron sights to a simple red dot with no magnification. The AK will struggle to do better than 3" groups at 100 yards. The typical AR will produce 1 to 1.5" groups at 100 yards with off the shelf, not match ammo.

    I've owned a lot of AK types, sold all of them except for a Romanian SAR-3 rifle chambered to take the 5.56 round that the AR shoots. I kept it because it is AR accurate and uses the same ammo my AR rifles shoot. Good luck with your pick and post a photo when you get it. I'm sure we will all be interested in seeing what you purchased.

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    Junior Member mercer59's Avatar

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    That was what I see with the AK prices being up and like FunkyPertwee said it would cost the same to have a high quality AR as it would to have a cheap AK. The AKs considered cheap made that are marked up,those are the ones I want to avoid,can ya'll enlighten me on these?

  12. #12
    Contributor 02/2014 FunkyPertwee's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by mercer59 View Post
    That was what I see with the AK prices being up and like FunkyPertwee said it would cost the same to have a high quality AR as it would to have a cheap AK. The AKs considered cheap made that are marked up,those are the ones I want to avoid,can ya'll enlighten me on these?
    A WASR-10 shouldn't be over $550 in Obama-era dollars. A US assembled Yugo shouldn't be over $700. Bulgarians should be $900. Plain jane Saigas should be $325. A NIB VEPR was ~$750 last year.

    I can't give estimates on Chinese or other collectibles.
    "I'm fucking furious, I'm violently angry, and I like it. If you don't know what that feels like then I feel bad for you"

  13. #13
    Forum Administrator Schuetzenman's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by mercer59 View Post
    That was what I see with the AK prices being up and like FunkyPertwee said it would cost the same to have a high quality AR as it would to have a cheap AK. The AKs considered cheap made that are marked up,those are the ones I want to avoid,can ya'll enlighten me on these?
    WASR10 rifles are the bottom feeder AK rifles on the market. They get imported as single stack rifles and CAI mills out the mag wells and trunions to make them take 30 round double wide high cap mags. If you pay more than $400 for one of these you're getting bent over. Check out Atlantic Firearms for a wide selection with good photos. Many may not be in stock at this point. http://www.atlanticfirearms.com/ak-47-74-rifles.html

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    Re: AR or AK

    Around her, there is no .223. But there has been a good supply of 7.62x39. What caliber is easier for you to find in your area?

    Both are good guns. I don't have an AR in .223 (dont like .223) but I do like the AR platform. So I have an M&P 15-22 for a plinker.

    I like to be different, most people at the range I go to have AR's. I haven't seen may AK vatiants. I did a lot of research when I went lookimg for an AK. I ended up with an Arsenal SLR-101S. It has a Bulgarian milled reciever, chrome lined barrle and all the parts are solid and fit together perfectly. Very accurate for an AK.

    Sent from my SCH-R760 using Tapatalk 2

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    Quote Originally Posted by Schuetzenman View Post
    Welcome to the web site. Most have hit the hite points on AK vs. AR-15 already. If you get an AK variant, you have commonality in the ammo with your SKS. If you go AR-15 now you're introducing another caliber into your collection. They are two vastly different weapon types. I will say this the typical 7.62x39 AK variant has less things going wrong with respect to ammo feeding. The AR rifles need quality magazines and can be picky about what brand of magazine they like. The tight tolerances of the AR make it vulnerable to dirt, the upper receiver and blot group get really dirty with carbon from shooting them. So do the AK rifles but their tolerances are huge so they don't care when they get dirty.

    If you go AK, try and get one that has the scope mount base on the left side. Putting an optic on the weapons vastly improves the accuracy in my experience. I've experienced up to a 2/3rds reduction in group size with 7.62x39 rifles when switching from the iron sights to a simple red dot with no magnification. The AK will struggle to do better than 3" groups at 100 yards. The typical AR will produce 1 to 1.5" groups at 100 yards with off the shelf, not match ammo.

    I've owned a lot of AK types, sold all of them except for a Romanian SAR-3 rifle chambered to take the 5.56 round that the AR shoots. I kept it because it is AR accurate and uses the same ammo my AR rifles shoot. Good luck with your pick and post a photo when you get it. I'm sure we will all be interested in seeing what you purchased.
    I have both. Been shooting both for more years than I want to admit.

    Schuetzenman's post pretty well covers it.

  16. #16
    Junior Member mercer59's Avatar

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    I've looked on Atlantic and they seem to have a good inventory...Do ya'll know anyone that has done business with them? I like to look at what I'm buying but if a company has a decent reputation.....

  17. #17
    ** Contributor 01/2013 **

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    I'd suggest getting an AK variant in a higher caliber, at least 308 or better. You already have 7.62x39. A PSL, M76, or a Vepr would fit the bill nicely. I have a M76 in 8mm Mauser. Oh & by the way, they are quite accurate. 30-06 or 7.62x54r is the best step up. If you want 8mm Mauser, only the M76 fires it.

    If you are wedded to 7.62x39, you can get uppers from armalite that shoot it. Comparing are AR to the SKS would be far more interesting then comparing it to an AK in the same caliber.
    VI*VICTVS

  18. #18
    Junior Member mercer59's Avatar

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    What about the SKS M or D,they take AK mags?

  19. #19
    Senior Member Aggressive Perfector's Avatar

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    ANY SKS will require modification to accept AK mags. I do not own an SKS so I have not done extensive research on the subject, but I've read and heard from people who do have them that the modification is tricky (best left to a gun smith) and that the modified rifle will not feed from an AK magazine reliably. There are 30 round SKS magazines available, but I don't know that they're deteatchable. They look awkward IMO. I own an AR and an AK and love both rifles. The AR offers a very user friendly platform that is very easy to customize to your liking. You can easily remove the plastic hand guards and put on a spiffy quad rail so you can attatch a fore grip, bipod, lights, sights, whatever you fancy. The rifle can be taken apart and re-assembled with fair ease and will function very well as long as you maintain it (clean & lube it after any hard use, or once a month minimum). The ammo is fairly cheap and easy to find (at least it was up until the massacre in Ct). It's pretty accurate, and very fun to shoot. Some of the better brands to look for in an AR are: Colt, Daniel Defense, and Windham Weaponry. DPMS isn't bad for light use, and would be a great starter rifle for AR15's, but it's not exactly top notch.

    The AK is generally cheaper than an AR, but it's not nearly as simple to customize. The AK would be the more reliable weapon in adverse conditions, but the ammo isn't AS common as the 5.56 or .223. The AK is also less accurate. A lot less. But it's good enough to hit a hog (or human if unlikely need be) at 200 yards or so. Anything beyond 300 yards seems to be basically just volley firing. I can't really say which AK to avoid, as all I have is a WASR 10/63. Most people will tell you it is a horrible rifle and a complete piece of shit. That's false. The rifle functions well, it just has a little extra slop to it (which isn't the worst thing ever, AK's were designed to be a little on the sloppy side).
    Last edited by Aggressive Perfector; 08-16-2013 at 07:14 AM.

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