SpeedRacer
Well-Known Member
Sooooo...I needed (wanted) an AK style rifle for the SHTF collection. Thanks to the knowledgeable and devoted members of this forum, the obvious choice is to build one. Unfortunately my time is more valuable than money at the moment, so that was out of the question. I was in the market for a military grade, custom build quality rifle, which is exactly what Classic Arms had to offer. Anyway...on to the good stuff...
Classic Arms offers AK-47's built by a partner company called Heavy Metal Guns (HMG). They are advertised as hand-picked Romanian G-code kits built on Nodak receivers. Recently they upgraded the compliant parts list so that you can use surplus magazines and not the US-made poo. For the record, I ordered three of these rifles and all were comparable in every aspect. No variations in quality.
What I got was exactly that. It's hard to believe these parts kits are 30+ years old. The bores were bright and shiny, and passed the bullet test with flying colors. I would rate the bluing at 98%, with minimal wear marks and very, very light surface rust in very few places. The wood was finished with an oil finish and was fine for an AK, but I did a quick sand and refinish anyway. I also added an Israeli style grip because I hate the factory grips. The rifles were clean, lubed and ready to go. Each rifle came with two Soviet bloc surplus mags, which were definitely used (lots of rubs, slight rust, couple dings) but functional.
I got a chance to put ~300 rounds through two of the rifles, both performed flawlessly (big surprise, they're AK's). Can't really comment on accuracy, because I was mostly sighting them in and checking functionality. Which means I roughly sighted them in and proceeded to try and completely wipe the berm off the face of the Earth. Sorry, it's my first AK.
So I can't really say anything bad about them. All in all a good deal for someone without the time or patience to build themselves.
The Quick Rundown
Romanian HMG AK-47 @ Classic Arms Inc
Hand Select Romy-G Parts Kit
Nodak Receiver
Compliance Parts: Tapco G2 Trigger Group, Gas Piston and Muzzle Break
Built by Heavy Metal Guns
Price: $379 + Shipping ($10/ea for me, may vary) + FFL Fee
More related ramblings...
Classic Arms was good to deal with. Did take a couple days longer than expected, but the AK's arrived at my FFL in 7 business days from order date.
I ordered 10 extra mags and the Israeli grip from CDNN Sports. Everything arrived in just a couple days. I purchased their $11.99 "Soviet Bloc Used Very Good Condition" mags. They don't lie. I received 3 Russian mags that looked brand new. The other 7 were Bulgarian, with 4 looking brand new, 2 with slight rubbing, and 1 with slight rubbing and a couple dings on the baseplate. Was very happy with my order, other than the 4 hours I spent cleaning cosmo out of the mags.
I also ordered 2000 rounds of Golden Tiger 7.62 from Ammoman.com for $189/1000 delivered. Got here fast, no problems or complaints.
Classic Arms offers AK-47's built by a partner company called Heavy Metal Guns (HMG). They are advertised as hand-picked Romanian G-code kits built on Nodak receivers. Recently they upgraded the compliant parts list so that you can use surplus magazines and not the US-made poo. For the record, I ordered three of these rifles and all were comparable in every aspect. No variations in quality.
What I got was exactly that. It's hard to believe these parts kits are 30+ years old. The bores were bright and shiny, and passed the bullet test with flying colors. I would rate the bluing at 98%, with minimal wear marks and very, very light surface rust in very few places. The wood was finished with an oil finish and was fine for an AK, but I did a quick sand and refinish anyway. I also added an Israeli style grip because I hate the factory grips. The rifles were clean, lubed and ready to go. Each rifle came with two Soviet bloc surplus mags, which were definitely used (lots of rubs, slight rust, couple dings) but functional.
I got a chance to put ~300 rounds through two of the rifles, both performed flawlessly (big surprise, they're AK's). Can't really comment on accuracy, because I was mostly sighting them in and checking functionality. Which means I roughly sighted them in and proceeded to try and completely wipe the berm off the face of the Earth. Sorry, it's my first AK.
So I can't really say anything bad about them. All in all a good deal for someone without the time or patience to build themselves.
The Quick Rundown
Romanian HMG AK-47 @ Classic Arms Inc
Hand Select Romy-G Parts Kit
Nodak Receiver
Compliance Parts: Tapco G2 Trigger Group, Gas Piston and Muzzle Break
Built by Heavy Metal Guns
Price: $379 + Shipping ($10/ea for me, may vary) + FFL Fee
More related ramblings...
Classic Arms was good to deal with. Did take a couple days longer than expected, but the AK's arrived at my FFL in 7 business days from order date.
I ordered 10 extra mags and the Israeli grip from CDNN Sports. Everything arrived in just a couple days. I purchased their $11.99 "Soviet Bloc Used Very Good Condition" mags. They don't lie. I received 3 Russian mags that looked brand new. The other 7 were Bulgarian, with 4 looking brand new, 2 with slight rubbing, and 1 with slight rubbing and a couple dings on the baseplate. Was very happy with my order, other than the 4 hours I spent cleaning cosmo out of the mags.
I also ordered 2000 rounds of Golden Tiger 7.62 from Ammoman.com for $189/1000 delivered. Got here fast, no problems or complaints.