So here we are at the end. All that was left was to install the buttstock, handguards, muzzle brake, optic and test fire the rifle.
Beryl Furniture
The Poles evolved the Beryl furniture over the years so I went with a particular handguard from Robert RTG that I liked, buttstock from Arms of America and one of our grips.
The lower handguard is what you would find on a kbs wz. 1996A Beryl. The upper is one I had in a box and pretty flimsy. I ordered a genuine Polish upper that I will install after I refinish the rifle.
The upper and lower go on the same as any AKM. I really like the lower – that lip you see makes for a very natural handstop.
Now the buttstock definitely caught my eye. The Poles went through some different models. The first model I see with this collapsing stock is the kbs wz. 1996C Beryl. What I like is that it connects to the receiver the same as any other AK stock so I can change if I ever want to. On the con side, it rattles. I prefer telescoping stocks that are solid. It’s not the end of the world and I’ll live with it to have the unique buttstock.
The grip is our second generation Beryl model. The earlier model Beryls I saw had an AKM-ish looking grip. The first model I have seen with this type of grip is the kbs wz. 1996C Beryl.
Click here if you would like to order one.
The Muzzle Brake
The Beryls were originally chambered in 5.56 NATO and have a unique brake. This rifle is in 7.62×39 so I had to take a departure and go with another brake. Justin McMillion of JMAC Customs makes some very cool effective brakes and ordered his RRD-4C “slim” brake. It looks and functions great.
Note – the Arms of America kit does not come with a cleaning rod so I ordered a Polish AKM rod from them and that is what you see in the photos.
Vortex Crossfire Optic
To round things out, I went with a Vortex Crossfire red dot. I had a few reasons for doing this:
- Vortex optics are solid
- The red dot is only 2 MOA whereas some are 4 and can obscure a small target
- It can sit right down on the rail and be closer to the bore than some red dots
I removed the riser, used some blue medium Loc-Tite on the screws to hold low-rise plate in place and installed it on the rifle.
I used a laser boresighter to sight in the Crossfire plus I lubricated everything and took it to the range with by buddy Niko.
Range Results
The rifle ran superbly. I did find that I need to tune the mag catch a bit to work with steel magazines. It works just fine with the WBP polymer mags you see in the photos and they have a noticeably thinner tab than my steel mags.
A fellow asked me how well the RRD-4C brake works and this video is of Niko shooting at targets – you can see how little the 7.62×39 Golden Tiger ammo is recoiling.
As it stands right this minute, I think this is both my most accurate AK and reliability has been exceptional. So, I still need to parkerize it and finish it but that needs to wait as I have a few other projects I want to line up and do them all at once.
Here’s how the rifle looks right now:
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