Tag Archives: AK

Replacing the JRA Gallant’s Buttstock and Refinishing It

The first thing I decided to do was to replace the buttstock and it was purely for cosmetics – the original locked up solid and did the job. I happen to have two SAR kits that I hope to build some day so I could look at them and pick parts. It just so happened that one of the SAR kits had a stock that was in much, much better shape.

The buttstock assembly I planned to use came from a SAR kit I had. The barrel stub has the night sight and I was thinking of moving the flip sight to the Gallant but changed my mind. I figured I could at a later date should I want to but I also realistically knew I would never need them. My goal was to get the Gallant into the shape I wanted it – not to build a perfect replica.

A Galil buttstock is press fit into the rear of the rear of the receiver and held in place by a roll pin that goes through each side of the receiver.

To remove the stock, first punch out the pin using a roll pin punch. These punches have a small round hemisphere in the middle that sits inside the roll pin and the shoulder of the punch rests on the walls on the pin that enables for the punch to properly drive out the pin with even support all the way aroud.

The SAR receiver stub is supported by a bench block and I am using a roll pin punch with a hammer to drive the roll pin straight out. I used a 3/8″ brass rod and hammer to drive the stock out of the stub and also out of the Gallant’s receiver.

To drive the stock back out of the receiver, I would recommend a 3/8″ brass rod cut to whatever length you want/need. Before the brass rid, I tried a hardwood dowel but the end simply broke apart against the metal insert. The stronger brass rod and a hammer made quick work of pushing the stock back out without harming the surrounding steel.

Here is the stock that came with the Gallant. I used the 3/8″ brass rod and ball pein hammer to drive/knock the butt stock out of the receiver .

I used a rubber dead blow hammer and whacked the new stock back into position. I had locked the stock in the open position and was striking the buttplate that I planned on refinishing anways.

One challenge was that tnew stock’s holes did not line up with the receiver’s holes so. I egged the hole slightly and filled the gap with epoxy, If I ever want to improve the looks, I’ll either weld the holes shut and re-drill them or go to the next size larger roll pin. I guess I just figured they would line up given it was Israeli but it’s not a big deal.

In terms of preparing the replacement stock, I used 0000 steel wool to smooth the horizontal polymer rod. and then applied Rustoleum Satin Black on the metal. What was on both stocks seemed to be something enamalish so I opted to brush on a finish using a foam brush. I did two coats at let it dry for a day before I handled it. Note, bore solvents and what not will probably attack the Rustoleoum so I’ll just try to minimize contact for now.

It came out better than I expected but it was shinier than I wanted. I let the paint harden for a couple more days and then I used 0000 steel wool to knock down the shine. What happens is that the very fine steel wool immparts very small scratches to the surface thus removing the shine. If I had it do do over, I would still use Rusoleum but I would have used flat black. If I really wanted to go nuts, I could have taken everything apart, blasted and parked the steel surface, apply Molyresin or Cerakote, bake it and then reassemble.

The first coat of Rustoleum Satin Black is on the two aluminum portions of the buttstock – the lower angled tube and the rear. The top is some form of black polymer that I ran over with 0000 steel wool. Note how shiny the paint is. After it had a few days to harden I then knocked down the shine by lightly going over it also with 0000 steel wool.

Again, my goal was to roughly stick with a batte worn look vs brand new from the factory. If I ever change my mind, I can always go that route also. A friend once told me that once you get into building guns, it’s kind of like Barbie Dress Up for men. You can change all kinds of stuff whenever you want and your two big constraints will always be time and money.

It came out pretty good. I left the steel folder surfaces alone.

So, the final product look came out pretty good – I wanted “worn and mismatched” and that’s what I stil had. Just a tad bit more to my taste. Next up was to fix the handguards so they weren’t so loose.


Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.

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Trevor’s Cool Zastava ZPAP M70

Trevor sent me a photo of the Zastava M70 that he modified:


He provided the following info on it:

  • The furniture is from ironwood designs – it has a Tabuk-style buttstock with an AK-74 style handguard set
  • The recoil pad and lower handguard ferrule are from us (Ronin’s Grips)
  • The magazine is Serbian
  • The sling is Yugoslavian surplus
  • The brake is a J-Comp from Strike Industries
  • The rifle is a new Zastava ZPAP M70

It looks great Trevor!


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What Are Good Commercial AKs You Can Buy In The USA?

If you ever want to start an argument on the Internet, ask what is the best AK brand you can buy in the US or at least ask what is good a good brand. You’ll get a ton of opinions, hear say and even a few people with real experience will chime in.

Paul Popov is the admin of the AK-47 Group on Facebook and an avid AK hobbyist and industry tracker. He also runs a website called the Kalash Connection where he maintain information about AKs.

The other day he sat down and took the time to create what I will refer to as “Paul’s List” to try and answer that question above:


Current 12-12-20
Question one: What new Ak do I buy?
Current new production mass market AKs that are proven and a safe bet.
Alphabetically
· Arsenal,
· Century imported WASR or Draco
· IWI Galil ACE,
· K-USA KP9p/r,
· M&M Cugir AKs,
· Palmetto State Armory GF3 – up, GF4, 103, AKv, 74 (the only 74 in new prod),
· Riley Defense is hammer forged where it counts, should be ok? (test is not completed, ammo is expensive currently for just putting rounds through one for testing)
· WBP Poland. Still pretty new, hard to say on this one. Maybe ok
· Zastava should be ok, the ones Century imported were hit and miss. New ones have chrome lined barrels (yay and about time) and lets hope better metallurgy than Century imports.
o Atlantic firearms often have decent kit builds to purchase, but are not mfg. new AKs. So do many kit builders, we have a list in announcements along with a list of where you can buy kits from.
o Please let me know if I forgot any.


·Question two: What are good used AKs to buy?
This is a great list Darryn Eugene compiled.
AK variant buyers guide (models and variants G2G)
7.62×39 AKm/47 Variants
· Mitchell Arms Imports, M-90/m-70
· Mitchell Arms Imports, M-72
· Zastava M-92 (inspect due to varying QC)
· Zastava NPAP/OPAP (inspect due to varying QC)
· Cugir/Romarm/Century AES-10B not to be confused with AES-10 (basically a long barreled wasr)
· Cugir/Romarm/Century Sar-1
· Cugir/Romarm/Century Cur-1
· Cugir/Romarm/Century Wum-1 (check for “moon cuts” meaning a dish shaped portion cut out of the rear of the receiver to dissuade the use military stocks.
· Cugir/Romarm/Century WASR-10 variants (only upon inspection)
· Cugir/Romarm/INTRAC Romak-1
· Cugir/Romarm/INTRAC Romak-991 (dimple-less single stack pre WASR import.
· FEG/Hungary/KBI/Kassnar Sa-85 variants post and pre ban.
· FEG/Hungary/TGI Amd-65 builds (not to be confused with Clearview Investments builds)
· Valmet, Literally any of them they’re all excellent.
· Arsenal of Bulgaria/Las Vegas/Legion SLR 107 variants, SAM-7 Variants, SLR 101 Variants, SGL-21 Variants
· BlueRidge/GordonTech/INTRAC SLR100h builds (Hungarian Type3 AK-55 kits on Bulgarian Receivers)
· Norinco/Polytech AK47S series.
· Norinco/Polytech MAK90 series milled and stamped models. (on stamped models identify whether it is slant cut or straight when figuring your price to pay.
· Norinco/Polyech NHM-91
· Norinco/Polytech MAK-91 (20-inch barrel milled receiver rifle, neutered Polyech legend national match).
· Norinco/Polytech Hunters. (great for galil/valmet conversion)
· GSAD/Kengs/Siles Type 56, AK47S
· Molot Vepr 1&2 models (model 2’s being the integrated front sight gas block set up)
· Robinson Arms Molot Vepr Conversions
· IWI Galil Ace series.
· Izhmash Saiga series.
· Intrac Maadi ARM
· Century Maadi MISR SA (avoid MISR 90)
· Intrac Maadi RPM, RML
· Steyr Maadi
5.45×39 AK-74 Variants
· Cugir/Romarm/Century SAR-2
· Cugir/Romarm/INTRAC MK-2
· Cugir/Romarm/Ratmil WUM-2
· Cugir/Romarm/Ratmil CUR-2
· 1st Gen Waffen Werks (identified by Nodak Spud receivers and Bulgarian barrels)
· Arsenal of Bulgaria/Las Vegas SLR 105-104 variants
· Arsenal of Bulgaria/Las Vegas/Legion FIME SGL 31 variants.
· Marcolmar/InRange Ak-74/AKS-74
· Molot Vepr 1&2 Series
· Robinson Arms Molot Vepr Conversions
· Interams Tantal
· Izhmash Saiga Variants
AK-101/5.56 Ak variants
· Romarm/Cugir/Century SAR-3
· Royal Tiger/FB Radom/ Beryl Archer
· Arsenal Of Bulgaria/ Las Vegas SLR 106 series ( research serial number prefixes to identify potential problemed models)
· Izhmash Saiga Variants
· Norinco/Polyech 84S
· Norinco/Polytech NHM-90
· Norinco/Polytech BWK-92
· Zastava/Century M85 (cannot verify quality of m85NP series)
· Mitchell Arms M-90
· Arsenal USA (not to be confused with KVAR) K100 model. (Bulgarian milled receiver assembled with Bulgarian 5.56 barrel on 74 parts.
· Arsenal Of Bulgaria SAM-5
· IMI/IWI Galil and Galil ACE variants
· TENN Galil builds.
· Valmet M72/65 variants.
· Valmet Bullpup. M82? Can’t recall model during time of this list. And yes i know i could use google. Don’t judge me…


So for all you folks new to AKs, take a look a the above. The last AK I bought was an IWI Galil Ace and they are superb.

Also, be sure to check out Paul’s site at: https://thekalashconnection.com

I hope this helps!


If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@*********ps.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.



PSA AK Webstore Links

Interested in an American made AK? Consider Palmetto State Armory (PSA) as a source. Click on the following links for the associated webstore categories for AK-related rifles, pistols and parts at PSA:

Will A Bulgy ARM9 Grip Fit An IMI Galil? The Notch Is Definitely Different

A recurring question I get is if a Bulgarian ARM-9 grip can be used on an IMI Galil rifle. Not easily is my answer and I took a bunch of photos so you can decide for yourself. You would need to add black epoxy to the inside back of the ARM in order to Dremel or mill it open further to duplicate the swing of the Galil’s lever – at least that’s how it looks to me because I don’t own an IMI Galil to experiment with.

So, here are some photos so you can see what I mean:

Note the difference in the shape of the ARM-9 grip’s notch on the left vs. the IMI Galil’s notch on the right
Here are the notches even closer.
Here’s the ARM sitting on top of the Galil for another perspective.
Here’s where you can see that the ARM-9’s original wall design is hollow behind the notch. It’s not an impossible change – if you were to abrasive blast the inside of the ARM grip and then use wax stripper, you could then fill that back in with black epoxy. It wouldn’t be an exact color match by any means.

Summary

So there you have it. They are different and definitely not a simple swap with out doing some epoxy work and then maybe a top coat of some finish if you want the colors to match. I hope this helps you out as you think through your options.


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What are rear stock options for SDS Lynx 12 Gauge shotguns?

A fellow messaged me the other day and asked what options he had to replace the light fixed stock on his SDS 12 gauge shotgun. I told him that he has a lot. The rear of an SDS is very similar to an AKM or AK-74.

The rear piece that holds the stock in is called a “trunnion” they are what provide the real strength in the sheet metal receiver. The stock is held in place by the two screws you see. Be sure to use a blade screw driver bit that completely fills the slot. You can see that whomever installed the screws at the factor did not do this and slightly deformed both slots by using an undersized screwdriver or blade bit.
You may need to use a wood dowel, or whatever you have handy, to tap the stock out. I like using a hardwood dowel because it doesn’t bend or scratch things all up.
I used a Rifle Dynamics adapter that lets you convert from the AK-rear to an AR/M4 buffer tube. Both the Rifle Dynamics adapter and the one sold by PSA are very well made.

With the rear stock removed, you can use any AKM/AK-74 traditional wood or polymer stock that you want or adapter to use an AR-style stock. Read up online before you buy because there are tons and tons of options and combinations for you.

I hope this helps you out and here are a few examples for your consideration:


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Simplify The Installation of AK Triggers With Our Slave Pin

The typical semi-auto AK trigger has four parts – the trigger body, disconnector, disconnector spring and pin. Installing it can be a challenge because you need to properly align the disconnector while sliding the pin through from one side of the receiver to another. For me, with big hands, this task takes more effort than I want.

This is your typical semi-automatic AK trigger group. On the left is the trigger body, top right is the disconnector, under the disconnector is its spring and at the bottom right is the trigger pin. The challenge is getting this all assembled inside of the AK receiver as the pin needs to pass from one side of the receiver, through one side of the trigger, through the disconnector to capture it, out the other side of the trigger and finally out the other side of the receiver. Trying to get it all to align inside of the trigger takes some patience.

The Solution – Use A Slave Pin

There is an easier approach. We can slide a properly sized dowel pin to serve as a “slave pin” during assembly to secure and properly align the disconnector and trigger outside of the receiver. This simplifies life tremendously. The unit is assembled outside where you can see what is going on, is lowered into the receiver and then the actual trigger pin is pushed through and it displaces the slave pin – the slave just exits the other side of the receiver.

This is the slave pin. Note how one side is beveled more than the other. That is the side that is inserted first. The bevel helps move things around during insertion and then the 5mm body provides the actual alignment for the trigger pin.
This is the assembled trigger group with the slave pin holding it all together.
Normally this would be in the receiver but I want you to see what is going on. As the trigger pin is inserted, it pushes the slave pin out of the way and it exits via the opposite receiver hole.
This photo shows how when the trigger pin is fully inserted, the slave simply drops out.
This is an ALG semi-auto trigger and you can see how slave pin is exiting the receiver as the trigger pin is installed.
So there’s the end result. A slave pin makes a world of difference. Note, that is one if our fire control group plates retaining the trigger and hammer pins.

Click here to order one of our AK Trigger Slave Pins

Click here if you are interested in one of our Fire Control Group Retainer Plates

In Conclusion

If you’re like me and want an easier way to install AK triggers, these new slave pins are the way to go!


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PSA AK-E: First Range Trip

Well folks, we finally had a chance to go to the range for the first time this year. It was a beautiful day and the only shortcoming was that we had a number of rifles and pistols to test and not enough time to shoot a ton of rounds through each. To be honest, we had a blast 🙂

One of the rifles that went was my PSA AK-E. It was the smoothest cycling AK out of the box that I have encountered and I think it’s due to a combination of pretty good fitment and their nickel-boron coating of the bolt and bolt carrier. I’ve written a number of posts about my journey with the AK-E so click here to open a tab/window and see those posts.

Palmetto State Armory (PSA) has a stunning array of Kalashnikov firearms now. AK-47s, AK74s, 100 series, rifles, pistols … it’s impressive. Click here to go to their main AK menu.

We were shooting 124 grain 7.62×39 FMJ ammo by Golden Tiger. This is great ammo and my favorite to use. For AK bulk ammo, it’s relatively accurate, reliable and consistent — notice that I say relatively. It will hold its own with any of the bulk steel case ammo or even do better. I’m not comparing it to hand loads or specialty ammo.

Niko is a heck of a shot and is familiar with AKs as well. He had to do Slavic Squat shot 🙂

I wish I could tell you that we shot hundreds of rounds but there just wasn’t time. We shot three mags through it – 90 rounds and did not have one problem. Yeah, it’s not many rounds but I figured some of you would like an update and I’ll post again after the next range trip.

Observations:

  • The little Vortex Crossfire did a great job and we had fun punching paper. The scope and the RS!Regulate optic mount worked out just fine. I’ve used the combo before and expected such.
  • The rifle functioned just fine with no feed or ejection problems
  • The rounds were grouping pretty well – we were not shooting for accuracy – more for function testing
  • The trigger was very nice – ALGs are great in general and what I like to use these days.
  • The brake did a decent job. I think a JMAC RRD-4C brake would have reduced recoil further but out of the box the recoil was not bad at all. When you think about it, even an AK with no brake is surprisingly pleasant to shoot during semi-auto fire
  • I definitely liked the feel – the weight and balance – of the rifle – the RS!Regulate handguard, our AK-12 grip and a Magpul ACS stock worked very well together
Me with my favorite AK shooting shirt 🙂

When we were done, I did take the rifle apart and did not see anything concerning. So, I definitely want to shoot it more and the rifle is off to a good start.


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Video: What is the Best Way to Reload an AK? Kalashnikov Media Answers a Hot Question

You know, it’s interesting how people will argue over stuff on the Internet. Give them a picture of a stick and they will argue about it! Now, turn the topic to AK rifles and debating what is the right or wrong way to do something, things get colorful fast and a lot of energy is wasted over trivial points.

In this video, Vladimir Onokoy, who always does a great job, goes over different reloading approaches. Now most folks do not know Vladimir but I will tell you he is the real deal with considerable Russian military experience and armorer-level experience with the AK platform. In short, I would recommend you listen real close to what he says plus bear in mind that this is a Kalashnikov Media video and they know their stuff as well 🙂

Watch the Video

Normally I give some screen shots and make some color commentary but this video is only 3:05 seconds and seeing is believing.


I fully agree with his conclusion – train and become proficient. They all work the question is what works best for you and only training and experience can answer that.


Please note that all images were extracted from the video and are the property of their respective owner.


If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@*********ps.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.



PSA AK Webstore Links

Interested in an American made AK? Consider Palmetto State Armory (PSA) as a source. Click on the following links for the associated webstore categories for AK-related rifles, pistols and parts at PSA: