Alex C.

8 hours ago, Sturgeon said:

@Alex C., btw did my numerous articles on the subject ever convince you Schmeisser didn't design the AK-47?

Heck no! The man couldnt even put out a good vodka, and hes from the land of vodka!

I actually keep a bottle around for kicks. It has him smiling on the label and then his army photo in the bottle which is cool.

 

But I will do the Galil next to contrast it with the RK62, then the 100 series rifle. Id also like to showcase the FNC and Sig 550 in this thread to show the similarities and differences to the AK.

 

So coming up:

Galil, Galil Ace, RK76, AK103, AK74M, SIG 550, FNC, and then maybe anything post-war people compare to the AK (vz58 and stuff).

On 2/14/2019 at 5:46 PM, Meplat said:

Why? Those old Lycoming eights were stupidly reliable, and having "ALL TEH POWAHH" would be useless unless you chucked the whole drivetrain to the curb.

Kind of defeating the purpose of having a really neat old car.

 

I dont care if the subframe turns itself into a pretzel the first time I hit the gas. LS swap now, worry about ancillary bullshit later. Brakes, rear end mods, and chassis stiffening is for suckers when you have all that sweet, sweet power straight from Jimmy’s wrecked WS6.

7 minutes ago, Sturgeon said:

 

Wait till you see the AK-74!

True. Ive got 7.62 on the brain. 5.45 is still a few steps away.

RK62 Rifle.

 

From Finland and based on a Polish rifle. The Finns added some pretty nifty stuff to the old AK, much of which the Israelis later copied. 200 were imported in the US starting in 1965. These were the first commercially available AK rifles and they flopped... hard. 7.62x39 was not available and Valmet realized this pretty quickly and brought out 223 and 308 guns. But this is a converted military rifle essentially from a military factory. Not a single US part on her.

 

 

 

Stock coated in some kind of plastic that keeps your face from both burning and freezing:

 

 

Non-slip "cheese grater" handguard:

 

 

Note top cover reinforcement:

 

 

 

Good grip. AKM-like size and texture:

 

 

Excellent mag release:

 

 

Wire cutter flash hider + bayo lug:

 

 

Front sight base and vented gas tube:

 

 

Fine, non adjustable front sight:

 

 

Night sight up:

 

 

Rear sight:

 

 

 

 

Safety like a type 3:

 

 

Mag release is nice. Notice double-rivet trigger guard:

 

 

Bullet guide rivet:

 

 

Stock cleaning kit:

 

 

Gas block and front sight adjustment:

 

 

Rear sight adjustment:

 

 

 

RK62 Magazines have a loop on the floorplate and a "T" marking:

 

 

 

 

Recoil assembly is RPK style with telescoping pieces:

 

 

Originally they are all double hook guns but as part of the semi conversion process, Valmet ground off the sear engaging side:

 

 

Galil style gas tube (yes I know this came first):

 

 

 

Barrel thick under handguard but I don't know how to remove the handguard:

 

 

Bolt is "T" marked:

 

 

 

Carrier still has sear engagement surface:

 

 

Gas tube "fingers" are there:

 

 

BCG weight:

 

 

Heavy guns!

 

 

Barrel thickness at end:

 

 

 

 

So the RK62 is heavy but has some great features. I love the mag release, sights (damn they are awesome), length of pull, trigger, furniture, and low recoil (mostly due to weight of course). That said if I'm going to march across some country fighting a war, give me the lightweight AKM. If I'm defending my country from invasion and will be in a static position, yeah I'll take the RK62. So from this perspective it made sense for Finland to go a little heavier (plus I doubt the USSR would have given them info on the AKM since it was pretty damn new at the time).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

37 minutes ago, Sturgeon said:

 

Did they just take the AK-74 bolt and mill it out?

That would make the most sense to me.

8 minutes ago, Sturgeon said:

 

What's with the more relieved bolt face? Is it just different proportions but the same diameter cut?

 

Rk. 62 plz.

I honestly don't know why they removed so much material on the 100 series guns (weight?). The stems are thinner too and people on the AKFiles are breaking bolts pretty frequently. Same shit happens to 7.62x39 AR15s and Daewoo DR300s.

11 minutes ago, Sturgeon said:

 

That's one of 3 (or four?) select-fire Type 3 AKs imported by Sam Cummings circa ~1960. The CIA requested two, and Sam seeing an opportunity didn't stop there. So that's one of the first if not the first AK pattern rifles in the US. It's not clear what the gun would have been designated in Polish service, but it's probably a kbk AK or pmK.

 

The guys at Circle 11 factory really knew what they were doing, too as that gun has the slickest bolt of any AK I've ever handled, period. Puts even Finnish guns to shame.

 

Very interesting. And yes the Polish guns are amazing. Larry Vickers after finishing his AK book said they had the best fit and finish of all the traditional AK variants.

I do not own a Polish made AK but I certainly wish I did.

 

So next I can do either the AK 100 series 7.62x39 rifle (AK103) or the RK62. Chronologically the RK62 would be next but the 103 is Russian and features a number of improvements over the old 1959 and on AKMs.

 

The AK103 though has one serious problem: Bolt breakages. They may have solved this lately but Jesus, look how much material they removed from the bolt face (AK103 left, AKM right):

 

I forgot this. Type 3 BCG:

 

 

AKM BCG:

 

 

 

Closer in weight that I would have thought, but later the AKM got a relief cut near the rear of the right side of the carrier to save weight.

 

 

 

So now the Chinese Type 56-1. The "-1" designates it as a folder.

 

The reasons the 56 isn't a direct AKM copy is because of the Sino-Soviet split. The Chinese milled guns are damn near perfect Type 3 copies (the Soviets helped them out there) but the stamped guns were reverse engineered with their own stamping process. This was mostly for production simplification and reducing cost and time to make a gun. Very little (if any) weight is saved over a milled rifle. The receiver is 1.6mm thick whereas the AKM is 1.0mm

 

 

 

 

 

Trigger curvature different. Also notice single rivet trigger guard instead of Soviet double rivet:

 

 

RPK rivet pattern:

 

 

Folder makes these piggy:

 

 

Chinese flatback mags are between AG4 polymer and slabsides in weight:

 

 

Type 56 uses Type 3 handguards and grip. Please notice worst grip ever as there is no texture at all. These guns are slippery:

 

 

 

Type 56 mag release is larger and round. I like this feature:

 

 

Folding mechanism:

 

 

Identify a Chinese AK by the hooded front sight post:

 

 

Type 3 style vent holes:

 

 

AKM style dimples:

 

 

Still the old 800m sights:

 

 

Note the double hook trigger and cross receiver reinforcing pin. Type 56 rifles also never had a rate reducer:

 

 

Standard bullet guide and ramp to kick the bolt out of the pre-engagement recess:

 

 

Smooth and thick top cover like the type 3:

 

 

Barrel still type 3 thickness:

 

 

BCG weight:

 

 

 

So the stamped Type 56 is more AK47 than AKM. Yes its stamped but the furniture, trigger mechanism, rear sight, top cover, sling on gas block, lack of a rate reducer, barrel profile, vent holes, and so on are AK47 and not AKM.

IMO, the Type 56 (stamped) is neither AK47 nor AKM. It is uniquely its own monster: the Type 56. Any input here appreciated. What do you think? Is the 56 unique or would you comfortably say "AKM" as a blanket term because of the stamped receiver?

That is a good reference photo. You can see the absence of any kind of barrel pin. Pinning barrels instead of screwing them in was a major improvement from a production standpoint.

Handguards. The palm swell makes the AKM much easier to hold when you are sweaty and trying to stay on target:

 

 

Sights. AKM 1000m, Type 3 800m. I don't know why this is.

 

 

Sling attachment points. Receiver and gas block on type 3, stock and handguard retainer on AKM:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gas venting holes on Type 3 drilled into tube. Vent holes on AKM cast into actual block.

 

 

 

 

Dust covers: thin and reinforced with ribbing vs. thick and smooth.

 

 

 

Type 3 thickness:

 

 

AKM Thickness:

 

 

 

Barrel thickness of Type 3 (near breech first, then near the end)

 

 

 

 

Barrel thickness of AKM (again, breech then near end)

 

 

 

 

 

So in my opinion the AKM is leagues better. It's lighter, easier to handle, more svelte, you can hold the damn thing, the stock's drop is more pleasant, bayo slips right on, and in go fast they had a rate reducer/hammer retarder. Is the Type 3 marginally more accurate? Probably, but not enough to offset the advantages of the AKM when it came to production and fielding the damn thing. A few notes though: A proper Type 3 would have a screwed in barrel, not a pinned one. Also the Type 3 rifles were in fact blued like this one, whereas the AKMs were paint over park.

 

So next I'd like to do the Type 56 because it is a straight up bizarre combination of the Type 3, RPK, and AKM. It's easy to write off the stamped Chinese guns as AKMs but they are more Type 3 (and interestingly save very little weight over a milled gun). 1.6mm receiver, RPK rivet pattern, Type 3 stock drop and furniture, Type 3 barrel profile. Really just weird hybrids but damn are they stout little bastards.

Over the years I just kind of learned to accept the AK for what it is. Cheap garbage intended to be issued to conscripts and nothing more.

 

But then my tastes changed, I asked for forgiveness, admitted I was wrong, and I kind of went off the deep end.

 

I've even scored a rare, 7.62x39 Finnish RK62 in proper FDF pattern. About 200 were imported before they realized that in the 60s there was no 7.62x39 anywhere for purchase so... way to go Valmet!

 

Anyways this is going to be more or less a photo journal showing the minor and major differences between various Kalashnikovs. I realize this is information many of you know already but some of the measurements even surprised me.

 

 

So I'll kick it off with a proper Type 3 AK47 vs. an AKM. So the quintessential AK47 vs. what everyone incorrectly thinks is the quintessential AK47. Top is a 1970 Russian kit build, bottom is a Polytech Legend (100% factory made straight out of factory number 386).

 

 

 

The Type 3 here is a little lighter than a Russian Type 3 because chu wood is famously light. It also dents if you look at it funny.

 

 

 

 

 

AKM Lighter:

 

 

 

 

And just some receiver photos:

 

 

 

 

 

Also that lovely triangle that lets you know you overpaid, as well as the Y stamp that lets you know you really overpaid. For the uninformed, Russian kits are a no-no, and foreign "military barrels" were banned in 2005. I bought this gun mostly because of the Russian parts (especially the barrel):

 

 

 

So the Type 3 Doesn't have a bayonet lug. It clamps onto the muzzle nut. The AKM's bayonet slides on easily. You have the be pretty deliberate to throw the pig sticker on your T3:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also I never realized how heavy slabsides are. Holy Jesus:

 

 

 

 

Also one of the best bits. The AKM's stock is much more inline with the barrel making them a shit ton easier to control (not all AKM's had a slant brake, I believe this was a change made in 67 or 68):

 

 

 

Type 3 pistol grip fat and with shit texture. AKM grip textured well and slimmer:

 

 

 

 

I can update this thread a little.

 

So I have a working cattle ranch with about 40 head. There used to be more deer and turkey than you could imagine. Limiting out every year was easy and it was awesome. Then a few months ago we got infested. All the deer are gone. The turkeys have also disappeared because the pigs dominate the feeders, acorns, pecans, etc:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can not kill them fast enough no matter what. I have tried night vision, machine guns, machineguns with night vision, thermal, multiple people blasting away. Nothing works and our once beautiful land is being torn to shit by these animals.

 

So I hired a professional trapper for $600 one time setup fee and $20 per pig trapped/snared. He worked for the US Fish and Wildlife dept for 35+ years and I am optimistic he can solve the problem. Hunting hogs is fun but they are multiplying like crazy, running off game animals, and destroying land. Lets see what the trapper can do.

I find it interesting that the charging handle has given you the most trouble on this project and in the end you went with a conventional design. IMO your L1A1 style one that requires the cutout in the endplate is terrific (especially if you could incorporate the L1A1's folding mechanism that folds flat after charging).

 

 

It certainly isn't uncommon for obsolete cartridges to be loaded conservatively.

Parents are on vacation so I am house sitting. Had Columbus Day off and decided it was time to get the old 1929 Model A running again. We bought this car out of a barn in Arkansas for 5k back in 2006.

 

Cleaned her up real nice too, as there was a thick layer of dust of it. Really the simplicity of these cars is mind blowing and it is very apparent that they were designed so that even isolated people in the most rural pockets of America could order a part and fix the thing themselves:

 

 

 

 

 

Having to manually retard and advance the timing is pretty neat, and a reminder of how far things have come:

 

 

 

 

This model is a Business Coupe, and does have a rumble seat ensuring that passengers are just a bump away from death:

 

 

 

 

 

Also, ever wondered why we call the area behind the cabin where you put stuff a trunk (in the USA at least)? Because cars used to have a literal trunk behind them where you could put your spare fedora and Thompson:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Really it isn't hard to appreciate how far we have come in the way of automobiles and you can see how much difference a decade of development makes if you go from a 1919 Model T:

 

 

 

To the Model A featured above, then to a 1939:

 

Isn't that pretty well known?

 

The only three manufacturers of 7.92x33 I have found are Hornady, FNM, and PPU and the original stuff has more oomph than the lot of them.

I once filled up a johnson with 7.5 French as it was in a sleeve next to a 30-06 box at a good sized shoot with a lot going on. Took about 5-10 minutes of banging to try and get the damn thing out.

After this, Nate goes "NATO standardization saved us from a lot of this kind of thing I reckon".

Crozier was such a dickweed.

Source: the New York Times, General Wood, The Secretary of War, Winchester, Remington, Congress, The House Military Committee, and presumably every American who went into battle with a Chauchat.

 

The best part must have been when Crozier called Lewis out for being greedy/a profiteer... and then he sent the USA millions of dollars back as promised.

Oh, or when the board of inquiry regarding Lewis essentially told Crozier "motherfucker, you called us together because he doesn't like you? What kind of grade school bullshit is this?"

Fascinating article from 1898 titled "The Krag-Jorgensen Gun: It Is Inferior In Many Respects To The Mauser Used By The Spaniards" from the New York Times:

 

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9B04E7D91139E433A25755C1A96E9C94699ED7CF

I always run leaded stuff in older engines for valve lubrication/preventing valve seat wear. He also mentioned it running hotter than hell, so the 100LL likely prevents detonation (as he said he can only run it for 15 minutes before it overheats).

This gentleman saw it fit to take me to school!

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6WddphXOWA&t=0s

Bedtime for me. But this is directed at Alex.

In just about every real world situation, a comparably priced (or cheaper) lever action is better than a Mauser 98.

Like any day of the week.

Especially with how ridiculous any German mil surp goes for these days.

*Laughs lever actionly*

 

I have three yugo 98s that I bought for $220-250 over the past 2 or 3 years and they are all in excellent shape. I also have a beautiful Czech 98 I bought for $300 two years ago with all the accessories and stuff. That is one of the reasons I like 98s: they are very cheap for what they are. Buying a WWII Kraut Mauser 98 for casual shooting is just foolish, as they offer no advantage over a czech, yugo, etc.

 

But out of curiosity, what real world situations are you talking about? I cannot imagine one where a lever action outshines a Mauser 98 outside of a cowboy action shooting event.

You know, that would not be too hard to make. Might be a fun project and video (charge your iPhone with a machinegun or some shit).

I can't help but feel accomlished after reading the comments on that video that reference my review. That was a hard, expensive, and long test, but very worth it.

That chin weld though.