I've got $800 to blow

[foxtrot762]

I'm looking for a "battle rifle". Specifically an AK variant. I've got no more than $800 to spend on this rifle.
I've heard good things about Maadi's and Arsenals but I'm looking for opinions on each. I can get a Maadi for $650. He has the wood furniture for it as well.
Here's a portion of the ad
Maadi ak, compliance parts installed, slant brake, rock solid aluminum quad rail, one 30 round mag. Good shooting rifle,
cash sale is $650. Importer of this rifle is A.C.C INT/INTRAC Knox tn



Here's another one on my local gun trader. Guy wants $800 for it

Romy G chrome lined barrel, matching front trunnion/bolt/carrier
Nodak Spud NDS-3
Ultimak
US Palm grip
Hogue front hand guard
A2 M14x1LH flash hider/compensator
AMD side folding wire trunnion with AMD65 tech stock adapter
Buttstock cleaning in the stock
Tapco G2 and retaining plate
Whole build was Gunkoted



Also tell me about Arsenals. Thanks

[crazysccrmd]

Is the AK just for fun or serious work/classes? If for fun only I'd try to find one around the $600 mark and use the extra $200 to buy a 1000rd case of ammo.

[Obin Robinson]

I'm looking for a "battle rifle". Specifically an AK variant. I've got no more than $800 to spend on this rifle.
I've heard good things about Maadi's and Arsenals but I'm looking for opinions on each. I can get a Maadi for $650. He has the wood furniture for it as well.
Here's a portion of the ad
Maadi ak, compliance parts installed, slant brake, rock solid aluminum quad rail, one 30 round mag. Good shooting rifle,
cash sale is $650. Importer of this rifle is A.C.C INT/INTRAC Knox tn

BUY THAT GUN! Forget the others. That Maadi is a solid gun. You'll thank me later.

obin

[foxtrot762]

Thanks Obin. I just called the guy and told him I'd take it. If it were anyone else on this site, I'd have to question it but I know you know your AK's. Thanks a bunch!

And to top it off, I got it for $600 and he's throwing in 2 more mags and both sets of furniture for it. Sweet!

[Obin Robinson]

Thanks Obin. I just called the guy and told him I'd take it. If it were anyone else on this site, I'd have to question it but I know you know your AK's. Thanks a bunch!

And to top it off, I got it for $600 and he's throwing in 2 more mags and both sets of furniture for it. Sweet!

AWESOME! I would have called that a bargain even 4 years ago. You're going to love the Maadi. That's the closest you can get to a Cold War Soviet AK without paying 5 figures. Do yourself a favor and watch Red Dawn a few times. There are a ton of Maadis is that movie.

obin

[foxtrot762]

I've seen Red Dawn a handful of times. What markings should I look for and where to be sure it's a Maadi?

[Obin Robinson]

I've seen Red Dawn a handful of times. What markings should I look for and where to be sure it's a Maadi?

Look for "Made in Egypt" and a "Y" stamp on the trunnion. It might have some arabic markings on it. The finish on these guns is rough and cheap but that is part of the charm. They are workhorses, not fashion models.

obin

[foxtrot762]

Great. Thanks. I'm stoked for this thing.

[Obin Robinson]

Great. Thanks. I'm stoked for this thing.

You should be. It's one of the few remaining good deals on Kalashnikovs. This isn't a Barbie doll gun you're getting. The finish is ratty, rough, cheap, and the wood looks like crap. On the other hand the function is smooth and the gun is SOLID. Welcome to the world of true military-grade weaponry.

obin

[VDubby18]

Pretend it's a rifle and call it a day.





I saw $800, so that's what I am going off of.

[nevermas]

Shouldn't a battle rifle use 7.62NATO/.308?

I would have recommended the Vepr.

[foxtrot762]

Shouldn't a battle rifle use 7.62NATO/.308?

Depends on which battle we're talking about
Without getting too deep into a caliber discussion, I love the 7.62x39 round. It is my favorite right in front of 5.45x39. I almost picked up an Arsenal SGL-31 in 5.45 until I read Obins post.

[GrkPranksta69]

Shouldn't a battle rifle use 7.62NATO/.308?

Big fan of .308, not a fan of the price (even though my Enfield is just as bad if not worse )
What's up with the mag in the pic though?

[Elbows]

You got a good deal on the Maadi. If I had the budget, I'd always go new-rifle first, but I just don't trust other people, especially with modded weapons (or guns that can shoot corrosive ammo etc.).

I think a SGL-31 would have served you well, but I just like having a new gun, with a warranty if I get a lemon out of the box. Not to mention 5.45x39 is just awesome.

[Obin Robinson]

You got a good deal on the Maadi. If I had the budget, I'd always go new-rifle first, but I just don't trust other people, especially with modded weapons (or guns that can shoot corrosive ammo etc.).

I think a SGL-31 would have served you well, but I just like having a new gun, with a warranty if I get a lemon out of the box. Not to mention 5.45x39 is just awesome.

he SGL-31 is a good gun and I agree on that. On the other hand there's something extremely badass about a Cold War Kalashnikov manufactured on Soviet-era machinery for combat use in the Middle East. I've been eyeballing Maadis for a while now and I'll be tempted to get one once my next few tax stamps are complete.

obin

[1stRabbit]

he SGL-31 is a good gun and I agree on that. On the other hand there's something extremely badass about a Cold War Kalashnikov manufactured on Soviet-era machinery for combat use in the Middle East. I've been eyeballing Maadis for a while now and I'll be tempted to get one once my next few tax stamps are complete.

obin

I'm submitting my first request for a tax stamp today ... then the 6 month wait. Hope my trust is ok and goes through w/ no problems!

[foxtrot762]

It's a little rougher than I thought. The barrel nut was tack welded on because "the original owner" screwed up the threads with a file so the guy threaded the nut on as well as he could and then tacked it on. Also the whole gun was painted with grill paint

Still I picked it up from him after I shot it. He loaded up a 10 round magazine and let me have at it. For a Maadi, even with the little piddly crap, I still feel like I got a good deal on an Egyptian made AK that shoots. Of course I drove 2 hours to get it...unless it was really screwed up, I wasn't going to pass it up

[Elbows]

Eh, that's the kind of silly stuff I don't like to deal with when it comes to used rifles, etc. Well, hope you can recover it, repaint it and get it up and running 100%, how does the bore look? It's been quite a while since corrosive 7.62x39 has been popular, so you should be good to go. 5.45x39 rifles it's always a gamble if the rifle is used.

[foxtrot762]

On a brighter note, today I traded a guy my 1987 S&W model 60 in .38spl with a few holsters and some ammo ($500 worth of stuff) for a barely used Kahr K40 in stainless steel with an extra mag (A ~$700 gun)

Went from this...



To this...






The only thing wrong with it are these 2 small marks on the butt of the gun on the grips

[Elbows]

Cool trade. I personally want to see what you cleanup/do to your AK.

[foxtrot762]

Cool trade. I personally want to see what you cleanup/do to your AK.

Well for one, when I got home yesterday, I put the wood foregrip and handguard back on it. I left the plastic shoulder stock and pistol grip for now until I can get a 2 piece wood set. He gave me the thumbhole stock with it but it's not very comfortable.
Then last night, I took a can of degreaser, a lot of rags and some Rem Oil, took the gun down to the receiver and blasted years of crud and gunk out of the gun. I don't think this guy ever cleaned it but luckily I didn't find any rust.
I'm also going to find a new dust cover or maybe just strip this one and repaint it.




I don't know what I'm going to do about the barrel nut.

[Elbows]

Yeah, the barrel nut is probably an issue. The one (albeit expensive) solution is to have the rifle chopped down with a pinned hider or something, letting a good smith cut the barrel, crown it and re-thread it for a pinned muzzle device.

Or...you leave it. The other, better option...honestly would be getting a modern 24x1.5 front sight and having it installed --- this would ignore/bypass your messed up thread (the nut would have to be cut off).

1) chop the nut off.
2) press of the front sight post.
3) replace with new AK-74 style front post w/ 24x1.5 threads.
4) install hider/muzzle device on that.

Either way some work - or just leave it.

If you have any questions about taking the rifle down to full parts, let me know. I'd also recommend a firing group retaining plate if it doesn't have, will save you f_ck tons of time.

PS: I'd get a wood stock, but perhaps consider the US Palm pistol grip in Brick/Plum to go with the wood furniture? Classic colour but a MUCH better pistol grip.

[foxtrot762]

Meh...if it shoots straight, I don't care about the nut that much. The Maadi is only worth what?...$800 tops? I'm not going to blow a ton of cash.

[dj age one]

Shouldn't a battle rifle use 7.62NATO/.308?

I would have recommended the Vepr.

Centerfire systems is having a sale on Vepr rifles right now till election day.

I've been wanting one in 7.62x54r for a while and will probably pick one up before the sale ends.
http://centerfiresystems.com/

[foxtrot762]

Alright so I went ahead and stripped as much paint and finish off as I could from the rifle. It took 1 can of industrial paint remover and 1 can of industrial degreaser but I can safely say that all the loose crap and flaky bits were removed from the gun.

Then I went to the auto store and bought a can of flat black header paint. The stuff is called VHT Flame Proof and it's a Silica/Ceramic coating that's supposed to be resistant up to 2,000°F if properly cured after the paint dries. To do this, apparently I need to bake the rifle at 250°F for 30 minutes, then let cool for 30 minutes. Then bake it again at 400°F for 30 minutes...let cool for 30 minutes and then bake one more time at 650°F for another 30 minutes. My oven only goes up to 500° so I'll bake it for 45 minutes on the last step.

It might not come out looking 100% better (fingers crossed) but at least it'll be even and a true flat black. I'll post photos tomorrow when it's done.

[Elbows]

You should have bought a can of Alumahyde II from Brownells. No bake.

[foxtrot762]

Does anyone know where I can find the magazine release tab kit? I only need the spring but I thought I'd just replace it all at once. The one on my rifle is awfully stiff.
Thanks

[Elbows]

K-Var normally has stuff, but it's a little pricey and I don't know if the Maadi is different from other AKs in that regard.

[foxtrot762]

K-Var normally has stuff, but it's a little pricey and I don't know if the Maadi is different from other AKs in that regard.

Thanks. As far as I can tell, the Maadi is built just like every WASR I've owned (4 total). I was able to bend the mag release to loosen it up and now it works fine.

I ended up buying one of those $35 Krinkov plastic fixed triangle stocks from RPB. I slapped it on today and it looks great. For $35, I can't complain. Next is to get a Hogue pistol grip at which point I'm done spending money on this thing other than to feed it.

[foxtrot762]

Wanted to update the thread. I've since added the Krinkov stock, a cleaning rod, a Hogue pistol grip and a leather G3 sling. Sling and cleaning rod not pictured