I wanted a place to discuss my handguns and firearms in general. Everyone seemingly has lots to say about guns, so I promise you this won't be a rant blog.
I bought a Polaroid Cube+ to use as a range camera. I’ll be mounting it on the bill of my range hats. Here’s how the Cube+ looks, specifically it’s housing mounted on the hat, and the Cube+ and housing mounted on the hat.
What I was using prior to the Cube was this. It’s a Juision “spy” camera that attaches to one of the arms of your shades/spectacles (it is a Chinese camera):
For brevity, below are my range notes from today’s range visit. I also visited last week:
Had issues today. The new Croatian mags will not work in the AK-63D/AMD-63. They will not feed ammo into the firearm. At all. Two of them won’t strip ammo from the mag and two jammed when trying. Luckily, I had one of the Atlantic Firearms mags with me (they are new also)…it fed and fired without a hitch, so I had to use this one mag during my session, stripping out ammo from the non-functional mags and reloading that ammo into the functional mag. It took a bit of time and I only had an hour (range was packed, too).
When I got home, I tried to see if the SAM7 would load ammo from the Croatian mags. It would. It seems the AK-63D/AMD-63 does not like the Croatian mags, even after I fixed them so that they’d latch into the mag well (before that, they wouldn’t even latch). The firearm never got hot because I only fired 49 rounds from it.
I also had to readjust the front sight because I was hitting very low. To raise the POI, I had to lower the front sight post.
I’m hitting low left still, which indicates I’m flinching. The fired brass is dinged at the opening lip on a lot of the spent cases. As well, there’s brass dings on the outside of the ejection port.
Need to open up the firearm to check to see how the bolt carrier tang is. Also need to check the front trunnion and bolt for wear.
Also, I experienced some trigger slap…stings a bit.
Additionally, I shot the last mag standing up. I was able to put the majority of the 15 rounds in the middle of the paper (there were two flyers). I think if I keep practicing shooting while standing, I can get the hang of it, if I lean forward and keep the stock planted deep in my shoulder pocket.
I may need to get a new rear sight…this one is difficult to see, which affects front/rear sight alignment. It’s difficult for me to hit where I’m aiming if I can’t properly align the sights.
There’s 171 rounds through the AMD-63 now. I brought close to 200 rounds with me but only fired 49 due to magazine issues (mentioned above in the range notes). Plus, I only had an hour to work with and the range was crowded tonight. Will try again tomorrow (and not use the Croatian mags when I do).
Some pics of the rifle’s internals:
I’ve an BG-AK lower handgrip coming (these are back in stock as of now). This was on my wish list. I also have a Zhukov stock on my list, as well as a rail that would fit where the rear sight resides (for the SAM7UF).
I also have 1000 rounds of Red Army Standard FMJBT on the way (lead core).
I’ll post again after my next range visit (which may be tomorrow).
They all fit in my Arsenal SAM7UF. None fit in my AKM-63. Well, they fit but they won’t latch. The tab that enables latching oddly ramped so that the mag release won’t engage the mag. I can file them a bit to enable them to fit or just use them exclusively in the SAM7UF. I will probably fit them for both AKs.
The mags look clean. They are new. They’ve re-enforcement around the mag well area, which appears out of place. Maybe re-enforcement is a bad word. Let me rephrase: it appears that they added material to mitigate a prior issue with fitment. As long as it works. Now, they need to adjust that tab a bit to offer better fitment across the AK platform. Note, that I firmly believe that mags can be loosely fit, as long as the looseness doesn’t drop the mag and doesn’t cause feed issues. They are snug in the SAM7. I can’t tell if they’d be snug in the AKM since they don’t stay in place.
Otherwise, they look awesome. They don’t feel as durable as the batch I got from Atlantic Firearms (they feel lighter, but I don’t think they’ll break at first drop), but I don’t need them to be bullet-proof.
I cleaned them. I actually took them apart and soaked them in dish soap (Dawn) and hot water, then scrubbed them, then let them air dry. I then gave them a coat of oil and put them back together.
All four fit in my SAM7 (they fit very snug but not as tight as the PMAG it came with). All four also fit in my AK63, although loosely (I don’t mind — as long as they don’t come out).
I still have to test them at the range, though.
I’ve the other set of Croatian mags arriving tomorrow. I’ll have to scrub them down as well, but I may save that for this weekend. I’ll test fit them to the SAM7 tomorrow, though. I hear these mags can be problematic when it comes to fitment. We’ll see. If they are, I’ll just file them a bit.
So, I’ve been not only looking at SAM7UF reviews online, but doing things such as swapping mags between my AK-63DS and SAM7UF.
I’ve 6 Tapco mags that came with the AK-63DS. The Arsenal came with one Magpul (Gen 1, I think). The SAM7UF will not take the Tapcos. The AK-63DS will take the Magpul without issue.
Most people talk crap about the Tapcos, mainly because of issues like this, but this really isn’t an issue with Tapcos. It’s an issue with the Arsenal. Why is the mag well that tight? My ratty-assed AK-63DS will take both without issue, so it’s NOT the mags, and in the AK-63DS’s case, it isn’t the gun.
If I want to take the Arsenal to the range, I’ll only have that one mag, unless I go to Cabelas and pick up a few Magpul mags. I solved the problem by ordering 3 metal Polish mags from Atlantic Firearms and 4 metal Croatian mags from Apex Gun Parts (both groups being 30-round mags).
I also added 550 cord to both arms of the spars of the collapsible stock.
Eventually, I’ll also find some bakelites, but they’re really scarce. In fact, it was moderately difficult to find even European metal mags.
The plan is to continue to take my AK-63DS to the range and practice with it. I’ll use my experience with that particular gun as an AK-47 baseline of knowledge.
I also have to order more ammo, but I’ve enough for a decent start.
I sold a wheel/tire combo that belonged to my previous vehicle so I had some money to blow.
I was eyeing a PSA AK47 GB3 MOEkov in FDE but kept wondering about what issues it would have when I took ownership, so I was hesitant.
I know the mantra. “Get a WASR”. Nope. That wasn’t going to happen either, as WASRs have some of the same issues that purists bitch about when talking about PSA AKs (only WASR folk let WASR issues pass and whine about other makes/models with similar issues).
I thought of getting a Century Arms imported underfolder (AK63DS)…they’re difficult to find.
I actually visited several different local gun stores to see what they had in stock.
Cabelas had none, not even used.
Another small store had the ones that should not be bought (C39v2 and RAS47). They also had an Arsenal but it was $1300. I passed.
I went to another small store and they had an old, used WASR…it looked like someone drug it behind their car for several thousand miles. They had a RAS47 pistol. That thing looked NICE! I was able to handle it. It’s the first time I got a close look at one and it had heft and the workmanship was very nice, but it was a RAS…they can explode on you. The store also had an Arsenal underfolder, the SAM7UF. I took a long look at it and asked to handle it. It had little wear and was pretty much immaculate (similar to the RAS). It had a milled receiver. It had good alignment and the tang on the bolt carrier was not touched (it appeared the rifle wasn’t fired by the previous owner). That was this past Friday. Today (Monday), I went back and asked to take another look at it. The price was $1000. I ended up buying it. Me. An Arsenal.
Why did I buy this when I was looking at lower priced variants? Because the price was $200 less than what it is new, for one. Secondly, the thing had not been used…it was extremely clean. It was local and I wouldn’t have to pay FFL fees and shipping and all that other mess. I could have it same day. If I end up not liking it, I can recoup what I spent on it, since it’s an Arsenal. Underfolders are also badass and combined with Arsenal, I’ve a very nice new firearm! It’s probably one of the most valuable in my collection thus far (I’ve spent a tad more on a handgun but that handgun will not resell at the same price I bought it…the Arsenal will).
So, I’ve another range visit and review in my future!
I bought the following parts and test-fitted them to my bastardized AK-63DS:
RS Regulate sight mounting system
Midwest Industries sight mounting system
AK Master Mount Sight Rail (this is where the above mounting systems attach to the firearm)
I think I like the RS Regulate gear’s fitment better than the Midwest Industries rail.
Something about the documentation of the MI rail rubbed me the wrong way…several warnings regarding voiding warranty if you don’t read their jacked up instructions; the metal shavings coming off the parts as you use it. I’ve owned it less than a week and just the minor adjustments alone has caused serious wear, and I’ve followed the instructions to the letter. I opted to not return the rail since I know they’ll bitch about the shavings and attempt to blame me of misuse, but I’ll leave a just review.
Why did I immediately buy an RS Regulate rail system immediately after buying the MI system? I didn’t trust the MI system. As well, the MI system mounts the rail up too high. I’d have returned it for a low profile version but it was more expensive than the unit I ordered and I didn’t want MI bitching about the 20 minutes usage and 1 years’ worth of wear on the locking cam.
Next, I’m going to maybe grind down the AK Master Mount’s hex screw head, hoping I don’t mess it up (I’ve a spare if I do, but the kit only came with three screws). I could call them up to see if they can offer screws with smaller heads. Or, I could just look up a local AK gunsmith and have him take care of it. We’ll see. UPDATE (12/14/2023):I ended up just using a dremel cutting wheel to cut off the nub of metal that’s sticking up from the trigger guard. I ensured the edges of the cut weren’t sharp. Doing this enabled me to properly tighten that screw (shown in the 3rd pic from the bottom of the group of pics).
So I received and installed the bunch of AK47 goodies mentioned when I last posted.
Several things worth mentioning:
1. The AK Master Mount fit perfectly onto the AMD-63 but one of the screw heads is too big, so I can’t tighten it down flush. It will require either some grinding on the trigger guard guide or the screw head to lessen the diameter of the head. This is not a problem with the product but with my firearm (that trigger guard may be non-standard AK equipment…not sure yet).
2. The railed scope mount is difficult to adjust. It took me 20 minutes just to ensure I wasn’t breaking the throw lever (never mind that there were several threats within the included documentation that if you broke it while adjusting it, you wouldn’t be eligible for a refund…that’s not confidence-inspiring to read nor does it inspire confidence in the product).
3. The railed scope mount is probably not the proper product for use with a RDS. I mounted my two RDS’s and they were not able to cowitness because the scopes were mounted too high. The rail is too high-profile. I need something lower profile so that I can cowitness properly. As it is now, the dots are as low as they can be adjusted and they’re still too high over the front sight post.
I thought about returning the railed scope mount but I may be able to use it with other scopes that don’t require co-witness (ie, high power magnification scopes), so I’m going to keep it. As well, the adjustments I made to the mount and the mounting process has shaved some metal from the lever catch…I can see Midwest, with all that threatening in the documentation, making a fuss over that, never mind the instructions not being for the proper product.
I’ve ordered a better mount for my needs, from RS Regulate:
I ordered the former from Amazon and the latter from AK Operator’s Union.
The former will arrive tomorrow and the latter will arrive the day after. Friday or Saturday, I’ll be visiting the range to sight in the new Sig Sauer Romeo 5 2-MOA RDS that I bought during Black Friday sales events.
I’ll post up when I’ve installed and used these items.
