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.
Right now, I think I’m leaning toward the WBP MiniJack, as a primary choice since it’s a beautiful gun. I’d like another milled AK. It’s also currently in stock.
Most of the other guns I listed (what I supplied above is a narrowed-down list of quite a few 1911s) are not currently in stock due to Covid times.
Second choice, for now, is going to be the SA 1911 Vickers Tactical. This 1911 is exceptional and is more than the WBP MiniJack.
The thing that keeps bugging me is that I already have 1911s (lower end non-US makes), so I don’t really need one, but a really nice high end 1911 would be something different.
Another thing that keeps bugging me is that I already have several AKs, even a milled AK and even several AK pistols. I don’t really need another AK, even a beautiful one such as the MiniJack…
Wow, I appears that I just made a very strong case for the Vickers Tactical 1911 as my primary choice. (WATCH ME CHANGE MY MIND AT THE LAST MINUTE).
I can always get the MiniJack Milled next year.
I should find out when the bonus is coming sometime late February or early March. If it’s a lot, I might be able to justify buying two (or getting a lift and wheels/tires for the Jeep).
I took out the Arsenal SAM7UF and PSA AK-P. The former is a milled rifle that I’ve owned 2-3 years but never shot until today. The latter is an AK pistol that I bought 3-4 years ago and have been shooting off and on.
Both are dreams to shoot. I’ve no range footage because I hate recording when shooting long guns (my mounting point doesn’t agree with the rifle shooting position).
I shot the SAM7UF first. I thought it would be hard on my shoulder but it was rather mild, especially considering that the folding stock’s makeup is usually something that folks complain about. It’s supposedly not easy to shoot, but the stock didn’t bother me (I’ve the rails covered with paracord).
I thought the recoil would bother my shoulder with that stock but much of the recoil never made it to my body. The milled rifle is heavy and the heft absorbed much of the recoil.
I shot out to 25 yards. I wasn’t hitting point of aim but I think it’s because the rifle may be zero’d to 100 yards. I need to study the method of zeroing AKs. When I do, I’ll revisit the range with the SAM7 and zero the gun (on the 25 yard range, since I’ll have a difficult time seeing further than that).
The gun has some blast, too. It seems it has more blast than my other long AK (a bastardized AK-63D from Classic Firearms). I shot 30 rounds before I switched to the PSA AK-P.
The PSA AK-P is a flamethrower but I already knew that. I didn’t feel like squinting trying to hit 25 yard targets so I moved the target closer, to half that distance.
I’ve a red dot sight for this firearm but I removed it when I last took it out, as I hated it. I’m decently accurate with the iron sights, so I shot 30 rounds at one of those target papers that have 5 targets on it. all but maybe 4-5 landed on paper (because the targets on the edge of the paper don’t leave much room for error and I was doing a lot of quasi double-tapping). The groupings were pretty tight for the rate of fire I used. I also shot while standing. A picture is below.
12 yards, standing w/ irons…
The gun bucks and throws fire. Additionally, it got HOT! I burned myself once and had to wrap it up in rags before I put it in it’s case so it wouldn’t melt the inside foam. Also, keep in mind that this is a pistol and the brace is HARD on a shoulder with the kick of an AK pistol. I also tend to pull the gun in really tight while gripping the mag. I’ll be bruised tomorrow.
Lastly, I always try to shoot my carry gun when I’m visiting the range, so I shot some defensive ammo from the Canik TP9 Elite SC. This ammo is something new to me, but I bought a batch of it from my range 2 nights ago, since it was on sale at 19.99 for a box of 50. The make and model is Federal 115-gr Hi-Shok JHP. I bought 250 rounds of it, not knowing if it was good or not but liking the sub-$20/box price. I later researched the ammo and found that the ammo is GOOD and that law enforcement uses it. I’d assumed that since the box was white and since the ammo wasn’t being sold in 20-round boxes, it was range ammo. It is not. So, tonight I bought 100 more rounds of it just to shoot with tonight. It shot well, without hiccups, and without feed or extraction issues. I may end up trying to buy it in bulk but my research shows that when looking for it online, the low price is 0.49/round, which is a bit high compared to what I found at my range. My range will carry it until it runs out and won’t let me buy in bulk anymore (the person that sold it to me apparently shouldn’t have let me buy so much without shooting – I bought it after my shooting session).
Right now, I’m right at 482 rounds shot through the TP9 ESC. Expect that number to go quickly as I continue to practice with it.
The AK-P currently has 370 rounds through it. I could shoot it more but for some reason, shooting that gun indoors gets old quickly (it has tremendous blast). I looked at the internals (trunion, bolt, and bolt carrier) and the parts aren’t beat up (this model is a GF3). Most AK snobs hate US-made AK, and think they’re sub-par. If I have any issues, it’ll be something like fire-pin issues, or something stuck in the firing pin channel (primer metal), or maybe a loose firing pin retaining pin (which probably won’t be an issue, as I’ve checked it and it is not loose at all). I will probably buy another firing pin, in case the OEM one breaks.
The SAM7UF only has 30 rounds through it but I’ll try to shoot it more, now that it’s no longer virgin.
In the past, I frequented the r/AK47 page, but there are a few things that are hardcore turnoffs regarding r/AK47.
First, the elitism is heavy on that page. You’ll see folks focusing on trash-talking domestic AKs. They’re tracking US-made AK pattern rifles in a document, highlighting each reported issue. I don’t have an issue with tracking in this fashion, if it’s tracked across all makes. If ALL issues aren’t being tracked, then that’s 100% bias.
I say this because I’ve noticed issues being reported by Zastava owners, yet that make’s issues aren’t being tracked. As well, I’ve seen quite a few issues with WASRs and those issues also go unreported. I’m not the only person noticing the bias. Folks ask about the bias all the time, but their questions are ignored.
Secondly, it’s all frat-boy attitude at r/AK47. If you’ve an issue and asking for help, you’ll get assistance but you’ll have to wait for folks to stop laughing at your issue or your questions/concerns. And if you’ve a US-made AK and are asking for assistance, you’ll be ridiculed to death before someone comes along that’s willing to assist (those folks will more than likely own the same gun). Even simple questions that a new person might ask get laughed at. It’s probably best to not mention that it’s a US-made gun unless it’s absolutely necessary.
To be honest, it’s the same at the AK Files forum, too. That doesn’t excuse the behavior, though.
So, if you own an AK and have questions, you should develop thick skin before asking at r/AK47 and AK Files. Or, search through old posts and send folks that had similar issues a private message in Reddit (or in the case of AK Files, a forum private message).
I ordered 5 x AK-47 magazines from Gunmagwarehouse.com this past Thursday. They will arrive sometime Monday. These are Bulgarian mags with the typical ribbed look. They’re made of steel and are 30-round mags with a polymer follower (I’m not bothered by that). They’ve good reviews. I ordered these to replace the Croatian mags that my AMD-63 seems to hate.
I still have not shot the SAM7UF nor tested the Croatian mags on that particular rifle. That’s coming soon. I do believe the SAM7 will accept the Croatian mags, though, as I stuck a loaded mag into the firearm and the rifle chambered a round without issue (something the AMD-63 won’t do with those mags).
UPDATE: I was finally able to order some snap caps in 7.62×39 (they are plastic, though, and are already chipping and cracking). I ordered five of them. I tested the Croatian mags with them since I didn’t really want to test by chambering live rounds in my house. All four of the Croatian mags will properly mount in all my AKs but the PSA AK-P. The non-PSA AKs will actually strip the snap caps from three of the mags and chamber the fake rounds. One mag has issues where none of the AKs will feed rounds from it (note that I did not test that mag in the SAM7 – I tested it in the AMD-63).
Shot 52 rounds (1 hour session). 40 of these were PPU ammo from the last range visit. The last 12 were the new RAS 7.62×39 ammo I recently bought.
There were no malfunctions.
I tried to use the Croatian mags again, thinking that they may work if they had less ammo, so I put in 5 rounds. It would not strip ammo from the mag with this rifle. These mags will be for the SAM7 only, I guess. A pity…they look nice and have are BHO.
I spent the whole hour range session chasing the bullseye. I found that if I put the target out further (40 yards for me, since I can’t see the target beyond that), I had a better aim. At 25 yards, the bullets drop, even if my POA is at the bullseye. At 40, it raises near BE level. Now, I’ve to ensure my trigger squeeze is consistent, because I think I either flinch a lot or I’m jerking the trigger, as I had a lot of flyers to the lower left.
I also think my front sight is canted to the left. I saw footage from the new camera. I saw the spine of the rifle and the front sight looked off. I’ll ask questions on the forums and maybe see about finding a gunsmith that can straighten it.
I’ll take the SAM7 out next just to see if I can hit the BE easier than the AMD-63 (note that some Arsenals DO have canted sights).
The new camera works GREAT! I just need a bigger micro SD card, as I ran out of card space at the range today!
Oh, and the bolt carrier tail is pretty mangled. I may have to take a file to the ragged edges. It hasn’t hung on the rear trunion…yet.
I took the cleaning rod from my SAM7UF to see if it would fit on my AMD-63 and it does. I tried it before and it wouldn’t go in all the way and would poke out a bit beyond the latching spot under the front sight. Well, I put it back in and wiggled it around a tad and it dropped fully into place. It will latch.
I wanted to share that since it’s is supposed to be common knowledge that these will not accept cleaning rods. They will.
So, I think I’m going to just order one from K-VAR to use in the AMD-63.
As well, I removed the gas tube and hand guard from the SAM7UF today, since I hadn’t done it since I bought it (wanted to be sure there was no damage or hidden anomalies). The latches were stiff but I was able to remove them. I saw no flaws but there was preservative on the underside of the hand guard. Because of this, I’m almost positive that this firearm has never been fired, otherwise that preservative would’ve either baked onto the heat shield or dissipated.
I also looked at some of the 7.62×39 casings from my last range visit and found that they’re dinged to hell. I also have brass markings on the dust cover of the AMD-63. I researched and found that this is normal for AK-47s. I’d initially thought that there was something wrong with the firearm, but the research shows that this normally occurs with these rifles.
No, I’ve not yet been to the range. Maybe I’ll visit the range tomorrow after work.
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.
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.
So, after work today, I took my AMD-63 to my local range. I used an hour of range time to get the rifle zeroed. It took a full hour, as the instructions I used instructions that came with my sight adjustment tool were not the best. I used Google on my phone to find some other written instructions and while those covered what the other instructions didn’t, they left out things as well. I was confused as to how to adjust the front sight post. The instructions were not clear and I ended up walking the sight post in the opposite directions as what I intended.
The range I use (Elite Shooting Sports) is an indoor range. They have a 100-yard range and I thought I’d need long range to zero the sights. Nope. All I needed was 25 yards. I couldv’e used the handgun range instead.
I shot approximately 36 rounds. I shot Red Army Standard 124-grain FMJBT (I’ve like 500 rounds of that). I was shooting in groupings of three and checking to see where the groups were landing and attempting to make adjustments. I ended up zeroed my last 5 minutes of the session.
The first grouping was pretty tight, IMO (1-inch group):
The tang that the hammer strikes is mushroomed a bit but that’s pretty much normal for most AKs. It’s only mushrooming due to the Tapco trigger group that was installed to keep the firearm compliant. The Tapco hammer is harder than than the tang. The original trigger group did not beat up the tang (otherwise, it would’ve been bad when I first received it). Eventually, the mushrooming will stop. Once it does, I’ll dremel away the mushrooming.
The Tapco mags performed flawlessly.
I had a serious amount of fun. I will probably be shooting this rifle a lot more often!
