I have a Inter Arms Polish Tantal AK-74 that is my favorite, chrome lined barrel, but not hammer forged like Saiga, but more accurate than the same caliber Saiga. I can’t tell for sure at 100 yards with open sights, but I would say it is very close to the AR, and maybe even better in accuracy.
The ammo is cheep, especially if you could get the surplus 7n6 which is AK reliable in the gun. Unfortunately off the market to import, maybe with Trump that will change, but ATF made it illegal to import because it is body armor capable, but that has to do with a hand gun version with that ammo. To be determined I suppose. One thing I will say is that against metal targets it does leave a small dent, and exposes the steal core inside the lead in the bullet in the pieces around the steel target.
Saiga, Arsenal and Inter Arms are the names you want with a AK-74 from my experience.
Indeed. I endorse the same manufacturers. The finish issue on arsenals isn’t a big deal for me, as I typically spray camo my own guns. Also, AKs CAN have accuracy matching an AR, you are correct. The key is pressing the barrel into the trunnion perfectly pencil straight (not as easy as it sounds without the right equipment) and press THAT into the receiver. If all that is done to perfection, the kalash isn’t any less accurate than an AR. You’d be looking at fractions of MOA difference by comparing the two, and that’s liable to be shooter error anyway. Bulgaria (arsenal) Russia (Saiga) and my personal favorite, Norinco, from china, are where its at from an accuracy standpoint. Gone are the days of driving the barrel in there with a rubber mallet, lol
I’m still in the early phases of trying to open my own AK build shop for custom builds, similar to Rifle Dynamics, Definitive Arms, and stetson-level AKs like that. I’m gonna be based in a tiny village called Slagle, Louisiana, where I’m from. My mother died before my father and it was their land. I’m thinking of the name Widower’s Patch Arms Co. It’s a little 5 acre plot I own, a grove carved out of the Kisatchie national forest