>>I shoot AK74 daily. I have no difficulty
>>obtaining the rifles or rounds.
When did they get into the States?
They were on the Clinton era assault weapon import ban list, last I saw.
Not sure. One of mine has a receiver built by Ohio Ordinance Works stamped 1990.
They were on the Clinton era assault weapons import ban list, last I saw.
The 5.45x39 was just hitting the U.S. gun buyers' radar around that time. Initially, they came over as demilled parts kits from various Eastern Bloc countries that had adopted the -74 while under the Soviet umbrella. They were rebuilt as semi-auto rifles with the legal number of U.S.-built parts.
The big allure was the cheap imported milsurp ammo, which lasted until Obama started turning the economic screws on Russia over the Ukraine. Before then, the ammo was so cheap, people started building AR-15 uppers chambered for it.
It'll be interesting to see whether these were really military AKs that were smuggled in.