The State of AK Building?

[Sanders]

Just for kicks, I did a search using AI for 80% AK flats for sale. According to it, there are no AK flats for sale, anywhere.

I guess building is dead? Too bad. I bet a lot of people's first guns were ones they were able to build from a parts kit. Factory AKs are bumping into the $1,000 average cost for the cheap ones while ARs can still be had for under $500. The world is upsidedown.

[FloridaAKM]

That is not a true statement, AK Builder.Com still sells flats & bending jigs online. If you want already folded & heat treated receivers, he has those or anything else you need to build AK kits.

There are other companies that sell bent & heat treated 80% as well as 100% FFL receivers.

Kits are still out there but they cost 10 times what they used 20 years ago & most of them have cut up barrels due to the 2006 laws. On a good point, the barrel laws have been rescinded & now you can buy barrels with your kits either original or added to the kit.

Insanity is buying a Bulgarian AK74 kit without a barrel or receiver for $1800.00. Who in their right mind would do that. I paid $265.00 for the same kit with a barrel back in 2005 from Ohio Rapid Fire before the owner died of cancer & the business closed. Those were the days.

[Sanders]

I didn't know they rescinded the barrel ban/demil requirement. When did that happen?

[Johnny]

Lots of guys got into building AKs when they were dirt cheap. Those days are long gone. You're correct. Nowadays if you want an AK, it's gonna cost about $1,000. About 4-5 years ago I bought a Zastava AK (a Serbian brand). I think it set me back around $900. It's a cool rifle, but there are much better choices in that price range.

This year, I topped my Zastava with a shotgun scope and zeroed it in for deer hunting. I'm not even sure if I'm gonna use it, but it's ready to go if I decide. It's relatively short and easy to maneuver in the brush. The 7.62x39 is adequate for taking deer, though not near as good as my Ruger American .308. One big disadvantage with the AK for hunting is disengaging the safety. In order to do it quietly requires two hands and a lot of patience.

[Sanders]

Atlantic Firearms has CETME kits with intact barrels at $125, according to the email I got this morning from them. I know they aren't AK's, but they are builder kits. I hope we get to see more kits come in at prices like that.

[4thIDvet]

Atlantic Firearms has CETME kits with intact barrels at $125, according to the email I got this morning from them. I know they aren't AK's, but they are builder kits. I hope we get to see more kits come in at prices like that.

Too many wars going on Sanders. Its a sellers world out there in the gun world. The international gun dealers don't have extras to send as kits to us collectors their going out to people killing each other. Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Hamas, ISIS, etc. are paying a lot more than our kit prices.
Many moons ago Gunco days my buddy had connections for AKs out of Thailand. Like warehouses filled with anything and everything that goes bang. I was working this end with the ATF for import he was on the other. Surprisingly the ATF was super helpful to me. Problem was every A hole that was going to touch them wanted a kings ransom $$ for their touching them for shipment.
Most all the AKs were Russian and Chinese so so much for them. The Thai military were armed with our old Nam ARS and the Cambodia military with old AKs.. So sadly I don't think we will see kits till the shootin stops out their.

[ColonelKorn]

My brother still has several kits with original barrels, and I have flats and a bending jig. My brother lost interest and so did I

[Sanders]

My brother still has several kits with original barrels, and I have flats and a bending jig. My brother lost interest and so did I

I have one more AK kit to build, then I'm done building them. It's a Romy G kit that I'm going to turn into an East German like I faced in 1988. It is stamped 1988, too. I hope we can get the youngsters interested in building if we sell them parts kits and tooling for no more than what we paid for them. With inflation, a young man can't really afford to spend $1,000 to build an AK, especially if they are living in a van down by the river because they can't afford to rent a place, let alone buy one.

[4thIDvet]

Firearm Kits - Gun Parts | Arms of America

[GBob01]

Glad I did all that when stuff was cheap.