I bought this for myself as a birthday present. Since I was born in 1974, the year the rifle was adopted by the Red Army, I thought it was only appropriate. Of course, this isn’t a real AK-74, in the sense that it has no select-fire capability, but it’s a copy with a semi-automatic trigger group to keep me from being a menace to society. It’s one of the Arsenal SLR models. I decided to share some pictures of it. Click on the image to see a larger version:
The AK-74 Minus Bayonet. Can anyone make out the book it’s propped up on? I thought it was a nice touch.
Bayonet out of the scabbard posed on the side. The AK-74 has black polymer furniture and a polymer magazine, compared to the wood furniture you get on an AK-47, and its sturdy metal magazine. The 74 is a bit lighter than the AK-47, but not by a whole lot.
Bayonet fixed to the rifle. My AK-47 lacks a bayonet lug, because it is post-ban, and the assault weapons ban forbade this “evil” feature. Also, the flash hider is integral to stabilizing the bayonet, which was another “evil” feature you didn’t see on Kalashnikovs during the ban. I’m not eager to replace my AK-47 with a “no ban” model, because the original AK-47 didn’t have a bayonet lug or flash hider. Those features didn’t come until later revisions.
It shoots pretty nicely, as it doesn’t have quite the kick of the AK-47, taking a much smaller cartridge, 5.45x39mm as opposed to 7.62x39mm. The felt recoil is actually less than the AR-15. I would imagine the AK-74 would be quite controllable on full-auto fire compared to the AK-47. I’ve never shot a Kalashnikov on full-auto, though, so it’s hard to say. My plan is to take this to Texas to get rid of all the 5.45x39mm corrosive ammo I have. I don’t shoot this rifle nearly as much as I like, because with the corrosive ammo, I have to clean everything out every time.
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She’s a commie! Burn her! ;)
Sebastian speaks much more German than I do Russian…burn the kraut. Also I am not a communist, even if I do vote Democrat ;).
What do we burn apart from commies? MORE COMMIES!
I’m planning on getting a Marlin 336 as my next rifle, but I’m still tempted to get an AK, just because they’re so dang hawt.
when you clean it, make your first passes with a hot water/ammonia mix. No klidding. It neutralizes any corrosive salts left behind. After that run a few dry patches to get the water out if you can blow air through (dry air) it would help, but not necessary. Then clean it normally. I don’t have a 47 nor a 74, but I have four different 7.62x54R rifles and an SKS in 7.62x39mm. I clean them all this way, because even if you are careful to buy surplus ammo that says “noncorrosive”, it is Berdan primed and those are corrosive no matter what the mfgr says. Even if the main proplellant is not.
I have had no problems using this method. It is not necessary if using Boxer primed commercial non-corrosive ammo. Don’t forget to clean the gas tube, etc. I don’t know if they have a piston as does on of mine, but if so, clean it also. That hot water/ammonia mix neutralizes the corrosive salts, then when cleaned normally and left oiled they will not rust. My haven’t and some of them I have had more than teh years and shoot only foreign surplus ammo in them. Good luck on your shoot.
I never thought I would see the day when I purposely put water in the works and bore of a gun of mine, but I took the advice of others with more experience than I and it has stood me well over these years. Hopefully this will help.
Considering where you live, you might want to pick one up while you can. Lots of Californians moving northward could affect Oregon’s gun laws eventually.
I made the mistake of not cleaning out the gas system once. I won’t forget that one again. I almost cried when I looked inside :)
Windex also works great for cleaning up after corrosive ammo; just follow up with normal cleaning. Got that tip from http://www.theboxotruth.com. Great site for all sorts of shooting goodness, check it out!
Not all Californians are gun fearing wussies. It really depends on what area they come from. “Non-breeders” tend to be quite a bit more loony than “breeders”.
I wonder if states can adjust their residency laws to make it impossible for GFWs to vote (in local electrions). Or just make it impossible for them to become residents.
Funny, the book looks JUST LIKE my copy of….
Clausewitz. On War.
that ak 74 is beautiful
Wow, it looks EXACTLY like my airsoft replica. If you compared them as images, you would hardly be able to tell which was the real gun. I love it though, one of my favorite rifles besides the Mosin (which I have fired before and is amazing), probably because I played too much S.T.A.L.K.E.R., hahahah.
Most airsoft replicas tend to be pretty spot on. I have an Airsoft version of my Glock 19, and it’s so realistic in terms of weight and look, I have to check the logo on the slide to make sure I grabbed the right one.
Speaking of SKS’s get one soon if you want one, over the past years its been dubbed the “cop killer” and will most likely be banned under the new administration in washington ;) just a tip for ya!