AK knowledge
- Thread starter TEXAS "All or nothing"
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the curvature of the AK magazine is due to the taper of 7.62x39
also the czechoslovak VZ58 is NOT an AK
I'm AK illiterate along with foreign auto rifles.
Czech/Slovak military never used the AK, they use the Vz.58 which is a completely different rifle from the Kalashnikov...
Both have their advantages/disadvantages, but stamped receivers are far more common and cheaper than milled...
Try not to dive into the whiskey when you ask questions.
To your first: factory 7.62x39 rifles at some point in us manufacturing did have 30 cal barrels. And before you ask: 30 cal is .308
I’m not aware of any mass produced ammo that used 30 cal bullets. If it happened I didn’t know. Maybe a run of it with 70’s or 80’s ammo? Early 90’s maybe…I’m not a big ammo historian. Plenty of other members could answer that. But for the guns themselves the .308 vs ak diam was a definite too much whiskey moment for American gun manufacturers.
As for do all mags fit all akm types? More times than not. However the problem isn’t the mag it’s the magwell and sometimes the catch. If you compare a wasr, circle 10, and a west German, you will find the mag wells don’t feel the same. I’m arbitrarily using these examples.
Once in a blue moon you will get a tight magwell and catch. My circle 10 is such a gun. Zero slopp.
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.303 brit bullets are .311 and will work fine for AKs.
But WHY reload this caliber, the AK is a nine pound hammer. it is NOT MOA accurate and cheap steel cased ammo is what it likes best. Get one, use and abuse it and then pass it down to your grandkids.
But WHY reload this caliber, the AK is a nine pound hammer. it is NOT MOA accurate and cheap steel cased ammo is what it likes best. Get one, use and abuse it and then pass it down to your grandkids.
A 7.62x39 can be a good shooter but in my cases it has appeared to be luck.
Like with an ar barrel. Some shoot good warm others open up. Most have been cold shooters. Same with an sks. I have had some that seem very accurate while others are minute of door; maybe.
It’s funny that In a few guns, even cheap bolt actions, I have gotten tighter groups with steel case but the bolt gun I’m referring to is a cva in 308 with a slow twist. I think it’s 1:12. It’s unusual but loves steel cases 150 grainers and maybe it likes the slower burn too. Steel cased ammo is a tad underpowered.
Rambling now…
Whether it's a 7.62 or 5.45 I was questioning about the style, not just bullet differences. The 74 could be a good option also.
jekbrown
New Member
If we ignore the guns with single stack mag wells, and we should, then in the vast majority of cases there is cross compatibility in 762 AK mags. Some may require minor fitment. Bosnian steel mags have had issues with certain AKs. Sometimes you'll run across a magwell cut in the US that is sloppy loose, or overly snug (especially with plastic mags).
Lonesome Dove
A man of vision but with no mission.
Truth be told the AK is the gawdliest creation ever concieved. Bar none
7.62X39, 7.62X54R, .303 British, 7.7 Jap, and several others are .311 instead of .308
AK magazines should interchange, but some countries have issues with keeping standards.
Eli
AK magazines should interchange, but some countries have issues with keeping standards.
Galil FTW!
Eli
Nicholst55
Retired, Twice.
Soviet AKs were originally made with milled receivers, which cracked after extensive firing. They switched to stamped, and that problem disappeared. On commercial, semi-only AKs, some prefer the milled receivers because they think that they're more durable than stamped. Okay, whatever. I saw a thread once where a guy made an AK receiver out of a Chinese D-handle shovel, for crying out loud! He left the D-handle on it to serve as the buttstock. Seemingly all foreign 7.62mm cartridges use bullets larger than .308"; some .310", some .311", and some .312" groove diameter. Wartime tolerances have given us barrels up to .316" groove diameter! Using bullets smaller than groove diameter leads to poor accuracy. Bullets larger than groove diameter leads to high pressure. I prefer to use the correct diameter, if available.
LoL, like the USA AR15 Modular lie...
Holy Fruck, the fitment issues I've had to deal with since getting into building ARs!
Like a High Buck V-Seven buffer tube, that the buffer stock halfway down the first time I dropped it in.
On the bullet size, if anyone has a .30 cal barrel, I believe Igman is using .308 projectiles, and are a little loose in the bore.
Not good for a true 7.62x39 barrel, but if the Mini-30 did have a .308 ore, the stuff would work better.
Nicholst55
Retired, Twice.
One other thing to be aware of regarding AK-74s; the groove diameter of Russian AK-74 barrels is .221". US barrel makers didn't want to spend the money to set up for a completely new size (actually, that's .22 LR groove diameter), so they simply used .224" barrels. That's why a lot of US-made AK-74s have marginal accuracy - the bore is larger than the bullets by .003".
Actually, the first production models had stamped sheet metal receivers with a milled trunnion and butt stock insert and a stamped body. Difficulties were encountered in welding the guide and ejector rails, causing high rejection rates. Instead of halting production, a heavy machined receiver was substituted for the sheet metal receiver.
Once the manufacturing difficulties of non-milled receivers had been overcome, a redesigned version designated the AKM (M for "modernized" or "upgraded"; in Russian: Автомат Калашникова Модернизированный [Avtomat Kalashnikova Modernizirovanniy]) was introduced in 1959. This model used a stamped sheet metal receiver and featured a slanted muzzle brake on the end of the barrel to compensate for muzzle rise under recoil.
And here is the story of the AK receiver made out of a Chinese D-handle shovel...
