Question for those shooting 5.56 AKs.

[Shootist]

What magazines are you using and where are you getting them.

Also does anybody have any experience with the PSA AK 103s.

Comments on The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of 5.56 AKs.

 

[DustyDog]

When I was in the market for a 5.56 AK, I ended up with this

 

[Fear21]

What magazines are you using and where are you getting them.

Also does anybody have any experience with the PSA AK 103s.

Comments on The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of 5.56 AKs.

Polish Beryls, Circle 10s, PSA AK101 lookalikes, and Gun Mag Warehouse 5.56 AK mags. AC Unity also makes them now and they're supposed to be pretty good, but I've never personally tried one. Arms of America, Atlantic Firearms, Gun Mag Warehouse for retailers.

I would avoid PSA AKs, personally. Too many metallurgical issues that they shouldn't have at this stage in the game, not to mention shoddy building practices. Polish, Romanian and Serbian rifles are still available - they'd be my first choice.

Good - ammo is everywhere, simple and reliable AK action, mags are now readily available
Bad - the rifles, mags, and accessories can be expensive compared to ARs
Ugly - not much is ugly these days. A few years back they had reliability issues and mag availability was poor, but both of those issues have been solved. 5.56 AKs never reached a unified standard like the AKM and AK74. It's kind of like the AR10 situation - everyone makes their own flavor of gun and parts / mags / so on might or might not interchange.

 

[5lima30ret]

What magazines are you using and where are you getting them.

Also does anybody have any experience with the PSA AK 103s.

Comments on The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of 5.56 AK

The Zastava M-85 5.56 takes standard AR-15 mags!

 

[Shootist]

The Zastava M-85 5.56 takes standard AR-15 mags!

Does the M-85 lock back and have a bolt hold open like an AR?

 

[D.Profile Unchained]

My old Zpap M85 took 5.56 AK mags.Hated that it was chambered in 5.56, but I wasn't into AR's at the time

 

[5lima30ret]

Does the M-85 lock back and have a bolt hold open like an AR?

The M-85 has a notch in the safety lever that you can manually lock the bolt open. (I think all the Zastava AK's have that feature.)

*The M-85 that takes AR mags also uses the AR style push button mag release and the mags insert like standard AR's.

 

[Shootist]

any of you have experience with James River Gallant (Galil).

 

[bcorey357]

Highly recommend finding a saiga and having it converted, however like previously stated, mags are going to be the main concern, some work fine, others may need some fitting. PSA's mags work good but mine did need fitting.

 

[Fear21]

Saigas are a great option if you can find one for a decent price. That's getting harder and harder to do these days. The rear conversion is easy, front end conversion takes a little more work / know-how but it's not crazy difficult if you have the proper tools. Otherwise like bcorey said, send it out and have it converted.

any of you have experience with James River Gallant (Galil).

No, but I've heard mixed reviews on them and JR in general. New IWI Galil Aces are still available and take AR mags. They were bringing in rock-n-lock Aces for a while too, but I'm not sure if they still are.

 

[Tezzy]

Dissident Arms still has a few 13” rock and lock Ace 22’s in stock. Not cheap but the best AK type 5.56 on the market today, in my opinion. Uses tried and true Galil mags; still plentiful and relatively affordable—no guessing game there.