In America, there's only a handful of AK variants you can buy. I know plenty of guys who have em but I need to know which one is the best for me.

At first I thought I'd get a Romanian (Century Arms) WASR-10 bottom of the barrel AK, but I wouldn't even think about buying it if it didn't have all the problems they sometimes come with. They can be had for $400-500 but they may have magazine wobble (thanks Clinton) a canted front sight, or a bend in the barrel. If I could find one that didn't have these issues I'd take it; but buying a junk rifle isn't going to do any good.

Next up you have your Yugo's - identifiable by the 3 ribs in the forestock other than two. They are tough as hell and most of em have a grenade sight. A guy I know bought one for $750.


The higher end AK I was looking at was an Arsenal 7.62 x 39. Arsenal uses Russian Saiga receivers converted to the caliber of your choice (7.62 x 39, 5.56mm and 5.45mm) One of these would run about $825-$1000, or more.


Beyond that there's several other options but these are the main three I've been focusing on. I want to pay less but I want to make sure I'm getting a quality rifle as well - whatever 7.62 x 39 AK has the best price to quality ratio.


Picture somewhat related; it belongs to a contact of mine.