Over the weekend Ian came to visit, and asked if I had an East German grip and upper handguard for an AK-47. It turns out I did, mounted on the World’s Ugliest Carbine.
So he swapped me my East German furniture for I-don’t-know-or-care-what, and that got me thinking about an AK project I’ve been putting off. That ugly fore-end with the vertical grip is perfect for me because of some really serious damage my left wrist took one time. But I haven’t swapped it to the WASR-10 that’s actually been my Carbine on the Wall for the past couple of years, because the WASR has an Ultimak scope mount and the vertical fore-end won’t fit under it…
…Unless I drag out my Dremel tool, something I could always find excuses not to do. But while I was switching AK furniture around, it made sense to get that done.
And while I had the Dremel out, I may as well put the rear sling mount in the right place, also something I’ve been meaning to do…
And I would have taken off the buttstock and painted it green while I was at it so things matched up a bit better, but I used up the last of my flat green paint on that spear a few days ago. So I went ahead and re-assembled the rifle.
I’ll have to get back to that, maybe I can get some paint while I’m out to the big town.
There’s at least a small chance I’ll be abandoning the scout scope soon anyway. Ian has a red dot I’m gonna try out, it’s already on a mount to fit that weird side-mount on the WASR. I dunno, though – I’ve been pretty happy with the scope, dorky as it may look on an AK, and I’m still waiting to see a red dot that both impresses me in the daylight and costs less than the GDP of Portugal.
But we’ll see. The thing I like about AKs? It just doesn’t matter. You can fiddle to your heart’s content and never bubba up anything that can’t easily and cheaply be fixed or replaced. There’s a reason every mud hut in Thirdworldistan has at least one.
ARs are very cool, I don’t speak against ARs. They’re handy and modular and reliable and accurate and cute as a Barbie doll. I wish I could afford one. But for actual use, I need a rifle I’m not afraid to scratch, y’know?
Sure wish I was handy like that! I’ve got a 20g shotgun that needs both the barrel and stock bobbed, and the Marlin 30-30 needs some taken of the stock too. I wouldn’t know where to start, and I’d be terrified of damaging the guns anyway. Oh well… someone may come along who can do that one of these days.
It’s funny the way you tinker with the AK is the same way I tinker with the SKS. Last month I did a major rebuild that includes new sights and stock on my SKS. The only thing to do is install a magwell adapter so I can use regular AR style mages in the beast. The duck bill mags simply suck. All I am waiting for is a little extra cash to buy some new mags then out comes the drill press…
ML it really isn’t that hard to modify a firearm. Simply do these things… Figure out what you want to do to the firearm, do a search on YouTube and watch how it is done. Then last, but never least, practice what you are going to do on an old hunk of wood or scrap metal/pipe. Remember if you are smart enough to master the art of nursing you are way smart enough to do this.
The other option, MamaLiberty, is to just go to your nearest BATFE Field Division and ask them to point you towards someone who will bob the barrel of that shotgun for you. They were glad to send such a person to Randy Weaver a few years ago. They even sent that person back several times until Mr. Weaver finally did the work to get rid of the creep. And that gave the FedPigs all the excuse they needed to murder Mr. Weaver’s wife.
LOL Mark, not happening. We have a ball when the ATF and FBI idiots come to gun shows here. Everyone knows everyone, so they stick out like a sore thumb. Some of the boys skate real close to annoying them at times, but we mostly ignore them. Never did understand why Randy fell for that crap…
MJR, I do wish it was that simple. First, I can’t make heads or tails of any video since I’m mostly deaf. Additionally, I’m just not that handy with tools and I’d be terrified of making a mistake. These are beautiful old guns, and well worth a trip to the gunsmith to have them worked on. Just as soon as I can save up the money. 🙂
ML, do you know a gun-guy (or gal) that also makes cabinets? I do both and have shortened stocks for friends. I have also done some metal work, but very slowly and carefully with hand tools. Being in AZ, I can’t be much help to you though.
Yes, Matt… I’ve talked to two people who could probably do this, but neither one is willing to attempt it. These are old guns, not quite antiques. I respect their reluctance to risk damaging them and will just wait until I do find someone willing and skilled, gunsmith or not. 🙂 And I do wish you were my neighbor! 🙂