dae.edorian

That sounds about right.

He was pretty fundamentally ripped off from a capitalist perspective... I doubt that he views it that way, though. His perspective is likely not an overly capitalist perspective.

I considered pointing that out, but I liked what the man said besides that, so I refrained.

Well spoken. Those are my sentiments exactly.

Did some more googling and came up with this thread. From there I found the name "Gennady Nikonov" which led me to this article. I'd say the fact that MK wasn't even responsible for the original AK shotgun concept is pretty strong evidence that the linkage was likely not his design.

Ah, I didn't realize that the original "Saiga" didn't have the linkage. So, that was ostensibly designed in the 90s then? In that case, I'm sure that the justification for it was purely to infiltrate the US civilian market, as you say. I still question if MK was personally responsible for its specifications, especially that late in the game.

Sure, sure. My point is just that I don't believe that market concerns were an impetus for the linkage design in the 70s. They were almost certainly the motivation for the design's reemergence in the 90s, but that was after the fact, and I tend to doubt that MK was responsible for the company's profitability at that point regardless.

Fair enough, it just seems like something that could have just as easily been relegated to a lower level designer. I mean, I wouldn't even bet that MK acted in a CEO role the way you seem to perceive. My understanding is that the Saiga was actually designed in the 70s when Izhmash was just another property of the USSR and had no such fiscal concerns. I actually much prefer to think of him as an inventor than as an entrepreneur.

Help me settle a dispute. I say that the general shoddiness of the Saiga trigger linkage is proof enough that it must have been designed by someone other than Kalashnikov himself. My opponent in this debate maintains that Kalashnikov must have designed it. Please share any facts/opinions/reasoning that might settle our debate.

An improper fraction is still a fraction.

That's MASSIVELY generous of you. I actually went ahead and ordered one from Numrich, now I wish I'd waited... Oh, well thanks anyway though!

Hi all, I have a vector arms stamped AKM that came with synthetic furniture. I felt like a change, and I've always liked the classic AK look, so I ordered a set of the new birch "Timbersmith" furniture from Mississippi Auto Arms. The wood looks very nice, although theres a slight bright spot in the finish on the lower hand guard. Looks like someone might have grabbed it while it wasn't quite dry. Only noticeable upon close inspection, so no biggie. The stock is the best part, nice striping in the grain. I'm having some trouble with the fit of the handguards, though. The lower handguard

I feel like a junkie... "C'MON MAN, QUIT HOLDIN' OUT ON ME, MAN!" Seriously though, it MUST be getting close to release. How about a pic? It can be out of focus like a bigfoot sighting. SOMETHING, anything?!

Mr. Davidson: As the snow has begun receding from the range, I believe the time has officially arrived to make this dream toy reality. That is all.

Same thing happened to me. I emailed AGP and they sent me a new spring with no questions. They said there was a bad run in early 09.