Karma 0 Posted April 23, 2007 Report Share Posted April 23, 2007 There are a couple of gun shows that circulate my area and I was wondering what should I look/watch out for in a used AK when buying at a gun show. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Juggernaut 11,054 Posted April 23, 2007 Report Share Posted April 23, 2007 Ground down bayo lugs, welded barrel nut, Dark worn bores on M70. WASR being sold as "The real Dragonov" just to name a few things to avoid Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cobra 76 two 2,677 Posted April 23, 2007 Report Share Posted April 23, 2007 Some of the AK purists out there will tell you to steer clear of the Egyptian Maadi's or Misr-90's. Some say they are the "bottom of the barrel" as far as AKs go because they are halfbreeds, Egyptian recievers built with Chinese parts. Some of these were done really crappy and the barrels were shimmed and beat the hell up with hammers by the idiots that assembled them. There are some though, I have one, that were very well built and for the money they are some of the best AKs out there. I payed $200 for mine at Roses dept store..lol. It came in cosmo NIB with all accs. and no welded thread protector, just the unthreaded bbl. I threaded it myself when I converted it. No lug (it was bought during the Klinton ban)but I can fix that too if I want. I guess now you can get better ones with all the evil features but that was my first AK. Still rockin! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
scoutjoe 276 Posted April 23, 2007 Report Share Posted April 23, 2007 I payed $200 for mine at Roses dept store.. Sounds like Dixie Rose Deluxe's Do you know what you want in an AK? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Karma 0 Posted April 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2007 I payed $200 for mine at Roses dept store.. Sounds like Dixie Rose Deluxe's Do you know what you want in an AK? 400 bucks or so for the gun. Wood stock and some decent iron sights for sure, but bayo. lug and brake really don't matter to me. I have been looking at the WASRs for about $350 and I think one will do the job. This is really more of just a SHTF gun until I can get about $2k together for a solid M1 or Galil .308 setup. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JK-47 33 Posted April 23, 2007 Report Share Posted April 23, 2007 I find that its rare to get a deal at a gunshow, with some excpetions. Everyone behind a table seems to think everyone on the other side of said table is a freaking morron or utterly desperate. The prices are inflated, somewhat comicaly if you know a bit and check prices on the net regularly, which I recomend doing. One show I was at this guy had a Wasr(2?) in 5.45x39mm with some russian scope, compensator and a tag of 650$ on it. I shot the breeze for a bit and asked how much did he value the optic at, since I was toying with the idea of buying just the rifle if I could get it for 325$ or so. He said 200$ for the scope, which is a bit absurd- plus no batteries so who knows if the damn thing even worked. That established, he told me he spent about 450$ for the rifle itself, which would mean he got ripped off if it were true, had sincere doubts about that. I didn't have the nerve to try to get him to knock 125$ off the asking price and leave him holding the scope, since my inital offer would have had to have been painfully low to haggle back up to 325$ and stop there. Discression is the better part of valor, so all I left him with were some polite words and that I'd think the purchase over. Then again at the same show a different dealer had boxes of wolf for 2$, bought a bunch and thanked the guy profusely, without him my admission fee would have felt like a waste. When you go to a gun show 1. Know what you want and how much you are willing to spend. 2. Know your stuff, legality, likely problems with one type of gun or annother, how much they go for new and used etc. Bring a bore light, inspect the gun throughly, know what to look for and if you find somthing- make it a barganing ship in your favor or a clue that you need to put that down and walk away. 3. Don't allow yourself to feel pressured to buy, or embarassed to offer way less than whats on the tag. You need to go into the gun show with the same detachment a Samurai warrior would take into battle; If you remove the emotional aspect of "I want THAT gun!" and "If I don't buy it now the next guy will" then you can be rational and will not be taken advantage of. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kresk 10,063 Posted April 23, 2007 Report Share Posted April 23, 2007 I find that its rare to get a deal at a gunshow......the prices are inflated....... Recent example I saw was a box of Nagant pistol ammo that goes for $14.95 had a price tag of $45! C'mon, WTF! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BlenderWizard 12 Posted April 23, 2007 Report Share Posted April 23, 2007 I'd keep an eye out for a MAK 90 or other Chinese. I just picked up a MAK 90 for $330 at a pawn shop. They are excellent guns, plus they have extra thick receivers. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
joelrod47 373 Posted April 24, 2007 Report Share Posted April 24, 2007 There are some though, I have one, that were very well built and for the money they are some of the best AKs out there. I payed $200 for mine at Roses dept store..lol. The Maadi was also my first AK I ever bought.......... Got it 12-15 years ago for $200.......we got a helluva deal, huh Cobra???? They are definitely not all a POS.........they're not all Egyptian-Chinese cobbled shit........The Russians moved a factory to Egypt right after the 6-days war, and built an AK as good as the Russian-issues....... They're not nearly so cheap, anymore, though............ Regarded by a lot of folks as some of the best available......... I love my Maadi. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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