I'm clueless on Custom AK builders. Can I get a lesson?

LigerNoir

LigerNoir

Amateur
P/S,

I'm currently looking for a 5.56 AK (in a fixed 101 pattern) and the prices being asked for a Russian Saiga/Bulgarian 106 are insane. I want to keep my ammo down to the common NATO calibers (as that's what I shoot) and don't want 1 caliber for one rifle (my K98k and M1 Garand are chambered in 7.62 NATO).

I have been combing the interwebz, but I don't really know what I'm looking for in a builder or who is good or willing to build something a little out of the ordinary. There is also the chance of a Saiga conversion if I get luckier then the SUV on the highway of death in 91".

Any school lesson on builders that isn't Rifle Dynamics or Krebs Customs (who don't do custom work any more to my reading) would be 1000% appreciated!

Thank You!
 
D

Dan Arnold

Member
Maybe Troy Sellars at InRange can do something for you. I have no personal experience with him, but he has a great reputation and you can see his excellent work on his IG feed. Just skimming through his feed it looks like he's done some work on the 5.56 guns coming out of Poland. I think the challenge you will run into is the cost. SLR-106s are expensive precisely because there aren't many other cost-effective alternatives available, such as building up from a kit.
 
D

Dan Arnold

Member
My sense is that most good builders doing 5.45 and 7.62 guns are using parts kits or imported parts. I think most of the builders who were offering NATO AKs were customizing SLR-106s or other complete new production guns simply because 5.56 AKs haven't been nearly as extensively mass-produced or surplussed out as parts kits. I've heard of home builders converting 5.45 parts kits to 5.56, but that often didn't turn out well. I imagine some of the good pro builders have done the same successfully, but when you look at at the current cost of Bulgy AK-74 kit and labor for a builder to convert it to 5.56, you're probably back to RD and Krebs money.
 
LigerNoir

LigerNoir

Amateur
Sounds like it.

For anyone else reading this looking for a builder, InRange isn't taking orders till the Fall.
 
LigerNoir

LigerNoir

Amateur
While I'm less interested in the Beryl, Atlantic solves that issue by being out of stock. If I was more inclined to have a large collection, a Beryl would 1000% be on the list of must buys.

I'm on a lead atm. Still over paying. I picked a bad time to increase my collection, but I have the spare coin now where I didn't a year ago.
 
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