My Brother Zach’s rifle came to me. It was the only thing of his that I really wanted. Because it meant so much to me…. I’ll tell you why. When it arrived, was dusty and rusty as Zach probably didn’t get to shoot it very much since he been living with us and being one of Crusader Weaponry’s Instructors. But it cleaned up nicely.
Okay, now lets talk AK-47’s for a minute. Fellow I work with has one and it is the best AK build that I’ve ever seen. Simple and Elegant.
Take a look at this. This was built at a Rifle Dynamics Build Class. Battlecomp at the front, Krinkov Front Sight and Gas Block. I believe the Foregrip and Pistol Grip are US PALM. Ultimak Rail. T1 Micro. Krebs Safety. Rifle Dynamics AR Stock Adapter. And I think that’s a Bravo Company stock. Mag-Well Funnel, from – I’m not sure where.
Overall, this build is very light weight and handles like a sports car. The T1 Co-Witnesses with the Rifle Sights.
The Texture of the grip surfaces is very aggressive. Your hands lock into place and there is no slipping. This coupled with the fast handling, make this gun a very surefooted beast when going from target to target.
The Krebs safety lever really make this gun a step above. The lever is smooth and polished, making the operation easier than on most every other AK I’ve ever felt. The finger shelf allow the trigger finger to easily sweep the safety on or off. Thanks to the Mag Well, the reloads are faster than the average bear. These things combine to make this AK the easiest handling and most natural combat rifle I’ve dealt with that is not a custom built AR.
I can’t get over how light, and how precise this Kalash feels. The Trigger is excellent and there is no recoil thanks to the excellent Battlecomp muzzle brake.
All it needs is a Slipstream Treatment and it would be perfect.
At our last Tactical Carbine class, one of the student’s AR’s went down. Hard. Here’s what it looked like.
SPORTS, TAP RACK BANG… Did nothing. Try to guess what happened before you click for more.
Have to say, the guns I go to the most are Glocks, AK’s, and 870’s.
The 23 in .40, remains my most favored handgun for CCW. The model 20, in 10mm is coming in second. The more I use the Glocks… the more I like them. Not just an appreciation for the function… but liking them for the way they feel and point, the triggers… The elegant simplicity of them… I just really like Glocks now. I don’t know… maybe it’s the crash… but I really dig them and the more I’m around them, the 19 and 23’s stand out as the perfect handguns to me – even more so than the 1911 now. Yup. They crossed that line for me. I like them more than 1911’s. No they are not the prettiest, but they are still beautiful. Kinda like the Girl Next Door that you grew up best friends with and there is that moment when you realize “You want that.” That’s Glock.
My Crusader Kalashnikov is more and more my go to rifle. I just really feel an attachment to it. It suits me to a T. It can hit. It’s reliable. Mag changes are getting much faster and everything is “Clicking”. And I get more satisfaction out of running the Kalash well than running an AR well.
For the 870’s, my adopted Police Tactical is my favorite. I have my other 870’s and they are cool and all… but something about that old wood furniture. Nothing says I am going to “Jack You Up” like an old wood stocked gun… You just know you are going to get an old school beating. The warmth it has when you handle it. Wood is an under appreciated material to a whole generation of shooters and I find that a sad state. Poly is fine – but Wood is finer. Especially nice grained wood with character. Again, Wood stocked guns have “Soul” that Poly guns just don’t have and never will. They can’t. I’ve said that before… And when I pick up that old Police Tactical… You can feel it has a History of Kicking Ass and all that experience is backing you up giving you some extra confidence. A new 870 Tactical with a plastic stock – it’s like a new Police Rookie with his first pair of Mirrored Cop Shades. The authority is there… maybe even the skill is there… But not the Character and Experience – that Soul just isn’t there.
These are my Guns of Choice. What are yours?
While popping in for a visit to Get Some Guns to test out our Broadsword Rifle, I picked up a MagPul AFG for my Kalash. At Crusader HQ, I also applied a permanent Slipstream treatment to my AK’s bolt/carrier group. Slicked that up big time. AK’s are never to be considered a Slick Rifle… and this one is still not so much. However, compared to other AK’s… DAYUM. This is one SLICK freaking AK! I love it.
Okay, back to the AFG… I didn’t realize that Magpul now makes two versions of the AFG, the normal one and a smaller thinner one. For my AK, I went with the Regular Full Sized Magnum AFG. It fit really well. It looks awesome and feels awesome. I love it. Video review of it will be made soon.
I can’t stop playing with this AK now. I took it to work hoping I’d get a chance to run out to the range on my lunch break to pop some rounds, but that didn’t happen. Instead I pulled off the highway on the way home from work after close – after dark – and drove about 200 yards (honest officer, I thought I was 200 yards) down a dirt road. Blasted through about 40 rounds of 7.62x39mm. I wanted to shoot more, but it was pitch black and I had no targets… but man. That was fun. AK muzzle flash in the dark is fun stuff. The gun is nice and controllable and I find that the AFG helps me get into proper position naturally. I just naturally Vulture Down on the gun.
Did I mention that it looks sweet? Oh yeah. It looks awesome.
The AFG solves a problem with using a Vertical Grip. I have plenty of room to rock out a mag and rock in a new one. A VFG can block the mag from rocking. And I want to rock as much as possible… so there you go.
Ask and ye shall receive. But Magpul didn’t do it. US Palm did it. Bravo!
Dear MagPul,
I know you guys are working on a Quadstack Magazine for the AR-15/M-16 Family of weapons. Surefire beat you to the punch as you well know and this leaves you trying to enter a market that has competition. You will do well with it, but you wont do as well as you had once hoped.
So I have an idea for you. Take that Quadstack concept, and apply it to a weapon system that could really use it. The AK-47. As you guys are locked on and high speed, you guys know that the AK-47 is a great weapon with a lot of fans world wide. You also know that the AK is limited when the Shooter has to drop down into the Prone shooting position. You are forced to be up higher from the ground than you may want to be in a dynamic active situation, or you have to tilt the weapon or even go all the way sideways. This is less than optimal. So I propose that you make a Quadstack AK Mag that is as short as possible, while still holding 30 rounds, and then another one of higher capacity going no longer than standard AK length, maybe 40, 50, or even 60 rounds. Personally, I’d stick with the Short 30 for most situations. This would allow the AK Operator to prone out nice and low and still have a full capacity mag on tap. Every serious AK Operator in Western Civilization would be lining up to buy these.
You make a Short 30, and you’ll have a Home Run product that isn’t a cell phone case. If you hustle, you can get some of these ready for SHOT Show.
Please consider this. Thanks.
George Hill
The Ogre from MadOgre.com, WeTheArmed.com, and Crusader Weaponry
I put an AK-47 on Layaway today. I’m going to need it come Spring Time! I’ve been looking at buying one for some time now, but hadn’t found one that I really liked. Well, I found one.
This was built by Cugir in Romania, then rebuilt by M&M LLC. It’s been around the block. Typical WASR10, with some rails and TAPCO stock and trigger, with a Hogue pistol grip. It actually feels really good.
Crusader is going to be offering an AK Focus course for 2012. So pretty much I need this, so it’s a justifiable expense. A required expenditure. Also, this gun is going to be the test mule for Crusader’s AK work. What can we do to the AK that gives any actual, tangible benefit… what is going to be worth spending money on, and what’s not. I don’t want to sell anyone on something that’s not going to help… If it’s not, we’re not going to offer it.
Now, I have some planned work for it.
BattleComp. Lightning Bolt. Ambi-Safety. Slipstream ST-2 Treatment. Serious Dehorning. Cerakote finish.
My last Kalash I got was a Vector Arms under-folder from FBMG back when they were in their salad days. It was a great AK… very good stuff. But there were things I didn’t like about it… Sharp edges, thin finish… it wasn’t perfect, but it was very good for an AK. At the time, it was the best AK I had ever owned, and I have had several. It’s a shame that Vector Arms went belly up. If Crusader does get into the Kalash Building Business… this means Utah is going to get a good in State AK again.
I want one. Unfortunately the kits are no longer available. Tis a pity.
I’ll update this post with a photo tomorrow. We got in a couple AK-47’s from ATI, the guys that have the really nice 1911’s. These AK’s are built on machined lowers, not stamped sheet metal. They are very solid and well made. The stocks look really good too. 549 for a milled AK, isn’t bad at all. If I had the money, I’d be all over these.