[diggsbakes]

Originally Posted by robocop10mm

Not exactly. The AK's in 7.62 X 39 exhibit a huge vibration that is visible on high speed camera. The barrel actually "whips" in a wave like motion when fired. When you see it, you will say WTF? Partly due to the bullet and partly due to the op rod.

Muzzle climb is what is felt by the shooter. Compensators are available in order to offset this.

Here is what "Surplus Rifle" has to say about it.

MUZZLE COMPENSATOR: A device attached concentrically to the muzzle of a gun; for the purpose of reducing muzzle climb. Muzzle climb is the natural “upward jump” of a gun’s barrel’s muzzle when fired. Complex physics are involved here, but all guns “climb” when fired; hence the need to “compensate” when possible/needed. Here is how they work: As the bullet leaves the barrel, the expanding gases behind it are allowed to exit thru several holes (or openings) placed at near the top of the compensator to create a downward thrust that “compensates” for muzzle climb. A compensator is considered essential in shoulder automatic weapons, and useful in semi-automatic guns, because it enables the shooter to “stay on target” during rapid fire. A simple example is the bevel cut (type) compensator of many Russian design automatic weapons such as the AK-47. None are totally effective all the time, because different cartridge loads, and bullet weights affect their performance.

[mkett39]

I have the saiga ak74 in .223 and love it. Shoots perfect, just had to do the mods after purchase. New fire group, stock,pistol grip all USA made so it is a compliant weapon. Bought for 350.00 and 150.00 for the mod parts. Sweeeet!

[KalashnikovJosh]

Originally Posted by robocop10mm

Not exactly. The AK's in 7.62 X 39 exhibit a huge vibration that is visible on high speed camera. The barrel actually "whips" in a wave like motion when fired. When you see it, you will say WTF? Partly due to the bullet and partly due to the op rod.

Its more than just the op-rod,its the whole bolt group.It slams both rearward and forward and that movement is where the vibration of the AK comes from.
It bucks and jumps like a bronco on full auto fire,unlike the AR system whose direct gas impingement does away with the size,weight,and movement of a gas piston system.
Whats really interesting to me is to fire a 5.56 AR with a gas piston mod,and one with the original impingement system.
At least for me,there is a noticeable difference.

That being said,I fail to see any real impediment to accuracy because of this bolt group design in semiautomatic only weapons or semiautomatic fire.
You will feel it more than a gas impingement AR,but it should be controllable enough in semiauto to not pose an accuracy problem.

The AKM being replaced by the AK-74 was the result of the soviets thinking they would be left behind the curve after encountering our 5.56 cartridge in Vietnam.

Heres a page on the AK-74 :

http://world.guns.ru/assault/as02-e.htm

That bolt group is still there,and any reduction in felt recoil is because of the smaller,lighter projectile of the 5.45 which resulted in a slightly lighter bolt group and overall less recoil impulse due to the physics of propelling a smaller/lighter object compared to a more massive one.

In my opinion,an opinion also shared by Kalashnikov himself,the 5.45 and the AK-74 were not necessary and represented no real improvement over the AKM and the 7.62x39 cartridge.
While you *might* see a bit more accuracy,the changes are minimally combat-effective due to the ballistics of intermediate rounds being what they are -pretty much all limited to a maximum effective range of 300 yards- and you even get a lack of hard penetration.
For the proponents of the smaller bore intermediate rifle cartridges,you get a more terminally effective round and a lighter cartridge allowing you to carry more ammo.
As for me,I prefer the AKM and the updated Yugoslavian-designed M67 ball (a design found in many of the Russian brands like my favorite Golden Tiger) 7.62x39 over many rifle designs chambered in intermediate rounds because of reliability and penetration.
As for accuracy,I can hit a chest sized target with acceptable groups at 300 yards with my SAR-1.
For anything past that I'd stick with .308 or 7.62x54r or a similar cartridge that was designed for longer range ballistics than the intermediate type cartridges were.

As to this particular rifle you have in question-the price looks right about at the 'you cant lose' range.

Buy it,try it out,and if you don't like it-sell it.

But if you do like it,it looks like a good bargain at less than 350 bucks to me.