Jing Gong AK-47

[Coma]

Alright, so since my own AK is in the shop (new internals at last!) I got my hands on the Jing Gong AK-47 today at a game, and tried it out for the day. As some know, this is a Marui clone sold by buyairsoft.ca at a price of $275. Since there is a lack of reviews, heres what I can tell you.

First Impressions

Its an AK-47, looks much like a stock Marui. The fake wood isn't quite as good. The metal parts have a strange hue to them that some may not like. These parts include the top cover, the gas tube, and the front sight. It feels nice, weighted well with a mag and battery. One of the major things is that yes, it comes with an orange tip. I noticed that only the barrel nut is painted orange. No problem I thought, since that screws off. Nope, buyairsoft.ca has glued it on it would seem. There must be a way to get some solvent into the threads to get it off, but I found that to be a pain.

Another differance is that where they is a metal tube/stick battery storage under the top cover on the Marui, the JG has a weight. This is screwed into the body. There were some issues with the bolt that I will cover later.

Getting Ready for the Day

First thing I did was set the hop-up. I found this much more difficult than on my own AK. There is just one sweet spot where you can get any range. Outside of that, it would seem that the hop-up has almost no effect on the BBs. Someone more in the know might have a better answer for you, but my suggestion would be to just replace the hop-up unit off the bat. Also, there is a nub on the inside of the bolt handle that can catch the hop-up adjustment lever if you don't pay attention. The lever will move from this.

Now, the JG is advertised as firing at 350 fps. I don't believe it, personally. There wasn't a chrony availible that day so I'll have to update after I find out. I estimate it was firing at about 280-300 fps. About the same or a bit harder than a stock Marui.

On the Field

The JG handled just like I remember my stock AK working. The only problem I encountered was that some of my mags did not feed in the JG. They were kinda well-used G&P mid caps and CA standards. They fed fine in the past in my own AK but skipped BBs in the JG. The G&Ps in particular were very loose in the mag-well. However, the hi-caps that came with the AEG fed and worked just fine. An interesting feature of these were a quick-wind option. A hole in the side of the mag near the bottom provides access to an allan key socket attached to the internal winder. Maybe one full turn and you are ready to go. I found this to be a useful feature.

Conclusion

I didn't get a chance to look at the internals, and even then I wouldn't know what I'm looking at. I was pretty happy with how the JG performed overall aside from the annoying problems with the hop-up. I was very surprised for a Chinese clone AEG. I would reccomend it as a base for a cheap project, a loaner gun, or just to see how you like using an AK.

I compared the JG to my own TM AK-47. Its had stock internals for a long time now, and I've not used it with the upgraded guts. I would say they are comparible. In the long run we will see how things hold up.

[Dicey]

Nice review there coma, while reading this i had my JG AK47-s right next to me and you captured everything perfectly.

[trevor]

I have the Beta Spetsnaz and it shot 340with a crono. Darklen will post pics of the internals but the externals are really nice. There is no fake wood-it is all black with an almost a rubbery feel. The gun feels very solid, better then the TM 1 I held.

[Darklen]

Pics and quick internals assessment of the same JG A47B. The gun shoots a solid 340 fps with 0.20g bb's out of the box. FPS was measured through an F1 Shooting Chrony.

The gun takes down just like a TM/ISC/CA AK so no suprises there.

Right side of the gearbox



Left side of the gearbox



A quick note to gun docs, the Torx screws are #8, not the #10/11 TM use. The gearbox is quite...well...shiney. Like chromed shiney. Don't know if JG uses an exceptionally smooth metal (doubtful) or if the shell was just given a quick dunk in the plating tank to make it look nicer (more likey).


The disassebled gearbox. The gears are lubed with a brown grease while the cylinder/piston area is lubed with a whiteish/clear grease. Much better than the SRC XM8 I did last week which had a nondescript lube painted on with a brush (yes, literally). Nothing really out of the ordinary, just different colors.



The piston head is ported from the factory, but otherwise looks like a TM. The spring is secured the same as TM.



The cylinder head, cylinder, nozzle and tappet plate assembly. Again, nothing out of the ordinary.



The sector and spur gears, oddly (?) marked "CA". Not shown in this picture, but the other side of the spur gear has a slightly mismolded tooth, only about 75% of it is there in thickness only, not in circumference. The bevel gear looks to be made of the same material, with 4 latches and has no markings.



There was a whopping 5 x 0.2mm shims in the whole gearbox. I degreased, reshimmed and relubed it. I put in several more shims than I took out as well. Other than that, I can't find fault with this gun from an inspection standpoint. Keep in mind, I have not fired this gun other than through my chrono, so actual "fieldworthiness" has yet to be determined, but for $275 (with a 250 round high cap a 600 round high cap, both metal, and 2 batteries and a charger!), if it lasts a season before needing something replaced, how can you go wrong?

[attack-beaver]

the more i read about these JGs the more i wish they would make a good G3A4.

[Imperial Guard]

My JG AK47 beta is shooting at an average of 390fps (chrono reading). The exterior finishing is okay, but the internals machining quality, as pointed out by Coma, is less than ideal. But for the price (roughly 100CAD in Hong Kong), I would say it's pretty good bang for the buck.

In terms of long-term reliability, I can only say this: if you know how to do your own gunsmithing and have some spare parts sitting around. It is not an issue at all.

[maporms]

Hi guys! I'm not sure with JG distributors in Canada but here in the Philippines, JG AK-47's comes in with type-2 stock cylinders. This does not match the barrel length of the AK-47. Can someone from your side of things confirm if JG AK-47's there comes with type-2 as stock cylinders? If so, i suggest that you use type-0 and seal all possible air leaks, that's 40+ fps on stock springs. My friend's JG AK chronoed @ 390fps, he just changed the cylinder type and sealed all air leaks, all stock. Chronoed @ 430fps.

[softairpsycko]

hey thanks for helping me figure out why my ak47 tip wont come off either, if you found a solvent that got it off please tell me what type.