WE AK-74U - was good, now bad

[paulwes83]

Originally Posted by turok_t

Oh yeah, I visited this site before, do they ship to Canada? Any problems with custom?

Yup, they'll ship to Canada, pretty cheap too. As for Customs, you might have problems with them because of the legal standing of Kalashnikovs in Canada. They're illegal except under special circumstances/licenses. That being said, there are grandfathered models in private collections, but the legislation went into effect in 1995, banning them from then on.

Furniture probably won't be much of a problem, but anything else probably will. I'm not a CBSA officer though, so I could be wrong.

[Latvian291]

Originally Posted by paulwes83

Yup, they'll ship to Canada, pretty cheap too. As for Customs, you might have problems with them because of the legal standing of Kalashnikovs in Canada. They're illegal except under special circumstances/licenses. That being said, there are grandfathered models in private collections, but the legislation went into effect in 1995, banning them from then on.

Furniture probably won't be much of a problem, but anything else probably will. I'm not a CBSA officer though, so I could be wrong.

No, no no. Please don't spread false information if you don't know what you're talking about. In Canada, only the receiver of a prohibited firearm is illegal.

[Latvian291]

Originally Posted by turok_t

Oh yeah, I visited this site before, do they ship to Canada? Any problems with custom?

As stated before, there is nothing illegal about AK parts. Anything goes, except the receiver of the firearm. I have ordered from them before, and as expected, shipping from Russia is slow, but all items came without incident.

[paulwes83]

You sure dude? I was under the impression that any part of the fire control group, besides the selector lever and the bolt carrier group were illegal too. Guess I misinterpreted the CBSA guidelines on the importation of firearm parts

Originally Posted by Latvian291

No, no no. Please don't spread false information if you don't know what you're talking about. In Canada, only the receiver of a prohibited firearm is illegal.

[Latvian291]

Originally Posted by paulwes83

You sure dude? I was under the impression that any part of the fire control group, besides the selector lever and the bolt carrier group were illegal too. Guess I misinterpreted the CBSA guidelines on the importation of firearm parts

Correction: the automatic sear may be controlled for import, but is not illegal afaik. I was a gunsmith in a previous life.

[Latvian291]

Does anyone know what the ra-tech recoil buffer for the Ak-74UN is supposed to do? It replaces the gas piston on the AK but no one who sells it describes the purpose or advantage of it. Poor salesmanship for sure.

[turok_t]

Originally Posted by Latvian291

Does anyone know what the ra-tech recoil buffer for the Ak-74UN is supposed to do? It replaces the gas piston on the AK but no one who sells it describes the purpose or advantage of it. Poor salesmanship for sure.

made of steel increases the recoil... i paired it up with the dynamic spring system and it changed the acoustics of my gun

[Latvian291]

Originally Posted by turok_t

made of steel increases the recoil... i paired it up with the dynamic spring system and it changed the acoustics of my gun

Why would they call it a recoil buffer? A recoil buffer is a small piece of rubber or plastic, usually, that protects (or is said to protect, it's really BS) the back of the receiver from bending and wear... I guess "recoil increaser" was a dumber name

Historically, the only firearm that had a recoil buffer that served a purpose, to the best of my knowledge, was the PPSH-41.

The dynamic spring system is an interesting idea, for skirmishing perhaps, but I didn't want to change the appearance of the internals of the gun because it was pretty close to the real thing, which I liked.

I may invest in the recoil buffer though, if only just for the sake of increasing steel parts in the gun. Can you tell me if, without the spring kit, there are any drawbacks to the recoil "buffer"?

[Latvian291]

Some pics of my WE... just got around to taking them.

Mods: RA Tech trigger group, RS Soviet Russian pistol grip, RA Tech handguards, RS Selector (military style), serialization based on original military pics, RS Soviet sling, weathering.

[Latvian291]

I bought the recoil buffer and it's a nice steel replacement for the old aluminum gas piston. Only the tolerances are so tight that it doesnt seem to work with the stock receiver button and recoil spring. Instead, the loose fit between the recoil spring and the button that releases the receiver cover causes the recoil spring guide to bind on the bottom of the inside of the gas piston. So if you are going to get the WE recoil buffer I highly suggest that you also improve the other parts by getting the ra-tech Dynamic Spring Kit. It's an abomination to the realism of the internals though, so I am going to try to file down the inside of the recoil buffer and see if it works.

[Latvian291]

It seems like I'm talking to myself here but I wanted to update y'all on the recoil buffer issue.

The recoil buffer was binding on the spring guide because of the loose fit between the spring guide and the receiver button. I filed down the inside of the recoil buffer (actually the gas piston for those of us familiar with proper terminology) by marking where the bottom would index and then filing out the bottom with a circular file on the inside. This fixed the binding problem and saved me from having to buy that hideous dynamic spring system. : )

[Disco_Dante]

Originally Posted by Latvian291

It seems like I'm talking to myself here but I wanted to update y'all on the recoil buffer issue.

The recoil buffer was binding on the spring guide because of the loose fit between the spring guide and the receiver button. I filed down the inside of the recoil buffer (actually the gas piston for those of us familiar with proper terminology) by marking where the bottom would index and then filing out the bottom with a circular file on the inside. This fixed the binding problem and saved me from having to buy that hideous dynamic spring system. : )

Please keep updating us. Im following along attentively! You arent interested in the ratech spring system because it will be less realistic when you pop tge top cover? The promise of a realistic (depending on the calibre) rof doesnt interest you? Im looking at getting tge dynamic spring over that weighted gas piston myself.

[Latvian291]

Originally Posted by Disco_Dante

Please keep updating us. Im following along attentively! You arent interested in the ratech spring system because it will be less realistic when you pop tge top cover?

In short, yes. It's hideous.

The promise of a realistic (depending on the calibre) rof doesnt interest you? Im looking at getting tge dynamic spring over that weighted gas piston myself.

The increase in ROF should be accomplished with the weighted gas piston without compromising the realism of the internals. This is, IMHO, a much better solution, IF it works. I haven't tested it yet. Will do shortly.

AKs are known worldwide for their slow rate of automatic fire. Look for any Vietnam diary and soldiers always write of the comparatively slow rat-tat-tat of an AK versus an M16. The Ak-74UN may be a different story, but the action is the same from the gas block back on the gun.

[Disco_Dante]

Originally Posted by Latvian291

In short, yes. It's hideous.



The increase in ROF should be accomplished with the weighted gas piston without compromising the realism of the internals. This is, IMHO, a much better solution, IF it works. I haven't tested it yet. Will do shortly.

AKs are known worldwide for their slow rate of automatic fire. Look for any Vietnam diary and soldiers always write of the comparatively slow rat-tat-tat of an AK versus an M16. The Ak-74UN may be a different story, but the action is the same from the gas block back on the gun.

but the rof is already low, wont a heavier gas piston slow your rof? The aks74u has a higher rof than an ak74m, and a noticeably higher rof than a 7.62 AK, so i would think a lighter gas piston combined with the dynamic spring would achieve the desired realistic rof.

[Latvian291]

Originally Posted by Disco_Dante

but the rof is already low, wont a heavier gas piston slow your rof? The aks74u has a higher rof than an ak74m, and a noticeably higher rof than a 7.62 AK, so i would think a lighter gas piston combined with the dynamic spring would achieve the desired realistic rof.

I think the theory is the heavier piston will not move back as far with the same amount of energy - more mass takes more energy to move therefore the rate of fire increases because the bolt only travels part of the way back. Keep in mind I still don't know what the recoil buffer is supposed to do and none of the sites that sell it will tell you!