Weekend Photo: First Gun, First AK
Mason sent us a photo of his first gun, purchased this year. He decided to go for an AK rather than an AR-15. He writes …
I purchased my first gun this year.
I decided a few years back that my first rifle would be an AK platform, and the local gun store had a partially converted .223 Saiga selling for $550. I wasn’t planning on buying it this year, but the Saiga-sanction scare happened and this deal was too good for me to ignore.
The original furniture was not to my liking so I swapped it all out. I generally tried to mimic the set-ups of modern Russian special forces and SOBR (Russian Special Rapid Response Unit).
I took photos from each “iteration” of my Saiga with its new parts, and I included what I generally consider to be the best of those pictures. Unfortunately I only have one photo of how it looks right now, and it is not a very good photo so I must apologize.
My current configuration for it is:
-Zenitco PK-3 pistol grip
-Zenitco B-10 hand guard
-CAA Buffer tube adaptor with Magpul CTR
-Manticore Arms Eclipse
-SGM Magazine
-Chaos USA dust cover rail
-EOtech EXPS-3-2
-Primary Arms Magnifier
– Zenitco 2-DIK flashlight replica.Bonus picture of my Saiga with my grandfather’s main hunting rifle, a Galil HADAR II.
I founded TFB in 2007 and over 10 years worked tirelessly, with the help of my team, to build it up into the largest gun blog online. I retired as Editor in Chief in 2017. During my decade at TFB I was fortunate to work with the most amazing talented writers and genuinely good people!
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That is one of the nicer AK's that I have seen.
Great job!
Oh and your Grandpa's hunting rifle rocks too.
Very nice build, and a good, practical choice of accessories and replacement parts. Thanks for sharing!
The Russian-made Zenitco parts are really interesting. Are you ( Mason ) planning to install a Zenitco PT-1 folding / telescopic buttstock at some point? I know it's an expensive component, but it would add a lot to the appearance of a Russian SF weapon as well as being functional. You can also get genuine Russian-made Mil-Spec red dot sights and prismatic sights at a reasonable price to complete the transformation ( if you so choose ).
Also, best wishes to one and all on TFB for a Happy Thanksgiving!