Decent AK?

[heavy metal daze]

bolt sticking back when you rack it, etc.

.

Have a cheapy that that occasionally happens to and can't for the life of me find where it hangs up when it does. Suggestions?

Usually that means it hangs on the hammer, this can happen with a new US-made trigger group, which goes away after the rifle is worn in. Otherwise one can polish the hammer slightly where it contacts.

Other issues that can cause it would be burs along the rails, canted gas block, and/or crooked gas piston.

[Norsesmithy]

cripes. since when is a "good" AK the same price as a good AR?

that jest don't set right ya'll...

Good AKs function where good ARs have failed. A well built AK is worth the premium it carries.

While I agree that a good AK is worth the premium, I'm not sure I'd necessarily agree that it's necessarily going to be more reliable overall. It's very likely that there are situations where one rifle or the other is more or less likely to perform, but I dunno that the AK is necessarily the queen of battle with regards to that.

The large fitment gaps in dust cover of an AK, especially the dust cover of an AK that's not on safe, let grit and mud and sand to get everywhere.

[LarryFlew]

Thanks. It is a new US trigger group and that was my guess but could not tell for sure.

[heavy metal daze]

What I view when looking at AK prices is that the more one pays for it, the less time and money afterwards one needs to invest getting it in decent shape. Higher priced AK's are good-to-go out-of-the-box, while the cheaper ones will require cleaning/touch ups/finishing, as well as some other tweaking on the user's part. A Wasr can be just as good as an Arsenal or Kreb's custom, though with time and cost considerations, would probably equal roughly the same in the end.

I still say starting with a Wasr is the way to go. It's basically a crash course in learning the workings of the AK since you need to fully strip it down & take apart the bolt, to clean out all of the cosmoline gunk, dust, and metal shavings, as well as oil it up, before actually firing it.
It'll also let you appreciate some of the more expensive builds too.