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Noob needs help!

845 Views 9 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  Arik, 
H
Hey all. I recently purchased my first AK. It an InterOrdinace Inc AK 74. The closest I've gotten to IDing is on Classic Firearms. Apparently it's Bulgarian. It has a 6 1/2 inch forend with a 4 13/16 guard on the gas tube. The upper guard is apparently crimped onto it. I was hoping that would be enough for an ID, and some info on spare parts. Especially info on how to change the upper hand guard, and what gas tubes I can get to replace it in case there is a weld I'm not seeing. Any knowledge to which furniture that would fit would also be a big help.
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Arik
Pics would help.

Not sure what would be welded but the upper handguard twists off. Sometimes you have to lock the gas tube in a vice but all you do is twist.
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B
Most AK family weapons will share gas tube dimensions as well as furniture. Keep in mind of course that most of the time you're going to have to do some fiddling to get stuff to fit. Those parts were never designed to be precision fits like AR furniture, so a bit of shaving and squeezing is normal when putting on new furniture. Gas tubes can just get filed down if it doesn't quite fit, and if its loose thats fine.

Pics would help for sure. But the Gas tube guard is usually removed by rotating one end of the gas tube so that the wood can slide out. This is usually quite tight if you have an original combloc gas tube and furniture, it will usually be vice work if its particularly stuff. My friend's kit would absolutely not budge, it was easier to file down his handguard so it could rotate in from the bottom.
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Gman
Do a search on the internet for AK handguard removal, there are several that shows the operation. BTW, welcome to the group.
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W
You bought an AK without know where it was made and when ? Wow
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Arik
Winterfell said:
You bought an AK without know where it was made and when ? Wow
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I don't know when most of my guns were made unless it explicitly states. Nor do I really care. Granted my AKs are mainly Arsenal and WASR.
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B
It's quite easy to not know where any gun you buy comes from. Particularly if you don't ask when you buy it. Or if it was a Consignment. Or if you bought it from a gunstore that bought it from a private party. Or you buy it directly from a private party.

The more important thing is examining the weapon thoroughly before you buy it to look for flaws.
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H
Alright, thanks for the help with the handguard disassembly. That advice really helped. Easy enough to twist off, with a pair of work gloves on. As for make, it IS Bulgarian. The condition it is in is very good. It still wasn't really broken in, and and the internals seemed damn near spotless. Honestly it was an impulse buy ,as I'd been interested in buying an AK for a while, but when I saw the 74 i had to have it because I've always been keen on the 5.45 cartridge. I'm glad I did, the 5.45 is so soft and flat shooting that I ran through 2 mags before I knew it! The only problem I'm having with it is it's a bit of a hassle finding ammo, but then I remembered the internet is a thing. Again, thanks for the help.
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fly
Youtube video's would really help ya , or a member close to your AO is best .
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Arik
Did IO Inc ever import Bulgarian? I can't remember. I pretty sure what you have is a US AK built using Bulgarian parts. Very common type of build
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