If you've already recieved this, please disregard. Not certain I sent it correctly earlier.
Hope all is well. Since you are so well versed in trading, I wanted to see if I could get some advice from you. I had a Springfield Black Stainless 1911 (used but in good shape) on the site for sale but ended up not needing to sell it and closed the thread. As I was going through all the listings , I developed an interest in acquiring an AK and know very little about them. Can you give me advice on what I should look for? I would want something to throw in the car and shoot when opportunity presented itself? I would likely want to trade the Springer for it. Any idea what you would value it for in a trade? I appreciate any suggestions you have.
Best,
Marck"
Hey Marck,
How have you been?
Sorry it took so long to get back to you - it was a long day with work and classes.
I looked up your 1911 and thought that your asking price was fair, $700 for that model seems like a good deal. In trade I would not value it any less - possibly a little bit more.
If you're going to do a trade for an AK - I would do one FTF - as a dealer will try and give you $400-500 for the 1911, which would obviously not benefit you. If you can't find anyone that would trade an AK + cash/ammo/accessories, then I'd put the Springer back up for sale and purchase an AK after it sells.
I'm by no means an AK expert, but I'll tell you what I know..I've had a couple different variants consisting of Romanians and Yugoslavians...there are MANY other variants... http://www.ar15.com/forums/board.html?b=4
Romanians are the best bang for the buck in my opinion - I had a couple WASR 10s and one was finicky with Wolf ammunition - however this wasn't the case with all of them.
Currently I have a Romanian SAR1 - I have been very pleased with this model...If you'd like to get something with a little more finer machining I would go with a Yugo Underfolder.
A positive about having an underfolder/sidefolder is that it can allow you to throw it into something like a soft tennis racket case for the vehicle.
When buying one make sure the sights aren't canted too bad - as some are horrible. I would throw a mag into the gun and see if it wobbles a lot - if it does I'd look for another - (this can be solved by getting an AK with a milled receiver - these usually have "dimples" to eliminate mag wobble, compared to the "stamped" receivers)...
Stay away from any promags - in my experience they don't make quality products. The steel mags are the way to go and you shouldn't have to spend more that $16/mag in very good condition. If you want the best get the bulgarian polymer waffle mags, but they are a little bit more $, somewhere in the $20-30 range last time I checked.