Current Status of the Project

The rifle is approaching two thousand rounds with the majority being expended in hardtraining and the remainder in familiarization firing (i.e plinking.) No usage in extremis to date. No major or irreparable issues have arisen to date. Fuller's work is highly recommended.

Design Philosopy

KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid)

Incorporate knowledge about the AK system, its usage, and personal experience/desires for same to date (late '06) to create a personal best of breed self defense rifle for civilian use in the western US that is optimized for field use, not the square range.

General Parts List / Statement of Work

Romanian parts kit, all matching numbers with a new appearing bore.

Assemble with Bulgarian Side Folding Stock with trunnion assembly and Nodak Spud receiver. New K-VAR replacement trigger guard parts supplied as the kit parts were trash.

Ensure that Bulgarian waffle magazines will work.

Mount side rail for optics.

Fuller enhanced rear sight.

Dehorn all sharp and pointy edges.

G2 FCG

Krebs Trigger Pin Retainer Plate

Krebs flash suppressor

K-Var US made pistol grip and fore end (upper and lower)

Bulgarian triangle metal folding stock

Finish with moly resin over parkerizing.

The Rifle Front to Rear in Detail

Flash Suppressors

As built the rifle had a Krebs M16 style bird cage flash suppressor. It works adequately for use with un-augmented vision, but a small amount of flash and/or sparks is visible on some shots. This is nothing to be concerned about given the purpose of this component. It must be noted that there is wide variability round to round in flash signature from available 7.62x39 ammunition. An interesting exercise is to remove any muzzle attachment from your rifle and shoot a magazine in the dark.

Attempts were made to photograph the flash and failed as there was inadequate flash to register on the camera.

A Vortex suppresser has been tested as well. No flash is visible except for a tiny bit of glow at the base of the slots it you are at an angle to observe the crown of the bore. No suitability will be stated for use of any of these with NVG, as it is currently not available to me. Do note that the heavier units like the Vortex cause noticeable shifts in the center of gravity of the weapons, albeit not as severely as a forward mounted Aimpoint will induce.

A Side Bar on Muzzle Attachments
I would like to share a couple of observations about muzzle attachments I have noticed over the years.


The AK slant brake has a positive impact on the flash signature. It doesn't eliminate it so much as it redirects or modifies it such that it is a gentle glow that doesn't hurt your night vision.


The Vortex has an, as yet unquantifed, but observable impact on the noted tendency of Wolf ammunition to toss a flier every few rounds. This is quite interesting and worth future investigation. It has no realistic practical impact for the normal end user, but a user who is capable of using a well made AK to the practical ballistic limit of the 7.62x39 cartridge will find the increase in consistency, for lack of a better word, to be meaningful.

Front Sights
As issued. Dehorned. They work.

Barrel
Fuller told me the Romanian barrels are just fine. To be frank, I had my doubts, given that the rifles in general are such pieces of crap by US standards. I was quite pleasantly surprised with it in practice. Does it shoot with a match grade AR-15 built by a knowledgeable armorer? No. Does it shoot with a Bulgarian hammer forged barrel on a milledreceiver using top end US or the old, superb and no longer available NORINCO ammo? No. Does it shoot with most service rifles out there? Yes. (Even the mighty M14 only had to make 6 inches or better at 100 yds with ball ammo to pass muster for issue.) Doesit shoot better that the average shooter? Darn right and you'd have to have ice water in your veins to be able to use better barrels under stress.

Hand Guards / Gas Tube
K-VAR. Superb as always. Two changes are under consideration. I prefer to have any optics mounted in the scout position on these rifles. When I am ready to do so on this rifle I will mount an Ultimak rail/gas tube for mounting some sort of Aimpoint. The lower hand guard needs a small piece of rail to hold a light. I have yet to ever decide what sort of light I want available for use on my rifles. To be frank I have had little need. But all the cool dudes have lights! ;-) Key is that it comes off and on easy and I can take it from weapon to weapon.

Rear Sights

The rear sights are modified per Fuller's pattern with dehorned edges and the width of the notch is increased. Increasing the width of the notch makes a surprising difference in the utility of the sights for middle aged eyes. (This is a good thing to consider in the use of the hand gun as well.) In the intermediate ranges past those where the Suarez "caveman eotech" technique is utilized, the increased width of the notch makes the front sight much more visible and improves target acquisition speed. At longer ranges to the practical limits of the 7.62x39 cartridge the usual issue of vertical elevation controlwith a post and notch system arises. No surprises there. This is where an optic of some sort, 1x and actively powered, adds greatly to the utility of the AK system if the operator is adequately trained to use the optic and properly care for it.

Receiver
The Nodak Spud Fuller recommended works just fine. Fuller fits the mag well tight for reasons of reliability. My preferred Bulgarian polymer waffle magazines are very snug as a result and not quick to change. I have taken to using regular Eastern Euro metal magazines as a result. Two other guns from the same series are similar and the users report that the polymer magazines wear in a tinge and are just fine thereafter.

Side Mounted Optic Rail
The screw mounted side rail obtained from Tantal shot loose at 800 rds. Fuller fixed this with no questions asked. Per my request he made the repair with rivets. No further problems have been experienced to date. The optic used on this rail is a PK-AS Russian Aimpoint equivalent. This is an excellent optic that deserves greater appreciation than it gets, as it currently plays second sister to the Kobra in US AK circles.

FIre Control Group (FCG) Based on the net wide glowing reports on the Tapco G2 FCG, I had the rifle built with one. On first impression the pull was light and crisp. I view the trigger pull weight of this FCG as too light for situations where you are suffering from reduced fine motor control of your trigger finger, either due to stress or environmental conditions. In my opinion, the trigger pull weight of the Tapco G2 FCG is too light for serious use of the AK as a weapon. Find something else if for that reason alone.

The other FCG option I decided to try for the first time in this rifle is the trigger pin retainer plate to replace the shepherd's hook spring used to retain the FCG pins. This plate is designed to ease the assembly and disassembly of the FCG. It is a component that has come and gone at times over the years in Soviet built weapons and is currently all the rage in US build circles.


The failure mode for this plate is dangerous. When the plate looses index on the retaining grooves in the cross pins, which is most likely to occur during cleaning if the safety is removed from the receiver, which lifts the plate out of the groove on the trigger pin. The FCG becomes loose in the weapon, looses alignment, and slam fires due to the dis-connector failing to engage will occur. Slam fires are dangerous and can cause permanent damage to the weapon and up to and including fatal injury to the operator.

This issue is aggravated by the rivets or screws used to mount an optics rail to the receiver. The plate is a bit bent out of line to miss the rear screw or rivet head on the side rail. This is a bitch to repair at o dark thirty with field expedient tools (flashlight and pocket knife) though it can be done.

In my considered opinion the plate is a solution looking for a problem to solve and is a disaster waiting to happen, at least on rifles with a side rail and the associated rivet or screw heads inside the receiver. Note that my opinion on this topic has engendered vigorous discussion in AK circles. Your milage may vary.

In addition, the ease with which these plates promote the removal of the FCG components is counter to the peasant proof design philosophy of the weapon in general and is, in consequence a negative. Most users should restrict themselves to occasionally cleaning out the receiver with boiling water or solvent and applying fresh lubricant. In myopinion these rifles should use the spring as issued.

I replaced the Tapco FCG with a K-VAR unit and a normal retention spring. The trigger pull weight is now heavy enough and the FCG is solidly retained within the receiver. No further problems can be attributed to the FCG in the subsequent thousand rounds or more to the date of this writing.

Top Cover
Fuller cleaned up and moly coated the top cover. It works. Not much else to say.

Butt Stock The rifle started with a Bulgarian metal folding butt stock. This stock was chosen for three reasons:

1) compactness in storage
2) to have an evil feature grandfathered in
3) I have always (moment of weakness) liked the look of them

The stock as built locks up tight with no wiggle. It is a solid firing platform and is easy to manipulate during folding and unfolding.


Firing showed that the metal stock was uncomfortable in use. The recoil impulse is acceptable, but the top bar beats on the cheek bones and rattle the teeth. During firing comparisons with rifles of the same build series that used the K-VAR US made polymer stock it was noticed that this did not occur. A polymer stock was obtained and mounted to the rifle. It is a definite improvement and highly recommended based on experience to date.

There is a feature to the K-VAR stock that is greatly unappreciated by many shooters. A trap door in the butt plate gives access to a compartment to hold a cleaning kit. Use it!

Be aware that the threads of the AK cleaning rod and the tools within the issue cleaning kits are not necessarily compatible from country to country. Be sure to make sure your rod and kit are compatible.

Conclusions

This really is the rifle that Arsenal should be building in droves instead of screwing around with 5.56 guns and 22 mm FSBs for the collector's market. They don't, so Fuller will have all the work he ever wants. He does superb work! Keep your Fuller built AK simple and well cared for and it will serve you well!