So you've decided that you want to buy an AK, but maybe you don't know so much about them.
There's so many of them out there how will you know that you're getting a good rifle and not a junker?

Luckily it isn't too hard to find a good AK as long as you know what to look for. For this guide I will be covering the bare basics that you'll need to know to make sure that you're getting an AK that functions correctly.

When shopping for an AK the first thing you need to look at is the receiver of the gun.

Here's a picture of the receiver. I circled the lower receiver, which is where you'll need to look for the fist quality check.




The First thing you you'll want to look at when you're looking to buy the rifle is the condition of the rivets on the receiver. The rivets on the receiver should be perfectly rounded, while improper rivets will not affect the function of the rifle, rounded rivets are a mark of a quality receiver. It is also beneficial for the rivets to fit tightly on the receiver.

Here is an example of rounded AK rivets on a Krinkov. The rivets have been circled in red.



Something else you may want to check is the magazine well. This is fairly easy to check.
There are two types of magazine wells that are common on AKs.
The most desirably is generally an AK with magazine dimples. Here is an example, circled in red of course.



Magazine dimples are common on AKM variants. They press inward and help hold the magazine securely in the magazine well.

The next form of magazine well that is common is the milled out versions. These are rifles that used to use single stack magazines that were converted to use standard AK magazines when they were imported. Here's a picture.


Notice that the magazine well lacks dimples. Instead it uses an internal retention. These can work just fine.

With either magazine well you'll want to insert an unloaded magazine(preferably a metal one) into the rifle and move it to the right and left. In some cases the magazine will shift left or right. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, some people prefer a somewhat loose magazine in their gun. Most however, prefer a tight fit. This part is up to your preferences. A tighter fitting magazine can make one feel that their rifle is better quality. A loose magazine tends to insert and come out easier though. You can decide which you prefer.

The Next thing you'll want to do is make sure that the insides of the gun are in good condition. This is very easy to do. Follow these instructions in order.
1. Point the rifle in a safe direction.
2. Press the magazine release and rock the magazine forward and out of the receiver.
3. Push the safety lever down.
4. Pull the charging handle all the way to the rear and physically and visually check the chamber to make sure the gun is unloaded.
5. Let the charging handle go forward.
6. Press the button on the end of the top cover at the rear of the receiver.
7. Slide the top cover back and up.
8. Pull the charging handle back and out of the rifle, the bolt carrier group and piston will come out with it.

Now that you have the rifle disassembled visually inspect the bolt carrier group and the piston. Check them thoroughly for rust and severe wear. If those components are in good condition you should proceed to check the inside of the receiver.A little rust and wear isn't bad, if the rifle is rusted out though it isn't worth buying. Check for rust on the inside of the rifle, particularly around the chamber. Next you will want to shine in a light in the chamber or illuminate it enough for you to see that the chamber is intact.
Here is a picture of the insides of an AK, I will circle the chamber.



Once you've checked the chamber it's a good idea to check the rifling as well. You'll need to shine a light down chamber and look down the muzzle. Normally this would be breaking one of the cardinal rules of firearms safety, but at this point there is virtually no chance of on accidental discharge.

Once you've checked the chamber and the bore the next thing you'll want to do is check the sights.

A common problem with AK rifles is a canted front sight. This is when the front sight hasn't been installed correctly by the manufacturer and doesn't align properly with the rear sight. This can normally be checked by simply looking down the sights and checking for alignment but to be more precise you'll need to check via looking from front sight to rear sight. Again this is breaking one of the cardinal safety rules, but as long you you've A. Checked the gun to make sure it's unloaded and or B. Broken the gun completely down you should be safe.

To check the sights you'll need to lay the rear of the butt stock on the ground and position the rifle in front of you. Look down at the front sight and align it with the rear sight, it it aligns properly the sights are not canted. You can double check this by looking down the rear sight at the front sight and making sure that they line up properly.

Here's a picture of an AK I found online that has obvious canted sights. Notice that if you were to look down the front sight at the rear sight it wouldn't align properly.



Another factor you may want to consider is if the rifle has muzzle threads or not. If the rifle is already equipped with a flash hider or flash suppressor it most likely has threads. However many rifles have worn threads or threads that are out of spec. This may not be important to everyone but it's fairly easy to check to see of the rifle has good threading, worn threading or no threading at all.

The following picture is an example of an AK without threading, you can tell there are no threads by the smooth end of the muzzle. This is an example of an import that was manufactured without threading.



The next picture should look familiar, it's the same picture of the rifle with canted sites. Look closely at the button that is sticking out above the barrel. This is a rifle that has threading, the little button above the barrel must be pressed inward to remove or install a flash hider or flash suppressor.



To see if the threading is intact all you need to do is press the button down, you can use a small slim object to do this (a butter knife or a flat head screw driver will work pretty well). Once your pressing the button down twist the thread protector or flash hider either clock wise or counter clock wise (Most AKs have a left hand thread but not all do).
Keep the button depressed until the flash hider/suppressor is past the length of the button. Then you can see for yourself if the threads are rusty or if they are extremely worn down.

Remember that threads don't necessarily make a good AK (Some Mak 90s and Hungarian SA85s don't have them), but if you want to mount a flash hider or a muzzle break you need to have threads on your rifle.

The next thing you may consider is the style and cut of your receiver. This normally isn't an issue, but if you want to put aftermarket furniture on your AK you need to know the differences between them.

The fist type of receiver we'll look at is the straight cut stamped receiver. noticed how the rear of the stock is straight, also notice that there is a pistol grip attached separate from the butt stock. These are the most common types of receivers here in the U.S, the sky is the limit for the accessories you can put on them.



The next type or receiver is a stamped angle cut receiver. These are normally found on AKs that were imported around the time of the Clinton Assault Weapon Ban. The receivers have been modified to accept a thumb hole stock instead of a butt stock and a pistol grip. They can be identified by the slanted shape of the rear of the receiver, they also almost always have a thumb hole stock. This receivers don't accept standard stock sets, it can be a bit of a hassle finding aftermarket stocks for them. Note the shape of the rear in the following picture.



The next type of receiver we should look at is the milled straight cut receiver, these tend to be quite rare. Be advised that not all milled receivers look the same. This will be what the majority of them look like though. Note the rectangular cuts around the magazine well. These receivers tend to be very high quality. They are a little bit heavier than a stamped receiver, the difference is normally very noticeable. They have tighter tolerances and also tend to be more accurate than stamped AKs. Finally, bear in mind that some milled receivers have a slant cut in the rear of the receiver, these rifles are very rare though.



Here's another picture high lighting the differences between the two receivers. Courtesy of Tapco Industries.


Another example of a milled receiver AK is the Israeli Galil pattern of rifle. It's very identifiable.



The next type of receiver we will look at is the straight stocked stamped receiver. This is very common on Saiga imports. These rifles are modified to use a traditional style of stock, they will not accept a pistol grip unless it is attached to a butt stock as a one piece unit. These guns won't accept standard AK hand guards either. They are harder to find good accessories for. They must be modified to accept most types of aftermarket AK accessories, including magazines.


Here's an example of the same style of rifle with aftermarket parts designed to fit it, as well as an added muzzle device.



The final rifle type we will look at is the under folder variant. These rifles come in stamped and milled versions, but are almost always stamped. They are called under folders because of their underfolding stock. Some people hate the underfolding stock, and some love them. Regardless of how anyone feels about them, an under folder can be folded into a compact package. These rifles will normally accept aftermarket hand guards and pistol grips without a problem but they will not accept a different butt stock without modification.



No Matter what receiver type you get make sure that you go through the steps I mentioned at the beginning of the page to ensure that you get a quality gun. If you follow the directions I've provided you should get a rifle that avoids all of the common ailments of imported AKs, you may also get a rifle that is compatible with the majority of aftermarket accessories if you desire them.
Remember that not all AKs are built equally, there are a lot of junky imported AK rifles floating around in the U.S. Take time to carefully examine the AKs you are looking at, you don't have to settle for an inferior quality AK when you can have a superior built AK that won't require gunsmithing or extreme maintenance to make the rifle run the way it was meant to.

Take care and stay safe.