March 10, 2019|RIFLES
As a firearm enthusiast and collector, I have had my share of time behind an AK47 (or similar variant). The Russian Avtomat Kalashnikova is a gas-operated rifle chambered in 7.62x39mm and was developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov and has since become one of the most famous symbols in the firearms world. Virtually everyone can recognize an AK.
When I turned 18 years old, I purchased my first rifle, a WASR-10 and I later sold it to a friend of mine. About a year ago that friend contacted me asking if I would like to buy that gun back and I jumped at the opportunity. When I moved to Arizona about a decade ago, I had sold nearly every firearm in my collection and had to start all over; My first purchase was once again a WASR-10. Needless to say, I have been a fan of the AK for a long time, but the world of AKs is completely confusing. There are so many variants and builders, parts kit builds and factory new, figuring out what’s what is a daunting task for nearly anyone not fully submersed in AKs daily. Finding a solid AK builder here in the states is not an easy task. You can get your hands on some decent Mak90s or maybe a WASR, but more likely you’ll run into a Century built firearm which I will not purchase due to quality control issues with Century.
As my collection grew, I wanted some nice AKs but had no idea who would be a good builder and I had no idea what variant to look at. I reached out to a few contacts I have in the gun world and was told two things; the best AK builders in the States are Definitive Arms out of Indiana and the best sample of a Kalashnikova would be a Russian Tula Factory AK.
The Tula Arsenal, whose name was changed to Tula Arms Plant during the Soviet era, is a Russian weapons manufacturer founded by Tsar Peter I of Russia in 1712 and has produced a number of weapons for the Russian State and Imperial Russian Army. The initial intention of the plant was to provide Russian citizens with Arms to defend themselves.
As far back as 1720 the plant was producing annually over 20 thousand light infantry rifles and flintlock pistols for the Russian Army. As the demand for weapons increased so did the production lines at the Tula Arms Plant. During the Cold war Tula played an important strategic role to the Soviet Union and starting in the early 1960’s the plant began producing the world-famous Kalashnikov rifles.
The rifle featured in this blog post is an absolutely flawless build; A Russian Tula factory parts kit built on a US receiver by Definitive Arms, featuring an OFC military barrel and Dead Air Wolverine PBS-1. This is not the AK you commonly see around the gun ranges or hanging on the walls in gun shops. This is as close to a real Avtomat Kalashnikova as one can get their hands on here in the United States and I love this firearm. Definitive Arms continues to knock it out of the park with every single build, Chase is a genius.
To see more of our amazing firearms collection or to shop our inventory of firearms, accessories and emergency preparedness gear please check out Prescott Caliber Club’s website, Facebook Page and Instagram Account. And as always, if you’d like to shoot a fully automatic or suppressed AK then look no further than our Shooting Experiences, contact us today to schedule an outing!