Review: Romanian HMG AK-47 from Classic Arms Inc

[SpeedRacer]

Sooooo...I needed (wanted) an AK style rifle for the SHTF collection. The obvious choice is to build one. Unfortunately my time is more valuable than money at the moment, so that was out of the question. I was in the market for a military grade, custom build quality rifle, which is exactly what Classic Arms had to offer. Anyway...on to the good stuff...

Classic Arms offers AK-47's built by a partner company called Heavy Metal Guns (HMG). They are advertised as hand-picked Romanian G-code kits built on Nodak receivers. Recently they upgraded the compliant parts list so that you can use surplus magazines and not the US-made poo. For the record, I ordered three of these rifles and all were comparable in every aspect. No variations in quality.

What I got was exactly that. It's hard to believe these parts kits are 30+ years old. The bores were bright and shiny, and passed the bullet test with flying colors. I would rate the bluing at 98%, with minimal wear marks and very, very light surface rust in very few places. The wood was finished with an oil finish and was fine for an AK, but I did a quick sand and refinish anyway. I also added an Israeli style grip because I hate the factory grips. The rifles were clean, lubed and ready to go. Each rifle came with two Soviet bloc surplus mags, which were definitely used (lots of rubs, slight rust, couple dings) but functional.

I got a chance to put ~300 rounds through two of the rifles, both performed flawlessly (big surprise, they're AK's). Can't really comment on accuracy, because I was mostly sighting them in and checking functionality. Which means I roughly sighted them in and proceeded to try and completely wipe the berm off the face of the Earth. Sorry, it's my first AK.

So I can't really say anything bad about them. All in all a good deal for someone without the time or patience to build themselves.

The Quick Rundown
Romanian HMG AK-47 @ Classic Arms Inc
Hand Select Romy-G Parts Kit
Nodak Receiver
Compliance Parts: Tapco G2 Trigger Group, Gas Piston and Muzzle Break
Built by Heavy Metal Guns
Price: $379 + Shipping ($10/ea for me, may vary) + FFL Fee







More related ramblings...
Classic Arms was good to deal with. Did take a couple days longer than expected, but the AK's arrived at my FFL in 7 business days from order date.

I ordered 10 extra mags and the Israeli grip from CDNN Sports. Everything arrived in just a couple days. I purchased their $11.99 "Soviet Bloc Used Very Good Condition" mags. They don't lie. I received 3 Russian mags that looked brand new. The other 7 were Bulgarian, with 4 looking brand new, 2 with slight rubbing, and 1 with slight rubbing and a couple dings on the baseplate. Was very happy with my order, other than the 4 hours I spent cleaning cosmo out of the mags.

I also ordered 2000 rounds of Golden Tiger 7.62 from Ammoman.com for $189/1000 delivered. Got here fast, no problems or complaints.

[Liquid Rhino]

Nice gun, great pictures! You're making me want to buy an AK... Damnit! There goes my paycheck!

In all seriousness though, that's a sweet gun regardless of how old the parts kit are. Lookin' forward to a range report!

[paintballwannab]

What kind of pistol grip is that....I likes.

[Cannibul]

Originally Posted by paintballwannab

What kind of pistol grip is that....I likes.

Read the post. It's mentioned a couple of times. Even told where they ordered it from.

Look for things like "Israeli grip".

[SpeedRacer]

Originally Posted by Cannibul

Read the post. It's mentioned a couple of times. Even told where they ordered it from.

Look for things like "Israeli grip".

Maybe I shouldn't have posted the pictures, I think they distract from reading.

Not sure who makes it, but it's called the "Israeli Style Grip" and can be bought from CDNN or Cheaper Than Dirt (for $10 more than CDNN), and probably other places as well. It feels 100x better than the standard AK grip, and has a storage compartment in it which is handy. I really didn't plan on doing any bubba work on the AK, but the little standard grip just didn't feel good for me. That'll be the extent of the mods though.

[paintballwannab]

lol thats exactly what happened, I swear I read that entire post like twice looking for the type of grip.....but I must have just kept looking at the pictures lol.

thanks for the info guys.

[shyi3t]

that's nice .. i like the grip also.. now i gotta get me some from them

[einheit 13]

That grip is from TDI/Command Arms/First SamCo-all the same company....same people that make Fobus holster, some UTG, Uncle Mike's, and Springfield Armory XD Gear....neat grips, but 'bulky' feeling to me. I like the AK-74/ 2nd pattern and the Izhmash 'combat' grip for the Saiga shot guns...

[evocrazy]

Ok after reading this thread I finally decided I am going to order an AK from Classic today. I can't decide which one though. I have it narrowed down to the

Saiga for $279



or

Romanian G code for $399



What should I do? Choices, Choices. Maybe I'll just buy both? Then I would have to put my AR build on hold for longer!

[Ishpeck]

Originally Posted by SpeedRacer

I approve!