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4 Posts
I heard they were good and I heard they were bad. My buddy has one and has never had any problems with his. He got his last year/
Is the I.O. AK47 a good AK or bad??
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Joined
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12,117 Posts
From the sum total of everything I've read about them on the ubernetz, I'd stay well away from Interordnance. An example from a different board I'm on:
Royal Tiger Hellpup is Hell Alright - WWW.SOVIET-STEEL.COM - Discussion forum dedicated to ComBloc firearms, especially AK-47 and SKS !
With so many other AK builders/importers out there, to me it's not worth the chance of getting a lemon from those guys.
And welcome to the forum.
Royal Tiger Hellpup is Hell Alright - WWW.SOVIET-STEEL.COM - Discussion forum dedicated to ComBloc firearms, especially AK-47 and SKS !
With so many other AK builders/importers out there, to me it's not worth the chance of getting a lemon from those guys.
And welcome to the forum.
Joined
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4 Posts
I guess some are good and some are bad. I got a DPMS .308 and and smith & wesson AR15-22. Those two guns never had any problems with, and tomorrow im going to get me a I.O. AK-47C, comes with 2 30rd mags and im gonna go ahead and pick up 2 75rd drums for $109 each....
Joined
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9,171 Posts
I would buy a broken WaSR that was rusted shut before anyone could give me an IO weapon. They have seriously dropped the ball in the last few years and gave also claimed to build a certain weapon clone that was nothing more than a WaSR with the name removed and some custom furniture. Just like Lancaster Arms...just has beens that care more about money than the customer...YES I am slamming CHET. And if IO/Royal Tiger Imports were to go under right now, the world would a better place. They have pretty much proven themselves to be just another Hesse/Vulcan/Blackthorne.....
Near Jan 1st of this year, my wife and I each bought an AK from Royal Tiger Imports and 6 additional 30 round magazines. The mags showed up about a week or two after placing the order. Then each AK showed up about 4 weeks after placing the order. When the rifles arrived I looked them over and noticed that one of the AKs had horrible assembly issues. Whoever riveted the rear trunnion to the receiver, they riveted them together without the receiver sides fully inserted into the trunnion. Because the receiver was so horribly bent out of shape, the dust cover would not install. However, that same dust cover/AK combo shipped to me assembled. That means someone had to use excessive force or tools to install that dust cover. There is no way that it would go on by hand (which is what all AK dust covers need to be installed with).
While I discovered the AK issue, I decided to test the magazines and load 30 rounds into each. With each AK we received 2 mags/ea and the additional 6 that I mentioned earlier. That puts us at 10 mags. 6 of the 10 mags that we received do NOT hold 30 rounds. They ranged between 25-27 rounds maximum capacity. Really? Out of the 12 products we bought from RTI, only a small percentage work properly. It is at this point that I assume IO, Inc has ZERO quality control checking these assembled items for completeness and functionality.
I went directly to IO Inc and spoke with Keith, who handles warranty repair. He quickly sent me a RMA to send the defective items back for repair/replacement. It took a few days for the package to arrive but it did show confirmation that it arrived. I allowed 2 weeks to pass and contacted Keith to determine any feedback regarding the situation. I was quickly responded by email stating to allow 4 weeks from time of receipt for my items to ship back. No problem as I understand the political agenda and current events have placed these guys in a difficult situation to supply the demand. I let another 2 weeks pass and attempted to contact Keith numerous times over the course of 1-2 weeks (now at about 5-6 weeks after receipt of the items for repair) via email and phone. I was finally replied by email 1.5 weeks after I was supposed to receive the items for the 2nd time. The email was very short and stated to wait until the end of March to receive my items. Now they are telling me it takes 8+ weeks to repair something that should never have left their facility in the first place. At this point it has been 3 months since we placed the original order and still have nothing to show for it. I replied back to Keith telling him that his answer was unacceptable and they should hold themselves more accountable as I was a customer who has paid my fees and waited just like the rest of society but because IO Inc screwed up, I have to wait even longer. Keith replied back asking for the serial number of the firearm in question. When he sent the additional 4 week email, he just sent it without even checking into my account or claim. He just replied to an email to clear it from his inbox. From there I did not hear from him until the next day when I got him on the phone.
I spoke to Keith about the situation and the recent email exchange. At that point he questioned why I had not received the repaired items yet as if he had current knowledge that the items already shipped. So, now I am getting 3 different responses from Keith and none are the same. Sounds like they are just running around with their heads cut off. Keith checks the status and says that he sees where they received the firearm but show no tracking for the repaired firearm. That is because it has not shipped yet, Keith. I don't even work for IO Inc and I could tell you that. Keith then told me to give him some time to see where my stuff is.
I got a phone call from Keith and he left a voicemail stating that my firearm was un-repairable and a new one would ship that same day. Not sure why it wasn't determined the first 4 weeks that it was not repairable but judging by the rest of my experience with IO Inc, it is assumable that their customer service and products are shoddy. I immediately called him back asking about the 6 magazines. He replied as if he were questioning that I did in fact turn in 6 magazines with my original shipment. He then stated, "If you sent in 6 mags, then you will receive 6 back."
Here we are discussing this issue after finally receiving a package from IO Inc last night. My wife and I opened up the package and who would have thought that IO Inc is cheating me? There were only two magazines with the new firearm. I looked over the firearm and everything seems to be OK. Still need to field strip it and do a good once-over on it. Then I decided to load 30 rounds into each of the two replacement mags they sent me. Sure enough, one of the mags does not load to full capacity. They cheated me yet once more. In the end we have purchased 2 AK-47s, including 4 mags, and purchased an additional 6 mags, and only 3 of the mags from the total lot work properly. STAY CLEAR OF IO INC PRODUCTS, THEY ARE NOT WORTHY.
I attempted to contact Keith again this morning and the phone rang off the hook. Attempted customer service and received the same results. Then I tried their accounting department and got someone on the phone. I explained my situation and she said she would look into it and to give her a few hours to diagnose the situation. It has been 3 hours and I still have no word back. I think they are just trying to capitalize on the demand that society has placed upon this business. However, this business has poor ethical leadership and their products reflect their values.
I have contacted the BBB to notify them of the situation. That way a 3rd party can speak on my behalf because I am obviously not a priority for IO Inc, even though we spent $1600+ with them in a matter of a week or two. They got their money so they have fulfilled their obligations. Beyond that, there is no customer service. Next stop, my bank as I am submitting a claim for the faulty 6 magazines.
While I discovered the AK issue, I decided to test the magazines and load 30 rounds into each. With each AK we received 2 mags/ea and the additional 6 that I mentioned earlier. That puts us at 10 mags. 6 of the 10 mags that we received do NOT hold 30 rounds. They ranged between 25-27 rounds maximum capacity. Really? Out of the 12 products we bought from RTI, only a small percentage work properly. It is at this point that I assume IO, Inc has ZERO quality control checking these assembled items for completeness and functionality.
I went directly to IO Inc and spoke with Keith, who handles warranty repair. He quickly sent me a RMA to send the defective items back for repair/replacement. It took a few days for the package to arrive but it did show confirmation that it arrived. I allowed 2 weeks to pass and contacted Keith to determine any feedback regarding the situation. I was quickly responded by email stating to allow 4 weeks from time of receipt for my items to ship back. No problem as I understand the political agenda and current events have placed these guys in a difficult situation to supply the demand. I let another 2 weeks pass and attempted to contact Keith numerous times over the course of 1-2 weeks (now at about 5-6 weeks after receipt of the items for repair) via email and phone. I was finally replied by email 1.5 weeks after I was supposed to receive the items for the 2nd time. The email was very short and stated to wait until the end of March to receive my items. Now they are telling me it takes 8+ weeks to repair something that should never have left their facility in the first place. At this point it has been 3 months since we placed the original order and still have nothing to show for it. I replied back to Keith telling him that his answer was unacceptable and they should hold themselves more accountable as I was a customer who has paid my fees and waited just like the rest of society but because IO Inc screwed up, I have to wait even longer. Keith replied back asking for the serial number of the firearm in question. When he sent the additional 4 week email, he just sent it without even checking into my account or claim. He just replied to an email to clear it from his inbox. From there I did not hear from him until the next day when I got him on the phone.
I spoke to Keith about the situation and the recent email exchange. At that point he questioned why I had not received the repaired items yet as if he had current knowledge that the items already shipped. So, now I am getting 3 different responses from Keith and none are the same. Sounds like they are just running around with their heads cut off. Keith checks the status and says that he sees where they received the firearm but show no tracking for the repaired firearm. That is because it has not shipped yet, Keith. I don't even work for IO Inc and I could tell you that. Keith then told me to give him some time to see where my stuff is.
I got a phone call from Keith and he left a voicemail stating that my firearm was un-repairable and a new one would ship that same day. Not sure why it wasn't determined the first 4 weeks that it was not repairable but judging by the rest of my experience with IO Inc, it is assumable that their customer service and products are shoddy. I immediately called him back asking about the 6 magazines. He replied as if he were questioning that I did in fact turn in 6 magazines with my original shipment. He then stated, "If you sent in 6 mags, then you will receive 6 back."
Here we are discussing this issue after finally receiving a package from IO Inc last night. My wife and I opened up the package and who would have thought that IO Inc is cheating me? There were only two magazines with the new firearm. I looked over the firearm and everything seems to be OK. Still need to field strip it and do a good once-over on it. Then I decided to load 30 rounds into each of the two replacement mags they sent me. Sure enough, one of the mags does not load to full capacity. They cheated me yet once more. In the end we have purchased 2 AK-47s, including 4 mags, and purchased an additional 6 mags, and only 3 of the mags from the total lot work properly. STAY CLEAR OF IO INC PRODUCTS, THEY ARE NOT WORTHY.
I attempted to contact Keith again this morning and the phone rang off the hook. Attempted customer service and received the same results. Then I tried their accounting department and got someone on the phone. I explained my situation and she said she would look into it and to give her a few hours to diagnose the situation. It has been 3 hours and I still have no word back. I think they are just trying to capitalize on the demand that society has placed upon this business. However, this business has poor ethical leadership and their products reflect their values.
I have contacted the BBB to notify them of the situation. That way a 3rd party can speak on my behalf because I am obviously not a priority for IO Inc, even though we spent $1600+ with them in a matter of a week or two. They got their money so they have fulfilled their obligations. Beyond that, there is no customer service. Next stop, my bank as I am submitting a claim for the faulty 6 magazines.
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Joined
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257 Posts
My friend bought one and it has run fine. Sorry to hear that customer service issue. I will stick to my converted saigas.
Joined
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461 Posts
That horror story is certainly enough to keep me wary of them.
I am not in the market for another AK, but I will keep a mental note when others ask for advice. I'm sticking to my pair of Arsenals SLRs.
I am not in the market for another AK, but I will keep a mental note when others ask for advice. I'm sticking to my pair of Arsenals SLRs.
Joined
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456 Posts
From what I can tell IO has some serious quality control issues. I have an IO AK as well. When I got it I noticed the mag release was gunked up with what looked like very fine sand that was preventing it from moving forward all the way after to keep the mag in place (had to be pushed forward manually). I took it to a gun smith to see if there was a way to take it off to get a better cleaning. When he pushed it forward to look at it the spring literally broke in two. He recommended sending it in because of their lifetime warranty.
I also spoke to Keith and he told me to ship it to them. They would not cover shipping costs however. I spoke with him several times via email and phone trying to find the best way to get it to them and each time he gave me a completely different answer. I finally found the cheapest way to get it to him (UPS for about $20 each way) and he said that would be fine, that it would take a week to get there, then another 3-4 weeks for them to look at it then another week or so to get it back to me (at least 5 weeks total). In the meantime I would be without my rifle that entire time and I hadn't even fired it yet. I took it back to my gunsmith and he said he would have it done in 3 days for $50. Screw IO customer service. Three days later I got the call, went and picked it up and it has worked like a dream ever since.
The rifle itself is a fantastic rifle. Their quality is hit or miss evidently and their customer service is complete bogus. I would say IO is a gamble but if you can find one that is put together well and there are no problems with it then they are a fine rifle to own.
I also spoke to Keith and he told me to ship it to them. They would not cover shipping costs however. I spoke with him several times via email and phone trying to find the best way to get it to them and each time he gave me a completely different answer. I finally found the cheapest way to get it to him (UPS for about $20 each way) and he said that would be fine, that it would take a week to get there, then another 3-4 weeks for them to look at it then another week or so to get it back to me (at least 5 weeks total). In the meantime I would be without my rifle that entire time and I hadn't even fired it yet. I took it back to my gunsmith and he said he would have it done in 3 days for $50. Screw IO customer service. Three days later I got the call, went and picked it up and it has worked like a dream ever since.
The rifle itself is a fantastic rifle. Their quality is hit or miss evidently and their customer service is complete bogus. I would say IO is a gamble but if you can find one that is put together well and there are no problems with it then they are a fine rifle to own.
Joined
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3,145 Posts
Sounds like he's doing everyone a favor and making sure that others know what they're jumping into before buying from that manufacturer/vendor.
Joined
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3,145 Posts
Wow how can you possibly miss that?!!! I don't build them for a living but if I sent that to someone I'd be expecting and fully deserving of an arse chewing.
That is all I am doing...making sure others are aware. When I made the purchases back at the first of the year, I read the reviews and for the most part the reviews were decent enough for me to throw some money at them. But in the past 3 months I have received horrible service from them regarding this issue and now I see that others in the past 3 months are experiencing the same service issues. Had I read the reviews that were available during these 3 months, I would have never made the purchases. Sticking with my other AKs that I have.
Joined
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9,171 Posts
That means that their quality sucks. Mistakes and issues I can understand, having to pay to fix a weapon that was delivered screwed up is unacceptable. This is why I also inspect the weapon BEFORE I fill out my paper work and FFL transfer. They are a joke, period.
Joined
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1 Posts
You guys have a hard time I guess. Mines great, I run the cheapest ammo I can find and never had a mishap. Quality is way over any 47 I have seen or shot. Maybe it was made on a monday or Friday.
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3,452 Posts
I have one on the wall at my work priced at $999.99 and the WASR 10/63's are the same price. I see the WASRs move all day long and the IO we have just sits on the wall. I've played with it and the action is rough and the plastic furniture on it seems really cheap.
Just my $0.02.
Just my $0.02.
Joined
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9,171 Posts
Then you haven't seen or shot many.
IO and CAI all have QA issues and customer service issues. Fortunately, I had no issues with my chinatown yugo but I had alot of cleaning to do when I took it out of the box (had to use a magnet, vacuum, and compressed air, to remove all the metal shavings. Also had to smoothen out alot of rough jagged edges.
If you want a good AK thats going to always go BANG and is super reliable -save your dough and get an Arsenal. Good quality, good customer service, and good performance. Arsenal will even give you a coupon that if: laws change in your state or if you move to another state, they will re-mod the gun for you to make it legal at no cost (maybe just shipping). Thanks good luck!
If you want a good AK thats going to always go BANG and is super reliable -save your dough and get an Arsenal. Good quality, good customer service, and good performance. Arsenal will even give you a coupon that if: laws change in your state or if you move to another state, they will re-mod the gun for you to make it legal at no cost (maybe just shipping). Thanks good luck!
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