I.O AK pistol. Good or Bad

[Rolling_trip]

I had a IO Hellpup that I bought for a stupid low price from CG&P. The mags it came with were paper thin and the furniture was cheaply made. That being said, after about 50-75rds it started functioning ok, but it felt like I was getting sunburned every time I pulled the trigger. It’s one of those guns you need earplugs and muffs…….and a mouthpiece…..

I sold it soon after the first range trip.

 

[Coconutjack7]

How many decades have you personally owned an assortment of them?

I noticed earlier you referred to the WASR as a cheaper AK variant. But it hasn't been what I would describe as cheap in about ten years. I owned one when they WERE cheap back in 2014 and mine was really rough around the edges. And while it may have been reliable or durable etc. it was nothing to brag about. But at least then they were $450.00. Now they start at around twice that much.
And by the way...what is wrong with Zastava? I own an M70 under folder that seems very solid and well built. Aside from being about the heaviest rifle I own I really dig it the most. It has the bulged trunnion and 1.5 mm receiver. How can that be cheap junk?

When I say cheaper on the Wasr aspect, I’m saying that is the cheapest AK that I would own.
Didn’t saying anything was wrong with a wasr or Draco.
Cheaper as in sub $1000
Romanians have been making AKs for decades and are super reliable.
I’m just referring to cheaper compared to some of your other options like Bulgarians , Izzy’s, etc.

Now on the zastava topic.
So all of your “made in Yugoslavia” zastava AKs are built off milsurp kits.
Newer zastavas “made in Serbia” are consistent with ****ed up heat treatment in the receiver (poor metallurgy) as some would say.
And no this is not me hating just from seeing them on the internet.
Plenty of current production zastava w/ cracked gas blocks, receivers, etc all kinds of **** happening to em within a few thousand rounds.
Just because something is bulged, doesn’t make it better/stronger.
Zastava UsA has poor ass QC anyways.
That being said I’d recommend them over PSA. That whole company is trash.

 

[Coconutjack7]

My hands-on experience should matter if I were brush-stroking the majority of common imports as being unworthy.

I’m going off my hands on experience.
Doesn’t have to be decades though.
If you think wbp jacks ,zastava USA, Pioneer Arms, PSA, etc are good your one of the following
1. You either don’t know **** about aks
2. Only fired a few hundred rounds and called it good.

Now circle(11) polish kits are good all day long.

 

[IzzyAKguy75]

How many decades have you personally owned an assortment of them?

Why does someone need to be in the game for decades to know what they're talking about? I've been in the AK game for 5 years and almost willing to bet money i could.go toe to toe in a discussion about aks. OP trying to get into aks needs to be steered in the right direction.

 

[letusbuyyourcar]

Some new production zpap m70s had cracked receivers , broken msg release springs among other problems .

Well anything is possible when it comes to mass production. I once saw a brand new King Ranch F250 that made it all the way from the build plant through the transport process and finally to a Ford lot in Milledgeville with one King Ranch heavy saddle type leather seat and one cloth seat. And nobody caught it before then.
From what little I know and based on interviews at Zastava by TFB TV they decided to set up shop or headquarters here in the U.S. and start dealing directly with distributors instead of letting Century convert the rifles and then wholesale them. That HAS to be an improvement. Not saying they have all the kinks worked out but it has to be better or get better soon.

 

[IzzyAKguy75]

I noticed earlier you referred to the WASR as a cheaper AK variant. But it hasn't been what I would describe as cheap in about ten years. I owned one when they WERE cheap back in 2014 and mine was really rough around the edges. And while it may have been reliable or durable etc. it was nothing to brag about. But at least then they were $450.00. Now they start at around twice that much.
And by the way...what is wrong with Zastava? I own an M70 under folder that seems very solid and well built. Aside from being about the heaviest rifle I own I really dig it the most. It has the bulged trunnion and 1.5 mm receiver. How can that be cheap junk?

Older surplus m70s are solid. It's the newer zastava stuff that's garbage. If you have an m70ab2, they're good... zpaps are trash

 

[Coconutjack7]

Well anything is possible when it comes to mass production. I once saw a brand new King Ranch F250 that made it all the way from the build plant through the transport process and finally to a Ford lot in Milledgeville with one King Ranch heavy saddle type leather seat and one cloth seat. And nobody caught it before then.
From what little I know and based on interviews at Zastava by TFB TV they decided to set up shop or headquarters here in the U.S. and start dealing directly with distributors instead of letting Century convert the rifles and then wholesale them. That HAS to be an improvement. Not saying they have all the kinks worked out but it has to be better or get better soon.

Well anything is possible when it comes to mass production. I once saw a brand new King Ranch F250 that made it all the way from the build plant through the transport process and finally to a Ford lot in Milledgeville with one King Ranch heavy saddle type leather seat and one cloth seat. And nobody caught it before then.
From what little I know and based on interviews at Zastava by TFB TV they decided to set up shop or headquarters here in the U.S. and start dealing directly with distributors instead of letting Century convert the rifles and then wholesale them. That HAS to be an improvement. Not saying they have all the kinks worked out but it has to be better or get better soon.

I’m

Zastava used to make great weapons.
Then they down grade and start pulling a PSA just trying to pump **** out with no care about QC.
these QC issues I’ve been talking about have been going on for years.

Now I am with you on the hope it gets better soon.
I’m all for that. But I won’t own any more of the products until the issues are handled and less frequent.
There will always be lemons in anything.
It’s about how long you’ve been having issues and what you’re doing to correct it .
On that aspect, little to no progress has been made

 

[joeldworkin307]

There are plenty of things we can all agree upon:
1. Older us made aks are usually garbage
2. Anything century made in the US sucks. Anything century built from foreign parts is a crapshoot. Anything century imported is lower quality but should run just fine for as long as you need it.
3. Most of how we view Russian and Chinese stuff, what good enough quality, is based on its scarcity.
4. Older polish and Hungarian guns are the secret sleeper quality AKs.
5. Yelling at other people on the internet makes us feel good about ourselves and masks the insecurities that we dare not speak out loud.

 

[Coconutjack7]

There are plenty of things we can all agree upon:
1. Older us made a case are usually garbage
2. Anything century made in the US sucks. Anything century built from foreign parts is a crapshoot. Anything century imported is lower quality but should run just fine for as long as you need it.
3. Most of how we view Russian and Chinese stuff, what good enough quality, is based on its scarcity.
4. Older polish and Hungarian guns are the secret sleeper quality AKs.
5. Yelling at other people on the internet makes us feel good about ourselves and masks the insecurities that we dare not speak out loud.

Sir you forgot about Maadis!!!
Big facts on #4
#5 didn’t know anyone yelled lol

 

[letusbuyyourcar]

Sir you forgot about Maadis!!!
Big facts on #4
#5 didn’t know anyone yelled lol

When you mention Maadi it makes me feel old and pissed off. By that I mean they used to be cheap and plentiful like Chinese guns. So it's really hard for me to see either one now and believe the prices they're listed for.
I had a Mak 90 back in 94 that I think I got for around $300.00 . First thing I did was replace the furniture with original Chinese wood. But everyone still scoffed at it and acted like it was a fake AK or something like that. NOW...those neutered Chinese rifles bring stupid ass money. And what was so great about them aside from the 1.5mm receiver? Again I'll say it's a lot like a $600.00 SKS. Just plain not worth it.
Admittedly I have zero experience with Maadi rifles. Mishaco seems to speak highly of them. And he IS the Blind AK Expert. Maybe I just have a problem with their country of origin. I think if I could have any AK now I would want an AMD65 or even an unconverted Saiga.