Conversion: making a milled AK look like the 'Red Dawn' AKM

[Zane Zackerly]

The 'Red Dawn' AKM
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e8/ak47nut/AKMICIZEDCARBINE/reddawnak.jpg
Arsenal SA M7 Carbine
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e8/ak47nut/AKMICIZEDCARBINE/CARBINEONGREYLARGER.jpg

The purpose of this conversion was to take a milled Arsenal SA M7 Carbine, and without making any irreversible changes to the rifle, convert the appearance to be more like the AKM style rifle. The "Red Dawn" style refers to the AKM's used in the 1984 movie with Patrick Swayze, of course.

Although I know it won't "fool" a trained eye, I wanted the conversion to be visually accurate enough that, at first glance anyway, the rifle might appear to actually be an AKM. In this I succeeded: while picking up the rifle from the gunsmith, another customer asked to see it. After a few seconds he did a double-take, and exclaimed, "Oh, I just noticed...it's milled."

The reason for doing this conversion was simple: I wanted an AKM, but since I own mostly milled Arsenal AK's, and since my safe is rapidly becoming full to capacity, I didn't really want to get rid of a perfectly good milled rifle in order to acquire a proper stamped AKM.

Purists will scream at this conversion, but I was after a "look". I make no apologies for the fact that this conversion is not technically "authentic".

THE CONVERSION:

Once I acquired a Polish laminated stock set for the milled receiver, and a color-matched Polish AKM lower handguard, I was off to the races! I decided against using the plain laminated handguard that came with the milled stock set. I wanted the "finger swell look" to the AKM handguard. The lower handguard required extensive fitting for the milled receiver and handguard retainer. The upper handguard required minor fitting. I will have to wait until the wood dries out a little before the upper handguard will be loose enough that I can install the little spring clip that goes underneath it.

I substituted a Bulgarian ribbed receiver cover for the original. The ribbed receiver cover required NO hand fitting anywhere, and the selector mated to it perfectly. A Romanian receiver cover that I also test-fitted would have required extensive fitting and probably a new selector. The fit between the selector and the Romanian cover would have allowed the selector too much up and down play while on "safe."

The pistol grip is a red Romanian plastic grip. The gun shop owner and I both agreed that it had the best "look" versus a salmon-colored Bulgarian grip, a light red US-made grip, and the mottled Polish grip that came with the stock set.

I decided not to attempt to complete the AKM look any further. Had I attempted to install a real AKM gas block or front sight, I suspect this conversion would have quickly turned into a bundle of problems. Besides, I wanted my changes to all be reversible.

I did run into a problem with my US parts count, though. For those not familiar with US laws, a semi-auto assault weapon has to have a certain number of US-made parts to be legal. The original SA M7 Carbine had US-made hammer, disconnector, receiver, pistol grip, and handguards. To remain legal, I substituted one of K-VAR's new single-hook metal injection molded (MIM) triggers for the original Bulgarian double-hook trigger. I figured that if trigger slap was excessive, I could always find a US-made double hook trigger somewhere. As a matter of fact, the MIM single-hook trigger was buttery smooth. It interacted perfectly with the MIM hammer and disconnector. I see zero problems leaving the single-hook trigger in the rifle.

I also had to install a US-made slant brake. It's a TAPCO brake, made before they started machining two locking detents. It's close to the Bulgarian in appearance. It only lacks the "extra" cut that is parallel to the bore on the underside of the pointy part of the brake. The markings are discreet.

So now my US parts count is: hammer, trigger, disconnector, receiver, and slant brake. I also intend to use magazines with US-made floorplates just in case I "forgot something".

All in all, I'm pleased with the outcome of the conversion. I took a "shooter" and turned it into something I want to take good care of. Now I'm going to have to make something else my "everyday" shooter!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e8/ak47nut/AKMICIZEDCARBINE/leftside-1.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e8/ak47nut/AKMICIZEDCARBINE/RIBBEDCOVER.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e8/ak47nut/AKMICIZEDCARBINE/buttstock.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e8/ak47nut/AKMICIZEDCARBINE/forearm-1.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e8/ak47nut/AKMICIZEDCARBINE/RIGHTSIDE-2.jpg

[Paulinski]

Came out great.

[California Joe]

Nice. Now maybe you can put on your Blood Diamond pants, pick up your Red Dawn AKM, use your Blackhawk Down "safety" and try out your sh*tty shooting stance you seem so proud of.

[Hollis]

Nice. Now maybe you can put on your Blood Diamond pants, pick up your Red Dawn AKM, use your Blackhawk Down "safety" and try out your sh*tty shooting stance you seem so proud of.


I think you covered it all except, Getting on top of a big rock and yelling "Wolverines!!!"

[Zane Zackerly]

Nice. Now maybe you can put on your Blood Diamond pants, pick up your Red Dawn AKM, use your Blackhawk Down "safety" and try out your sh*tty shooting stance you seem so proud of.

You mean like a REAL mall ninja? Can I, please... can I... can I... rofl

Hey...my shooting stance is because of my long arms, nothing more.

(WTF is a "Blackhawk Down" safety...that's not in the mall ninja catalog. )rofl

You guys may not like that my AK "went Hollywood", but I think it looks pretty cool.


Oh, almost forgot:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e8/ak47nut/POST%20ANSWERS/wolverines.jpg


rofl

[California Joe]

Blackhawk Down Safety...

Steele: Sergeant, what's the meaning of this?
[Thinking he's talking about the unauthorized pig picking]
"Hoot": Just a little aerial target practice, sir. Didn't want to leave 'em behind.
Steele: I'm talking about your weapon, soldier. Now Delta or no-Delta, that's still a hot weapon. Your safety should be on at all times.
"Hoot": This is my safety, sir.
[He holds up his index finger and bends motions as if squeezing a trigger and then walks off]
Sanderson: Let it alone, sir. He hasn't eaten in a few days.

Your conversion looks fine.

[Hollis]

Your conversion looks fine.


Now having a technical eye for detail, he would need some bondo to make the mag well indent of the machined receiver look like the one on the stamped receiver.

Other than that, Nice. I tend to prefer wood over plastic so it is much nicer in the new config.

A question wasn't the one in red dawn select fire. The one above is semi only.

[Zane Zackerly]

A question wasn't the one in red dawn select fire. The one above is semi only.

Actually, all of the Red Dawn AK's started as semi-auto Maadis. Only a small percentage were converted to select fire for the movie.

In any given movie scene, most of the AK's are semi-automatic only.

As far as bondo to cover the lightening groove? That's going too far.

At some point, I may subsitute the correct "ribbed" selector, but that will be the last modification.

[Laworkerbee]

Don't forget to carve a few notches in the stock for all the Commies taken down.

[gaijinsamurai]

Great work, Zane!

[JJB1970]

Sounds like it was a fun project, Zane.

Looks really good. It is just so hard to go wrong with the classic wood AKM look.

Cheers!

[10thSublevel]

why would you do that? The best option for a red dawn clone would have been to look around gun shows , or ak forums, such as http://www.gunsnet.net/forums/index.php? (http://www.gunsnet.net/forums/index.php?)
for sale forum, and found a nice Egyptian Maadi. Without doing a Saiga conversion, they are as close as you can come to a russian akm.

P.S. the 90 degree gas block is even more of a glaring mistake than the receiver

[Zane Zackerly]

why would you do that? The best option for a red dawn clone would have been to look around gun shows , or ak forums, such as http://www.gunsnet.net/forums/index.php? (http://www.gunsnet.net/forums/index.php?)
for sale forum, and found a nice Egyptian Maadi. Without doing a Saiga conversion, they are as close as you can come to a russian akm.

P.S. the 90 degree gas block is even more of a glaring mistake than the receiver


As I explained, I didn't want to give up a perfectly good milled rifle to obtain a "correct" stamped AKM. I only have so much room in my safe, and I didn't want to trade one for the other. I also have more than one "correct" milled Bulgarian AK, and so I decided to have a little fun with this rifle. YMMV :)

I have run across Maadis at gun shows and they are way overpriced for the low quality in my opinion. The one I used to own had misaligned hammer pin holes so that the hammer pin had to be peened at the factory to go in both holes and only went in if the hammer pin was lined up just right.

THAT is crappy.

I also don't trust so-called "home-builds."

I would rather have my high quality Bulgarian AK and duplicate the "look" rather than trade it off for a completely corrrect but low quality Maadi.

If you compare gas blocks between the AKM and this one, the difference is there, but subtle to the untrained eye. I don't consider it a "mistake" to leave the 90-degree gas block alone when trying to substitute a real AKM gas block might have resulted in a misaligned gas port and gas block opening. THAT would have been a mistake.

I may buy a real AKM at some point, but I'm very happy with this conversion even though it's historically "incorrect".

And in all honesty, it's not that historically inaccurate. I've seen photos of older milled AK's from around the world and it's not uncommon to see a milled AK with a ribbed receiver cover, AKM lower handguard, and even an AKM bolt carrier (there IS a difference). I've even seen one milled on in Iraq with a Romanian lower handguard with pistol grip!

So even if you don't agree that it's a milled "Red Dawn" AK, it IS technically correct for what might be an insurgent capture or a "battlefield pickup."

Here's an example, from a shooting range at Pnom Penh (note ribbed receiver cover and AKM bolt carrier):
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e8/ak47nut/AKPHOTOS7/TOURISTINPHNOMPENH.jpg

Here's one from Afghanistan that looks very similar to mine except for the folding stock:
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e8/ak47nut/AKPHOTOS6/WHATCHOOLOOKINAT.jpg

Here's the milled AK with Romy vertical foregrip:
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e8/ak47nut/AKPHOTOS7/MILLEDWITHGGRIP.jpg

[Havoc345]

The 'Red Dawn' AKM
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e8/ak47nut/AKMICIZEDCARBINE/reddawnak.jpg
Arsenal SA M7 Carbine
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e8/ak47nut/AKMICIZEDCARBINE/CARBINEONGREYLARGER.jpg

The purpose of this conversion was to take a milled Arsenal SA M7 Carbine, and without making any irreversible changes to the rifle, convert the appearance to be more like the AKM style rifle. The "Red Dawn" style refers to the AKM's used in the 1984 movie with Patrick Swayze, of course.

Although I know it won't "fool" a trained eye, I wanted the conversion to be visually accurate enough that, at first glance anyway, the rifle might appear to actually be an AKM. In this I succeeded: while picking up the rifle from the gunsmith, another customer asked to see it. After a few seconds he did a double-take, and exclaimed, "Oh, I just noticed...it's milled."

The reason for doing this conversion was simple: I wanted an AKM, but since I own mostly milled Arsenal AK's, and since my safe is rapidly becoming full to capacity, I didn't really want to get rid of a perfectly good milled rifle in order to acquire a proper stamped AKM.

Purists will scream at this conversion, but I was after a "look". I make no apologies for the fact that this conversion is not technically "authentic".

THE CONVERSION:

Once I acquired a Polish laminated stock set for the milled receiver, and a color-matched Polish AKM lower handguard, I was off to the races! I decided against using the plain laminated handguard that came with the milled stock set. I wanted the "finger swell look" to the AKM handguard. The lower handguard required extensive fitting for the milled receiver and handguard retainer. The upper handguard required minor fitting. I will have to wait until the wood dries out a little before the upper handguard will be loose enough that I can install the little spring clip that goes underneath it.

I substituted a Bulgarian ribbed receiver cover for the original. The ribbed receiver cover required NO hand fitting anywhere, and the selector mated to it perfectly. A Romanian receiver cover that I also test-fitted would have required extensive fitting and probably a new selector. The fit between the selector and the Romanian cover would have allowed the selector too much up and down play while on "safe."

The pistol grip is a red Romanian plastic grip. The gun shop owner and I both agreed that it had the best "look" versus a salmon-colored Bulgarian grip, a light red US-made grip, and the mottled Polish grip that came with the stock set.

I decided not to attempt to complete the AKM look any further. Had I attempted to install a real AKM gas block or front sight, I suspect this conversion would have quickly turned into a bundle of problems. Besides, I wanted my changes to all be reversible.

I did run into a problem with my US parts count, though. For those not familiar with US laws, a semi-auto assault weapon has to have a certain number of US-made parts to be legal. The original SA M7 Carbine had US-made hammer, disconnector, receiver, pistol grip, and handguards. To remain legal, I substituted one of K-VAR's new single-hook metal injection molded (MIM) triggers for the original Bulgarian double-hook trigger. I figured that if trigger slap was excessive, I could always find a US-made double hook trigger somewhere. As a matter of fact, the MIM single-hook trigger was buttery smooth. It interacted perfectly with the MIM hammer and disconnector. I see zero problems leaving the single-hook trigger in the rifle.

I also had to install a US-made slant brake. It's a TAPCO brake, made before they started machining two locking detents. It's close to the Bulgarian in appearance. It only lacks the "extra" cut that is parallel to the bore on the underside of the pointy part of the brake. The markings are discreet.

So now my US parts count is: hammer, trigger, disconnector, receiver, and slant brake. I also intend to use magazines with US-made floorplates just in case I "forgot something".

All in all, I'm pleased with the outcome of the conversion. I took a "shooter" and turned it into something I want to take good care of. Now I'm going to have to make something else my "everyday" shooter!

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e8/ak47nut/AKMICIZEDCARBINE/leftside-1.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e8/ak47nut/AKMICIZEDCARBINE/RIBBEDCOVER.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e8/ak47nut/AKMICIZEDCARBINE/buttstock.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e8/ak47nut/AKMICIZEDCARBINE/forearm-1.jpg
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e8/ak47nut/AKMICIZEDCARBINE/RIGHTSIDE-2.jpg

I can still tell that's a milled AK47 and not an AKM from a mile away because of the huge milling cut in the side of the lower receiver.

[Zane Zackerly]

I can still tell that's a milled AK47 and not an AKM from a mile away because of the huge milling cut in the side of the lower receiver.



As I said, it won't "fool" a trained eye, but another customer at the gun store did a double take and didn't notice it was milled at first because of the overall effect.

The overall effect is all I was after.

I've seen people put blonde wood on their Arsenal AK's which isn't technically correct for this model either, but it looks damn cool:
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e8/ak47nut/civilianaks/p1270003ik8.jpg

And another with reddish wood.
At first glance, I bet most people don't notice the 90-degree gas block.
It's the overall effect that hits you first.
That's what I was going for.
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e8/ak47nut/civilianaks/DSC01064.jpg

I knew purists wouldn't like the conversion, but I still think my rifle and these two are cool. p-)