This is like having your grandfather read you an old, but great book once a week. I feel like that kid in Princess Bride, and Mishaco is Columbo

Great vid Mishaco. Hundreds of East German MPI-KM were obtain and use by the FARC-EP guerrillas in Colombia from the late 1990s as a way to standarize their main assault rifle.

Been waiting for this for a long time! Thanks Mishaco! I'll hug my EG's a little tighter on your behalf

@stoegerstewie8351

2 ай бұрын

Right after 4473, my first AK had to stay at FFL for EG furniture installation. I still keep it EG to this day. To be honest, I changed the pistol grip to bakelite to match EG lower hand guard. Never found a NOS wood lower. All I find stinks of cosmoline 😂

Great video. I had a wasr10 I kitted with east german furniture bakelite lower handguard etc. Like a later 5.45x39mm. Zig-zag break. No one really knew what it was. Kns piston and it was a soft shooter. One of my favorites. Went with the collection. Currently have a 5.56 jack setup same same. The plastic is unique, light really like it. Great video.

@misha5670

2 ай бұрын

Back in the late '90s, a lot of Romie guns ended up with DDR furniture. It was cheap, interesting looking, and typically in great condition. I think some even came from the importer/wholesaler with it? I'm thinking the CUR2 & MK II perhaps?

One of the stars of my gun safe next to my Russian Izzy. Thanks for sharing, Misha!

Very neat, thanks for uploading! Keep em coming!

Thank you so much Misha. I’ve been wanting an East German AK video.

Closest i got is a Romanian STG 2003C. Romania's take on a 556 940. Still kinda rare in 2024

@luked2767

2 ай бұрын

I've only seen one before, who imported it was it century, IO/RT or another company ?

Yessssssss East German AK’s Misha Uncuffed 😀😊😀 Thanks Misha

I got my matching parts kit from 1985 built by Atlantic about 9 years ago. 900 bones with a half case of ammo.

@misha5670

2 ай бұрын

Neat, I recall when they were doing those. UncleSam-7.62 is a big fan of any AK built by Atlantic. Don't let him tell you otherwise.

@DemocratsRDemons

2 ай бұрын

@@misha5670 Not sure why he would not like them. The build quality on this is better than the Real Bulgy SLR-95 or the Saiga I have... Finish isn't blued like it should be, but whatever...I can have that done down the road...

@misha5670

2 ай бұрын

@@DemocratsRDemons Isn't it interesting how the internet has mythologized the SLR95? Sure it was a nice AK, great milled receiver and top quality barrel; but....i don't feel like newer Arsenals, say the SAM7R, really have noticibly worse fit & finish. What's been your experience?

@markp4401

2 ай бұрын

@@misha5670 Actually your videos lead me to believe that the SA 93 is the better gun.

@DemocratsRDemons

2 ай бұрын

@@misha5670The SLR is great gun. Light recoil, built like a tank, canted front sight...lol. I'd say the Las Vegas built guns have a better QC, but I know I have an actual Bulgarian built-and-imported rifle with a CHF barrel made on Steyr tooling. I definitely wouldn't trade it for a new one. I have only put a little more than 500 rds down the DDR but I have taken it to a match and it has been 100% reliable and pretty accurate with straight iron sights. The hard plastic stock and the light weight make it little uncomfy on the shoulder through a match.

I also remember seeking some AK 22 training rifles from East Germany.

Wow. Looks rare. Thank you for sharing.

Thanks What a unique info sharing

The way your shirt is blocked by the rifle at the beginning makes it look like it says "The Rotation of the Fart" which is a funny sentence.

@misha5670

2 ай бұрын

Hey, i'll take it!

Eric at Apex would talk of the different ways they snuck in. But would not say them out loud. I think Eric sorry memory slips a little. Those are really good steel. Outstanding bluing. Thank You, Mishaco!

@misha5670

2 ай бұрын

? The DDR kits came in just like any others. They weren't banned or under sanction or anything like that. The scrubbed ones were because East Germany didn't always want it so obvious it was giving machineguns to some forces around the world. But they came into America and were sold as kits perfectly above board, no worries about that.

5k for the GB kit!!! Wish I could have afforded it! Beautiful! One day I hope to have one!

Uncanny timing, thought of East Germany and their 545 AK, only yesterday. I wonder if any DDR AKs have been sent to Ukraine.

I love kit building but East German kits demand a hefty price I am not willing to make that expenditure

V.E.B. Volkseigener Betrieb = people-owned business

My EG from Definitive Arms is the most accurate AK I ever seen!

MPi = MaschinenPIstole. It's just an abbreviation for machine pistol. Even though it's not a pistol but a rifle...

I have almost the same rifle, it's one of my favourite rifles, even years ago they sold scrubbed kits in bad condition for a high price. It's not worth building an AK now unless you have a special kit, I hope one day I can get my hands on a North Korean. With the state of parts kits apart from virgin Romanian and WBP kits you can only get rough Romanian milsurp or expensive polish milsurp, all of the rest are at insane prices. I can't understand why someone would buy a Gucci AK with alot of bad US parts like a rifle dynamics over a nice rare import or kit build. No idea why they did not keep producing them for export after the fall of the Berlin wall, ironicaly in Germany you can own an AK but all semi auto rifles have to have a 18" to 20" barrel and it seems the most popular civilian AK in Germany is from Romania and basically a WASR with a longer barrel but not an RPK. In the past you could buy east German furniture sets for very little now all milsurp furniture is expensive. While refinishing milsurp wood furniture from different nations I noticed that the pins in the wood are not pins but screws that are ground down to help strengthen the wood, on front handuards they are supposed to be done then laminated over, I learnt that the hard way with a WASR 10/63 when they would remove the dong and varnish, I did some mag dumps and the pin on the lower handguard gave me a painful burn, I just drilled it down and put a small wood peg inside. Apparently this was common on early milled AKs and it's the reason why you see something tied around the handguard. I have a similar kit with an FB barrel, I managed to buy it at a good price, the parts kit had some honest wear from carry but looking at the bolt and such it looked like it had very few rounds though it. I built It on a heat treated polish 80 with east German markings, NOS polish rivets and a side rail, I had a couple of NOS barrel pins and I found one that was a hair larger so it had a better fit. I don't realy trust US rivets as when you build with them they form differently. I would have loved a kit with an original barrel but it's just too expensive and I think the FB barrels are the best AK barrels made. It was a pain to strip down the paint of the reciver and match the bluing but it looks amazing and is one of my favourite builds. I used the original FCG apart from the full auto parts then gave it a trigger job and welded them filed down some spots so it has a very short and light crisp pull and reset, I prefer using milsurp triggers as you can get them to run better than an ALG but it just feels more like an AK plus no problems with peening the back of the carrier. I don't like using a plate to hold in the pins, the Shepard's hook if modified works great and I'm sure they still use them on new millitary rifles for a reason. On all my builds I use lap the bolt to the trunion for maximum contact and then headspace is so it nearly closes then after a few rounds it works great and it can make it more accurate and less likely to go out of headspace. With a nice blued mag it looks great and even though it's not all east German all of the parts apart from the reciver, rivets, barrel and pin are from Poland so it's as close as I can get.

@misha5670

2 ай бұрын

For whatever reason, right after reunification, the German gov't ordered an immediate hault to AK production. They didn't even let Ernst finishup existing contracts. Even stranger, they did allow for Makarov pistols to be assembled and marketed overseas *shrug*. I like using Polish rivets too and I have a Polish receiver here just waiting for a special build. Not sure what I'll use it for yet, but I know that I'll recognize the right kit for it when it crosses my path. I have a few Polish and Romanian barrels stuck back too; again just in-case something good comes along. But...I'd much rather buy an already built imported firearm vs bolting one together from a kit + other random parts. I'll do that if there's no other option, but if there is, I'll hold out for it. My Hungarian AKM63 clone is a good example. I had an original barreled AKM63 kit on a proper NDS1 receiver but sold it when those things went crazy high. Replaced it with a cheaper build. Still many AKM63 parts, but now with a US CL barrel and on a generic NDS3. I was never happy with that one and always thought converting an SA85m would be the very best way to get a near-authentic AKM63. Just one of those guns I'd always wanted you know? Finally it all fell into place during the latter half of COVID, and now I couldn't be happier. I have a nice all-FEG rifle to go with my FEG AMD65 carbine...though....an AMP69 wouldn't be unwelcome now that I think about it lol. It never really ends!

@luked2767

2 ай бұрын

After reunification they went straight for the soviet aircraft and parts, I think they still run some but maybe it's just for training or drills. East Germany made decent money selling them, if they continued they could have made some very good firearms for military and civilians especially as they had the 5.56 already in production. North Korea makes a good amount of money exporting "contact" small arms and ammunition but they don't exactly follow rules. Not many surplus firearms are being imported anymore My great uncle had a store from the early 80s but he retired about a decade ago and he can't shoot anymore and it's how I got into AKs and other comblock firearms, he always said he knew the Chinese stuff would go up and get banned same with the russian as it's not in the interests of any lobby groups for say someone to get an SKS or AK for a few hundred bucks and have essentially a semi auto with around the same power as a .30 30 as the firearms and ammunition is alot cheaper than US made The new steelcase 7.62x39 made by AAC seems OK but it's still expensive, maybe when the multiple wars end the price of powder, primers and ammo will go down but would take a long time. I used to love the AK building community and most got into it as it was so cheap, same with the imports, he stocked up on alot of the chinese stuff, tok ammo we both could see how cheap 7N6 and 54R was (8c a round and under 17c for 54r) even sub 20c wolf / barnual 7.62x39, the Saiga's and Veprs came in pretty cheap but the sporting Veprs are a real pain to convert. It's insane seeing how some people will pay over 3k for tactical looking kit build with cheap US parts as they think the brand uses pixie dust... Imports are always better but sometimes you just can't get them, I have no idea why the US still uses button rifling for most barrels as CHF is just so much better unless it's for crazy high end custom stuff, not many companies can chrome line well, a friend used a GM barrel and the lining started to flake after a few hundred rounds. For AK chrome lining helps with feeding, ejection and just long lasting use especially with corrosive ammo. Even before the Russian ban on ammo the non 7N6 that was coming in was very underpowered and now I feel guilty using it as I doubt it will ever come back. Eventually FB will stop making Beryl rifles so they are an investment and also the barrels. Eventually the imports will stop or they will just become so expensive as more nations move to 5.56 in other platforms as wages go up in nations that export AKs. Everyone used to say they built AKs in caves with hammers but you need a large factory and quite alot of hand fitting. Compared to something like an AR15 type rifle as different machine shops can make the parts , crazy seeing OK AR15s for 400 or less while the WASR10 is about 1k after tax. I have a few ARs most being retro but they are boring to shoot. I just feel AKs are best if imported and don't have US parts, some people go crazy about 922r but that's if your selling... I would not want a Romanian AR15 so don't want a US AK. I can see that FN makes CHF CL barrels for the AK and is used on some PSA AKs but not sure what they are like. Great AR barrels. The only US AK I have is the K USA 9mm bizon clone, Russia now sells civilian versions of it under the saiga line but they never reached the US. The US has a friendly relationship with Vietnam and sells them weapons (mostly for aircraft) they make what look like good AKs that could possibly be exported. Just like how they imported some MP5s and a batch of tokarevs from Pakistan it's possible that maybe T81s made in Bangladesh also. I have a T91 clone (I went for it after seeing it on one of your vids years ago) it's a fun rifle with a good tappet system, those could also be collectors items in the near future as I doubt they are exporting parts or even the Taiwanese wolf gold .223 and may never. Howa in Japan could export some interesting stuff but i think they want to keep it "sporting type" only. A small chance that in some years some SA80 parts kits from the UK could come in and complete rifles as they made some straight pull versions, the UK will start to choose a replacement this year, not the best rifle but it would be something interesting and different to have.

@misha5670

2 ай бұрын

@@luked2767 Yep, the problem with both China and Russia is that neither one is much beter at following internetional agreements and playing by common rules than North Korea. We can wish the sanctions didn't happen, but in both '94 and '14 there were actual political reasons for the US gov't to be annoyed with China and Russia. Neither gov't is as pure as the driven snow themselves lol. Mind you, the US has done its fair share of naughty things too. Disagreements & contradicting priorities are simply international realities.

@luked2767

2 ай бұрын

@@misha5670 North Korea sells to anyone with money, they make a crazy amount of meth for currency and used forced labour abroad, even as far as Poland but alot in Russia. Norico does not make AKs any more I think everything 7.62x39 the tooling was sold to other nations but some private company's make consumer grade ones. Strange how they allow shotguns and shotgun ammo, most assault rifles norico sells are AR-15 style with brass case ammo. I know Russia has some very strange rules with what makes a shotgun a shotgun as in the barrel is less than half rifled or something it can be a shotgun. Not sure if they still make 7.62x39 but they could make shotguns that take the new Chinese 7.62x40 and 5.56x46 that use the same barrel trunion size of AKs. Replace the barrel and then cut down the shells a mm and then load in a bullet 😂 I have had some ammo from Russia where it seems like they pulled the steel core bullet and put in a lead core. I often visit China and apart from some police in the countryside with Type 81s and a really cool what looks like a small AK in 7.62x25 with a gas tappet rotating bolt that's used for guards in public places you just don't see them. I used to live in China and I would often go past one of the Norinco buildings and always wanted to check it out but it would have just looked to suspicious. Crazy how the war has caused a huge shortage of nitrocellulose and priming compounds, seeing so much artillery, soviet equipment but then modern weapons like drones is insane. I'm not sure if russian ammo will ever be imported to the US afterwards unless something huge happens. I managed to get alot of stuff for a good price from Russia when the trouble fell. Mostly Vostok automatic watches that are kind of like the AK in the watch world, have seen some USSR Braille watches but rare.

Yurrr

That's sweet. East German. I bet that thing is worth more than that thing you bought from Atlantic. 😁👍

@misha5670

2 ай бұрын

Would be but it has my crappy rivet work lol. I should really get that fixed one of these days.

That MPI KMS-72 is a sexy weapon.