SAR-1, no thanks

T

The Gooch

New member
Gents

I hope I do not get kicked off the forum for this one, but I have to get something off my chest. I have wanted SAR-1 for sometime now. Today I went to the local firearm dealer and was checking one out in person for the first time. As I lifted my hand up to grab this puppy I was filled with excitement. As I lowered it down to my body at the "port arms" position I was immediately let down by weight of this thing. I'm thinking ok, come on you want this bad boy. I started to remember all of the wonderful comments I read about on this forum. I put the rifle in my shoulder and was not thrilled once again. So I started thinking: this is one of the most popular AK variants out there, most reliable, most fun! But in my opinion it does not touch my SKS's. The threaded barrel, milled trigger group! Just as reliable! Don't hate me guys, please! I just was not impressed with this variant.

Anyone agree with me?


The Gooch
:(
 
Off with yer head! ;)

Lots of people wax ecstatic over HK's, too. After I carried one around for a while, you would have had to give one to me, for me to take it!

What makes a good firearm for you is a very subjective thing- and one of the neatest things about owning one. :)
 
There are nicer variants to be had out there, like the Hungarian SA-85M or the VEPR II, that are just as reliable. The finish and the production imperfections are what have always turned me off the Romanian AK-47s. Some people may not care about this, and that's fine.
 
I purchased a SAR-1 a couple of years ago. While it was 100% reliable, everything else about it was a piece of junk! I was only too happy to trade mine off at the first opportunity. I do like the caliber for plinking and thus replaced it with a SKS for "blasting" and a Ruger (bolt action M-77) for accuracy. I have never found any reason to miss the SAR, not even the 30 round mags. k
 
Gooch,

I shoot many types of MBR and "assault" type rifles, some of which cost many times what I paid for the SAR-1. I have fun with them all. They all have their strong points and weak points.

The main strong points of the SAR-1 is it's light weight, reasonable accuracy, firepower, and long term reliability. If I suddenly found myself in a long term "survival situation" and had access to only my SAR-1, I'd certainly not be moaning out of a feeling of being defensless. The ugly little rifle would serve the purpose nicely I think...

Granted, if you are looking for a piece of history, the SAR-1 ain't it..

If you are looking for the finest example of AK beauty and craftsmanship, the SAR-1 ain't that either..

If you are looking for long range accuracy, the SAR-1 certainly ain't that...

If you are looking for a cheap, lightweight, and reliable plinker or defense rifle that is useful to any reasonable range, I think the SAR-1 comes as close as any other AK variant out there. After all, there were millions upon millions of stamped receiver AK's made and distributed around the world in the last 40+ years that are still shooting, and that is exactly what they were designed to do.

I would have no reason to believe that the SAR-1 I have will do any less....

Just my .02 w/o flame, :D
Swampy
 
I like my SAR for one reason: 1 round of failure in over 1000 rounds (that was while bumpfiring, deliberately abusing the rifle). To put that in perspective, my Ruger M77MkII bolt rifle has failed to extract almost 20x in about 600 rounds. If anything bad happens, I will go to the SAR-1 over everything else that I own.
 
I don't understand your problem with the weight. Did you think it was too heavy?

I find the stamped AKs like my SAR-1 to be very light compared to an M1A or FAL. The AK has really good balance and a fairly short barrel, so it doesn't feel that heavy to me.

Now, with a fully loaded 75 round drum hanging off it, we are starting to talk about some weight.

The beauty of the SAR series is that they make a great project gun, even though they are really fine and reliable right out of the box.

I replaced the firecontrol and stocks on mine, and with the improved trigger pull and stocks (which only cost about $100 more) I get a rifle for $380 total which is just as useful as the $750 AR-15.
 
My complaints about AKs are few:

short sight radius (fixable but not easily)
long magazines make going prone hard while drums handle poorly in other ways
safety is hard to reach
paddle magazine release (OTOH, it is better for lefties than a push-putton)
lots of sharp edges in the receiver, bad when cleaning

But the good sides:
reliable
fairly light and well-balanced
cheap ammo and magazines
simple manual of arms
mild recoil

to me outweigh the problems.
I've only used the 5.45 SAR without modifications and it was reliable, accurate enough (pop can at 25m) and light. Mak90 was better finished but is also heavier and more expensive. Can't beat magazines at $6 for new steel 30-rounders and $10 for new synthetics.
 
Gooch,

I'm no AK-freak, nor will I ever be, but I own two AK-actions anyway.

I, too, was less than impressed with the SAR-1. When I handled one at a gunshow, I actually laughed in the dealer's face when he asked me if that would be cash or credit.

Crappy finish, rattled when shaken, and a friend's SAR showed me that the accuracy was less than sub-par (hard to hit a 2'x2' piece of paper at 100yds!!).

In a gun trade deal, I got a Global Trades SSr-85b. It's a beautiful Polish AKM with blond furniture. Trigger pull was very comfortable, and I wish I had my wife wrapped around my finger as much as my AKM's trigger wraps around it! In the accuracy department, I was pleasantly surprised to get sub-6" groups at 100yds with it. I haven't become comfortable with the gun yet either - later I expect the groups will close in better.

Another gun in that same trade was a Romanian Romak-III sniper rifle. Without a doubt, THE most accurate rifle I have in my arsenal when fed the correct ammunition. Beautiful? Nah... Light? Aah, maybe.. but the superb accuracy and cheap ammo more than make up for it.


So it looks to me that you just need to look at other AK's. As your SKS shows you, there are many different AK types to consider. Why do people tout about their SARs? Wouldn't you, if you bought a fine example of a weapon for less than $300, and could make it a nice gun like the $650 SSr for another $150 (including furniture)? If I hadn't gotten my SSr as part of a trade deal, I'da started with the SAR myself.
 
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