"Umm. They are making their own AKs now, is what I have read."
Yeah, I know. A nearly 60-year-old rifle design.
Cutting edge to say the least.
They're going to be building AK-103s, the same revision he just ordered from Russia.
I personally own an AK-101 (5.56) outfitted with a folding stock, chromelined 16" barrel, modern ergonomic grip, and tactical rails. Put an EOtech on it, and how is that different than a new AR, apart from the slight weight difference, the ability to fold up the stock on the AK, and the AK's significantly more reliable will-fire-no-matter-how-dirty gas piston design? I think a lot of people rightly think of a wooden-stocked old sort being waved around by a jihadist when they hear "AK", but a current-production one is likely to be all composite furniture and be outfitted with a birdcage flash hider, rail grips, laser, or KOBRA holographic sight that works just like our EOtech.
Comparing something like an AK-103 or the Bulgarian Arsenal SLR series to an original AK-47 is rather like comparing a current M-16 or AR-15 to a first-run M16A1 from the 60's, triangular handguard and all. Is that really fair?