Questions about the Valmet

Leviathan024

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Fellow gun nutz,

I have had a great desire to own a 7.62x39 kalashnikov rifle for some time now and and do not posess a prohib license.Before dropping the cash on one i wanted to learn a few things. I understand the valmet with a proper length barrel is NR and uses the AK action. a rifle with the great reputation for reliability must be in my collection.
My question is just how "ak" is the rifle. can most parts be interchanged including bolt carrier,magazines,furniture,dust cover etc.. what can be expected for reliability and accuracy?

sorry if i missed some posts about this before but there really should be a valmet sticky!

Thanks


Also WTB: Valmet in 7.62x39 :D
 
The only thing you need to know about the valmet is they are really pricey. You could have quite a few other nice rifles for the price of one valmet. That being said.... If you just gotta have an ak based action, that's your only option.
 
If you want something similar you could hold out for when tactical imports gets the type 81 in. Its a stamped reciever gun that uses a vz style gas system, and an sks style bolt. The chinese see it as an upgrade from an ak
 
There's not much in common between the Valmets and your average Kalashnikov rifle. The operating mechanism and fire control parts are the same but furniture for example is not (pistol grip however should interchange). I haven't had the pleasure to study an M/78 in person but to the best of my knowledge there is little you can do to make it look more like an AK-47/AKM. You'd have better luck, ironically, with a CZ858.
 
There's not much in common between the Valmets and your average Kalashnikov rifle. The operating mechanism and fire control parts are the same but furniture for example is not (pistol grip however should interchange). I haven't had the pleasure to study an M/78 in person but to the best of my knowledge there is little you can do to make it look more like an AK-47/AKM. You'd have better luck, ironically, with a CZ858.

Ok thanks. The fire control group is what I am most interested in.
 
If you're considering changing the fire control parts try finding a Chinese set. They're among the smoothest of AK triggers and don't get much better. Even the new Tapco G2 set is said to be inferior.
 
Valmets are not just your standard AK's.

They are a Finnish made improvement upon the Russian AK platform (milled vs stamped parts, excellent fit/finnish, etc.). In the US they are considered the Cadilac's of the AK world. The Israelis then took the Valmet design and improved upon it with the Galil rifle.

In the US market the most desirable AK's:
Galil
Valmet
Eastern Block/Russian
Chinese

As mentioned, the Valmet is the only AK action which a non-restricted or restricted firearms owner can posses/purchase.
 
To a degree yes. Don't forget that manufacturing technologies are improving rapidly and if you need a custom part it's not inconceivable to have one made. If you're spending $8K on a rifle, I doubt a $200 custom part would throw you.
 
Most Valmets don't get used very much. I have never seen one even close to being worn out. Maybey some of those Indian ones saw serious use but those don't seem to be for sale. Semi Auto AK trigger parts drop right in so don't worry about it.
 
I sanded the back corners of a M305 mag and was able to get it to seat and cycle dummy rounds in the Hunter with no issue.

M305 and Hunter mags look almost the same so I'm thinking I'll send one off to my metal working friend to have him put on the front and rear tabs.

It be great if it works.
 
I was thinking the M14 and M78 308 mags looked the same but having only the M305 mags it was hard to make a comparison. Let us know how it works. Maybe some sort of clamp to fit on the M305 mags to recreate the tabs would work.
 
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