.223 MAK90 - reliable?

Greenhorse six said:
I've a norinco AK84s ,this rifle was my first non-restricted center fire back in the late "80"'s and now my only prohib , it hasn't seen the light of day in a very long time. lol [insert sad little sob here.]

Considering it's chambered for 5.56mm and not the .223rem it was ,From what I remember of shooting it, accurate ,even with the down folding shock being a little wobbly.

Only issues I can recall had to do with the mags ,the spring on one was weak and some times I'd get a bolt over base jam .

and mags are hard to find over here.

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That's an awesome picture! You don't see too many pictures of prohibs being shot before they were prohib. My uncle has several pictures of him shooting his Daewoo and HK's back in the 80's, as well. Thank you for the picture.
 
Andurp said:
That's an awesome picture! You don't see too many pictures of prohibs being shot before they were prohib. My uncle has several pictures of him shooting his Daewoo and HK's back in the 80's, as well. Thank you for the picture.
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Hmmmm.....that has given me an idea. Posting Pre-1992 (c-17) or pre C-68 pics of us shooting these rifles before they got banned would really liven up the Black/Red rifle Forums. Maybe start a sticky in both sections.....Ahhh, the good ol' days before we were automatically assumed to be dangerous criminals who can't be trusted with our own property (despite having gov't licenses)....
 
I have a MAK 90 in 7.62x39 and an AK-84S in .223. Both fed reliably but the .223 threw the brass a country mile (seriously 25-30 feet) and put a huge dent in the brass. I think the reason for this is that to make the .223 versions the Chinese just changed out the bolt and barrel but never altered the gas system so the higher pressure .223 rounds blew the bolt back a lot faster than with the 7.62 rounds, hence the violent extraction. At the time you could not buy heavier duty recoil springs but they are now available and if we could still shoot them :mad: l suspect the heavier rated spring would help mitigate this problem.

BTW the MAK 90 I got was during one of the anti-gun periods in the US and came with a stupid looking thumbhole stock to get around the no pistol grip rule at the time. I swapped it out for a set of regular AK wood and it looked fine after that.
 
zupermann said:
Hmmmm.....that has given me an idea. Posting Pre-1992 (c-17) or pre C-68 pics of us shooting these rifles before they got banned would really liven up the Black/Red rifle Forums. Maybe start a sticky in both sections.....Ahhh, the good ol' days before we were automatically assumed to be dangerous criminals who can't be trusted with our own property (despite having gov't licenses)....
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I'd like to see that, too. Hopefully the owners can take them out again, someday, though. With what's going on in Ottawa, we're as close to that as we've ever been.
 
ted_dent said:
I have a MAK 90 in 7.62x39 and an AK-84S in .223. Both fed reliably but the .223 threw the brass a country mile (seriously 25-30 feet) and put a huge dent in the brass. I think the reason for this is that to make the .223 versions the Chinese just changed out the bolt and barrel but never altered the gas system so the higher pressure .223 rounds blew the bolt back a lot faster than with the 7.62 rounds, hence the violent extraction. At the time you could not buy heavier duty recoil springs but they are now available and if we could still shoot them :mad: l suspect the heavier rated spring would help mitigate this problem.

BTW the MAK 90 I got was during one of the anti-gun periods in the US and came with a stupid looking thumbhole stock to get around the no pistol grip rule at the time. I swapped it out for a set of regular AK wood and it looked fine after that.
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Yeah, I remember the dumb thumbholer stocks as required for US market import. The mak 90 that I briefly had was a machined (round stock holed) receiver, and furniture for the machined receiver seemed harder to find. I ended up using the "square notch" stamped receiver stock by rounding the insert until it fit the round holed receive. What a pain. The gunsmith filled the gaps with glass bed compound. It actually turned out really well.

You're right on the gas system --at least on the early production ones-- had a 762 front trunnion where they just put a 223 barrel on it. the bolt carrier piston had a "V" notch milled into it to vent excess gas. The later 84S ones I saw seemed more "refined"--they seemed to have incorporated production changes.
There are others here who could easily correct me if I'm wrong (please do) :)
 
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SeamusMac said:
I know, it's silly. Most AK-variants are prohibited in Canada but it's a reasonable trade-off for being allowed Tavors, RFBs, T97s and the like.
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Actually it isn't a reasonable trade. We were once allowed to hunt with them and many others.. non-restricted. Then the BS started and they were deemed to be very bad and reduced to nothing more than paperweights so from a guy who has several different paperweights, I don't think it was reasonable.

Just another stepping stone in the game of public disarmament.
 
I guess another alternative would be the Ruger Mini 14 Target if you're willing to stray a bit further from the MSSA-type A-cats? A few reviews I've read in the past that have championed the rifle as sub-MOA with the right ammo.
 
Greenhorse six said:
Don't all AKs dent the spent brass on the body cover ? It's their signature.lol
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Yah, but these weren't dented, they were DENTED... like giant smiley faces. I remember the first round I fired. Gun went off, I waited to hear the brass hit the ground and looked up to see the case flying in a graceful arc and landing at least 30 feet away from me. Thought it might be a fluke but every round did it. The dents were so bad they often rendered the cases unusable for reloading. Of course in those days a 20 round box of .223 went for about $3 so it wasn't too painful. It would be a whole different story today, however.
 
Well, my budget won't allow for the "rolls royce" Norc AR - and I know of two guys who are getting 2" @100m with their Norc SKS rifles, using factory steel case hornady sst ammo. I have always had decent accuracy with Norc SKS's in the past so there is no point paying double for a MAK90 if the accuracy will be the same as an SKS. Plus with the money saved i can put a super stealthy suppressor on the SKS.....looks like i am re-joining the SKS brotherhood.
 
bazza said:
Well, my budget won't allow for the "rolls royce" Norc AR - and I know of two guys who are getting 2" @100m with their Norc SKS rifles, using factory steel case hornady sst ammo. I have always had decent accuracy with Norc SKS's in the past so there is no point paying double for a MAK90 if the accuracy will be the same as an SKS. Plus with the money saved i can put a super stealthy suppressor on the SKS.....looks like i am re-joining the SKS brotherhood.
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So jealous you have that choice!
 
When I first opened this thread I has no clue what a MAK90 was so I searched google found the following picture and almost cried

mak90.jpg
 
They are advertised as NMH90 over here and come with Choate dragunov stock NZ$1099 per. I am going to opt for a Norc paratrooper 16" barrel SKS that will cost $499. I do love the MAK90 look, but the SKS shoots better.
 
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