T81 Bent Rifles, or just how does one take measurements off a stamped receiver?

So I was able to go shooting, I had a good day out of it and shot my fill. I decided against shooting all 4 and picked out one as my shooter. The other 3 will stay unfired. I brought out my 858 and SKS for comparison.

I used czech and chinese milsurp ammo, both performed about the same. I was not able to shoot for serious groups but got some 4" ones. I did not have my front sight pusher and the 81 was hitting a foot right at 100, I got my elevation dialed in with the included tool. Ringing my 8" square plate at 100 was a fun exercise, and as it got darker was even more challenging. A can of white paint would have come in handy.

After shooting all 3 my impression of the the 81 compared to the the 858 and SKS is that the 81 is freaking awesome. I have the special forces 2 piece muzzle brake on my 858 which tames a lot of the recoil and the 81 was almost as soft shooting. The trigger on the 81 has a massive reset click, you won't be missing feeling it. While I did not mind it and was able to make do, it does not compare to the 858. Frankly it may be that I have put thousands of rounds through my SKS and 858 and both they and me are worn in together well.

I am not selling my 858 and SKS now that I have the 81 but the 81 has just supplanted the other 2 as my bush carry gun. I just need some short mags for it and I am good to go.
 
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Outcast said:
On a serious note...I haven't handled one of these rifles, but watched a take down video. Is the upper receiver portion which you take down to remove the bolt super thin metal. From what I saw and heard, it sounds like it's really really thin , I'd be afraid to drop or bang it.
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It's basically the same cover as a chinese type 56 AKM ribbed cover and nobody is complaining about those.
 
jparent said:
The more of these threads i read, the more i love my Tavor.

People telling people to stop whining about a $200 made in communist rifle costing $1000 when a made in the USA AR-15 costs $600...

Same rifle made in Canada (much more poorly) costs $1600.

Nothing to see here.

Think i'll go shoot my unbent rifle some more and not worry about it taking off my face.
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Lol. I can't believe you are trying to compare a $2500+ tavor to a cheap t81. If that's your expectation, just skip the t81. You'll sleep better.
 
klaus enuff said:
So I was able to go shooting, I had a good day out of it and shot my fill. I decided against shooting all 4 and picked out one as my shooter. The other 3 will stay unfired. I brought out my 858 and SKS for comparison.

I used czech and chinese milsurp ammo, both performed about the same. I was not able to shoot for serious groups but got some 4" ones. I did not have my front sight pusher and the 81 was hitting a foot right at 100, I got my elevation dialed in with the included tool. Ringing my 8" square plate at 100 was a fun exercise, and as it got darker was even more challenging. A can of white paint would have come in handy.

After shooting all 3 my impression of the the 81 compared to the the 858 and SKS is that the 81 is freaking awesome. I have the special forces 2 piece muzzle brake on my 858 which tames a lot of the recoil and the 81 was almost as soft shooting. The trigger on the 81 has a massive reset click, you won't be missing feeling it. While I did not mind it and was able to make do, it does not compare to the 858. Frankly it may be that I have put thousands of rounds through my SKS and 858 and both they and me are worn in together well.

I am not selling my 858 and SKS now that I have the 81 but the 81 has just supplanted the other 2 as my bush carry gun. I just need some short mags for it and I am good to go.
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thank you for your honest review. was your t81 shooter the folder version?
 
jparent said:
The more of these threads i read, the more i love my Tavor.

People telling people to stop whining about a $200 made in communist rifle costing $1000 when a made in the USA AR-15 costs $600...

Same rifle made in Canada (much more poorly) costs $1600.

Nothing to see here.

Think i'll go shoot my unbent rifle some more and not worry about it taking off my face.
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Really, lol, oh my
 
medvedqc said:
thank you for your honest review. was your t81 shooter the folder version?
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Yes, folder.

I put hundreds of rounds through it, there were 2 rounds that misfed from a mag and jammed on the feed ramp. One mag was unreliable for activating BHO but after a while started working. No light strikes, failure to eject etc. After a bit things seemed to break in and the gun felt better to operate. In particular when inserting mags, at first it was difficult to rock them in correctly, I really had to slow down and find the front lip to catch the mag on. After a bit the mags went in and out a lot better.

After firing this gun I can definitively say I like it. It scratches that "AK" itch for me in a big way. Those expecting a Valmet milled receiver will be very disappointed. Everyone else, if you want an AK-esque type rifle that you can hunt with and shoot wherever, this is it.
 
SO have any of the bent folder owners here actually gotten their rifles successfully swapped out ? with a less bent one ?? I tried calling TI today... straight to voice mail. When i got a hold of them via email; they basically said they couldn't guarantee a straight one as a replacement. Which is ok by me, I understand none of these guns will be perfectly straight. But for $1000 id at least expect one thats less bent than the one i currently own lol (which i havent even shot yet :( )
 
I haven't followed everybody but the people who have gone through warranty have been happy with their replacements, that I can recall.

There are a few people in the warranty process waiting that I am waiting to see post their experiences.

Most rifles getting into people's hands seem to be good, not seeing a lot of serious issues complained about. I am very happy after firing approximately 500 rounds through the one I picked out as my shooter. I am going to take it everywhere with me that I can and shoot it as much as I can. It will come out every range trip from now on. My SKS and 858 will only come out now if I am bringing them for someone to try. Yup, very happy with the gun :)
 
ComradeVlad said:
SO have any of the bent folder owners here actually gotten their rifles successfully swapped out ? with a less bent one ?? I tried calling TI today... straight to voice mail. When i got a hold of them via email; they basically said they couldn't guarantee a straight one as a replacement. Which is ok by me, I understand none of these guns will be perfectly straight. But for $1000 id at least expect one thats less bent than the one i currently own lol (which i havent even shot yet :( )
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Have you run a string or a laser down to see how bad it is? My folder looked bent but when it's torn down I really can't tell.
The furniture and the way the gun has the cover attached make it look much worse than it is, on my rifle anyway.
I haven't been able to contact TI. I emailed them 10 days ago or so about the sling swivel on my folder but no answer.
 
ricohman said:
Have you run a string or a laser down to see how bad it is? My folder looked bent but when it's torn down I really can't tell.
The furniture and the way the gun has the cover attached make it look much worse than it is, on my rifle anyway.
I haven't been able to contact TI. I emailed them 10 days ago or so about the sling swivel on my folder but no answer.
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I definitely agree with this. Any visual check. be it by string or laser. needs to be done on a stripped rifle.

If you find yourself looking at your rifle and asking yourself if it is bent; it probably isn't bent. Look for proper function and other obvious flaws or defects. I went over my rifles very well and they are what I expected of a rifle that replaced the AK in military service. The trigger internals are tank like, this gun seems to me to have that AK ruggedness and reliability. I consider these an improved AK for the most part, more so than my 858 for example, itself often touted as an almost AK.
 
ricohman said:
Have you run a string or a laser down to see how bad it is? My folder looked bent but when it's torn down I really can't tell.
The furniture and the way the gun has the cover attached make it look much worse than it is, on my rifle anyway.
I haven't been able to contact TI. I emailed them 10 days ago or so about the sling swivel on my folder but no answer.
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Yes my rifle looked like a slight bend to the right but strip it down and measure it comes out as straight! My folding stock does have the slight cant to it though, never expected $2500.00 of quality built into a sub $1000.00 gun anyway but for my expectations and wants the rifle is perfect.
 
SO i got off the phone with TI..... lol they seem very persistent to tell me the Type 81 resting in my hands is in fact not bent lol when clear as fuking day it IS!!! They also proceeded to state that NONE of the other folders they have been receiving back have actually measured as being BENT !? hmmmm but yet the previous person i contacted stated that they couldnt guarantee me a straight one! how contradicting. Then the man on the phone proceeded to suggest an overly complicated method of measuring the bend that involved screwing out the front sight. Running the thread thru the gas piston etc. LOL im thinking to myself "how bout U just open ur EYES and look down the fuking gun!" anyways at some point he did tell me to expect a misalignment anywhere from 2-5mm or something (once again contradicting the "they are not bent" theory lol) and that is within factory spec... ON THIS I did agree with him. The fact that the front sight post is cranked to the far right and stamp zero suggests to me they sighted this thing in, and to go through that trouble it couldnt have been a reject.

All in all what im taking away from all of this is the following:

TI has officially lost me as a customer.
The type 81 is still epic and ill keep it regardless of the bend
The bend will serve as an everlasting reminder of the joke the company TI is and the manufacturing standards that is China
Ill just shim my side mount when i bolt the POSP optic to it to correct for the bend lol
If the gun starts to fall apart or become unsafe from the bend ill just threaten TI with a lawsuit or something.... considering; by selling me this rifle, I guess their standing by the fact that it is safe for me to shoot!

FINALLY my index finger is itchy , its been 2/3rds of a year! IM GOING TO SHOOT IT NOW :HFU:
 
klaus enuff said:
I definitely agree with this. Any visual check. be it by string or laser. needs to be done on a stripped rifle.

If you find yourself looking at your rifle and asking yourself if it is bent; it probably isn't bent. Look for proper function and other obvious flaws or defects. I went over my rifles very well and they are what I expected of a rifle that replaced the AK in military service. The trigger internals are tank like, this gun seems to me to have that AK ruggedness and reliability. I consider these an improved AK for the most part, more so than my 858 for example, itself often touted as an almost AK.
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So- As suspected, most of the "bent" guns are not actually bent, and most of it is CGN fueled hype. Who would have thunk it!

Laugh2
 
ComradeVlad said:
SO i got off the phone with TI..... lol they seem very persistent to tell me the Type 81 resting in my hands is in fact not bent lol when clear as fuking day it IS!!! They also proceeded to state that NONE of the other folders they have been receiving back have actually measured as being BENT !? hmmmm but yet the previous person i contacted stated that they couldnt guarantee me a straight one! how contradicting. Then the man on the phone proceeded to suggest an overly complicated method of measuring the bend that involved screwing out the front sight. Running the thread thru the gas piston etc. LOL im thinking to myself "how bout U just open ur EYES and look down the fuking gun!" anyways at some point he did tell me to expect a misalignment anywhere from 2-5mm or something (once again contradicting the "they are not bent" theory lol) and that is within factory spec... ON THIS I did agree with him. The fact that the front sight post is cranked to the far right and stamp zero suggests to me they sighted this thing in, and to go through that trouble it couldnt have been a reject.

All in all what im taking away from all of this is the following:

TI has officially lost me as a customer.
The type 81 is still epic and ill keep it regardless of the bend
The bend will serve as an everlasting reminder of the joke the company TI is and the manufacturing standards that is China
Ill just shim my side mount when i bolt the POSP optic to it to correct for the bend lol
If the gun starts to fall apart or become unsafe from the bend ill just threaten TI with a lawsuit or something.... considering; by selling me this rifle, I guess their standing by the fact that it is safe for me to shoot!

FINALLY my index finger is itchy , its been 2/3rds of a year! IM GOING TO SHOOT IT NOW :HFU:
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They just received mine and the barrel is misalignment more than 5mm.

It was measured with a straight edge and without the HG .
 
Gatehouse said:
So- As suspected, most of the "bent" guns are not actually bent, and most of it is CGN fueled hype. Who would have thunk it!

Laugh2
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Hype? So on top of flatearthers we now officially have flattypers. You might need to measure when it comes to fractions of mm, but when you see it's defective - it clearly is. I've handled more AKs and VZs than many ppl on this board and I need no special measurement to tell the obvious.

 
Horilka said:
Hype? So on top of flatearthers we now officially have flattypers. You might need to measure when it comes to fractions of mm, but when you see it's defective - it clearly is. I've handled more AKs and VZs than many ppl on this board and I need no special measurement to tell the obvious.

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I'm sure some are actually defective. I'm equally sure Most of them are CGN hype though
 
Mine too has a slight bend to the right, I was concerned until I saw this. Now I'm ok with it. This is actually slightly worse than mine. https://flic.kr/p/HCoHmt
 
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