Valmet M78 .308 Magazines

Nope they had factory stocks like that.and I understand this is a hunter build. But they did make wood butt stocks in wood for milled stocks.

Yes. They had factory stocks in wood like the one in the picture.

But they M78 and Hunter M88 never came from the factory with the stock shown in the OP picture. That stock was used on M76 rifles.
 
Used market. Nothing new.

The "they" being referred to previously is Valmet. When you asked who they were.

Yeah, it was clear in my head, not in my words, I know.

Anyways, I'm starting a project and looking for "AK' type pieces. I'm also thinking of making my own wood stock, depending onw how long it will take vs buying a used one. Started the first step though, planed 2 pieces of wood, now in clamps with glue.
 
AK pieces as a general rule don't fit valmets. If you buy something hoping it will work do expect to have to tweak or customize.

Aye, I've read a few posts for conversions, and I've noticed that stocks are definitively not the same. I don't mind tweaking/customizing. I won't touch the actual rifle though, just the various parts.
 
Nice. Much difference in accuracy between the milled vs stamped? Not sure I've ever heard of the two being put head to head. Mine is a 308 milled M78.

Never fired the milled yet. Had her for about four years and the stamped was my shooter. As per accuracy I cannot see it makes much difference as there counter sniper platform was built on stamped receivers.
 
Magwell is the same for .223 or 7.62x39.

New barrel, 7.62x39 bolt (regular AK bolt is not a direct drop in but can be modified easily enough) and that's it for the caliber conversion if you are reusing hardware from the 223 barrel. (I'm one of those people who had a conversion from .223 to 7.62x39 done)

Of course you still end up with a hunter but in 7.62x39 if that's what you were starting with, the main work is in getting the buttstock changed (check JasonGTA's recent Galil conversion - he took a very drastic but effective approach) and getting a handguard fitted.

How can the magwell be the same? I’m thinking 762x39 would be ak mags .....
 
The wood stock pictured is definitely not a factory Valmet stock. It's hard to tell by the picture from that angle, but I think its a modified Hunter stock.
The handguard is from M76 (not M78, as others have said), and the handguard retainer is custom made. As others have said, its most definetly a modified Hunter, not M78. Extra trigger hole, blued receiver, barrel profile, and Hunter magazine latch are dead giveaways.
Here's a picture of one of my clones with a genuine Valmet milled M76 wood stock (and correct M76 magazine latch). You can clearly see the difference in stock shape.

WVnVYlg.jpg
 
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