How bad is I.O., really?

[OldTengu]

It's at least a good excuse for a short road trip. Definitely a nice rifle.

It's also a purchase that's a couple weeks out. @Porter, being from that area, do you know what FFL shipping to Portland generally is?

 

[Porter]

Here is one on a local board, says obo. If it che la out for canted sights it would be worth it at a slightly better deal. On 10/63s need to check out Magwell to make sure it was cut right. Some cut by century have Magwell opened too much and mags will have excessive wobble.
WaGuns.org

 

[Boboclown]

Also check the carrier tail. And if it has the Tapco G2 trigger, replace it. The CAI RAK-1 (oddly enough the only decent thing made by CAI) trigger is better as far as budget FCGs go.

 

[Porter]

Here is a good overview on what to look for.
Watch "How To Inspect A Romanian WASR 10 & 10/63 AK-47 (AKM-47) Rifle (HD)" on YouTube

 

[308]

 

[mkwerx]

IO is junk. My cousin (yaya, i know but he's a member here) purchased an IO rifle off here - not many rounds down the pipe when his trigger broke. Fixed that by installing a new trigger. Then he discoverered issues with the piston, And the front sight is so loose it can be pushed out of alignment by hand.

He does not trust the rifle even as a plinker at this point and does not think its worth spending a bunch of cash to fix up. So its pretty much a heavy paperweight on his safe. I think he mentioned planning to grab a WASR or Century AK at some point, but he has an AR as well and an AR build in the works so not much going on the AK front.

I offered to buy the IO from him for cheap but he said he does not feel good about selling it to anyone even if they know the crap condition its in. They are the Jennings of the AK world. Spend your sheckles on a better gun.

 

[STUKA]

As far as mid range goes I am a HUGE fan of the Norinco akm's, if you can find them. I have several and have owned several more. They were very well made. They come up every now and then on here or armslist in the 650-850 dollar price range.

I have a multitude of AK's-For a little more money than the I.O. or Century C39,you can have the real thing!
In some cases,you can find a Romy even cheaper. 75 years of constant use in the hands of millions of uneducated "freedom fighters" is a good enough test for me..Why try to build a better mousetrap?
My policy-AR's are made in America,AKs are made by Commies.
And Mike1281 has it figured out-Go with ChiCom any chance you get.

 

[308]

It appears the problem is related to the parts they make. I've build a dozen or so AKs and they are pretty simple and all functioned fine, but they are built with original parts other than the receiver and requisite number of US parts. Too bad IO can't get it right.

 

[Boboclown]

It appears the problem is related to the parts they make. I've build a dozen or so AKs and they are pretty simple and all functioned fine, but they are built with original parts other than the receiver and requisite number of US parts. Too bad IO can't get it right.

Can't? Or won't?

 

[308]

Can't? Or won't?

Not sure because I would be basing that answer on my own ethics which are not shared by everyone

 

[Boboclown]

I.O comes off as just not bothering. IICR they were told how to improve but never did.

I bet they're still using the barrel as a bucking bar for the rivets.

 

[Heyjoe]

Never seen heard felt or smelt an io.

My first "ak" was a century npap that had all of the problems: canted sights, ROUGH action, terrible rivet job and the carrier tail peening badly under 2k rounds.

Learned better and sold it for a loss.
I'd imagine io has similar problems.

Don't waste your money.

 

[Boboclown]

Aside from the bad rivets the NPAP seemed fine based on what you said. Was it canted to the point you couldn't zero? Was the action so rough it couldn't function properly?

 

[Heyjoe]

Aside from the bad rivets the NPAP seemed fine based on what you said. Was it canted to the point you couldn't zero? Was the action so rough it couldn't function properly?

It ran great, however, the carrier tail was fast approaching dangerous. To the point that I feared it would slam fire.
If I'd known what I do now, I would not have paid more than $200 for it. Utter trash.
I'm certain there's one (1) that made it past those century hacks in tact.
I won't bother looking for it.

Op- get a wasr or one of the many ban era aks with a thumbhole stock.

Unless you're a sadist.

 

[Mikej]

@OldTengu This came in my mail this morning.....
Century Arms N-PAP AK47 RIFLE RI2087-N

This is the gun I was looking at back a year or so ago, but ended up going a little more for the Polish AK.

 

[Camelfilter]

@OldTengu This came in my mail this morning.....
Century Arms N-PAP AK47 RIFLE RI2087-N

This is the gun I was looking at back a year or so ago, but ended up going a little more for the Polish AK.

Nice features & decent price.

 

[Porter]

ARMSLIST - For Sale: Century n-pap for sale Doh, should have looked at the link above for 559.00. Not bad for 559.

 

[Boboclown]

It ran great, however, the carrier tail was fast approaching dangerous. To the point that I feared it would slam fire.
If I'd known what I do now, I would not have paid more than $200 for it. Utter trash.
I'm certain there's one (1) that made it past those century hacks in tact.
I won't bother looking for it.

Op- get a wasr or one of the many ban era aks with a thumbhole stock.

Unless you're a sadist.

Did it happen to have a Tapco G2 trigger?

 

[Aero Denezol]

@Boboclown I think those have a G2 trigger. The N-PAP got a good review from Rob-Ski, IIRC. These have a hold open feature and a chrome plated (?) bolt carrier (or some other similar plating) for wear resistance. There's no machine tool marks on the gas block, which is nice.. You could do worse than Zastava for fit and finish. I also know these are purpose for the civilian market, whereas the O-PAP, with the thicker receiver, was a demilled rifle (from surplus). The O-PAP are considered better than N-PAP but the supplies have long since dried up.. Based on @Heyjoe 's experience, I'd probably want to inspect one in person before buying. I think Cabela's had them in stock earlier this year.

 

[Boboclown]

The G2's hammer is harder than the bolt carrier, in addition to its shape, the tail is going to receiver more of a beating than other hammers.

Now they should have the RAK-1 trigger.