Airsoft Canada - View Single Post

Cilantro · February 12th, 2011, 23:17

SRC AKS74U Review

Real Steel Info & History
(Courtesy of http://world.guns.ru)

Caliber: 5,45x39 mm
Action: Gas operated, rotating bolt with 2 lugs
Overall length: 735 mm (490 mm with folded buttstock)
Barrel length: 210 mm
Magazine capacity, 30 rounds standard
Weight empty: 2,71 kg
Effective range: about 200 meters
Rate of fire: 650-735 rounds per minute

The AKS-74U short assault rifle (the "U" suffix means "Ukorochennyj" in Russian or "Shortened" in English) has been developed in the late 1970s from the AKS-74 assault rifle. The AKS-74U was intended as a personal defense weapon for tank, gun, helicopter and other vehicle crews, and for the special operations forces, which required compact but relatively powerful individual automatic weapon. Since its introduction the AKS-74U, unofficially known as a "Ksyukha" (variation of a Russian woman name) or "okurok" (cigarette stub), also had been issued to various Police and other Law Enforcement forces acres the USSR and the Post-USSR countries, including Russia. The AKS-74U is somewhat popular among its users due to its compact size, which allows it to be carried in the cars and even concealed under the clothes. On the other side, its effective range of fire is greatly limited by the poor accuracy at ranges beyond 150-200 meters, while the bullet itself remains lethal at much greater ranges. The AKS-74U is also known for its tendency for rapid overheating when firing in bursts. The AKS-74U has only minor differences from the basic AKS-74 assault rifle, which will describe below.
The AKS-74U has a severely shortened barrel, with the gas chamber moved back and appropriately cut down gas piston rod. Since the portion of the barrel after the gas port is very short, a special muzzle device was designed, which is used as a flash hider and gas expansion chamber (to achieve reliable gas operated action). The front sight base is lowered, and the standard adjustable rear sight is replaced by a flip-up rear sight marked for 200 and 400 meters distance, mounted on the receiver cover. The receiver cover is hinged to the receiver at the front and flips up when opened. Otherwise the AKS-74U is similar to the AKS-74; it has same controls, folding buttstock, and uses the same magazines. The AKS-74U cannot be fitted with bayonet. Some versions had a standard side-mounted rail for the night or red-dot scopes, and are known as AKS-74UN.

SRC AKS74U
Unboxing & Externals
After ordering the gun from 007airsoft, I was giddy like a schoolgirl for the next week and a bit until I got a ring from the doorbell during the year’s worst blizzard. Kudos to the delivery man, by the way. The box itself has a nice glossy image on the front, but seeing as it was turned inside out for shipping, I didn’t really notice or care. The gun was loose in SRC’s standard AK Styrofoam shell, but was pretty secure. The rear sight leaf had however chewed up a bit of the Styrofoam, so the gun had annoyingly static flakes all over the body. As I picked up the gun to wipe it clean I was amazed by the weight and feel of this thing: as in six to midnight amazed. The unloaded weight is probably 4 – 5 lbs, and the magazine adds at least another pound to that weight.

Beauty Shot! Also paracord not included, I just hate cold metal cheekrests

Other side beauty shot!

The front handguard is real wood and has an amazing finish to it, I can’t comment on the kind of wood, but the fit and finish are excellent and even go through to the inside portions. This gun feels amazingly solid, although once extended and locked the stock did have some slight wobble that was easily fixed with electrician’s tape.

Look at all that shiny wood….

The magazine was secured in its own niche and again looks and feels great. The black polymer/plastic has a matte finish and the bottomplate is metal, which is great if you drop it. The pistol grip is a very shiny black plastic and extremely thin by airsoft standards, as it doesn’t have to fit a motor in it.

Magazine top

Magazine bottom!

The finish to the metal is a nice matte black, although I might try to blue it this summer if it looks like it’ll take. After a few days of dismantling for the internals and trying to take apart the whole thing, I realized that the finish came off in a few areas, most notably the release knob at the rear of the upper receiver (which must be slapped down to effectively lock the upper) and at the front sling point after putting on a very tight and very rough classic AK sling replica.

Paint wearing on the knob, to be expected as far as I’m concerned

The manual is full colour, and apart from some pictures of questionable men with AKs, is actually quite informative and has a good layout.

Obligatory is-this-steel shot. Anythign with a magnet is steel. Fake prize for the first person who gets the sentence right!!

Pros:
- full metal with a nice finish
- most gorgeous wood handguard I’ve seen
- great heft and solid feel to it
- good manual

Cons:
- slight wobble in the stock once extended
- finish on the gun comes off relatively easily

Overall external quality: 4.5/5

Function

The first time I racked the bolt on this weapon I was in heaven. The feel, the tension and the satisfying sound of the whole business was and is probably one of the best parts about this gun. As a collector I’m thrilled that I can finally have an as-real-as-I-can-get AKS74U. I also like the idea of SRC’s boltstop function, but I wish it was a button I could slick on or off, like on the WA-Magna type AR systems as the bolt is effectively just hitting the top of the magazine and it also interferes with that amazing rack-n-slap that I like so much.

Boltstop in action

As for the actual firing, the trigger pull on the SRC AKS74U is also a dream: very short creep and a short stroke (0.7cm overall). The pull is also extremely light at about 0.5 to 1lb, if I’m any judge. The magazine fills gas from the bottom and my Airsoft Innovations propane adapter had no problems with fitting or making a tight seal. The magazine holds a lot of gas and each magazine-full will outlast the 45 rounds that fit in the magazine. Oh, and the magazine fits in tightly, no wobbles at all.

Trigger closeup

Loading the magazine from a speedloader requires the SRC adapter nubbin that comes in the package (with, conveniently, a speedloader). The nubbin pretty much moves the BB follower out of the way and still makes the whole thing a bit of an ordeal, seeing as you have to have the speedloader perpendicular to the magazine: a direct contravention of everything ever taught in airsoft. It’s easy to get used to, but still has its issues, as sometimes the BBs won’t feed in and you have to reseat the speedloader.

Magazine bottom, close up of fill valve

close up of rear

The hop-up unit is very easily accessible: just open the bolt and it’s right there, which is useful, but also has a very bad habit of resetting itself once the gun has shot for a bit. The bolt slamming back and forth sometimes grabs the hop-up adjustment rod and pulls it back to 0. I’m not sure if cutting off the knob at the end will help, but I will try it and report back any changes as this is a detrimental issue for gaming.

Bolt back and hop up

Which brings up another issue: inserting the magazine. Every time you insert the magazine it has to hinge from the front, which would be fine and very AK-like if it wasn’t for the bolt getting in the way and causing resistance to the mag hinging back. This makes it feel like the magazine is put under stress, and while I’m NOT saying anything against the durability of the mags, at $50 a piece, it’s not something I feel like rigorously testing, either. One related point about the magazines is that the front lip of the magazine is part of the plastic casing and not the metal feedlips/top so I have some concerns about the durability of this part, and I’m frankly shocked SRC didn’t make this part of the top assembly and not part of the shell.

close up of the front lip on the magazine…

Disassembly is awesome for this gun. Just pop the knob at the back, lift the upper and you can take out the spring, spring guide and bolt complete with fake piston! The bolt is mostly metal with plastic nozzle assembly, but it’s a very thick plastic, which feels great. The hammer and springs also feel very tough and durable, which is a welcome feeling as these parts will be under the most stress. Reassembly is as easy as me not having to write it down for you… it’s that easy.

Bolt, spring & Guide

Bolt & fake piston

Bolt underside

Bolt inside AK

Different angle

Gutz!

More Gutz!

Even more gutz!

Pros:
- Amazing feel to the bolt and trigger, easily the best from a stock rifle I’ve seen
- Great capacity for mags in terms of ammo and gas storage

Cons:
- hop-up resets itself after bolt moves
- mags can be hard to insert and have plastic lips

Overall Function: 4/5 pending durability tests

Shooting & Range Report

I will not be publishing a true range report until the weather gets better as this is a gas gun and the range/fps will suffer and I am also missing a basement

. However I can say that shooting this rifle is a dream come true. The bolt slams back and forth perfectly, the guns loads well (no misfeeds yet) and full auto is possibly the most fun I’ve had since my KSC MP9. It eats up my BBBastards well and puts them down consistently and accurately. The bolststop works well and I haven’t had any problems with it malfunctioning or just plain not working.

Take that Dr. Dodgson! “Psychotic” am I!? “Borderline schizophrenic” am I!? BANG BANG BA….oh right…

Pros:
- shoots well, feels great: what more can I say :P

Cons:
- none yet, pending real range report for strength/accuracy and durability

Overall Shooting: 5/5 Shooting this gets me moist like a nun at the Vatican

Conclusion

It’s easy to see that SRC have really done their homework from the gameable bolststop function to the close-to-real-steel takedown and piston, but there are a few things they overlooked to. As a collector’s item, this piece should be in every safe or on every wall as it is the best-looking AK I’ve come across. The lack of trades may seem annoying but it also means I can engrave my own serial # and Tula Arsenal symbol, so I don’t mind. As for gaming, It’s still too early in the season to say, but there are also some real gamekillers on the SRC AKS74U such as the plastic magazine lips and automatic hop-up reset feature :P. I’m sure there will be garage-solutions about these issues soon, but they should have also been obvious to SRC from the start. Only time will tell if this gets picked up by players and OEM companies, but I have a feeling that this will soon get overshadowed by WE’s entries into the GBBR AK world. As it stands now though, this little beastie is an amazing replica and it’s just too much fun to pull a Xenia Onatopp on a roomful of paper engineers :P

*More will be added as I do range reports and take this baby apart!*

I just like the piston, it’s a nice touch.

February 12th, 2011, 23:17	#1
Cilantro formerly Omega! Trader rating Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Ottawa	Src aks74u gbbr UPDATE PAGE 4 SRC AKS74U Review Real Steel Info & History (Courtesy of http://world.guns.ru) Caliber: 5,45x39 mm Action: Gas operated, rotating bolt with 2 lugs Overall length: 735 mm (490 mm with folded buttstock) Barrel length: 210 mm Magazine capacity, 30 rounds standard Weight empty: 2,71 kg Effective range: about 200 meters Rate of fire: 650-735 rounds per minute The AKS-74U short assault rifle (the "U" suffix means "Ukorochennyj" in Russian or "Shortened" in English) has been developed in the late 1970s from the AKS-74 assault rifle. The AKS-74U was intended as a personal defense weapon for tank, gun, helicopter and other vehicle crews, and for the special operations forces, which required compact but relatively powerful individual automatic weapon. Since its introduction the AKS-74U, unofficially known as a "Ksyukha" (variation of a Russian woman name) or "okurok" (cigarette stub), also had been issued to various Police and other Law Enforcement forces acres the USSR and the Post-USSR countries, including Russia. The AKS-74U is somewhat popular among its users due to its compact size, which allows it to be carried in the cars and even concealed under the clothes. On the other side, its effective range of fire is greatly limited by the poor accuracy at ranges beyond 150-200 meters, while the bullet itself remains lethal at much greater ranges. The AKS-74U is also known for its tendency for rapid overheating when firing in bursts. The AKS-74U has only minor differences from the basic AKS-74 assault rifle, which will describe below. The AKS-74U has a severely shortened barrel, with the gas chamber moved back and appropriately cut down gas piston rod. Since the portion of the barrel after the gas port is very short, a special muzzle device was designed, which is used as a flash hider and gas expansion chamber (to achieve reliable gas operated action). The front sight base is lowered, and the standard adjustable rear sight is replaced by a flip-up rear sight marked for 200 and 400 meters distance, mounted on the receiver cover. The receiver cover is hinged to the receiver at the front and flips up when opened. Otherwise the AKS-74U is similar to the AKS-74; it has same controls, folding buttstock, and uses the same magazines. The AKS-74U cannot be fitted with bayonet. Some versions had a standard side-mounted rail for the night or red-dot scopes, and are known as AKS-74UN. SRC AKS74U Unboxing & Externals After ordering the gun from 007airsoft, I was giddy like a schoolgirl for the next week and a bit until I got a ring from the doorbell during the year’s worst blizzard. Kudos to the delivery man, by the way. The box itself has a nice glossy image on the front, but seeing as it was turned inside out for shipping, I didn’t really notice or care. The gun was loose in SRC’s standard AK Styrofoam shell, but was pretty secure. The rear sight leaf had however chewed up a bit of the Styrofoam, so the gun had annoyingly static flakes all over the body. As I picked up the gun to wipe it clean I was amazed by the weight and feel of this thing: as in six to midnight amazed. The unloaded weight is probably 4 – 5 lbs, and the magazine adds at least another pound to that weight. Beauty Shot! Also paracord not included, I just hate cold metal cheekrests Other side beauty shot! The front handguard is real wood and has an amazing finish to it, I can’t comment on the kind of wood, but the fit and finish are excellent and even go through to the inside portions. This gun feels amazingly solid, although once extended and locked the stock did have some slight wobble that was easily fixed with electrician’s tape. Look at all that shiny wood…. The magazine was secured in its own niche and again looks and feels great. The black polymer/plastic has a matte finish and the bottomplate is metal, which is great if you drop it. The pistol grip is a very shiny black plastic and extremely thin by airsoft standards, as it doesn’t have to fit a motor in it. Magazine top Magazine bottom! The finish to the metal is a nice matte black, although I might try to blue it this summer if it looks like it’ll take. After a few days of dismantling for the internals and trying to take apart the whole thing, I realized that the finish came off in a few areas, most notably the release knob at the rear of the upper receiver (which must be slapped down to effectively lock the upper) and at the front sling point after putting on a very tight and very rough classic AK sling replica. Paint wearing on the knob, to be expected as far as I’m concerned The manual is full colour, and apart from some pictures of questionable men with AKs, is actually quite informative and has a good layout. Obligatory is-this-steel shot. Anythign with a magnet is steel. Fake prize for the first person who gets the sentence right!! Pros: - full metal with a nice finish - most gorgeous wood handguard I’ve seen - great heft and solid feel to it - good manual Cons: - slight wobble in the stock once extended - finish on the gun comes off relatively easily Overall external quality: 4.5/5 Function The first time I racked the bolt on this weapon I was in heaven. The feel, the tension and the satisfying sound of the whole business was and is probably one of the best parts about this gun. As a collector I’m thrilled that I can finally have an as-real-as-I-can-get AKS74U. I also like the idea of SRC’s boltstop function, but I wish it was a button I could slick on or off, like on the WA-Magna type AR systems as the bolt is effectively just hitting the top of the magazine and it also interferes with that amazing rack-n-slap that I like so much. Boltstop in action As for the actual firing, the trigger pull on the SRC AKS74U is also a dream: very short creep and a short stroke (0.7cm overall). The pull is also extremely light at about 0.5 to 1lb, if I’m any judge. The magazine fills gas from the bottom and my Airsoft Innovations propane adapter had no problems with fitting or making a tight seal. The magazine holds a lot of gas and each magazine-full will outlast the 45 rounds that fit in the magazine. Oh, and the magazine fits in tightly, no wobbles at all. Trigger closeup Loading the magazine from a speedloader requires the SRC adapter nubbin that comes in the package (with, conveniently, a speedloader). The nubbin pretty much moves the BB follower out of the way and still makes the whole thing a bit of an ordeal, seeing as you have to have the speedloader perpendicular to the magazine: a direct contravention of everything ever taught in airsoft. It’s easy to get used to, but still has its issues, as sometimes the BBs won’t feed in and you have to reseat the speedloader. Magazine bottom, close up of fill valve close up of rear The hop-up unit is very easily accessible: just open the bolt and it’s right there, which is useful, but also has a very bad habit of resetting itself once the gun has shot for a bit. The bolt slamming back and forth sometimes grabs the hop-up adjustment rod and pulls it back to 0. I’m not sure if cutting off the knob at the end will help, but I will try it and report back any changes as this is a detrimental issue for gaming. Bolt back and hop up Which brings up another issue: inserting the magazine. Every time you insert the magazine it has to hinge from the front, which would be fine and very AK-like if it wasn’t for the bolt getting in the way and causing resistance to the mag hinging back. This makes it feel like the magazine is put under stress, and while I’m NOT saying anything against the durability of the mags, at $50 a piece, it’s not something I feel like rigorously testing, either. One related point about the magazines is that the front lip of the magazine is part of the plastic casing and not the metal feedlips/top so I have some concerns about the durability of this part, and I’m frankly shocked SRC didn’t make this part of the top assembly and not part of the shell. close up of the front lip on the magazine… Disassembly is awesome for this gun. Just pop the knob at the back, lift the upper and you can take out the spring, spring guide and bolt complete with fake piston! The bolt is mostly metal with plastic nozzle assembly, but it’s a very thick plastic, which feels great. The hammer and springs also feel very tough and durable, which is a welcome feeling as these parts will be under the most stress. Reassembly is as easy as me not having to write it down for you… it’s that easy. Bolt, spring & Guide Bolt & fake piston Bolt underside Bolt inside AK Different angle Gutz! More Gutz! Even more gutz! Pros: - Amazing feel to the bolt and trigger, easily the best from a stock rifle I’ve seen - Great capacity for mags in terms of ammo and gas storage Cons: - hop-up resets itself after bolt moves - mags can be hard to insert and have plastic lips Overall Function: 4/5 pending durability tests Shooting & Range Report I will not be publishing a true range report until the weather gets better as this is a gas gun and the range/fps will suffer and I am also missing a basement . However I can say that shooting this rifle is a dream come true. The bolt slams back and forth perfectly, the guns loads well (no misfeeds yet) and full auto is possibly the most fun I’ve had since my KSC MP9. It eats up my BBBastards well and puts them down consistently and accurately. The bolststop works well and I haven’t had any problems with it malfunctioning or just plain not working. Take that Dr. Dodgson! “Psychotic” am I!? “Borderline schizophrenic” am I!? BANG BANG BA….oh right… Pros: - shoots well, feels great: what more can I say :P Cons: - none yet, pending real range report for strength/accuracy and durability Overall Shooting: 5/5 Shooting this gets me moist like a nun at the Vatican Conclusion It’s easy to see that SRC have really done their homework from the gameable bolststop function to the close-to-real-steel takedown and piston, but there are a few things they overlooked to. As a collector’s item, this piece should be in every safe or on every wall as it is the best-looking AK I’ve come across. The lack of trades may seem annoying but it also means I can engrave my own serial # and Tula Arsenal symbol, so I don’t mind. As for gaming, It’s still too early in the season to say, but there are also some real gamekillers on the SRC AKS74U such as the plastic magazine lips and automatic hop-up reset feature :P. I’m sure there will be garage-solutions about these issues soon, but they should have also been obvious to SRC from the start. Only time will tell if this gets picked up by players and OEM companies, but I have a feeling that this will soon get overshadowed by WE’s entries into the GBBR AK world. As it stands now though, this little beastie is an amazing replica and it’s just too much fun to pull a Xenia Onatopp on a roomful of paper engineers :P More will be added as I do range reports and take this baby apart! I just like the piston, it’s a nice touch. __________________ "History shall be kind to me, for I intend to write it." - Sir Winston Churchill Last edited by Cilantro; July 30th, 2011 at 16:55..