Steel Kalash AKS74

This is a review of the new full* steel Kalash AKS74, the long model, not AKS74u, unfortunately no pics for now but will put some up later.

Kalash have had the aksu out a while now in full steel, their longer models have been a steel and pot metal mix up until now, with some criticism of parts breaking, take down lever, stock folding mechanism, charging handle though not common, they could break, often the takedown lever first.
The new steel model adresses these issues as the parts are much sturdier now, and also, enjoys some of the benefits of being the later model with good internals, more on that later.


Currently available are the AKS74, and the AK105, with AK74 AKM AKMS etc. rumored to be next, I imagine they will be soon as it has been long rumored to be the next step for kalash.

feel - The rifle is a vfc clone, the vfc has a much nicer external finish, more realistic to the real steel, but I am told they are no longer using this finish, this kalash on the other hand, is a matt black finish. The steel underneath has some visible roughness to it, not a smooth surface, the old models, you could tell the steel from the pot metal by the smoothness of the metal, the pot metal smoother, the steel, a rougher casting, perhaps this will improve, though it is not noticible it may be part and parcel of kalash's casting set up.

The gun is ROCK solid, its got great weight but seriously, feels hard as nails.
The grips are beautiful, the latest full steel models also have laminated furniture, as they do on the real model. This wood is something else, the laminations are vertical on the sides, and horizontal on the bottom, with a beautiful grain visible where the grip curves and rises, these grips are very very strong, and I can see why they were used on the real gun.
The grips wedge into the receiver very solidly, using the same locking system as the real thing, will post pics soon. The pistol grip has no play at all.

internals - I voided the warranty asap having barely fired a shot to test my fps. The kalash series of rifles sometimes had better or worse internals, going by production run, with later ones having better internals. This aeg being the newest model has all the best parts, the gears are xyt clone gears, and are very reliable, it has bearing bushings, 7mm, and a bearing spring guide. The gearbox seems well shimmed, and as a vfc clone, it uses a car type fuse rather than a tube type. The wiring seems to be good quality.

Barrel looks to be a 6.04, was nice and clean from the box, and I imagine would be accurate enough, with the decent hop it came with.

Unfortunately, I cant comment on rof, accuracy or the hop performance up as I immediately installed a 6.03 barrel, madbull hop and a mosfet system. But having said that, the hop rubber itself seemed adequate, well formed and seated well, with a well formed hop nub, the hop adjustment lever holds its position firmly.

construction - The aeg uses the VFC style of construction, not TM, and is much more realistic. The barrel is pinned to the receiver into a trunnion, the rear sight block pinned to the barrel, and fore grips held on by quick release levers. The front sight and gas tube are pinned to the barrel, and the flach hider is a 24mm cw type, on a 14mm ccw adaptor. Front sight is adjustable left and right as per real steel.
The stock hinge mechanism is rock solid, made of steel, and is held firmly in open or closed position, no wobble at all.

It comes with an AK type side rail, fitted to the side, very solidly.

*The outer barrel is aluminium, its very thick and strong, so I imagine the logic is that a steel one wouldn't sit well with authorities in some countries.

overall - The weight and feel of the rifle are its first selling points, there is no flex or even impression that it would flex, the construction type is very very solid and was very hard to take apart.
The wooden grips are beautiful, and well made, very solid and the laminations look fantastic, the steel stock is firm, very definite when positioned.
The whole aeg feels solid, and shoulders as nicely as a fixed stock. it has a 500mm barrel so you can imagine accuracy performance, the barrel is seated very firmly against the gearbox and held very firmly by the outer barrel, the tightbore had to be tapped down into the outer barrel to get it in!

Definitely reccomended as a cheap version of the VFC, but I can understand the selling points of a VFC now more clearly having tinkered with its clone, and may end up getting one yet. For now though, on a budget, this is the best aks74 clone you can get.

One issue though, Kalash in their wisdom, have made their mags and mag catch different to standard, there mag catch is longer, to suit a shorter catch on the magazine. To use standard AK type magazine, the mag catch needs approx 1mm filed off it, to allow standard mags to seat.