DBoys/Kalash AKS-74 review

Renagade · Posted: Mon May 11, 2009 2:59 am Post subject: DBoys/Kalash AKS-74 review

Provided By: www.rsov.com (I bought it there, this item was NOT donated to me)
Author: Randal Tugwell

Specs:

Model: AKS-74
Manufacturer: DBoys/Kalash
Battery: 8.4v stick, or 9.6v stick battery.

Cost:
US: 175.00 Plus shipping (For the wood and potmetal version)
RSOV: $110.49 plus shipping (For wood and steel version)

Features:

Externals:
This stuff is great, stock folding button takes some effort to push, so you won't release the stock on accident. It locks into both the open and closed positions easily and doesn't jiggle when in use.

The fake bolt, this is more impressive than the TM style, it's a clone of the VFC system, and is alot closer to the real thing. Pulling the charging handle back and releasing it gives a satisfying metal on metal sound.

All the metal expect for the outer barrel is steel, it's not the strongest steel out there, but it's not the cheapest either. The outer barrel is made of aluminum, but with the finish on the replica, you can't really tell anyways.

Selector, my goodness, this is so much nicer than my old E1 AK, TM, or ICS. It is simply awesome and I'm glad they cloned the VFC design here as well.

The sights, being standard AK sights, are somewhat lacking, but I was able to adjust them to what I think should be my accurate maximum range. The rear sight seems to have picked up some rust on it's stay at the RSOV factory.

Mag compatibility, it should be able to take VFC, and MAG midcaps without modification, ICS mags require some dremel work to get them to lock in place.

The wood has a beautifully rich red color, most likely due to the stain they used.

The pistol grip is made of high quality polymers and is on par with CA and VFC grips.

The sad import issue, mine came with a HIDEOUS Orange tip the size of texas on it.

Another problem, my top cover was slightly too short, this issue was fixed by simply placing some tape over the front part of the top cover, and locking it into place.

Mechbox:
It's sporting 7mm bearing bushings, and a metal spring guide, that's all I can tell without opening it. I intend to not open the mechbox until something goes wrong, I've got a bad habit of opening up a mechbox when I don't need to.

The day I got it it chrono'd at 404 FPS with the hop-up off. Chrono'd at 390 with the hop-up off the other day, this is after I've put some rounds thru it at my indoor range, so I expected as much.

Okay, after using this thing on the 9th with great success, I am rather pleased with it.

Pros-
The high FPS helped with range, it was nice to be able to hit people at longer ranges again.
The stock didn't fail at all yesterday, still just as sturdy as the first day I got it.
It's a tough gun, I bashed it around in the woods pretty well yesterday.
It is easy to use even thou it's a longer gun, I found it was perfect for the close in type fighting, and the long range stuff.

Cons-
It isn't the most accurate of replicas, I think this is due to the fact RSOV sprayed orange paint into the stock barrel, and the fact that it... Has a stock barrel.
It doesn't feed well with the ICS mag, it seems I need to dremel the Mag some more to get it to feed properly.

Did some more testing last night after doing some dremel work on the ICS mag.

Seems my ROF is just too fast for Hi-caps. They work fine with short bursts, but it looks like I'm in dire need of some midcaps. Damn you, 9.6v battery! Wink