The Lil’ Terror: The AK Pistol

The AK Pistol. The chopped down version of Kalashnikov’s masterpiece. This particular weapon shown above is a slightly modified Romanian “Mini-Draco” AK-47 in 7.62×39. This model has a 7″ Barrel and is 19″ Overall and weighs in at around 5lbs. This model is not to be confused with the standard “Draco” which has a 11.5″ Barrel and is around 22″ Overall. These guns are unique in that they are imported “as-is” from the Cugir factory (from CAI) in Romania..they are not “frankenfish” AK’s built from 30 year old parts kits or monkey assembled POS’s that Century is known for. I must say I was pleasantly surprised when I received mine..the fit/finish was great, almost no tooling marks on the receiver or mag well. All my magazines fit great, which is a rare thing with most Century guns, typically, they accept steel mags but not Circle 10’s or Palm mags (without some file or dremmel work) this one accepted them all, no problem. The trigger is standard Romanian, typically on most imported AK Rifles, they install a Tapco G2 to make it BATF 922r compliant, not the case on pistols. The rear sight is marked out to 500m, which is a little more than a 7″ barrel is capable. In my field trials, I found 200 yards about the maximum effective range I could put solid combat effective hits on target. Lastly, the muzzle nut is spot welded on, which I found a bit puzzling, but not to worry, that is an easy fix.

The few Modifications I did when I got it were to replace the standard pistol grip with a more ergonomic one..I chose the ATI Israeli Grip, which next to the US Palm grip, I find the most comfortable. I also replaced the spot welded muzzle nut, which involved some dremmel work (NOTE: If you are going to work on your own guns, which I highly recommend, go out and buy yourself a decent dremmel tool, punch set and gunsmith hammer.. you can do a hundred jobs with these (especially on AK’s)  and they pay for themselves with one job). Once you cut through the spot weld, you will need a pair of channel locks to remove that muzzle nut, it takes some elbow grease, but it will come off.

I also installed an AK-74 “Bell” Brake to give the gun a Krinkov look, which I favor, but the muzzle brake or flashider options are endless, since it is a 14mm thread. I also installed a Krebs Trigger retainer plate which replaces the stock shepards hook. I do this on all my AK’s, it is like a $10 part that can save you a lot of trouble in the field..most AK problems are an easy fix, a trigger problem however, will put your gun down until you can get it in the shop, replacing the shepards hook (which is the part of the trigger that has the most tension on it and will break) drastically reduces your odds that this will happen. Lastly, I stained the bare wood hand guard a Russian Ironwood color, which same out nice red tone after a few coats of tung oil.

Future mods will include installing a sling swivel for a one point sling, opening up the rear sight for a better sight picture and doing a Parkerized/Norrels Moly-Resin Finish on the receiver. I intend to keep this gun minimalist, doing a cursory search on You Tube will show the opposite philosophy, installing Quad Rails and Red Dots,  doubling the weight of the gun and turning it into a brick…ughhh.

Since we must first look at weapons as tools, we must ask ourselves: Where does this weapon fit into the CO’s arsenal? What can I do with this weapon that I could not do with others? To answer these questions we need to look at the three perks that are most obvious on the AK Pistol:

1. Concealability
2. Magazine Capacity
3. Caliber

You could take this gun anywhere concealed and it would not be a problem. I can fit mine along with 3 mags in a standard field backpack.This would also make an excellent vehicle gun. It would be easy to maneuver in tight confines and still give you the range and firepower for 100 yd engagements. You would not have to sacrifice magazine capacity and you would not have to settle for a pistol caliber (typically a 9mm variant). Basically, you would have everything an AK rifle would offer you minus the 300-400 yd range. Looking back to history, the Russian design of the Krinkov and Suchka were purely CQ weapons, designed for 50-100yd engagements, although as stated before, 200yds shots are possible with these guns.

So where in the “5 Gun Theory” does this weapon fit? I think the AK pistol compliments the CO’s armory very well and fills a niche that the Standard size AK cannot in that it can go places concealed and is quick to deploy. Thusly, it is more of a “Niche” gun and not a “necessity” gun. To add to this, I would also have in my armory, short “full size” folding stock AK’s like an AMD-65 and an Arsenal 107-CR Krinkov.

The only other upgrade would be to turn the AK Pistol into a SBR, but after much thought and discussion with some folks who are smarter than me with AK’s, I have been advised not to do that, the simple reason is the quality of the receiver..if you want a true Suchka or Krinkov, pony up and have it built from a kit correctly by a quality smith like Jim Fuller. Yeah, it will cost you, but you will have a go-to dependable AK you can pass on to your kids or significant others.