The above picture shows a Serbian Zastava PAP 92 AK pistol imported by Century Arms International with a Century SB-47 Stabilizing Brace and Midwest Industries handguard. I put it together for a friend last weekend. He also bought an MWI flash hider, but forgot to purchase the spring, detent and pin needed to hold it in place, so that's coming. I'll grind off a small spot weld and install the parts soon.
Whether legal or not, shouldering the pistol offers just about the same head position as the rifle, with my nose touching the rear of the receiver. The gun is built really well, with all internals shiny, and not a lot of tool marks. Certainly prettier than the guts of my Egyptian Maadi, which is pretty rough.
The original upper and lower handguards on the PAP were nicely shaped blonde wood, and removal was straightforward. Some AK parts are a real bear to remove. The MWI replacement forend was typical of that company, made very well, and came with instructions that were fine. The assembly was easy, with the lower part held in place only by a saddle that clamped around the barrel, and two set screws to keep it from rotating. The upper part is held to the bottom by 4 screws. This is not the most rugged way to put a forend on a rifle, certainly not capable of withstanding lots of abuse, but it does the job in this case, providing rails for accessories and optics. It looks good and feels good. Heavy optics and stuff may certainly turn the whole assembly to one side or the other. It is not locked at all, but just clamped.
The Century Arm Brace goes on simply enough, but again, is not rugged enough for any serious use, and just like the handguard, lessens the integral strength of the whole original unit. To install, loosen the pistol grip screw, insert the fork-like appendage between the receiver and the grip, and retighten. So all that is holding it on is the pressure of being sandwiched between two parts. I know some people drill and tap another hole through the brace's metal plate and tap the bottom of the receiver for another screw to more surely capture and prevent the brace from sliding backwards.
These modifications make the pistol less strong than the factory pistol, but it is eminently useable, and that extra strength probably doesn't matter to most folks. What ever floats your boat. The gun with the mods feels great and is fast as lightning.
Egyptian Maadi AK47 with Hogue foreend and ATI grip with Docter MRD and prototype OPMOD sling
My Maadi rifle is a full size gun, and one of the few mods I've done to it is replace the foreend with a Hogue product that is a direct replacement to original equipment, and is captured on the gun the same way. It will not and cannot move. Plus, it has the sticky Hogue overmolded rubber texture that I love. It comes with two top rails, one with a permanently attached pic rail on top, and one without. It also comes with two short rail pieces; one for either side, and a longer one for the bottom. My pistol grip is a Scorpion from ATI. I like this grip because it's larger and fills the hand better. There's nothing to break or loosen or move in any way on this gun. I currently have a Docter sight on it that I've been abusing for years.
I like 30 caliber cartridges a lot more than .22 centerfires for defensive guns. AKs are brutally stubborn and always go bang, no matter what country they are born in.
Both these guns are a blast to shoot and easy to maintain.
Hope your season is going well.
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