MAK-90

The weather in SE PA has been rainy for almost a week, but I didn't let that stop me from going to the range yesterday with my Norinco MAK-90.

The MAK-90 is an AK variant imported from China from 1990 through 1994.  Following the elder Bush's import ban in 1989, the Chinese came up with an AK which met the more strictly-construed "sporting purposes" clause.  The result was basically an AK with a wood thumbhole stock and no bayonet lug.  IIRC, around a million MAK-90s were imported in the 90s.

The thumbhole stock isn't bad for righties but I am left handed.  So, in accordance with 18 USC 922(r), I "debanned" the rifle after I bought it.  To do so, I replaced the furniture with a Tapco T6 stock, SAW grip, and Galil-style handguard.  After having the Tapco handguard on the rifle for a couple of years but never being happy with it, I replaced it a few months ago with a K-Var US-made upper and lower Bulgarian-style handguard set, which includes a steel heat shield.  The result is much more satisfactory.  It looks better, is more robust, and provides much better thermal protection.

In addition to replacing the furniture, I replaced the fire control group with US-made parts in the form of a Tapco G2 kit.  The Chinese FCG gave a nice smooth and light trigger pull, but I needed 3 more US parts to make the rifle 922(r) compliant.  I have G2 FCGs in two rifles and they work very well.

Anyway, I think I'd only had the MAK-90 to the range once or twice since debanning it.  So, I packed it along with some Wolf Military Classic 7.62x39 and headed down to the Southern Chester County Sportsman's & Farmers Association.

The outdoor ranges at SCCSFA are covered, primarily for noise abatement, but because of their arrangement vis-a-vis prevailing winds, they also keep you dry if it's raining.  With some good rain gear you can stay pretty dry when it's time to post or change targets.

As expected the MAK-90 ran fine, especially since my round count was low and I shot in 5 round strings.  My main goal for yesterday was to fine tune the 100 yard zero, so that point of aim and point of impact coincide.  This will allow me to take advantage of the rear sight elevation graduations for ranges past 100 yards.

One thing I noticed yesterday was that the MAK-90 has a lot more muzzle movement during firing than my Arsenal SLR-101SG, which has a good muzzle brake.  With the Arsenal I can easily deliver rapid aimed fire.  With the MAK-90 and it's slant brake, which is designed for right handed shooters, not so much.  So last night I placed an order with Cope's Distributing for an AK-74 style brake.  The AK-74 brake should not only reduce the already mild recoil, but also keep muzzle flip to a minimum.  I used to own a Saiga in 7.62x39 with such a brake and it worked well.  (Interestingly, my SAR-1 with a bare muzzle seems to jump around less than the MAK-90.)

Once I've mounted the new brake and get the change to test fire the MAK-90, I'll post a follow up range report.