Following another round of sanctions, demand for Russian-made firearms like the AK-47 rifle has picked up in recent days.

The U.S. and European nations have imposed economic sanctions targeting Russian companies over the country�s role in backing separatists that are fighting the Ukraine government. Additional penalties could be handed down in response to the downing of a Malaysia Airlines flight late last week. Federal officials believe the jet was shot down by a surface-to-air missile fired by rebels in eastern Ukraine.

The sanctions unveiled on Wednesday include Kalashnikov Concern, the maker of AK-47s and Saiga firearms. American companies are now prohibited from having Kalashnikov products imported into the U.S.

According to the Treasury Department, new transactions with Kalashnikov would violate the sanction, while current AK-47 owners can keep or resell Kalashnikov products. The Treasury also said distributors with an inventory of Kalashnikov firearms that aren�t fully paid for should contact the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Impact Guns, which operates two stores in Utah and one in Idaho, has limited or no stock of several Kalashnikov models online. A Saiga AK-47 and AK-74 made by Arsenal, a Las Vegas-based company that modifies guns imported from Russia, are listed as out of stock. The AK-74 uses a smaller caliber than its older sibling.

Craig Ball, director of operations at Impact Guns, said the stores have seen increased interest from buyers looking for AK-47s over the last few days. Gun stores typically don�t keep many AKs in the pipeline, he added.

�Then something like this happens, and the supply dries up,� Ball explained.

Quick on the Draw

Impact Guns reached out to distributors as soon as news of the sanctions on Kalashnikov broke, but most distributors have stopped taking orders.

�Some were quicker on the draw than others,� Ball said.

Atlantic Firearms, a Bishopville, Md.-based distributor that specializes in AK-47s, is telling customers that many of its Russian firearms are unavailable.

�Due to recent import restrictions, we have had a run on our supply of Russian manufactured firearms. We are currently SOLD OUT of the Russian AK47 CAK-132 Wood as of 7/17/14. We are working with our importer to try and acquire what we can but are expecting price increases,� Atlantic Firearms said in a message on one product page.

A similar note appears on Atlantic Firearms� product page for the Saiga IZ240 AK-74, Saiga-12 IZ109 and other models.

K-Var, one of the primary distributors for importer FIME Group, lists multiple versions of the AK-47 and Saiga-12 shotgun as out of stock.

�The products of Kalashnikov enjoy great demand in the United States,� Kalashnikov, which is named after AK-47 designer Mikhail Kalashnikov, said in a statement published on the company�s website. �Preorders on civilian products are three times the annual volume of deliveries. Thus, the sanctions taken against Kalashnikov go against the interests of American consumers.�

Considering the import ban, some buyers may be looking to make an investment in AK-47s and other Russian firearms. Ball noted how Chinese versions of the AK-47 became rare commodities and went up in value when shipments to the U.S. were banned.

�A lot of people are looking down the road,� Ball said when asked about a possible jump in AK-47 prices.

I guess they will have to buy a rifle that actually hits what it's aimed at now...

Elections matter.

No they don't.

I've read right here that there was absolutely no difference between Obama and McCain or Obama and Romney. I read right here that a dead cat would be just fine. You must be mistaken about that election thing.

Light in the darkness. Maybe the dark market in AKs will take some of the pressure off .22 rimfire ammo. But I wonder if Wolf and Tula ammo and components will be affected as well.

so a republican wouldn't be putting sanctions on Russia right now?

Not at all sure a Romney admin would have this problem to deal with. Sort of think relations would have been a bit different with competency in the White House.

so you believe Romney would have kept Russian separatists from going ape [bleep] over the Ukranian leadership choosing to go with an EU partnership over a Russian one, preventing the Crimea region from being annexed by Russia and ultimately not shooting down a commercial airliner.

Romney had that power?

HAHAHA!!! EXACTLY!!!!

You think Zero hasn't completely F'd up international relations, totally and completely for the worse?

With any luck at all....

Nonsense, you can hit a barn with it, as long as you're inside the barn...

There are at least a couple of US companies making AK's. The one I have will do about ~3 MOA with a cold barrel. I'be be interested in a milled AK just to see if the stiffer reeciver worked better, but I'm not gonna pay $1K+ for one of them.

Rock River announced a AR that takes AK mags some months ago, but I've never seen one for sale. Maybe they'll get off the stick now.

We've had Hillary Klinton and John Kerry as Sec of State. Romney and McCain could have done better.

yes, I believe Obama has hurt us

but that doesn't answer my question about Romney stopping the annexation of Crimea

heck, the Bulgarian AKs are better anyway. I'm hanging onto my old Arsenal SA93

It doesn't matter what Romney "would have done". Nothing could matter less.

Any speculation on that, or any other subject is mute.

What DOES matter is that we never, ever, ever have another POS like we have now in office, or top government officials to do his bidding.

Time to work toward something that has a smidgen of preventative action for future mistakes, not speculate what might have been...

GI, can onry own AK if tark funny.

Rove,

Dragon Rady

EVERYTHING would be different. Our entire world relationship as rebuilt and maintained with President Romney would look little if anything like what it is under Obama. And I do mean under. The situation in the Ukrain is not a static occurance bound to have happened regardless of what else is/was going on in the world. It is the result of dynamic relationships. Separtist ideology would certainly have been present but any action to mobilize it as it has been of late would have been subject to pressures from established relationships between world nations. For all I know Putin could have had such a grand relationship with Romney that he would have converted to Mormanism by now. But of this I am sure; with President Romney our relationship with Russia and President Putin would have been less adversarial and quite possibly more amicable than the lack of relationship that exists now. Obama not only has destroyed our relationships with allies and potential allies, propped up radical muslim revolts with our money and blood, and caused the U.S. to be less respected in the world, he has also established a strong veil of confusion about what the hell the United States really is and what it will do next. To imagine events of late would have occured with a different President exactly as they have with this sorry excuse for a president is short-sighted to say the least.

had anyone but the kenyan running American foreign policy, America's power and influence would not have deteriorated to the point where Putin and his commie thugs would have attempted to do what he is doing now.

I beg to differ. Matters would be a whole lot different re many domestic and foreign issues had Romney been elected.

There is no way that his agenda would have been the same as Obamas.

Dummy, don't you know Romney is a half black muzzy commie congenital lying pos sob?

It's great fun to poke fun at an a.k., except very few have ever SHOT a a.k. What they have experienced is a kit gun put together by some importer, or builder here. And the quality is directly dependent on who that was. Few years ago i had the chance to fire a kvar a.k. with a replaced trigger job, next to a stag arms ar15a4. At 100 yards they were pretty darn close in that i call it minute of chest. The stag was the better shooter, on a bench, but the a.k. will run in the mud. Neither one of them are exactly a battle rifle at long distances nor were they intended to be. The genius of the A.K. is it's ability to run under crud circumstances. Remember the garand and it was not typically as issued a sub moa rifle as issued.
They both have their charms.
And, I DO remember those chinese rifles and what they USE to cost, vs. now. Same as with another rifle people like to poke fun at the S.K.S. Remember them at 70bucks or less? Try a price on a russian S.K.S. these days. To each his own, but the poodleshooter isn't the end to end all.

It's easy to poke fun at AKs. They are a POS mostly. That I am alive today is testimony to their POSness.

I respect that Dan, but on the other hand a good friend of mine that was at Hue during tet to this day cusses the m16. His heart belongs to a m14.

I've never wanted an AK and still don't want one. I don't care much for my AR either. I'm sure that they have their purpose, I can just get along without either. I'm more of an Marlin 336 type I guess. Wish I had bought a couple of good Marlin Texans rather than the AR...

I don't think that banning importation of AK's is going to hurt Russia much. I think it was a shot taken at American shooters by an administration that hasn't had much luck with its gun control legislation and the excuse used is that it was a sanction against Russia.

i agree on the 14 being good. But I prefer the 16 platform.
And I own a milled polytech match 47 that is minute of 5 gallon bucket at 200 which sucks IMHO. Especially since I've seen as many jams with the 14 as 16. And I've rarely seen a 16 that's worse than moa. The 16 had faults early but not many today

Ron, not here to debate relative merits of different platforms around the planet. It is a discussion that won't be settled anytime soon. I recognize the influence of the AK around the world but its utility goes to a couple of very narrow advantages. It is cheap to produce and simple to operate. Classic path to arming third world countries IMO.

In context of past mass production and not that of current day boutique builders, it is inaccurate on the best of days. Acceptable dispersion for Soviet production is approximately twice that of the U.S. Milspec standard. The 7x39 round is demonstrably inferior in a great many regards. In times past the standard production for bullets was a copper jacket over steel core. It had poor ballistic characteristics and despite the steel core was quite challenged to penetrate much of anything. That observation comes from personal experience in the field. Don't know what standard issue is made of these days so that may be little more than a historical anecdote.

So, to the point. Blocking import of the AK may be the best thing to come down the pipe in awhile so far as I'm concerned. Buying American made has more advantages than a lot of folks realize in context of this discussion.

Let those of simple minds panic as far as I'm concerned.

Yup, never wanted one of those pieces of sh*t, or an SKS, mostly because of where they came from and who used them.

Understand that, but only one question. Coming from my side of the fence as a long time military gun collector. I guess you would feel the same about a lot of the american made bolt action rifles based upon the mauser action, given who used them in a couple of wars. And to who we as a country had to pay money for patent infringement?

Here's hoping that this latest BS craze pulls some of the leaches off the .22 ammo tit.

I've had a few of them, but always got rid of them pretty quick. IMHO, they're only fit to be used as boat anchors.

am not seeing much of a "panic" prices across the board are staying pretty static.
ammo is where the movement is.

Russia is one of the smaller exporters of AK's. The Bulgarian AK's are the absolute equal of the Russian rifles and generally around the same price. We still get a lot from Romania, and while not as pretty, they're still good rifles.

What I'll miss is the cheap plinkin ammo.

Politically, this has absolutely nothing to do with punishing Russia and/or Putin, it is all about the liberal gun control agenda, a way for Obummer to jab a stick in the eye of American gun enthusiasts.

That is correct.

Knock the first one down and take his weapons/ammo.

I think you would be guessing wrong. Quality is where you find it. Kalashnikov designed something that borrowed on a German design(SIG-44)in the field during WW2. No foul there as far as I'm concerned. My view is based purely on the AK and its performance. I do not give it good marks. I don't give a flip who built it or why, nor do I care about other platforms in other wars, who used what or much of anything else in that sense. Not sure what patents have to do with the conversation regardless.


Let the masses panic I say. It will do them good.

Dan


PS: I hated the -14 in boot. Holding it to your front with extended arms blows.

Absolutely, this is just opportunistic. Sales of rifles and ammo isn't enough that Russia will even notice, let alone make a change in what they do.

The AK has more influence from the M1 Garand than the MP-44. The MP-44 uses a tilting bolt, where the AK is a rotating bolt like the Garand. The AK trigger group is pure Garand. The gas system / recoil spring arrangement is Garand turned upside down.

The overall exterior package shows some influence of the MP-44, no doubt there. But inside, it's all Garand.

I gave in to the panic! sold my AK for a 250.00 profit and bought a 189G with the money. giggle!
much rather have the guide gun.

I bought mine a while back; mostly just out of mechanical curiosity. Being a US-made model there was no political guilt with it. Out of a couple hundred rounds it has jammed (FTE) exactly once. Accuracy is sorta iffy, as mentioned.

They are a convenient place to insert AK magazines, loaded with 7.62x39 ammo. Other than that feature, lots of things will outshoot them. And probably run just as reliably, for not much more money.

I sold my Russian SGL-20 for twice what I paid for it...and I thought I paid too much. The kids miss shooting the AK, so I'll get another one at some point just for the kids to have fun with.

What I do like about AK's.

They don't care which magazine you use (green follower, PMAG, orange follower, etc).
You don't have to have "M-4" feed ramps
You don't have to have a properly staked bolt carrier
You don't have to have the o-ring under the extractor
You don't have to have this or that spring guide
You don't have to worry about what your barrel twist is


It's just load, bang, repeat. They're fun.

Didn't someone once say that you can't miss fast enough to win a gunfight though?

That sounds a lot like a S&W wheelgun except for the mag thing.

And bolts staked to crosses and O-rings and twisted sisters.

couple of weeks ago, 1000round case of 7.62x39 hollowpoints for two hundred dollars here in arizona.

aw kevin, you have been looking. And you can say it also resembles thus the m1carbine, the ruger mini 14 which came later.
My personal belief is that oz NEVER wanted those systems sold here because of that trigger group.
the russians are kind of like the japanese in a way, they can copy stuff pretty darn good. Crude, but good. Look at the makarov pistol and tell me where that puppy's father came from.
The biggest deficiency in my book on the A.K. are the 30's vintage sight systems. They do not lend themselves well to optics which makes all the world of difference in todays world.
But I got to tell you a A.K.74 with that russian military ammo, is in another category.

The only country that i haven't been able to stomach in collecting is italy. The rest is fair game.
I hear a lot of crud about a russian mosin nagant too, until you get a chance to shoot a finnish version, which is comparable to a swedish mauser or a schmidt rubin, which at one time you could buy for about 70bucks. One of the better deals i have ever found.
The schmidt rubin that is.
They all have their charms.
I have fired select fire m14's in the squad configeration. Front grip etc.Difficult for me because in prone my fat belly interfers.
I like the m1A too, particularly in the 20inch version with the pic rail, not the socom.
My heart truely belongs to the M1Garand.
But I will repeat, with a kvar build a.k., the group at 100yards was not that much bigger than a stag ar15, which in a lot of respects IS a better rifle. One or two or three inch groups is not the only determining factor.

another little tidbit off topic. Friend of mine and i were having a conversation a few years ago, he was chief brand inspector for the state. Discussion of what cattle poachers/rustlers seemed to be using. Mostly finding 7.62x39 casing at the scene of the evil deed.
Mostly we thought from cheap s.k.s. rifles, which seem to be the weapon of choice for killing two hundred year old cactus in the desert.

The only country that i haven't been able to stomach in collecting is italy.
aw come on! what no carcano's with the fantastic gain twist in your safe? have played with one or two. million dollar round in a fifty cent gun.