AK Sponsor
Posted: 6/17/2006 11:07:26 AM EDT
|
I'm such a dingus. Jimmy Streetman emailed me and told me what the deal is. Sometimes the mag catch can be just a tiny bit too long. The detent on the mag itself is filed down like a micron or some small amount, just so the mag's finish is gone, and now it fits fine. (Amazingly, Jimmy said that the warranty would not be affected if I had wanted to file the rifle a TINY amount.) I was used to the old Romanian ak's in which the mags played around all over the place. With the SSR85C2, the receiver was designed to be milspec, which means the mags won't have the play I was used to. Now that this one prob is solved, I am all over this weapon. hiscompromise between strength, weight, and cost, 2) the heavy chrome lined hammer forged barrel, 3) double hook trigger. The Armory USA SSR85C2 has all of these, and the price is NOT as high as a comparable condition Norinco 56. Plus, there are a lot of talented Arsenal-of-Bulgaria-trained folks back in AK country (Bulgaria) making this thing, and Armory USA's head designer Mr. Kolev comes from Arsenal of Bulgaria. In addition, a) the firing pin is a non-springed flat bar that allows dirt and grime to pass thru maintaining reliability, b) parts compatibility still exists between it and most stamped AKMs (much more common than milled), c) the finish is a military parkerized that does NOT interfere with sight adjustments or tolerances like some other manufacturer's paints etc can, d) sighting: mine was printing tight but low groups, so adjust the sights and this rifles accuracy limit is better than I am able to shoot it in a situation where I "need" it (true for more people than would care to admit), e) the price/quality ratio is superb IMHO, making this a shooter's rifle, and f) Armory USA is just a fantastic company to deal with, and Jimmy has to be one of the most respectable folks I have been privileged to deal with in the AK community. And like Toyota, Mr. Streetman's company does seem to be keeping its eye on the future, always developing, trying to find ways of improving customer product. These are testaments to this rifle's worth taking a chance on. I did, and I will PROBABLY be buying more. I say probably because there is an un-substantiated rumor floating around that Armory will be introducing a milled receiver rifle sometime in the future. If it is a milled receiver AK using the same Bulgarian military AK47 rifles as the SSR85C2, then my bank account is in serious trouble! That would be the absolute closest thing available to a type III we'll ever see... I've seen a couple of posts complaining about quality issues or whatever. To me, it seems suspiciously like the probs Toyota is facing. People will buy a Toyota, and then NEVER change the oil or do any maintenance whatsoever thinking "well, it's a toyota so i don't have to do anything". At 23,000 miles, when the engine finally explodes, people rant and rave about Toyota's falling quality. It seems the same with these Armory USAs. The customer's expectations are so ridiculous, that nothing can possibly meet them. But you know what? If their owners can prove they changed the oil ONCE in the last year, Toyota will give them a new engine. This is how I see Jimmy at Armory USA. Going way above and beyond what he probably 'should' in an ideal world. Of course, in a society that protects too many people from their own stupidity, 'should' can mean many things. But reading the few posts from people who have had probs with his rifles tells me the 'probs' may lie with something other than the rifle. These things are the $tuff!! The one good thing about a few people badmouthing the SSR85C2s is that there are more for me, and the supply demand curve stays skewed to the supply side, which means prices don't do the Arsenal, Inc. dance. I plan on throwing a layer of GunKote on this rifle and putting a more comfortable stock on it - all less than $100 total. At just over $500 from Atlantic Firearms (another great company) and the $100 to 'finish' it up, this thing is the best deal going. |
|
Ssssswwweeeeeeeet!! heyvery good luck with Blaine at Atlantic Firearms. So I'm gonna get me another one for now, wood stock this time, and go from there. I'm working to find heavy type III shaped stocks for this, and once I see if they will work, I might end up going on a real spending frenzy. he I can't help but feel like I'm in on some great secret here with these SSR rifles... |
|
Thanks for the heads up thermocafe! I ground down the mag that came with my SSR-85C and sure enough, problem solved. I shot this rife at league on Friday and had some people checking her out. Or was it that they were intrigued by the surefire light i had duct taped to the fore grip??? hear Great rifle. |
Picture of thermocafe's rifle with the Made in Bulgaria markings could be one reason.  Could be because Arsenal USA states the SSR-85C-2 is Made in Bulgaria?
|
| I know the SSR85C2 is Bulgarian, that is not what I meant by the question- basically it sounded like magazines didn't fit then five paragraphs about figuring out that using a file on the catch would fix it plus some amazing qualities etc. Just not sure why this whole thing got started here in the Bulgarian forum when it sounds more like a gunsmithing issue or QC issue. |
AK Sponsor