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Posted: 3/22/2010 5:01:54 PM EDT
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I bought a draco ak pistol and liked it so well I bought another one just to have as an investment.
I've read in the ak handgun forum that a couple of guys had problems with theirs-should I fire this just to make sure it's good, or are the chances good that its ok and I can keep it nib for future value. |
My first Draco (and first AK for that matter) arrives tomorrow so take this advice with a grain of salt.  If you're interested in this firearm as an investment, "never been fired" typically sells for more than "fired one magazine to ensure proper functioning." I think a careful, thorough inspection and multiple hand-cycling (slow and gentle as well as rapid and vigorous) should give you a pretty good idea of functionality. If you have the dreaded cant issue, the careful inspection should reveal it. If you have a bad rivet job or piston issues, if the careful inspection doesn't reveal it, then the hand-cycling will most likely reveal it on either the slow or fast cycling. It seems fairly unlikely to me that any problems it may have that would exhibit themselves during firing would not be revealed by the above procedure. |
| As Narsll said, a careful inspection should reveal construction quality issues and hand cycling should give an indication of how the parts move but you can never know if it will cycle properly w/o jams, etc unless you fire it. I don't know what the Romanian factory does but the Saigas are all fired before release so there is no such thing as a "NIB, Never Fired" Saiga. Personally, I would want to know about the functionality of the gun before I put it away for the future. Will these ever be collector pieces? Who knows but I don't think a few rnds fired to insure proper function would make much of a difference to me. I have a post-war M1 Garand ('55) and my Dad's bring-back '43 M1 Carbine that are mostly collector pieces but I do fire them from time to time. Neither of these rifles are NIB and I enjoy taking them to the range periodically. A few rnds fired through them once every year or couple won't make much of a difference and ensures periodic inspection, cleaning and lube. |
| Yes they certainly are and I personally don't see how anyone could own one and put it away unfired. It would eat me up alive. BUT I am no collector. I am a user. If I dont use it then it finds a new home. I have 2 AK pistols, one of which is a Draco. The other one really only differs because it has a longer barrel. To this day I have never put one on paper out past 50 yards but at 50 they are extremely accurate.I have heard from others of certain issues suchas some with canted sights. But I personally have experienced none. They are just like any other firearm. I just shot a friends H&K 40 usp over the weekend and was very dissapointed. For what that gun cost I shot circles around it with my G22. And I let him shoot my glock and he had the same results. All this aside, I dont care who made it or where it came from no firearm is above having issues. And this applies no matter what the cost. Mechanical instruments are always subject to even minor variations that may or may not effect their performance. EXAMPLE : I have receintly talked to 4 different Draco owners and even though they were all measured the same way only 2 of them had the same barrel length. We have documented differences of up to half an inch in the extreme. Most were a quarter inch or less. Go Figure??? Glad you bought 2 so at least you can enjoy one of them. For the money they are a hard act to follow. Deals like Dracos dont come around very often , but when they do they never seem to last. From a collection stand point You will probably see the day that you can take the other one and make a few $$$$ off of it. Good luck with whatever you do with them. |
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