Hoppum Posted April 1, 2007 Report Share Posted April 1, 2007 I (finally) got round to skirmishing my VFC AKS-74n today, so I thought it'd be appropriate to put a review up seeing as no-one else has. Real Steel Information Our story begins in October of last year when WGCshop put the VFC AKS-74 up for pre-order. Being the proud owner of a VFC AKS-74Un I scraped my cash together and placed my order. December came and the AKS-74's where shipped. Mine however wasn't, I had decided to order the N version. The difference being that this version comes with a side mount, allowing you to mount Russian optics to your weapon (None of that EOtech or Aimpoint malarky here). Then January came, and my rifle was shipped. After a trip down to the Parcel-farce depot, my wallet was £90 lighter and I was the owner of a VFC AKS-74n. First Impressions: The parcel was your standard hongkong order green. However ripping it off unveiled this beauty. (Note: Sling is not included and the mag pictured is a G&P) The box had the standard delivery dents but the rifle arrived in perfect form. There was padding at each possible box/rifle contact point and a reassuring amount bubblewrap. Included are a VFC 120rnd midcap and the instructions, thats it, no free bb's or cleaning rod. Kitchen Commandoing: Lifting the rifle out of the box I couldn't help put feel smug. It is very nice to hold, the centre of gravity is just behind the fore grip and this makes for comfortable aiming. The build quality is great with no creaks or wobbles to be found anywhere. The only rattle comes from the rear sling point. My first test was to see what magazine loading was like (on my SU the mags take a fair tug to lock into place), thankfully this has been rectified, mags now slot smoothly into place. VFC (obviously), G&P and TM mags all fitted perfectly, although my Hero Arms Drum (designed for TM AK's) will not fit without filing. The AKS-74n, like the AKS-74Un, has the ability to accept up to and including 12v stick batteries, this is done by batteries being able to extend all the way into the fore grip. This system works well with no compromise to build quality. Obviously this wouldn't be an AKS without a folding stock. On the SU it took quite a whack to lock the stock into its folded position, this has now been sorted with the stock clicking comfortably into position. The side mount on the SU was slightly to small for RS optics. This has also been fixed, confirmed by users on Red-Alliance, allowing for useage of genuine optics without the need to mod anything. VFC have advertised these rifles as having the ability to interchange the wood grips for Real Steel wood with out modification. Sadly, I don't own any real steel wood to test this but I have heard of RS polymer grips being fitted with minor modification. The foregrip does however, come apart RS stylee. Flipping the take down lever by the rear sight upwards allows you to lift out 'gas tube' and upper grip. (Note: Also shown is how the inner barrel extends into the flash-hider) After this, you can then flip a lever at the front of the lower grip that allows the holder to slide forward so that you may remove the lower. The wood looks nice, is solid, fits well and serves its purpose, however I cant help but think that it doesnt look quite right compared to real steel (Click Me). If wood realism doesn't bother then its obviously not a problem, but if it does then it's some thing that needs changing. To fix a few of the flaws with AKS-74Un, VFC released a service pack. Wisely they decided to include these fixes with the AKS-74. These include a plastic block to hold the Hop-unit in place and modifications to the bolt to stop it from falling out/folding in. Like the SU the rifle has the quick removal design for the gearbox. Simply unscrew the bottom of the pistol grip and slide it off, unscrew the fire selector, remove the plastic block from infront of the Hop-unit and slide the unit forward. You can then just lift your gearbox out of the rifle. The whole process takes less than 2 minutes. Trades: Rear sight: Youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiSu_5a2u3Y Using a 9.6v battery. Skirmish Report: After taking the AKS-74n out for it's first skirmish I am very pleased with it. It's very comfortable to shoulder and maneuver with. Using my G&P midcaps the rifle fed perfectly all day with no misfires and only 1 double feed. The RoF is very impressive and allows you to hold your own. The hop, whilst not quite in TM's leagues, is still perfectly useable. I cannot give an entirely accurate opinion of it as it may still be bedding in and it was quite a windy day. The same goes for groupings. Conclusion: I'm really pleased with the AKS-74n, it looks and feels exceptional and unlike most good looking guns has the performance to back it up. So far I haven't found anything really wrong with it. There are a few few things that stop it from being perfect like the wood (imo) and the Hop (so far). The price may also put some off, £380 + p&p in the UK and £244 + p&p and possible customs charges from Hong Kong. + You can mount a bayonet... 9/10 - Highly reccomended. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ranger Stubbs Posted April 2, 2007 Report Share Posted April 2, 2007 Nice looking gun, but I'm very curious to see the quality of the internals of the gearbox. It'd be a serious consideration for a purchase for me, but reading the post on the VFC HK-416 has turned me off with buying that gun due to it's many reported internal problems. Let us know how this one looks inside as VFC seems to have fixed most of the AKSU's shortcomings and I'd love to see if they learned a lesson by not going cheap on the insides like they did with the 416. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Crunchy Bunny Posted April 2, 2007 Report Share Posted April 2, 2007 Beautiful weapon. And equelly nice review. is it much differnt than the AKSU? Besides what you noted. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
docs90 Posted April 2, 2007 Report Share Posted April 2, 2007 Nice review , id like to know what the fps is like out of the box before i were to buy though ,any ideas cheers steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fiach Posted April 2, 2007 Report Share Posted April 2, 2007 Nice review! I'm considering ordering this gun within the next few days. Good to know they've fixed the AKS-74U's problems Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hoppum Posted April 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2007 Nice looking gun, but I'm very curious to see the quality of the internals of the gearbox. It'd be a serious consideration for a purchase for me, but reading the post on the VFC HK-416 has turned me off with buying that gun due to it's many reported internal problems. Let us know how this one looks inside as VFC seems to have fixed most of the AKSU's shortcomings and I'd love to see if they learned a lesson by not going cheap on the insides like they did with the 416. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I use the policy of 'if it aint broke, don't fix it' so I won't be going anywhere near the gearbox unless goes wrong. If the AKS-74Un's anything to go by, that won't be for a long time. I believe most of the HK416's problems are related to it using a V2 gearbox. Beautiful weapon. And equelly nice review. is it much differnt than the AKSU? Besides what you noted. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> How do you mean? Nice review , id like to know what the fps is like out of the box before i were to buy though, any ideas cheers steve <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Have a look at WGCshop's Youtube video Shows the FPS at the end, averages at about 310. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AK74M545 Posted April 2, 2007 Report Share Posted April 2, 2007 its either this, or the ak74. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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