Krebs Custom AK 103K Review

I've shot a lot of AKs in my day and (as long as they're properly assembled) they're all great rifles. From my $400 WASRs to this AK-103K, they do what they were designed to do––-get rounds downrange reliably while being capable of withstanding abuse that would deadline most other rifle platforms. That said, this rifle may be the finest AK I've ever laid my hands on.

Ever since I first shot a friend's Krebs rifle years ago I always lusted for one of my own but could just never justify the cost. Like I said earlier––-virtually all AKs work well so why would I pay $300-400 over what a Arsenal (already expensive) costs? Tough to answer. For me it came down to just being annoyed of lusting after these rifles for so long and deciding to sell off a few handguns that I never shot anymore and just placing the order.

To that end, Krebs rifles probably aren't on the wall of your local gun shop. They can be ordered direct from Mark Krebs' website www.krebscustom.com or from a few online retailers. I picked mine up from Atlantic which was cheaper than going direct and they also gave free shipping due to my membership of several gun forums.

Here's what I've found through shooting this gun over the last month or so:

Pros:
-Reliability. The gun has been 100% with all ammo/mag combinations
-Accuracy. This is the most accurate 7.62x39 AK I've ever shot. Krebs does some accurizing to the crown of the rifle's barrel before shipping it out and I suspect that (and the Russian hammer forged barrel) is the source of the increased accuracy
-Fit and finish are superb. The gun is refinished in "Krebs Kote" solvent proof finish which looks great and is holding up well so far. It's much nicer than Arsenal's factory paint
-Polished G2 trigger. I polish all my AK triggers anyway, but this one is well done (see the video below for evidence)
-Very smooth action. Again, I smooth my action when getting any AK but having it done from the factory is nice
-Cut and pinned 16'' barrel. The 2'' or so you save in OAL helps with the "handling" properties of the rifle
-It comes from the factory with the Krebs AK safety which is on all of my AK rifles. I think it's the finest on the market
-It comes with 2 30 round steel mags. It always annoyed me that my SGLs and SLRs came with 5 or 10 round mags!

Cons:
-Cost. It's tough to justify spending this kind of money on an AK

Chrono numbers:

124gr Golden Tiger FMJ: 2386fps, 1567 ft/lbs energy

For reference, the same ammo in my SGL 21 with 16'' barrel averaged 2388fps with the same ammo; so no loss in velocity out of the cut and pinned AK-103K barrel.