>>244 (OP)
>7.62x39
ДА!
This is my main caliber.
Not because it is good in itself, but because there is VPO-136 on the Russian arms market. This is the best that can be bought in Russia for reasonable money:
1) Original AKM, Soviet production. Personally, mine, made in Tula, 1976.
2) The automatic trigger axis is riveted, the automatic trigger lug on the bolt carrier is cut off. The trigger mechanism has been replaced with a dual-axis, semi-automatic one. For reference: the bolt carrier and trigger mechanism from an AK can be bought completely legally for ~ $ 100. And this was my third purchase, after 1000 rounds and a dozen different magazines.
3) The butt screw is welded. It is illegal to unscrew it, but who knows what is under the welded cap? Without an examination, which I will get if I am detained with my beloved Zhukov, this cannot be found out.
4) The rifling pitch allows shooting long and heavy subsonic bullets. The thread on the barrel is completely free for any muzzle devices. And naturally, I bought myself a can a long time ago.
5) Full compatibility with army magazines. Large, reliable and cheap. Steel at the price of dirt, bakelite at a higher price, aluminum for those who care about weight, drums for machine gunners. 30/40/75 - for every taste!
6) If I get a GP-25 somewhere, I know where I'll put it. All the mounts are preserved. And the bayonet-knife is simply included.
There are also bad things.
AKMs did not have a standard side mount for sights. And this was a big problem for me. You could have used something new-fangled tactical, like a receiver cover, a rear sight, a gas tube with a weaver. But all this crap is only good for collimators! It provides sufficient strength and stability of the aiming point for installing 1-4 optics or any night sight. In addition, I already had a 1pn93-2 night sight, which is compatible only with a side dovetail.
I will not describe my adventures for long, I will only say that my AKML side rail made it on the LAST plane from Poland, and for its high-quality installation, I had to go to Moscow for the first time in my life.
The second negative from it is its high weight. Sometimes I think, maybe I should have taken 5.45 for everything and 9x19 for subsonic cartridges back then, seven years ago? It would have been worth it if weapons for it, with a third axis in the receiver, were on sale in Russia then. But there were none - there were only Saigas. Besides, back then, the 60-round 5.45 quad-row magazines were nothing more than pictures on the internet. And even now, when I can buy them, they are not known for their reliability...