MAC 90 before & after

[Zoomballistic]

I bought this in '94-'95 for $159....
Pulled it out of deep storage and decided to change a few things.

Before



After

[Jim88]

Nice Mac-90. You may not realize it, but you have a true military battle weapon. That is a real AK, not the ones sold today. The only true AK's were imported pre-'98 into the USA. They were all made in military arsenals by military personnel and built to military spec. And they were built by com-bloc nations.
AK's or kits imported today cannot compare. They are either commercial quality or they are put together by weekend warrior "gunsmiths". The best AK's were the PolyTech Legends, Egyptian MAADI's, Norinco's, MAK-90's like yours. Don't even waste your time buying an AK built in America. They do not have the ruggedness and can also jam when your life depends on it. Even the ones imported today are not imported to standard AK spec. They have to all be converted in some way to get them to resemble a true AK of the past like the ones I mentioned. Never sell that. But if I were you, I would return it back to original configuration. Here are more details:

PolyTech Legends - built by Chinese military
Egyptian MAADI - built by Egyptian military trained by Russians using Russian tooling
Norinco & MAK-90's built by Chinese military

[cvasqu03]

Hmmm.  Not entirely sure about that.  I have a Norinco MAK-90, I got back in 1994 and it's not what I'd consider military grade.  Maybe the Polytech Legends ones were better.

Zoombalistic,  I had mine in the Choate version of that stock for many years, but a few years ago I finally got around to replacing the trigger control parts so I could legally put the pistol grip and stock on it myself.  I did pretty much what you've done there, and I like it much better that way.   I've kept the original wood thumbstock but I always hated the way it feels. 

[cvasqu03]

This actually reminds me, back in the 90's when I got the MAK-90, they were generally going for about $300, but I went to a gun show where a shop owner I know had just gotten a whole lot of them that he was selling for $200, but I was a starving student at the time and couldn't afford it. Eventually I did manage to get one Polytech AK magazine.  It's just like the Chinese mags I have (meaning fairly well built with no spine down the back) but it has a chromed follower.  I always wished I'd gotten more of these but like I said, I was broke back then and just trying to get at least one of everything.  Wish I'd gotten more than one bakelite mag too. 

[Jim88]

Hmmm.  Not entirely sure about that.  I have a Norinco MAK-90, I got back in 1994 and it's not what I'd consider military grade.  Maybe the Polytech Legends ones were better.

Zoombalistic,  I had mine in the Choate version of that stock for many years, but a few years ago I finally got around to replacing the trigger control parts so I could legally put the pistol grip and stock on it myself.  I did pretty much what you've done there, and I like it much better that way.   I've kept the original wood thumbstock but I always hated the way it feels.

I know what you are referring too. You are referring to the bastardized batch of MAK-90 / MAADI Frankenstein rifles by I believe Century who combined a MAADI receiver with a MAK-90 barrel/trunnion etc. These are all junk. This is not what I was referring too. Here is the story:

Back in the mid 90's Bill Clinton banned Chinese military weaponry and others in certain configurations ie no bayonet lugs, pistol grips, etc.. Well Century had a boat load of MAK-90's in standard configuration in a bonded warehouse ready for distribution that they already imported into America. However when Clinton signed the law against these tools, Century was halted in selling them. Remember this was before the thumbhole stock loophole. So the solution for Century which was dumb, and was too marry a MAADI receiver to a MAK-90 barrel group and toss on a thumbhole stock. So they modified the whole batch this way and sold them. You can easily tell these bastardized rifles by the rivet pattern, the black painted receiver and the blue steel MAK-90 (Chinese) barrel assemblies. These rifles are not good. And they are not the ones I am pointing out as being the best. I recommend true Egyptian MAADI's and true MAK-90's only. Never buy any Frankenstein rifle. That is basically the story of one of the worst decisions by Century. Many people today are confused who have not lived through those times and the internet is full of wrong information.

p.s all gun laws are unconstitutional.

[cvasqu03]

Well, mine is just like the one Zoombalistic posted, and it's a great shooter.  I doubt whether the barrel would hold up to sustained full auto fire though. 

I remember the Egyptian MAADI's.  Those were some nice looking rifles, and even the thumbhole stocks were nicer than the MAK-90 ones.  I wish I could've gotten one, but I was lucky to even be able to afford the one I got at the time.

[Jim88]

Well, mine is just like the one Zoombalistic posted, and it's a great shooter.  I doubt whether the barrel would hold up to sustained full auto fire though. 

I remember the Egyptian MAADI's.  Those were some nice looking rifles, and even the thumbhole stocks were nicer than the MAK-90 ones.  I wish I could've gotten one, but I was lucky to even be able to afford the one I got at the time.

Great ! You did good. Keep that rifle. I can assure you that your real MAK-90 in complete form is no different than any Chinese issued full auto weapon in their military. Everything is the same except the trigger group set up to only semi-auto. All other components were produced using the same quality standard AK spec. as their soldiers carry. These foreign com bloc AK's I described above were all made in military factories. And most likely is why there were "banned" from import. Certain people in government don't want military grade firearms in the hands of the public. They want the People to fear them and not the other way around like it should be according to the Founders.

[xtriggerman]

I'm not a big AK fan but to pigeon hole AK's into three manufacturers may not be an accurate statement. The only AK I own is a Bulgarian that came threw with thumb hole and single stack (now DBL). Once that non sense was over no one wanted these and they were sold off cheap so I bought one. It has a .065" thick receiver and its exceptionally well built and finished to "commercial" grade parkerized surface finish. I have built 2 receiver flats AK's for people and turned away other parts jobs simply because the receiver flats were absolute garbage. So when you leave out Bulgarian built guns, I think it must be a brain fart on the initial communication. And that leads me to believe there may be others. Like the AR, there are a lot of critical part specs that should not get the ol wink & a nod at the assembly bins..... been there, lived threw that, but its a way of life to capture the bottom feeder market. You know the type, the fish that has lips pointed downward at the front of his belly.  Yeah, I'v sucked up some silt my self at times!

[LESchwartz]

Nice rifle.

I'm not sure categorizing today's AK as junk and yesteryear's as wonderful does justice to it all.  As was mentioned there were "dogs" sold in the 1990s.  There are a number of modern imports that are pretty decent.  Quality wise Saiga leads way (banned from import now), but Zastava isn't far behind (if you can got over the funky optics mount).  Even the latest WASRs have pretty good build quality.  Then there are Polish rifles which have begun to be imported.  I haven't seen one in person, but initial reports seem good.

But a bunch of rifles were imported as kits or in a state that required a lot of work once they got to the US.  A lot of junk rifles were created from these.  But a lot of nice rifles were also created.  It's all caveat emptor and good inspection is mandatory.  Look for bad riveting, poor quality barrels, funky metal work, aftermarket magazines, etc.

Larry