Yankee stock for a Russian Rifle?

When my friend decided he wanted to put an aftermarket stock on his Polish AK (PMKM)..... I cursed him a fool......everyone knows that tacticooling an AK is sacrilege.

Comrade Mikhail would not be pleased...

His Allied Armament/Polish PMKM came with U.S. made K-Var stocks, which replicate the look of Warsaw pact design that many of the Soviet States used, but with a slightly longer length of pull.

I, myself, much prefer the traditional scarred, ugly, laminated Soviet wood to any plastic, but due to 922R requirements, a person may require a US made stock set on their AK.

Enter Magpul.......Magpul has been working on designs for non AR rifles for awhile now and came up with a butt stock that is function but still captures the spirit of the Soviet design. They call it "Uncle Sam meets Mother Russia".
My friend chose the Magpul MOE stock from Midway USA, in black, to match the existing K-Var forearm furniture.

Magpul also offers them in Flat Dark Earth, Olive Drab, Stealth Gray & Plum.
The stock has a shape reminiscent of the AK-74 Krinkov design:

The MOE stock has a removable top strap for easy installation.

Inside the cover you can store a cleaning kit, first aid kit, condoms or a Snickers bar for those times when you get hangry. The cover snaps into place, much like that of the dust cover on the AK. Removal of the cover is facilitated by a small catch at the top rear of the butt stock.

The included recoil pad will be familiar to Magpul fans, it is very similar to the MOE AR recoil pad. The pad measures 1.5" (at its widest point) by 5.25" with a taper both in width and front to back for easy shouldering.

If the recoil of the 7.62mm is too much for you, Magpul offers a 0.70" thick recoil pad.

For installation of a sling Magpul has included two (one, each side) QD pockets and a sling loop slot, centered at the rear of the stock for ambidextrous use. The QD slots are perfectly placed to align the sling swivel with the front loop.


There are also check risers available to aid you in the unfortunate event that some  nincompoop has installed a scope on the AK rifle.

Installation was a snap, the provided instructions walked you through the steps.

It should also be noted that the stock provides a length of pull of 12.8", which is a bit short, but on this gun it feels just about right. It is easier to adjust to a stock that is a bit too short than one a bit too long.

Also the pointing/sight acquisition is very fast with this new stock. The cheek weld is quick and it is easy to pick up the sights without making adjustments.
 
While he was at it he ordered a new Hogue grip. Hogue has been making grips of both the AR and AK platforms for few years now. If you know me, you know I am a big fan of Hogue grips, they fit my hand really well and the texture/material give you good purchase on the weapon regardless of the conditions.

They offer the AK grips in 5 colors:
Black, Ghillie Flat Dark Earth, Ghillie OD Green, standard Flat Dark Earth and standard OD Green, he of course ordered the black one.

I have to admit, the gun looks pretty good, not anything like a tacticooled, bubba special.

The fit and feel of the gun have been improved and no violations of the unconstitutional 922R...a win-win!

My buddy also ordered some of the Tapco Red Bake-Lite look alike magazines. These are not made from real bake-lite, they are the same plastic Tapco uses in their other magazines.

We'll be trying these out on the next trip out to the woods. I assume they will work as well as the standard Tapco magazines.