Waffen Werks AK-74N
In late-2013, Classic Firearms ran a deal on what were known as "B-Grade" AK-74s from Waffen Werks at a price of $600.00 and they even had a chrome-lined barrel Waffen Werks had just started producing. For many, this was an excellent way to get into the 5.45x39mm AK game without spending the money needed for an Arsenal or kit-build. As such, I ended up buying one, myself. Unfortunately, the rifle was incapable of chambering surplus ammunition as the chrome lining in the chamber was too thick. It was then sent back to Waffen Werks, where they "fixed" the barrel. I later came to learn that the "fix" was them replacing the barrel with an old, non-chromed one and magically making the zig-zag muzzle brake get replaced with a crescent brake. This did put me off of the rifle somewhat considering the chrome barrel was the reason I bought it and the rarer zig-zag brake had been a nice bonus, and I was not alone in these issues as other online reviews would show. Eventually, Waffen Werks ceased to exist and Destructive Devices Industries took over the business, which has now also become but a memory. If you own a rifle from either company and need repairs done, I would get your bank account ready and start calling private gunsmiths.
All that said, this rifle has actually performed quite well as far as reliability, accuracy, feeding, etc. goes with the non-chromed barrel. Since these rifles are built off of Bulgarian parts kits, they show what all could be found on a mid-1980s production AK-74 from Russia or Bulgaria fairly well. Let's go ahead and try to maintain a positive attitude and also take a look at this rifle, shown throughout this review in surplus plum furniture.
All that said, this rifle has actually performed quite well as far as reliability, accuracy, feeding, etc. goes with the non-chromed barrel. Since these rifles are built off of Bulgarian parts kits, they show what all could be found on a mid-1980s production AK-74 from Russia or Bulgaria fairly well. Let's go ahead and try to maintain a positive attitude and also take a look at this rifle, shown throughout this review in surplus plum furniture.
So, here we see the rifle in its entirety. Basically, it is a Bulgarian AK-74N parts kit, as mentioned, built onto a US-made receiver and barrel, with a couple other US-made parts thrown in for 922(r) purposes. Anyway, when it comes to AK-74s, the Bulgarian ones were pretty much identical to the Russian ones up until the mid-1980s or so, so what we cover here today will apply to generally any AK-74 from either of those two countries up to that time. To get back on topic, let's go ahead and just look this rifle over from muzzle to buttstock.
At the front of the rifle's barrel is the front sight block assembly. This front sight block assembly shrouds the barrel itself and is actually threaded: the AK-74's barrel is not threaded, unlike the AK and AKM that came before it. This larger, threaded piece meant a much larger-diameter muzzle device was used on the AK-74, as you can see here. This was purposeful, as it meant an expansion chamber could be included in the AK-74's new muzzle brake.
Moving down the rifle's barrel, you get to the gas block. You'll notice two things about it: the angle of the gas block is definitely different than that found on the AK/AKM, and there is still a bayonet lug here. Why was the gas block changed, and why is the lug still there if the bayonet attaches to the front sight assembly's lug?
The very first AK-74s actually had AKM gas blocks: the gas port itself ran at a 45 degree angle from the gas tube to the barrel. The Soviets noticed the elongated hole in the barrel caused by that angle was leading to bullet shearing on the AK-74 with it's higher-velocity bullet. Therefore, they decided to switch to a 90 degree gas port drilled into the barrel: the new AK-74 gas block was appropriately changed so it could house a vertical gas port and channel. Interestingly enough, when the Romanians adopted their own AK-74 variant, they used AKM gas blocks (45 degree angle), but the port going into the barrel itself was angled at 90 degrees to, again, prevent bullet shearing.
As for the bayonet lug, it's no longer a "bayonet lug," so to speak. This lug is an "equipment lug." Why is this? The under-barrel grenade launchers used by the AKM (GP-25) secured themselves via the bayonet lug on their gas blocks. Rather than reinvent the wheel, the Soviets kept a bayonet lug here so they didn't need to design a new grenade launcher.
NOTE: The gas tube shown in this review is from a different rifle, thus the difference in finish color. The actual Waffen Werks gas tube matched the rest of the rifle, but since I was having issues with getting its handguard removed with no tools at my disposal, I simply did a gas tube swap.
The very first AK-74s actually had AKM gas blocks: the gas port itself ran at a 45 degree angle from the gas tube to the barrel. The Soviets noticed the elongated hole in the barrel caused by that angle was leading to bullet shearing on the AK-74 with it's higher-velocity bullet. Therefore, they decided to switch to a 90 degree gas port drilled into the barrel: the new AK-74 gas block was appropriately changed so it could house a vertical gas port and channel. Interestingly enough, when the Romanians adopted their own AK-74 variant, they used AKM gas blocks (45 degree angle), but the port going into the barrel itself was angled at 90 degrees to, again, prevent bullet shearing.
As for the bayonet lug, it's no longer a "bayonet lug," so to speak. This lug is an "equipment lug." Why is this? The under-barrel grenade launchers used by the AKM (GP-25) secured themselves via the bayonet lug on their gas blocks. Rather than reinvent the wheel, the Soviets kept a bayonet lug here so they didn't need to design a new grenade launcher.
NOTE: The gas tube shown in this review is from a different rifle, thus the difference in finish color. The actual Waffen Werks gas tube matched the rest of the rifle, but since I was having issues with getting its handguard removed with no tools at my disposal, I simply did a gas tube swap.
On the left-hand side of the receiver, we see what makes this an AK-74N: optics dovetail mount. These mounts were originally found on the AKMN back in the early 1960s, and served the purpose of housing night vision optics. The optic's base was simply the female portion of the dovetail mounting system, and it slid forward onto the rail until it stopped itself in place. Once stopped, a lever was rotated forward that tightened the female mount to the receiver's mount via friction, basically causing it to pinch down on it. Since the stopping location and friction imparted was always the same, this meant the optics were quick-detachable with a returnable zero upon re-mounting. Anymore, these mounts can be seen housing not only night-vision devices, but red dots, magnified daytime scopes, holographic sights, or just about anything you can think of putting on an AK.
Further back is the AK-74 series' fixed buttstock. Though this one is polymer, it is near-identical to the wooden buttstocks before it in design. The AK-74 saw the introduction of a lightening cut on either side of the butt (supposedly done to help aid in identifying between AK-74 and AKM in total darkness), and also saw the sling swivel location on the bottom-left of the buttstock. While later AKMs had this same swivel location, all AK-74s featured it. Let's take a look at one other change the AK-74 buttstocks brought to the rifle.
At the back of the buttstock is the buttplate. Though it still retained the trap door for the cleaning kit, just like the AKs before it, the AK-74's buttstock also introduced ribbing to the buttplate itself for the soldier's pleasure. This helped the buttplate slide around just a little less on a uniform or what-have-you when firing.
Lastly, let's take a look at the sights on this particular rifle. If you were guessing that they probably looked the same any other AK's sights ever, you were correct. Here we see a leaf sight going from "П" to "10". Like the other AKs before it, the sight is graduated in hundreds of meters: "1" equals 100m and so on. As for the "П," that corresponds to the "battlefield zero" setting, which is equivalent to a 400m zero on the AK-74: this kept all rounds within neck-to-gut from 0-450m if the soldiers kept aiming center-mass. This was basically the "set it and forget it" setting for combat.
The front sight of the AK-74N is equally simple: it is a post protected by two sight ears. To adjust for elevation, the post is simply screwed in or out of the sight block itself as the post's body is threaded: it's basically a bit screw. For windage, the post's drum is moved left or right in the sight assembly until it's properly zeroed in. The one on this AK-74 is moved almost entirely to the left to compensate for windage, for example, as you can see here and in the next photograph.
Here is a look down the sights of this particular AK-74N. As you may have noticed, the front post sits a fair bit left in the front sight assembly, but that's no issue: so long as your rifle is zeroed, it's zeroed. While not the most aesthetically pleasing to some buyers, I'm sure no one would argue against the fact that they'd rather have an offset post if it meant hitting the target versus a centered post that isn't zeroed.
That about sums up the AK-74N as far as the basics of it go. This should allow you to get a basic understanding of the weapon, and also know how to tear one open if you get the chance at a gun store or gun show sometime. I tried not to make it into a "comparison and contrast to the AKM," but hopefully I've managed to discuss some of its features adequately enough while also providing some historical context.