1srelluc
Diamond Member
LOL....It must have slipped by the editors.
The family of AK-47-type rifles, which have appeared in nearly every conflict zone since their proliferation in the mid-20th century, is perhaps the most recognizable firearm silhouette in history. But civilian versions — once ubiquitous — are disappearing from shelves in the United States.
“All of a sudden there was nothing,” said Jim Fuller, a gunsmith who is considered one of the godfathers of the AK market in the United States, and a go-to source for custom rifles.
The collapse of the AK market shows how the buying habits of the country’s large community of firearms enthusiasts can be shaped by geopolitical forces. The causes of the firearm’s disappearance include tariffs, sanctions, rising ammunition prices related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the soaring popularity of the AR-15.
The AK’s shape may still be iconic, but its new cost is unappealing to many gun buyers. An AK, or Avtomat Kalashnikova, which cost a couple of hundred dollars in the 1980s, can now go for five times more, and is considered by many to be a boutique item.
There is no specific figure that provides the exact breakdown of the types of rifles, but industry experts point to the price of an AR-15 and its ammunition, compared with the far more expensive AK and its ammunition, as reasons for the rifle’s decline in U.S. markets. Cheap ammunition prices were once a huge driver of demand for the AK.
“We have definitely seen a substantial downturn in the amount of AKs being sold in the last 12 months,” said Blaine Bunting, the owner of Atlantic Firearms, a firearms company in Maryland that is an industry leader for importing and selling AK parts.
I bought big into the AK market the last couple of years due to several "pre-ban" AKs that became available to me at a local shop due to a guy's passing and his kids selling them off.
I even "lowered" myself in buying a US-made (PSA) Krink.
LOL....I guess they are all still out there awaiting cheap spam cans of surplus ammo again.
Sigh, I remember buying AK parts kits for $50 - $90 with everything except the receiver and having "build parties", I build a baker's dozen myself back in the day. Those same kits go up to near 1K now.
Yeah, it's hard to compete with sub $500 ARs.
