Cheap Garage Fixes to Upgrade an AK With Basic Tools

Gun Digest's Dave Merrill walks through a batch of garage-shop AK upgrades that cost almost nothing and can be knocked out with basic hand tools, no gunsmithing degree required.

Key points

• Sights: Widening the rear sight notch to between 0.135 and 0.145 inch with a triangle file speeds up target acquisition without wrecking the AK's already-modest accuracy.
• Heat and handguards: A cheap aluminum beer can, cut and shoved into the lower handguard, works as a makeshift heat shield, and trimming an oversized Romanian handguard makes mag changes less of a fight.
• Lights and slings: A scrap Picatinny section, washers and longer screws gets you a light mount, while coated steel cable and ferrule stops build a sturdier front sling point than the factory loop.
• Safety tweaks: Contouring the full-auto tab on kit-built AKs to mimic a semi-auto selector improves both safety and ease of use, and a Dremel notch lets the safety lock the bolt rear on cold ranges.
• Grip swap: With some Dremel work and a shorter M6 screw, an AR-style A2 grip can be hacked to fit an AK, no adapter needed.

Quick take

None of this is precision gunsmithing, and Merrill isn't pretending otherwise. It's budget tinkering for people who'd rather spend an afternoon with a file and a Dremel than drop real money on furniture and accessories. If your AK is a beater you built or inherited, these are the kind of low-risk mods worth trying before you buy anything.

Read the full story: Dave Merrill