I am looking for info on swapping my current AKV 10"barrel for one of the 16" barrels offered in the ‘rifle’ AKV versions. I see that PSA offers a replacement 10" barrel on their store but don’t see a replacement 16". Has anyone heard if that is something coming down the pipeline and if it possible to swap the two?
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welcome to the forums @eandersen4662 we’re glad to have you.
im sure its possible to swap them, but why would you want to? would be the larger question for me.
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I purchased my AKV long before the rifle style versions were available and that is what I really wanted. I want to replace the brace with a regular stock and don’t want to go through the process of getting stamped and making it into an SBR.
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ahh makes sense. idk if there are rules or not about swapping the brace out for a stock after you’ve swapped the barrel or not… my memory is saying theres some rule or law the atf has stating you cant change a pistol brace to a rifle stock. i am probably wrong.
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Sorry buddy, per BATFE if a firearm was sold as a pistol, then swapping a 16" barrel will not classify it as a rifle, you will still need to SBR it. I may be wrong, but i DO know if a rifle is sold as a rifle, you MAY NOT convert it to a pistol.
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AK barrels are press fit into the trunion and secured by a cross pin. Don’t know about the PSA design, but it looks like you will need a hydraulic a hydraulic press. You will need to remove the cross pin and drill out the cross pin hole in the trunion to the next larger size. This can only be done once as there is not enough room in the Soviet design for a third pin replacement so only one barrel replacement is generally done.
Head space the new barrel as it is pressed into position. Generally is better to sell of trade, in my opinion, as it will retain the lifetime warranty.
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You are correct. Once a pistol, always a pistol.
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Well, thanks for the input everyone. Good ol’ ATF making everything complicated. I think Ill just keep my AKV the way it is.
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dang… that sucks, but true it’s a pistol now… you could replace the barrel with any length if it’s possible but not replace the brace with a stock…
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For optimal FPS with a 9mm round you are looking at a 7.5" barrel from what I’ve seen so far. The 10" the AK-V comes with is operating at a lower muzzle velocity which continues to drop off until you hit the 16" and then you are seeing an slight increase again. So if you have the ability to swap the barrel out, you are going to see an improvement in muzzle velocity. Shame they don’t offer the 7.5" barrel. I’m normally shooting at 50 yards or less and that would suit e just fine.
“….Until such time as any Individual AFT Agent decides to Re-Misinterpret this Rule, and Unilaterally Declare you a Felon and Terrorist for possession of a Formerly Perfectly-Legal firearm in-accordance with the mercurial whim of your Bureaucratic OverLords….”
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You are wrong, as you suspected. As long as the overall length and barrel length meet the rifle standard, the rear stock is irrelevant and the device is not regulated by the NFA but a rifle.
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Once you make it a rifle by overall length and barrel length standards, it doesn’t matter what stock you put on it.
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This is not correct. A rifle based pistol may be converted into a rifle per ATF definitions–overall lengthy and barrel length requirements–and it is no longer regulated by the NFA and can have any type stock on it as well. Keep in mind the whole point of these rules and the original implementation they are based upon is to prevent ownership of easily concealed and maneuverable penetrating firepower.
There is a simple logic to it, but it is clearly unconstitutional.
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@lechasseurmaudit Welcome to the forums!!! Glad to have you!
and thank you for that info. sometimes i read things and over time i forget the details. preciate the correction.
I am not familiar with the barrel install on the AKV. Could PSA sell the barrel already press fit and pinned into a new trunion? Then you have a gunsmith replace the existing system with the new? What am i missing? Thanks for the clarity.
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Cheaper and easier would solution pin and silver soldered extension.
In light of everything happening with the “pistol brace” fiasco a 16" barrel replacement option seems like a good idea…
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@N6063t Welcome to the forums! enjoy your stay!
as for your question, and please know im going off of memory of 10 years or more when i built my first AK47, If im not mistaken, when you are riviting the front trunion i believe it (the trunion) has to be rivited to the receiver and then you press in the barrel… or at least thats what i think i remember doing way back then. I’d assume the akv would have the same setup trunion/reciever / barrel wise as well… if im incorrect somoene please chime in here.