Hunters Hut Firearms Review:

The I.O. Inc. AK-74 6/24/2012: By the Head Hunter…J.C.P.

I must admit that I have never been enamored about the AK-47 marketplace. As a matter of fact, I just got back into shooting the AR15’s about five years ago. I love my ARs and think there is no other battle rifle that is equal but let me tell you about this AK-47 from I.O. Inc. I have one advertised in the Online Store for pictures and prices.

I was at my outstanding gunsmith, The Varmint Shop owned and operated by Less Knipe for the past 30 years and he suggested that I take a look-see at this I.O. AK-47 and handed me this black USA Made AK rifle. Yep this thing is made in the good old USA. It is pretty light tipping the scales at just less than 7 lbs. with an empty 30 round clip. By the way it comes with two 30 Round Clips, a cleaning kit, and a bottom Picatinny Rail for your tactical attachments. The first thing you notice when you pull the trigger is wow, this trigger is light & smooth. This is unusual on any AK that I have played with. Lester then proceeded to take the whole thing apart in about one minute with absolutely no tools. Hmmm, that was pretty slick, easy to disassemble easily to clean, easy to reassemble.

I also must admit it has the LOOK of the deadly Russian AK-47. So all that being said the proof is in the pudding. I took four boxes of Tul Ammo 7.62 x 39 mm with steel cases, shooting 122 FMJ bullets to our local range at Guthsville Rod & Gun in PA. I also had a couple of hand fulls of assorted ammo lying around in the box. Some were Herters and some I don’t even know the name of. I figured I would see if it got hung up and any of the assorted stuff. Well let me tell you, it ate everything, and I do mean everything I ran through it, without a burp or misfire. This is a real hoot to shoot. I went through 100 rounds and more. One of the best things about the 7.62 X 39 mm ammo is that there is tons of this cheap ammo around. The Tul Ammo I used proved to be deadly and accurate.

First I set up a target at 50 yards and fired a few practice rounds. Then I immediately moved the targets back to a full 100 yards. I knew from previous experience that my RRA LAR15 would shoot 1.5 in groups or better at 100 yards with open sights. Well, the old eyes are not what they used to be. I could barely see my target at 100 yards when I put the open sight of the AK on them. I found one oversized target and stuck it up. Took a few warm-up shots at the general backstop to get a feel again at 100 yards. The first three-shot group ran 1.75 inches. Holy crap I was amazed. I went to the car and brought out a cardboard silhouette with a bad guy holding a gun that goes to mid-waist. I stuck him up at the 100-yard setup and went back to the bench. I sat his head even with my open sights and fired three slow-timed shots. Yep, it was even better. It grouped 1.5 inches at a little low to left. I adjusted my sights; it is an easy task with a sliding bar under tension for the rear sight. I settled down again, perched the silhouette head on top of my front sight and fired three very quick shots, all were in the K zone with a four in the spread. Sooo for my review, I gotta tell you this thing SHOOTS. And for the out-the-door price, it is a steal and a great deal to boot.

If interested please go to our Online store for pictures & pricing. J.C.P.